I Tried Not to be Afraid on My Trip to Russia in 1997
As I got off the plane in Moscow in December 1997, I couldn’t help but think about the current situation in Russia and wondered just how safe it was for me, an American, to be here.
I worked for a Dutch software company and much of our software development was done by a group of brilliant Russian programmers located in a converted grade school in Obninsk, a Russian city that was the sight of the first nuclear power plant (1954) for the Soviet Union. It is located about 60 miles southwest of Moscow.
You would think that it would be about an hours drive from Moscow to Obninsk, but I never thought it would take over 3 hours, some filled with nervous fear.
The trip started out just fine with me spotting our team manager holding up a sign with my name. I had met Andre a few times at our offices in Holland, so I guess the sign was not necessary, but when I mentioned that to Andre he laughed,
“It’s OK, Trent, the sign was in case you went up to the wrong person. Just be careful while you are here…these are strange times.”
Andre was nervous but tried not to show it.
