second part of the story. 2 .-
prisoner in the Soviet Union.
The landscape around me suddenly became more consistent, some trees were visible and the counter del tiempo se detuvo. Suavemente, la nave dejó de zarandearse y pude sentir que la fuerza que me empujaba se había desvanecido. Me dolía la cabeza y tenia ganas de vomitar, una sensación nada diferente de una resaca de domingo por la mañana, cerré los ojos y me quedé dormido.
Me despertaron voces ásperas en un idioma desconocido. A través del plexiglás veía tres figuras con uniforme y gorro de astracán, tal vez este detalle sea un recuerdo posterior, detrás de las cuales se veía un colorido cartel que representaba, idealizada, la imagen de la base militar que David arrendaría en un lejano futuro...
¿Dónde y cuándo estaría?, me pregunté. El lugar, claro, was obvious, the same military base in Kazakhstan, the time ... I looked at the quadrants, the indicator pointed to 1957 period, with an unpleasant or so that made me wary of the details of David, obviously the vortex had taken me a couple of years earlier (or later) than expected.
I opened the door to your right and greeted with a smile.
Two of the men shouted something that I did not understand, but as I pointed their guns chose to raise their hands. The third placed handcuffs me and took me to a nearby shack.
- Well, I told myself I'm in the Soviet Union in 1957 ... and without a ruble in his pocket. This is going to be difficult.
But I knew I could overcome it, the ugly picture of my friend David told me he could not return I presented several times while walking on deep snow, was now sure I had cheated (like when we were young and singing I bid twenty-five) However I am not to mourn over spilled milk and decided that I amoldaría the situation, given a choice would have preferred New York, Los Angeles or even in the 50 Rosario, but if I was the Soviet Union and the Engineering. Of course I was only a rough idea of \u200b\u200bthe history of the twentieth century, let alone Russian history, I knew that until the 90 formerly communist (ie had something like a dictatorship that was against private property) and the Yankees were fighting for world domination, they had missiles, spacecraft of poor quality and horrible weather (as I was checking at the time) and lacked the comforts of modern life, even the few existing at that time. It was not much I could remember and, moreover, were fragmentary knowledge, as still photos of an old newsreel.
To begin with the language.
not understand the questions and they did not understand my answers. They were not too talkative, it is true, which was an advantage because after a couple of hours was able to tell that asked about my nationality and my mission. They thought it was an American spy and that my ship was an experimental model of aircraft observer. I repeated that he was Argentine, but none of my interrogators appeared to understand me. Until finally Eliana. Eliana
Koliakov Fedorova, blonde, short, sharply Slavic features, a preciousness, I said and spoke English well. She wore a cute navy blue uniform with a red star on his lapel, and looked out of a James Bond movie (one of my sources on Soviet culture.) I remember his first gesture, wrinkled his nose, took a paddle hanging on the wall and hit me with it while I was asking my name, grade and serial number. I at that moment I fell in love with her.
- Egoeimí replied. Gustavo Egoeimí.
There should have kissed, but instead repeated:
- Gustav Egoiov?
- More or less, "I replied in English, I'm from Argentina, South America", you located?
- Arguentinya, yes, "he said at Amerrika" and added, "are you Peronist?
- Peronist? - I thought, well I was a friend of Menem and Duhalde and I have no problems with Kirchner, yes, yes, "I said I'm Peronist ...
- Fascist, "she spat as his command quickly undressed me completely.
was going to start a tough questioning when he appeared in another scene woman, barely taller than Eliana, was named Katia, Katia Anenkova Iskandariev, I learned later, was the curator of the party in the region. A brunette beauty, with some blood Uzbek, or perhaps Armenia, almond eyes and strong arms in his khaki uniform. It seemed like the perfect heroine to escape across the steppes. I loved her too.
discussed a moment, in incomprehensible Russian, I think, even for a Muscovite, about what to do with me. Eliana apparently intended to refer to the KGB for interrogation in order, but Katie insisted on taking me to party headquarters and placed under his custody. They also discussed how they could classify me politically Eliana said that a Peronist was just a South American fascist, Katia, meanwhile, argued that Perón had been toppled by a coup sponsored by the CIA, were therefore tactical allies of the Soviet regime (this, of course, I found out later). I remember being struck by the deep knowledge they had, in a loss steppes of Central Asia, about my country, they knew things that I know and although I was never very fond of history, must recognize that their arguments (when I was the translated) were equally convincing in either direction.
was finally decided, I sent to the infamous prison Lublianka (lo de infame es sólo para darle cierto color local) y así lo hicieron, para mi agrado fui escoltado por ambas.
El viaje duró un par de semanas, no había trenes disponibles y nuestros papeles se perdieron en trayecto entre la base y Alma Ata.
Aproveché el tiempo disponible para aprender el idioma, con algunas variantes dialectales, ya que Eliana era azerí, de Bakú, y Katia ucraniana, de Odessa, de manera que al llegar a Moscú podía hablarlo tan bien que hasta entendía las bromas que me hacían mis dos custodias. Recuerdo que entramos riendo al edificio principal y que me llamó la atención el enorme retrato de un tipo, rostro franco y pesado, bigotes y la mirada fija en nosotros que, Of course, I recognized immediately.
was Big Brother, the ruler (or was dictator?) Of the novel 1984. By the way, I clarify that I had read the book, but had seen the film (why read if all the great books are on DVD?) And television. There was
said Katia, even after death continued to monitor the fate of his people, irritated, Elias said he did not know why were not using that damn box there, and that this had been a sort unfortunate for the Soviet Union.
took note of the discussion among the girls, I met with a friendly spanking for both greeted passing the old portrait of Stalin and, as if he enlighten me, I came to my mind a couple of ideas, but I thought it was not yet time to implement them and went to prison.
I'm not sure where he is the sinister reputation of the prison, once you have seen one has seen it all. Of course, it is not the place I had chosen to spend my vacation but, except the size was not so different from Coronda prison in Argentina. I had visited after we won the tender for the better, in fact after the work is finished and was not very different from Lublianka.
Los primeros dos meses en la prisión no fueron los más agradables, lo confieso, no manejaba bien el idioma y la mayor parte de las palabras que me enseñaron mis amigas no servían demasiado allí, pero el grupo humano era encantador, los evoco con cariño, ahora que muchos de ellos ya no están.
Algunos me recordaban amigos de la City porteña, pero más ingenuos, otros, los disidentes los llamaban, eran muy quejosos, pero buenos tipos, muy cultos (y yo respeto la cultura) si bien un poco idealistas. No podía seguir del todo sus intrincados argumentos ¡y en ruso!, pero deduje bastante de ellos.
A juzgar por sus palabras en Rusia se había traicionado la Revolución, ellos añoraban los viejos tiempos (aquí había muchas variantes, un par añoraban al Zar, no sé cuál de ellos, otros a un tal Kerensky, pero la mayoría a Lenín) y aspiraban a restaurarlos. Yo les decía que había que mirar las cosas positivamente, que no era bueno quejarse y que la política, en el fondo, no valía la pena, lo mejor era pensar afirmativamente.
Así que conseguimos un espejo y todas las mañanas ensayábamos afirmaciones positivas. Ya saben, cosas como, “yo soy bueno”, “el mal no existe”, “estoy en armonía con el mundo”, “todo está bien si termina bien”, “no hay espinas sin rosas” y esas cosas...
Al tiempo los muchachos, en su mayoría, dejaron de causar problemas.
Era curioso, yo me limitaba a escuchar y asentir de vez en cuando, y esto los convencía de que era un leal miembro de su causa..., para los dos zaristas yo era un monárquico, para los socialistas revolucionarios el mejor desde un tal Gotz y para otros un discípulo de Trostky que los organizaría para la toma del poder. Me ofendía un poco que pensaran así de mí, ¡yo que jamás tuve una causa!, pero los muchachos eran así.
Un día me llamaron del despacho del director de la prisión.
- ¿Usted es el tal Gustav Egoiov?- me preguntó en ruso- ¿el argentino?
- El mismo- respondí.
- I have reports about you, and consulted a thick file-has upset the inmates and has a solvent preaching ...
- ...- I assure you I tried to answer, but cut me off.
- Silence!, Only respond when questioned, okay?
nodded.
- You are a foreigner, but the embassy denied know-would be replicated but their gesture was very eloquent, do not know where it comes from or who he really is.
- Well, I ...
- Silence! - He repeated it does not matter. Is it a good communist?
- As good as any, sir, but what is really a communist? - In those months, my idea of \u200b\u200bcommunism had changed. Oh, not that I saw all pink now, but will be adapted to prison not a good time, of course, however: what was the complain?
- A good Communist Party stood by the decisions, "he said a good communist believes in the working class and the triumph of the proletariat ...
- That do not know much, sir, but if you mean you have to be well with the government, criticized for the low, proposing major changes, do nothing without consulting higher and stay where you are, well, you remember I am Argentine.
The warden smiled and offered me a seat.
- I have some ideas, "he said. I spent two years
Lublianka. Most of the time in the office of director, managers should say, since I changed three while I was there. I became his right hand, organizing meetings, called his wife when he did not want to go home (I saw Eliana at the time, had married the second director and I visited once in place), I built a couple of study groups with the inmates, an art workshop and a library at the end of the types just wanted to be heard ...
Finally, we made Lublianka a nice place, I'm proud of that, there is now the food was excellent (in fact it was the same crap) but had a menu to choose, or that sprayed on the beds, although mattresses allow rotasen so detainees each day waiting for night to exchange (always hoped that night would behoove one without bugs and if not, would be next), nor the guards were better, but I spread the rumor of imminent changes and that put them in a better mood, to both.
not bore you with details, which can be found in my book "participatory Jails, prisons better, but I recall an episode of particular significance:
had thrown a guard, a less brutal than the others, they said, if While all were quite friendly with me, and many blamed him for the new director. I spread the word, then, that the guard had been unfairly dismissed and let me assure you that indeed it was because of newly arrived, a group blindly accepted this version and began to protest in that high voice. While certain inmates convinced that the protest was a move from the old director to return to his former post, he had put the guard in question and the dissatisfied would benefit from a commutation of sentences just return the old bureaucrat. I also met with some guards to alert them about an escape disguised by protests and some prisoners whose sentences had they declared almost everything was orchestrated to thwart his impending release. After a couple of days were all so engrossed in their infighting that they forgot the matter of the guard and the new boss might take over its functions without major problems. Is that people need something to think lie is in prison right?
Lublianka worked well, but I aspired to something else, I had stagnated and sought new challenges and broader horizons. Then came to visit my friend, Nikita. 
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