Oh, what an intensive trip it was! I have never before scheduled myself so tightly and never had so few of the events cancelled! In fact, the only two I missed were those in Ufa when my lost-’n-found luggage got me stuck in Moscow for an extra day.
The trip also had a good ratio between the churches and the “secular” settings like universities, teachers’ conferences, high schools, etc. Given the political and economic situation in Russia, many people are discouraged and disappointed. I frequently heard from teachers in my audiences sentiments like this: “Russia is rolling back to czarism and will collapse as soon as the price of oil goes under $80 per barrel. What’s the point of teaching the young in the country that has no future?!”
