3 Minute Speaker
This week's 3 minute speaker was Karina Webb who informed us about the death of Mikhail Gorbachev last year and why this was important to her. He was the last President of the Soviet Union and implemented his policies of Glasnost or openness (re government) and perestroika - restructuring the government.
Karinna travelled through the Soviet Union in 1985 and apart from the wonderful experiences she had, the thing that most impressed her was the fact that a packet of Camel cigarettes were a very useful currency including helping to gain tickets to the Bolshoi Ballet and wonderful supper of pink champagne, smoked salmon and caviar at the Metropole Hotel. The ballet was Don Quixote complete with a grey horse and a donkey.
St Petersburg was very different to Moscow and extremely elegant. Their shoes, coats and hats were of great interest to the locals and theirs were very shoddy quality. They travelled to the Kirov Ballet by Laundry van and paid the driver for the 3 hour trip with 2 packets of Camel cigarettes.
A very interesting talk Karinna
