why? because he is a wisest gender male who amuses mrs. close, discriminates against children based on behavior, whereas red, which is a communist color, makes children sit on his lap, makes people destroy trees and exploit sales. to sorry, kids center is not coming to town anymore. i follow these instructions, stick to the spirit of christmas. you decide. oh ah mm mm mm.

hello and welcome to well, to part a russian outage has it that one can take the girl out of the village, but never the village out of the girl. the story gets even more complicated when the girl grows into the states woman and the village into one of the world's most entitled countries. what it's like to acquire russian citizenship after the life of public service to the united states for america, ought to discuss that. i'm now joined by suzanne massey, former adviser to president ronald reagan on russian affairs matter. massive grade to sir, it's a big on our big privilege for me to talk to you. thank you very much for inviting me. we are recording this conversation on the eve of our new year, and i'm sure him to come to bring some novelty into your life. because as far as i know you're about to receive a russian passport. yes, but i have only one reason. i white book, i am a writer,

i've written 7 boats. 5 of them are about russia. one of the things i was wanting to do, and it's the only reason this is happening is because i wanted to be able to write my next book, which i'm working on right now here. and not have to wait and in and out. the should be able to come in easily stay as long as i needed to, to do my work and go out. and that is why i have a russian fresh boy. i call it a russian past ford because i am a swish citizen. i am an american citizen, and i am very happy to join that chill russian. sir, you described yourself as a writer, but i'm sure he's you're being very humble here because you're not just a writer. you're a person who's done a lot for the bilateral relationship between our countries, even though you did it in your private citizens capacity. don't you think that this

decision of yours to require the russian passports, for whatever reasons, even for the reasons of convenience or will long produce some uproar in your own country? it definitely will. not, because i had informed the americans from the beginning. i don't lose my american citizenship. i happened to be the daughter of a diplomatic swiss family. i was born in new york because my father was beginning, his career in unit is said as a swiss. so as was diplomat, i have all my relatives in switzerland, french was my 1st language. i studied in friends, i absolutely consider myself as citizen of many countries and of the world. i would like to be. well, as you just said, you were born in the united states to the family of us was diplomat. you started in this or born, so i assume you have been pretty cosmopolitan throughout your entire life. but even

such a worldly person as you should have, i think, would have a notion of home. what does home mean to you and where is it not just geographically, but let's say so fully. we to a point of you to that my, my, my actual living place happens to be in the state of maine, which is, as you will know, the, the state closest to canada in the united states. it is a fishing town. and on the atlantic ocean, i have been there since 6 years old. when i would go there in the summers. now i have a house there which is a copy of pushkin's house in the isle of square. i build it that way. we my heart o. m is in petersburg and i began in petersburg. i love petersburg. i have a very small apartment in petersburg and that is where i work and that it now

are an american applying for arm. russian citizenship is still quite a rarity this days. i don't have the most recent stats, but in 202148 americans received the russian passport, which is still only a fraction of the russians are applying for the american citizen. i'm sure there is . what do you think russia could do more or perhaps do better in order to attract people like yourself? the 1st thing is my position has remained the same all these many years. i have been very fortunate to know as many russians who have afforded their friendship, their help and help in my work as well. but i also, of course, have many friends in america, american citizen, they, i love americans, and i think the 2 peoples are very suited to each other. that is my personal view. and my personal view is that we're is,

is more important in my view, important than ever that split that you are, the united states and russia develop a constructive relationship. because i think if we can do that and i'm hoping we can, it would be better for the whole world. now i think some of your life experience could contribute to that, because our assert and, and peter, if you were instrumental to humanizing the relationship between our 2 countries. but let's start from the beginning because it is, you written many books, but i think you're all la storia really reads like a novel. you 1st came to russia looking for more information about him ophelia, a red blood condition that i think your son and the, the son of the last russians are well, yes, they did do share their but hemophilia in him of failures. pretty rare. usually it is a pass down in families, but every country has

a certain number of hemophilia who are born for no reason at all. i just, i phone want to say scientifically, it took recruit repressive. i never say the right word, wrist gene. in other words, all the same affiliates should be dead, but they're not. they keep reappearing occasionally in every country. well, as it turned out, i have in the get one to but it is very rare. it, i mean rich considering and for me in my swiss family, we had, i had 22 male 1st cousins, impossible. and i was dentist to be a spot where they go, a spontaneous a case. and that's what our, as far as i understand, brought you to leningrad back in the late 19 sixty's. now i think by any account, a american lady appearing in saint petersburg or leningrad at that time to do

research and hemophilia is i wasn't there in your that wasn't doing any which often hemophilia. there was nothing to learn here at all. we came because my husband and i are writers and we did what we did was write a book about the him ophelia and its effects. on, of course zealous are and his wife, alexandra. so we were coming for one reason only, which was to see for the 1st time the capital word 1st happened. at that time, there was nobody in petersburg, it was a dark city, and there were no cancels, there was nothing. and so we arrived and we were allowed exactly 3 days by the government of because we were individual travelers and we were there i,

i had never been to rush her and i and we were, i was planning to do all my work. since i speak french and i wrote french better than english at a time. and i went to universities in paris and i thought, and i got a very large scholarship from the french government to, to go to a very well ill at the french, a very particular about their language at inner city. so i thought my life was going to be influence always. and then i came for the 1st time to russia to see fittest for i'd never been here. i didn't know anybody, but i will tell you that when i got off the plane, i sniffed the air and i said, i like it. now i don't know why i said that, but that's my 1st reaction. i like it. well, when i looked at the cathedral, i said the same thing like it. then i said to myself, somebody will find me. well,

somebody did a poet, found me in the palace and that led me to all the poets. and r is, let me ask you about that, because i know that you met many of the russian dissident writers personally and are actually, you know, how much they are suffering from either being in exile after they immigrated to the united states or being ostracized here at home now, as you say at times at different, now you don't have to give up your american citizenship. you don't have to limit yourself in any way. but i wonder if in a way, you're also living out a bit of a dissident. i fade because receiving a russian citizenship at this period, he sort of parent is a bit scandalous. i know you want to down play if you don't see anything political to it. but it's still, there's still an open question about how it's going to be received given, especially i have announced that i have told our counsel,

everybody knows this is not a secret. and everybody knows why. and everybody knows also that all my work, i mean my writing and everything is taken place in the last years here. and why is that? because my goal is always to try to explain russia better than many americans know it. i don't mean better could, but simply more completely than they do and that's what i did. and that's why i wrote the books i've written because americans, alas, there are many americans who don't know much about you and just don't know you. and i think that's a great loss for those people myself. i try to re educate them a little bit. now you're being very humble about your legacy with you are not only a writer, you also advised the reagan administration in your private. it isn't capacity. we

just out standing because as far as i understand you didn't actually get paid for that. i didn't want to get paid for it because i, i happened to be swiss and this was have a good saying. whoever pays also decides the tune. well, i'm independent and i am really independent. and so i didn't want any limitation or any money from anybody. well, that's very commendable. but i'm wondering whether, you know, an american lady who has traveled down to the soviet union, who has written pretty warmly about that country as you did here. where are you received with any suspicion in america? no, i think i'm sure you know, this is a matter of a, the government. as a care, some parallels right here. the government is not the people. what has always interested me most in russia has been. then i wrote that ordinary people.

i mean, i met them 1st and i wished the poet they, i knew exactly. nobody knew them then at the time now. right now they are quite famous. i did do the 1st spoke about the put of lenny good is go the living there. they are 5 there and i believe me, it was not me who killed them. it was the best friend of martha. so i and that's where i can you, i'm very in, you know, influenced by that city. but i knew them as a matter of fact, in march of this year, there is going to be a forum at the university of st. petersburg about these boys who at the time were unknown and but that is true. they were unknown. they but i think no one is better to introduce you to a city than a poet. it's absolutely true as it is

a resident of st. petersburg. i absolutely, i tested that matter master. we have to take a very short break right now so that you can get it super water and thank you that we do run some advertising, but we will be back in just a few moments statement. ah mm. mm hm. well, well, be new year special kaiser report with the one and only gerald salenti, originator of the trans forecast man. no stuff. join me every thursday on the alex silent. sure. but i'll be speaking to guess with the world politics. small business. i'm show business. i'll see you then.

ah aah. holcomb back to wells far as this is on massy former advisors, your president, ronald reagan, on the russian affairs. matter. massey, you said before the break with you were primarily interested in, in the people to people, exchanges and developing ties between the people. but let's talk about politics a little bit, the politics of your time, because you managed to inspire one of the most powerful people on the planet at that time. i'm talking about ronald reagan and i read somewhere that he got

interested in your expertise after reading your book land of the firebird, the beauty of old russia, and i think to a russian, it's a very touching book because it's full of deep understanding and empathy for russia's historic plight, but i know that for example, i was under soldier, needs and had doubts whether it's going to be well received in the united wrote any letter, beautiful leather about it. he did, i had there they. i wept when i got it from him. i really did so beautiful leather and one of my most precious possessions. but did he doubt i read that? he had doubts that the americans, the american public would receive these book because of the british in this book. well, because of this sympathy that you know, it was that he told me very nicely, and he was all in russian. but he said that he thought that the passage of the book

might not be like, but that he hoped i would not change my blogger road and led to the genia to inform the rebel intention or honorable movement to inform the american public to have for me is to inform about russia to continue my a sort of information about russia and, and, and about russians. and he said, and that means also of 2 days. and i never forget that, as i told you, as the american public and the american forget the american administration of any kind. right now, it's put them oliver. and they're completely different. anyway, if you say, let's forget the american administration, but i want to focus on the ronald reagan a little bit because one of the things that surprised me the most is that a person in his capacity he was the present had the time and the interest to actually read a book about something, i mean, was it the future of the time or all for your way her's, lou,

i then our press used to live. they made an awful lot of fun about him because he was an actor as you know and. and they says it will, they never read anything. this was a pure lie. you have to know as much as i know about the background of ronald reagan. but ron reagan was not able to see when he was a child. and he was very near sighted. and he couldn't even see the leaves on the trees. he became a great reader, nancy, his wife told me that he never went to sleep at night without reading now. he was attracted, greeter attracted greeter. he read all kinds of things. now i know he did read all my votes. in the end, i even came after his presidency with nancy to visit fathers that i had written a book about. but he was a you,

i know that this is how he was called in america. he was a people 1st and of course he had hundreds of advisors politically, but he was an actor. he was interested in people, reagan was a man who could talk to anybody. that's amazing. he, he liked them and he could actually make anybody feel at ease. right. away in one of your interests here. earlier into this you said a, what i thought was a pretty counter intuitive thing that while most politicians are interested in appearances, he was as an actor. as a former actor, he was interested in sort of psyched, a psychological dynamics. what makes people tick? that's true, was it a genuine drive on his point or more of an effort to sort of the, to master the art of manipulation? no, i know ronald reagan, which is why he is now as you may know, one of the most popular president ever in the he 1st of all he was religious.

second me a very good percent of believer. secondly, he was totally honest. he really was, he was honest, he didn't think in terms of manipulation. unless you want to say than an actor can manipulate an actor. and it was really very true. he took care very seriously. an actor wants to know how people feel inside about everything. for instance, he was very interest interest in russian humor and he has been an irishman in the irish. oh, he's have a joke. oh, is he? he began almost every fee he ever gave with a job. so his treasury and i would bring some home with me every time i came do it, i would bring him. he loved especially as he said, the jokes it rose and sell about themselves. it was one he loved so much that he

repeated it so many times. this day, everywhere he was, he repeated this joke. he absolutely loved jokes. i learned a lot from him and for his speaking his concern. and i spoke, i have lecture to every single state in the united states and 3 military go, it is. and when people laugh, they tend to remember what you say. so i, and i found that that's really true. you it, you get the attention of people immediately when they laugh. he also knew how to make a compliment. i read somewhere that perhaps, or at your advice i, he, i made a decision to sort of complement the resilience, this trend, the beauty of the russian women. when he was preparing his speech for the soviet television. and, you know, it's interesting to hear the russian r woman, why do you think that angle was? well, i will tell you why it's very simple. remember, i was the only woman in the administration, o'regan now,

before the visit to moscow, the big important visit demonica. a group of the best soviet analysts enemy was asked to come to the white house to talk. everybody had 3 minutes, 3 minutes. they were all so important these gentlemen, that they had to be seated it alphabetically in a v. i was m. now m comes all the way around here, shall you see me sure is stuck in there. m. and then the biggest and most important professor at harvard was you and we're sitting right there. well, when men and these forms get together, they tend to use and lose them for a long speech or so the and then we had 3 minutes. each person, each one of them read a longs feet present was going to sleep. i really, he really was and when he got to me, i realize i had 3 minutes. so i said mister president, if i were a politician,

i would say something about russian women. i said they have been so strong. they have been so courageous. i and and he said, i believe you, i know he said, but he said when i say that, i always say that we would, we men would be in skins if it weren't for women. and but i get in trouble. he said for that, where he woke up, and yes, he said it 3 dimes. he kept saying it in the 1st time was even the funniest because he got here. and the 1st journalist asked him, and he said, i want to speak about russian women. and then when for only look for your geron was fine. he said, well, we, i go to, you know, he kept saying it. and he said 3 times he kept saying it all the time that the russian and actually took their hands e, they really didn't know what,

how the answer, you know, and, but it was the truth. i mean, i like to say only the truth and i knew very well how courageous russian women had been. look you to you from petersburg, anybody who's ever known anything about the 900 days knows about women and what they did out the russian women. i believe deeper. my heart up if it were the russian women that allowed russia to survive. russia is a she, even though we have a lot of our sort of protect her mentality among our men. and perhaps because of that, we have that protector mentality among our leaders. but generally speaking, russia has survived on the backs are of the women. i could not agree with you more i. i have had a chance to see it. i have very close friends in petersburg who are very if 1 may say the word ordinary, it's not that they're ordinary. they are just quiet. and i must say, i know that, and that's why i said it. cause i said, when i got there, mister president, had i,

if i were person i said i'd like to talk about a very different or the if i were present. i would talk about that and that's when he said, yes, i agree, but we get, i get the trouble for that. oh, it does say that he did. he was, he had that genius of knowing and he really was a genius. he was sensitive to people and anybody could talk to him. absolutely. anybody in here. when he asked her, he at suggested that garage of a look at the kremlin. so he asked go, rachel, a garage over as him up. how did you write the crewman? you were reagan said, he said, i like anything that are older than me. i'm sure even though you are trying to play down your role. i, you contributed to that. you've been a widely credited for helping to build bridges between our countries and our

cultures. and i think it wasn't easy back at the time because of the many fierce, legitimate tears and the stereotypes maintained in part because of the existence of the iron curtain. why do you think those fears and stereotypes prevail till this day if not large, despite the fact that we have technology and until recently we had open borders. we had 3. i know you'll gladly, i watch this very carefully. i'm very interested. listen, i had my trouble with borders here many. and so i know was it looks like, and i tell you, when i 1st got here, guess what the 1st question was. do you have pornography or the bible? well, you know, to look like somebody who with center room to russia were in any way. that's not the case also. ah, well, i can only tell you that what i did, i, i know what i did do, and that was

a reagan was interested in learning. and so i answered his questions. i did answer every question and, and as he was a reader, which not many people know, but he really read and when he started to read. so did nancy. they were both reading about russia, not just me, not just my books, but everything. and that is a good thing and it did. i'm a little bit proud of that reagan when he 1st came. he, he only did it once and i'm happy to tell you he never did it again when he met me . when he said there was, it was the core of all evil. you know that terrible thing as the it was at the of angelica's, she knew anything about the evangelicals, you know, how they feel about gummies. but in any case, he did say that and i know people here remember it, but i'm happy to say he never used it again,

and i'm happy for that and thank you for that matter. mess. we have to leave it there, but i hope that we can get more cultural ambassadors like yourself because party countries are definitely in benito. far humanizing it each other in each other's eyes and well, it's neither done. you're very human. you tremendously, you win. and i think it's a wonderful thing that you can help americans with for many reasons. but honestly you are, and i believe that we need each other more than ever now that just my feeling. but what i see there, and when i see here, i really do, i think you can bring an enormous amount and i'm not talking about weapons and all that it, it really, it's important that you and we are able to exchange our different talent. madam, as we have to live there, thank you very much for your work and thank you. i'm very glad to meet you and

thank you for watching up to syria again next week on. well the part ah ah, was with 2021 rapidly coming to an end to this time for some reflection. what will we remember about this year? how did our lives change also we look forward to the new year. what does 2020 to have in store for us? will we be live in interesting times?

ah, the news headlines from r t joe biden promises that the united states work deploy offensive strike weapons in ukraine during an hour long conversation with him. as the crisis of the country stretches towards the new year, one of the biggest issues of the past 12 months, vaccine inequality a leading charity lays that how poor countries struggle to inoculate against cobit while. wealthy. a nation lead big pharma read astronomical prophets undetermined to see in the new year where the bang gibbons fan from buying fireworks for a 2nd year because the copay flocked to poland to keep the party going. with .