January:
The Board discussed the upcoming trip of Jerry Shaye and Vladimir Kuperman to Tula in February. There was a plan for them to meet with Sergey Torin at Tula Regional Development Corp., the Tula officials, the senior executives at Ingate, and the ATA friends. Jerry and Vladimir also tried to get an appointment at the Chamber of Commerce. They were interested in participating in an online business course that the ATA Business Development Committee discussed creating. The Business Committee also drafted letters to the Head of City Administration and Mayor in Tula from Mayor Sheehan. Above all they hoped to establish new and reestablish old friendships, renewing a connection with the universities. The Education and Culture Committee officially launched the 2020 Essay Contest. The deadline for the Capital Region contest was March 1st.
February:
Jerry Shaye and Vladimir Kuperman traveled to the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C. to meet with 4 friendly and cordial individuals including the Head of the Economic Section, Press Secretary, and Head of Education/Cultural Agency. Jerry and Vladimir thought it was a successful meeting and that they were well received because the ATA is working to present Russia in a favorable light and bring Russian culture to the forefront. They also discussed working together to honor WWII Russian veterans. Jerry and Vladimir thanked Anton Konev for helping to organize this meeting at the Russian Embassy. The essay contest is on schedule with Capital Region essays due March 1 st and Lanark essays due February 28th.
March:
Jerry and Vladimir discussed their trip to Tula. Jerry said it was a positive get-together of Friends of the Alliance with about 20 in attendance at LanArk. Jerry noted that they handed out prize money and certificates. Vladimir showed photos of the event. Jerry thought that people enjoyed it. Their next event was a meeting at Ingate with cofounder, Sasha. They were given a tour by Olesya Gulevskaya, an intern that came to Albany last summer. It was a very cordial meeting. Jerry felt that visits made to Russian Embassy in Washington DC helped with meetings with groups such as the Regional Government Economic Development Commission with Tula International Development Corp. They met with Tatyana who oversees culture, Vladimir head of the office, and Nikolay in charge of investment attraction. Jerry would like suggestions on how to follow up and work together. They also had a meeting where Sergey Torin works at Tula City Economic Development. Jerry hopes we could work with them to share best practices.
Jerry and Vladimir went to the US Embassy in Moscow to meet with James Golsen, the Senior Commercial Officer for the U.S. Embassy, and Jehan Jones-Radgowski, cultural officer. Jerry and Vladimir will help Mr. Golsen when he comes to the US to talk about opportunities in Russia. Vladimir said the main goal of the visit was to find out if we had someone on the Tula side who was interested or able to work on collaborative projects. If yes, the question was who would be the primary point of contact. Jerry and Vladimir had a lunch meeting with Yuri Agafonov at the Chamber. They were willing to serve as a contact and provide transportation, housing, and interpreter for another visit. Vladimir had a meeting at Tula Pedagogical where he met with Zhanna Fomicheva. She expressed interest in being involved in the Essay Contest and topic discussions. She also mentioned that they have a few Fulbright Faculty from the US and would like to invite others. They also want to promote the Russian language and culture. Vladimir also had a meeting at Tula State with the Head of the HR department and Victor, Vice Rector to Innovations. Tula State is interested in collaborations, but they must confer with others first. Vladimir also met with Olga who had previously visited Albany and stayed with the Buchanans. Her daughter is a political analyst in Russia. Vladimir will give Beth and Dawn her contact information. Vladimir also met with a group of businesspeople that he knows. They suggested contacting businesspeople involved in philanthropy and ask them how the activities of the ATA could match their goals for their nonprofit organization. Charlotte suggested that Vladimir and Jerry write to some of the philanthropists to tell them that we want to work with them and suggest some activities while asking for their feedback and ideas.
April:
The Albany-Tula Alliance had to retool the recognition of the participants of the Essay Contest with no reception this year. Dawn wrote them letters of congratulations. They are being sent certificates, checks to the winners, and bags. The judges this year were Dan, Paul, Dawn, Helen, Kate, and Beth. Jerry congratulated everyone involved and noted that there was a lot of enthusiasm on the Tula side. Dawn mentioned that the contests take a lot of effort and the judges hold a high bar for quality.
May:
The Board carried out a survey among its members to determine the future strategy of the ATA. The Board members summarized their thoughts about the ATA development in the future and goals to accomplish. Charlotte Buchanan said that we need to decide on a Chair and committee members for the ad hoc committee. Charlotte also discussed identifying 2-3 Tulans who are willing to be on the ATA Board to accept responsibility for things to be done in Russia and aid with miscommunication. Strategic Planning Committee was established.
July:
The strategic plan was presented to the Board. The strategic plan outlines questions: what we will do, what do we hope to accomplish, and how we will do it. Action plans will be developed for 9 strategies. They will be dynamic and will change once we start executing the plans. At regular Board meetings they can be changed, and a revised plan can be issued without more ad hoc committee meetings. A brief, concise mission statement was written. A statement of values and vision was discussed with board member input. The priorities are to improve the governance structure aided by finding a new Board Chair; build financial stability by finding a Chair for the Development Committee and recruiting members; and engaging Tula in activities. These three items serve as the foundation of the plan. Strategies for each committee are what we know how to do and develop further over the next year. The strategic plan includes a sample action plan. The dates that the tasks are due are Board meeting dates. For every goal, an action plan must be developed. The items from the action plan would be agenda items for each Board meeting. The PR Committee started working on building a new website and hopes to debut it before the end of summer or early fall, worst-case scenario. The Education Committee encouraged people to reread the summary wrote after participating in the Sister Cities Annual Meeting that was free and streamed. The Committee wants people to run with the ideas they think are good. Members noted that most foreign partners with other sister cities are city governments to help develop business contacts, trade, etc. Both cities enthusiastically think this works in both their favor.
September:
New members Ana Galeano, Mary Grondahl, and Elena Molchanova (from Tula) were approved to join the Board. The Education and Culture Committee modified the timing and other items of the annual essay contest. Instead of the traditional essays as in past years, it can be an essay, video, or other media to show their voice. The Committee hopes to expand the judging panel to include those with experience in other media. The prize money should be an incentive and want to increase it this year. Awards without having an in-person reception would save money. Judicious rubrics will be developed. A virtual, lively 1-hour reception will be held in the spring. Those associated with the schools will be invited and participants will give a short presentation to share their work. The essay topic for the year 2021 is: How could relationships among international communities be useful in responding to global crises?
October:
The ATA members participated remotely in a conference for the Center of Ecology and Culture held in Tula. Jerry Shaye presented a speech at the conference. Robert Willard discussed the Eurasia Foundation, an organization that focuses on US-Russian relations, which he received a grant from for his nonprofit. The Health and Environment Committee prepared a letter of interest with a potential project, involving Mikhail Budenkov as a potential partner.
February: The Business Development Committee accepted three candidates for the Professional Internship Program, Mikhail, Sergey and Olyesa. They’ll be arriving after their visa’s are granted.
Plans were well underway for the annual student essay contest, with coordination underway between the Albany Tula Alliance and educators from participating schools in Tula.
The Health and Environment Committee was prepared to launch a second short course connecting students in Tula and academics at the University at Albany. The online course was set to start on February 27th.
April: Plans were being finalized for Jerry Shaye and Sonja Stark to travel to Tula in May for a week. They will have a full schedule for the week reconnecting with old friends, introducing themselves to new members of the Tula City Administration and present certificates and prizes to the essay contest winners.
The second online course on environmental health was completed, there were 50 students from the Tula region with about 25 of them actively participating. Mikhail Budenkov invited Ed Fitzgerald and Dr. Xiabo Xua to travel to Tula in May.
The Albany reception for the essay contest winners was held at the Fort Orange Club, there were two Russian and three American dignitaries in attendance. Anna Boggess, a senior at Emma Willard School, won first prize. Amelia Colafati, a junior at Albany High School, was our second place winner. And Adam Aleksic, an AHS senior, won our third place prize. The event was considered a success.
May: Board members, Jerry Shaye and Sonja Stark spend 3 days in Tula and 2 days in Moscow providing certificates and award money to the winners of the 2019 Essay Contest at Lanark & the English School.
June/July: The ATA Business Committee, headed by Vladimir Kuperman, invites two executive candidates from Tula to participate in the second year of the Professional Business Internship opportunity: Olesya Gulevskaya, finance director for Ingate and Sergey Torin, Director of public and private partnerships for JSC, Tula Region Development Corporation. The candidates participated in classes, lectures, and meetings in an effort to bolster citizen-to-citizen diplomatic relations between cultures. They spent the first three days at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road attending the Basic Economic Development Course learning about the strategies and policies for international trade of products and services. Tickets were provided for attendance to the CEG Tech Awards at the Rivers Casino. Tours were also given of the Center for Economic Growth (CEG) in Albany, Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) in Saratoga Springs and Empire State Development (ESD) in Troy. Tourism opportunities included hiking in the Adirondacks on Independence Day and a weekend adventure in Manhattan. Board members contributed to lunches, dinners, entertainment, and overnight accommodations.
September: The Education and Culture committee started the planning process for the 2020 essay contest. Work also began on the 2020 Intern Exchange Program with the start of a search for potential candidates.
November: David Smith resigned as Chair of the board, Jerry Shaye was voted to fill the position.
December: Jerry read a letter from Sergey Torin, one of the Professional Interns that was here in June. He works for Tula Regional Development Corp. Sergey suggested that the ATA write a letter to the Tula City Administration to arrange a meeting at the city level. He also said that the Tula Regional Development Corp. is ready to meet with representatives from ATA to discuss investment promotion, participation in exhibitions/forums, development of industrial cooperation, concept of appointed investment manager which will serve as a single contact for interaction with municipal authorities, legal entities, professional communities and other possible areas of cooperation. Jerry and Vladimir began preparing a response. In addition Jerry and Vladimir are planning to visit Tula in February 2020 to further discuss the possibility of Ingate, a company in Tula, opening an office in the Albany area.
Education and Culture – Katya Filatova indicated students from Tula State University would participate in the annual Essay Contest.
Health – Ed discussed his planned travel in the Spring to meet with Mikhail Budenkov and colleagues to discuss potential collaborations to continue their work together. He plans to have Xiaobo Xue go with him because her specialty lines up with what Mikhail is interested in. Jerry asked if there was any possibly that they could go in February and possibly meet with Vladimir Zakharov while there. Ed will discuss it with her. Ed may have some left-over grant money that could be used toward travel.
January No meeting due to inclement weather
February David Smith and Anton Konev discussed a potential hockey exchange in May for youngsters born from 2006 through 2008. The exchange would require a team of at least 22. The Russian Embassy approached Anton because they wanted an American team to compete in the tournament, to be hosted in Novomoskovsk, a town near Tula, and sponsored by the Russian company EuroChem. The board approved $2,000 toward travel, contingent on certain conditions being met. Anton will keep the Board updated as the project moves forward.
The Board approved Beth Smith as a new Board member. Beth is the mother of Isaac, who is also on the Albany-Tula Board. Isaac Smith won a contest sponsored by the Alliance and has traveled to Tula.
March Chair David Smith gave a report on the hockey exchange. A meeting was held the previous weekend with a potential coach to discuss recruiting players. David will ask Anton Konev to provide an update. Also discussed were legal and logistical issues.
The Board voted to hire Mary Williams, current Board secretary, as a bookkeeper. This position is in addition to her existing administrative responsibilities.
David Smith asked board members to consider fundraisers and members for the development committee. Board members assessed past fundraising efforts and called for new ideas, possibly involving more grant-writing.
February The Alliance welcomed participants from Tula in a professional intern program. The interns visited computer-related businesses, software companies, human resource departments at businesses and public agencies, and a public relations firm, among others, per their individual interests. The interns and an older chaperone also took tours of notable parts of the Albany region, took advantage of local shopping and participated in social activities.
March The Alliance Board approved the appointment of Rachel Augustine to the Board of Directors unanimously. Rachel is the 2010 winner of the Essay Contest and traveled to Tula. The contest topic that year was what both presidents in Russia and the U.S. might address to improve the lives of their people.
June Jerry Shaye, longtime Chairman of the Board for the Alliance, announced he would step down after more than 10 years in the role. Other Board members were unanimous in their praise for Jerry’s outstanding leadership. The Nominating Committee proposed that David Smith, founder and president of LinguaLinx Language Solutions and a longtime Board member, become the next Chair and he accepted.
April:
Director of Legislative and Scheduling Affairs at New York State Senate, Anton Konev is unanimously voted on to the Board of Directors.
May: Essay Contest
July: The Board agrees to help fund an online health and environment class at UAlbany taught by Dr. David Carpenter. The “Online Short Course on the Fundamentals of Environmental Health Science” is translated by a Russian speaking graduate assistant and use of a software called VoiceThread. Topics include issues like water and air pollution, climate change, and how chemical and biological agents affect the environment. The course will run 1 semester for 5 weeks and include a certificate of completion rather than a course credit at no cost.
September: Vladimir Kuperman heads up the first year for the Professional Internship Program that encourages business professionals from Tula to live and intern in the Capital Region.
October: The new Russia Cultural Center hosts a fashion show with clothing provided by designer and friend of the ATA, Albina Mikhaylina. She’s offered an internship with a local Bridal Shop following the show.
Three interns are selected by the Business Committee for the Professional Internship Program: Anna Naumova, Advertising and PR at Ingate, Kira Kurakova, HR Director at Ingate and Dmitry Dremlyuga, owner of Geek Pro stores.
November: The 2017 Essay Contest topic is chosen: Compare the progress of Women’s Rights Movements in the U.S. and Russia over the last 100 years.
April ATA participates in the Freihopher’s 37th run for women by walking 1.8 miles through Albany city streets and neighborhoods.
February Launch of the 2014 Essay Contest. Topic question “How has social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) impacted modern Russian society?” kicks off with an Informational Gathering at the William K. Sanford town library. Former Essay Contest winner Rose Schneider and Education Committee Chair Barbara Webster present slide shows.
September Songs at Sunset fundraising event location switches locations and is held at the Fort Orange Club for the first time.
September An Open World Leadership delegation spend 10 days in Albany. Visitors include web editor and digital media director, Kseniya Grybkova, Engineer, Valentina Stepanova and Attorney, Yekaterina Gorina.
May ATA Educational co-chair, Dawn Weinraub and French and Russian language teacher Bonny Einstein (Shaker High School) spend several days in Moscow for the Zverev International Biennial Conference on American Studies at Moscow University. Weinraub and Einstein are invited to speak publicly with powerpoint slides at the conference. They address topics that promote cross-cultural understanding through Sister-City sponsored competitions and arts in the education program. Einstein opens up her engaging talk with a fairy tale poem by Pushkin.
May Russian guests Vladimir Andreev and Rector of Tolstoy State Pedagogical Vladimir Panin and Zhanna Fomicheva visit Albany.
September ATA becomes Instagram-ready!
October 2013 Russian Olympiad winners, Will Heatley of Tamarac High School and Margaret Keesee of Guilderland High School visit Tula, including Pedagogical University that celebrated 75 years. Head of Office of International Relations, Zhanna Fomicheva along with Vladimir Andreev and Irina Bolushevskaya work tirelessly to accommodate the visit.
December ATA hosts a Grand Reception before the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker performance. The holiday experience takes place at the Hampton Inn and Suites across the street from the Palace Theater. Local celebrity chef Yono caters gusts with Russian hor d’oeuvres.
February Television host, Phil Bailey of WNYT’s (Local NBS affiliate, Channel 13) of The Forum interviews Education Committee Chair, Barbara Webster about yearly activities.
September 2012 Student Essay Contest winners Haewon Hwang (of Guilderland High School) and Rose Schneider (of Ichabod Crane High School) visit Tula and Moscow. The duo wrote about Leo Tolstoy’s influence on the thoughts of world leaders and read their essays out loud to several students at Tula Ped.
October 10-day visit of 6 leading Russian educators from Tula’s two universities and the Education Research Institute. Highlights includes a tour of the State Capitol by New York State Assemblyman Jack McEneny and a trip to NYSERDA’s Saratoga Technology and Energy Park in Malta. Ruth Pelham of the Music Mobile program also helped entertain the guests.
October The Open World Program kicks off with a welcome party at the home of former ATA board member Mary Emerson and her husband Brian.
November At the invitation of Prof. Yuriy Chadaev, head of the Innovative Business Incubator at TSU, ATA Chair Jerry Shaye travels to Tula to visit Lyceum #4, a school enthusiastic for partnering with the ATA. Shaye visits the new Arms Museum of Tula.Previous tab
February The Alliance participated in the Third Annual Russian Winter Festival in Albany.
March Fundraising continues for our 20th anniversary celebrations including transportation, meals, tours and homestays for the Road to Paradise playwright and arranger and website improvements.
April Barbara Webster set up a very successful Open World visit with grant expenses going towards a visit with New York’s only Russian-heritage Assemblyman (district of Brooklyn). Andrei Kopylov lead the group. Judging of Olympiad contest winners culminated in winners David Connor of Tamarack (Yuri Gagarin) and Alessandra Pratt of North Warren (Catherine the Great). Essay Contest winners were also announced: Wyatt Smith of Ballston Lake and Vladisov Valyoshin of Tula, both who wrote about the impact of space exploration on world peace and technology advancement.
May A steel sculpture built by Steve Kroeger to showcase the ties between Tula and Albany was dedicated in Tricentennial Park with dozens of public officials and news outlets attending. Successful meetings between Rector Gryazov of Tula State University and Mel Chudzik of Union College and Ray Bromley, Director of International Relations at the University of Albany, continued through the month.
June/August A successful visit between members of the ATA and Russian Consulate in NYC including three officers of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce and the senior advisor to the Russian delegation to the United Nations.
September 20th Anniversary Exhibition opened at the Troy Arts Center with a special showing of the Memory Project video shot and edited by Sonja Stark and Tula filmmaker, Mikhail Tonyev. Songs at Sunset was on Sept 19th. Three contest winners accompanied by Lena Sullivan left for Tula on Sept 10th. Dr. Panin, Vice Rector of TSPU arrived on Sept 15th to speak with finance administrators and physics professors. Dr. Ed Fitzergald works with Tulan translators on scientific journals. Phil Nasca and Carol Whittaker prepare videoconferences with Dr. Mikhail Budenkov on drinking water safety. Business chair, Greg Johnson, videoconferences with Tula State University incubator. Jan Smith hosts 2 marketing Tulans doing internships. Jan and Dawn Weinraub meet with Father Olson of St. Basil’s church in Watervliet and Professor of Russian Studies, Nadia Kazenko at the University of Albany to discuss ways to make the Alliance more relevant to Albany’s Russian community.
October Jerry Shaye visits Kazan (on the Volga river) and Tula to teach a master class on business concepts to english-speaking graduate students at Kazan Federal University and TSU. While in Tula, he met with Zhanna to discuss details for Tula’s Tolstoy Conference aimed for Sept 2012 that would tie in perfectly with a visit by the winning students of the 2012 Essay Contest. Jerry also meets with Galina Prokhorova, head of the Tula Administration and Ilya Vesakov, head of Economic Development. Greg Johnson discussed Roman Rostislavov’s successful 14-day internship with the Schwartz Heslin Group. Carol Whittaker and David Carpenter chair a 2.5 hour videoconference about water problems in Tula between the Tula Chamber of Commerce and Industry administration representatives and the Albany City Water Department officials.
December A student team from TSU and Kazan Federal University begin creating information-gathering marketing reports for Capital Region companies wishing to do business in Russia: Environment One, BullEx, Digital Safety and Aeromed. A delegation of 9 University leaders tour the College of Nanosciences hosted by the RPI Center for Advanced Technology for Manufacturing.
February The Alliance participated in the Second Annual Russian Winter Festival in Albany.
February From Russia With Love, the Alliance’s winter fund-raiser, was a wonderful success – featuring a thrilling dance performance by the Varenka ensemble from Tula. More than 70 people attended.
March The annual essay contest resulted in 20 entries, with the two winners being Charlotte Storch of Bethlehem Central High School, and Rachel Augustine of Shenendahowa Hight School. Both winners visited Tula during the summer of 2010.
The Alliance hosted Alexander Khrupachev, a Professor in the Medical Institute of Tula State University for meetings with the University at Albany’s School of Public Health and Atmospheric Sciences Research institute, and the New York State Health Department’s Division of Environmental Health and the Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research. During this visit that a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize this partnership was signed. This document to promote collaborative research and on-going exchanges of faculty and students was signed by Mikhail V. Gryazev, Rector of Tula State University, and George Philip, President of the University at Albany.
April The International Olympiad administered by our Tula university colleagues got underway, and three teachers from Schenectady traveled to Tula to review the submittals of 249 students, in which they were tested in British and American English usage, and subsequently in American history, as well as in knowledge of the Capital Region. Two winners were selected, and will travel to Albany in early 2011.
October The Alliance sent a delegation to Tula to meet with city, oblast, and university officials and invite participation in the 20th anniversary celebrations being planned.
November With help from Schnectady School Librarian, Jim Schneider, Zoller Elementary of Schenectady hosts a SKYPE session between 8-9 year olds with Tulan teenagers of School #3. Dawn Weinraub served Tula cakes and Vladimir Kuperman finalized the connection from Tula. Sonja Stark made a video of the event including an interview with Jim Schneider available online at the ATA Youtube Channel.
February Work got underway in the creation of the commemorative sculpture in Albany’s Tricentennial Park, to celebrate the long and strong linkage between the two cities. The work is a six-foot globe, with a bridge connection Albany and Tula.
February The Alliance accepted a restricted donation to fund the creation of a grant program to support six young professors at our two partner universities in Tula.
February The Alliance played a significant part in the very successful first presentation of the Russian Winter Festival, a new and annual event in the Capital Region.
March Mayor Jerry Jennings of Albany honored the Alliance by accepting the position of Honorary Chair.
March Tula environmental science expert Svetlana Goryelova met during a New York stay of more than a week, with scientists and policy-makers in state government and academia, sharing research and information on her specialty of soil pollutants in roots and leafy vegetables.
March Maria Filatova of Tula spent more than two weeks in Albany, giving numerous lectures at local schools.
April Tulans Vladimir Fokine and Maria Filatova visited the Capital Region.
May U/Albany School of Public Health Dean Phil Nasca and Assistant Dean Carol Whittaker, visited Tula and carried out a number of high-level meetings relating to the development of cooperative research programs and exchange visits. Additionally, they lectured to a number of classes, as well as at a conference on rational uses of natural resources in development.
June The Alliance was happy to host the visit of Olga Svichtcheva, an engineer focusing on water resources.
June The Alliance opened its own Facebook Group, as well as a similar undertaking on LinkedIn.
September “Songs at Sunset” was again completely sold out and raised several thousand dollars for the ATA.
October Charlotte Buchanan traveled to Tula, where she met with a number of high-level members of the city administration.
February Work got underway in the creation of the commemorative sculpture in Albany’s Tricentennial Park, to celebrate the long and strong linkage between the two cities. The work is a six-foot globe, with a bridge connection Albany and Tula.
February The Alliance accepted a restricted donation to fund the creation of a grant program to support six young professors at our two partner universities in Tula.
February The Alliance played a significant part in the very successful first presentation of the Russian Winter Festival, a new and annual event in the Capital Region.
March Mayor Jerry Jennings of Albany honored the Alliance by accepting the position of Honorary Chair.
March Tula environmental science expert Svetlana Goryelova met during a New York stay of more than a week, with scientists and policy-makers in state government and academia, sharing research and information on her specialty of soil pollutants in roots and leafy vegetables.
March Maria Filatova of Tula spent more than two weeks in Albany, giving numerous lectures at local schools.
April Tulans Vladimir Fokine and Maria Filatova visited the Capital Region.
May U/Albany School of Public Health Dean Phil Nasca and Assistant Dean Carol Whittaker, visited Tula and carried out a number of high-level meetings relating to the development of cooperative research programs and exchange visits. Additionally, they lectured to a number of classes, as well as at a conference on rational uses of natural resources in development.
June The Alliance was happy to host the visit of Olga Svichtcheva, an engineer focusing on water resources.
June The Alliance opened its own Facebook Group, as well as a similar undertaking on LinkedIn.
September “Songs at Sunset” was again completely sold out and raised several thousand dollars for the ATA.
October Charlotte Buchanan traveled to Tula, where she met with a number of high-level members of the city administration.
January Vladimir Kuperman met with potential panel manufacturers for the prefabricated housing project in Tula. Kuperman also met with the Business Development Committee to update the business activities in Tula.
February Visit of Tulans Drs. Elena Orekhova and Vladimir Andreed to discuss foreign language instruction in the U.S. and Russia. Visits included Niskayuna HS, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Albany Research Library, St. Rose, and Shaker High School.
May “Shall We Dance?” with a professional show by the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Latham at Wolferts Roost was another successful evening.
May Grants were given to three assistant professors at TSU and to three assistant professors at TSPU.
June Benita Zahn, Channel 10 anchor woman; Sony Stark, camerawoman; Nina Reich; and Charlotte Buchanan traveled to Moscow and Tula, accompanied by Steve Lobel and Helen Figgie (who distributed a range of medical supplies provided by CDPHP). Benita and Sony produced three two minutes segments that aired on the evening news. The focus was on healthcare and the changes in Tula since 1991 and what the ATA has contributed to that. Benita and Sony also produced three 13 minute segments that were interspersed with commentary from professionals in the healthcare field who had been to Tula to make a hour documentary that was aired several times on WMHT-TV.
June Findlay Cockrell performed a number of concerts in Tula with several local musical groups. He and Marcia sponsored concurrent trips for three Capital-region young people who are members of the Capital String Trio, and they also performed for Russian audiences.
August Three teenagers from Tula, whose family paid the full camping fee, were campers at YMCA Camp Chingachgook on Lake George. Two young adults were camp staff members.
Fall The School of Global Commerce of Schenectady High School exchanged CDs of musical performances with School No 24 in Tula, and the students continued to exchange e-mail.
September Retired U. of A. professors George Hastings and Iliana Semmler were guest lecturers at the Tolstoy State Pedagogical University.
September “Songs at Sunset” was again completely sold out and raised several thousand dollars for the ATA.
October Barbara Jancar-Webster and the Education/Cultural Committee planned a program and facilitated many visits by four Tulan librarians sponsored by the Open World Program.
October Charlotte led her fifth tourism group to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Tula (and for the first time to Krakow, Poland). The trip of 13 people was completely successful and raised several thousand dollars for the ATA.
November A delegation from Tula, focused on environmentally caused health problems, spent time in the Capital Region to explore opportunities to work with counterparts here. The topic chosen by the Americans to explore was lead accumulation in infants and children. Former head of the ATA Health/Environment Committee Dr. James Figge also made some presentations in Tula.
Strong relationships have developed between SUNY Cobleskill and the Pedagogical University in the areas of early childhood development and tourism. Several Tulan students from the Academy of Tourism and the Pedagogical University has taken a tourism course and been placed for the U.S. internship by Cobleskill.
January “Songs at Sunset,” a fundraising concert with tenor Richard Miller, soprano Emalie Savoy, pianist Thomas Savoy and the Ft. Orange Singers, is presented at the home of the Buchanans.
Two MBA students from the Graduate College of Union travel to Tula to research and construct a business plan as part of their team’s development of a strategic plan for a prefabricated housing project.
SABIT Intern Tatiana Sudarikova arrives for a three-month internship with Empire State Development.
February SABIT Interns Igor Denisov and Alexander Gulyaev arrive for three-month internships at the Times Union and MySmartSimulations, respectively.
Two students from the Tula International Academy of Tourism, an accredited college-level institute, arrive to study for the Spring term at SUNY Cobleskill and then obtain internships in the field. One of the Academy’s goals is to market Tula as a travel destination.
March SABIT Intern Alexey Fedotov arrives for a three-month internship with SEFCU.
The Alliance distributed a Young Adult Reading List of Modern American Literature to students in Tula. It formed the basis for the upcoming essay contest.
April The annual fundraising event, “Shall We Dance,” features professional ballroom dancers and their students who dance for and with guests for an elegant evening at Wolferts Roost Country Club.
An all-day symposium, “Get the Lead Out,” is held at UAlbany’s School of Public Health to focus on the devastating effects of toxic environmental lead contamination, a problem common to both the Capital Region and Tula. A “mirror” conference will be held in Tula in October.
A delegation of ATA Board members and the Head of RPI Incubator travels to Tula to discuss plans and meet with Tula’s newly elected City Manager Albert Ukolov and some of his administrators. Relationships between Tula State University and colleges and universities in the Capital Region are deepened and expand to SUNY Cobleskill in fields of child development and environment as well as tourism. ATA hosts a dinner for alumni of the Open World and SABIT programs at which the new rector of Tula State University, Mikhail Gryazev, as well as former rector, now president Eduard Sokolov attended. ATA Chair Jerry Shaye presents awards for the jointly sponsored Young Writers Essay Competition at a festive ceremony.
July Tula Drama Theatre director Dmitry Krasnov arrives for a monthlong internship at Capital Repertory Theatre.
September SABIT interns Oleg Brakorenko and Evgeny Dyskin arrive for internships at Albany International Company and Albany Medical Center, respectively.
September “Songs at Sunset,” a fundraising concert with the Musicians of Ma’alwyck, is presented at the home of the Buchanans.
Dr. Valentina Shcherbakova, president of the Tula’s International Academy for Tourism, arrives for a weeklong stay at SUNY Cobleskill.
October A delegation of 11 travels to Tula for a variety of activities including perinatal and lead conferences, presentation of $5,000 in grants to two orphanages, and strengthening connections with Tula State University, Tolstoy State Pedagogical University and the business and artistic communities.
October Dean of the College of Business at the Union Graduation College, Melvin Chudzik was a guest lecturer at Tula State University and the Pedagogical University.
October Follow-up on the Oct. 2005 conference “The Read Child in the Modern World.” Hosted 8 librarians and 2 interpreters from Tula, including attending the NY Library Assn Conference in Saratoga Springs, tours of school libraries, St. Rose curriculum library, NYS Library, and the U. of A. Information Studies and School of Education.
January SABIT Intern Svetlana Kartinina arrives for a three-month internship in international trade with Empire State Development.
Psychologist Elena Bortuleva of Tula’s Valeocenter arrives for a two-week stay to learn about America’s experience in tobacco, alcohol and drug prevention work. She plans to integrate the experiences gained to develop an effective drug prevention project for the Tula teens.
March A delegation of Committee Chairs, Officers and the Administrator of ATA travel to Tula for planning with counterparts there. Tolstoy Pedagogical University presents a play in English based on O. Henry short stories. Chairman Jerry Shaye presents awards to the winners of the essay contest, Dr. Mark Hillman gives business seminars, Charlotte Buchanan gives a presentation on the “Development of Democracy in the US” at a conference hosted by the University of Law in Tula, and Barbara Webster gives two lectures at Tula State University.
April Dean Irina Batinina, head of the college of the humanities at Tula State University, and Prof. Sergei Pukhanov come to the Capital Region especially to draw on expertise in Marketing and Public Relations, a new major at the TSU.
The Lake George Opera apprentices donate a concert at a fundraiser at the home of the Buchanans.
The annual fundraising event, “Shall We Dance,” features US champion ballroom dancers and others who dance for and with guests for an elegant evening at the Franklin Ballroom.
May A maternal/infant conference is held in Tula with six physicians and two nurses from the Capital Region—led by Dr. Myron Gordon.
June Two camp staffers from Tula spend the summer at YMCA Camp Chingachook on Lake George.
July SABIT Intern Alexey Martemyanov arrives for a three-month internship at MySmartSimulations in Saratoga Springs.
August SABIT awards six new internships, which will be completed during 2005-2006.
September The newly designed website, contracted with Demidov’s Style Company in Tula, is up and running.
October Prof. Lyudmila Sedunova, professor of music at Tolstoy State Pedagogical University, spends two weeks visiting local schools and universities to gain knowledge of American music education.
Local school librarians Rita Moore of Schenectady’s Central Park Middle School and Mary Emerson of Tamarack Middle / High School travel with Barbara Webster to Tula to participate in a conference, “The Reading Child in the Modern World.”
SABIT Intern Sergey Kukushkin arrives for a three-month internship at Autotask.
Alliance Chair Jerry Shaye travels to Tula to present seminars in business.
November SABIT Intern Alexey Melnikov arrives for a one-month internship at Albany’s Ft. Orange Club
Nine business people, under an Open World Leadership grant from the Library of Congress, spend a week in the Capital Region for business and economic development.
January Rector Sokolov from Tula State University visits with a focus on environmental issues.
SABIT Intern Daniil Fridzon arrives for a three-month internship with the YMCA in Guilderland.
March Professor Zinaida Chebotar, an expert in methodologies of teaching mathematics from Tolstoy State Pedagogical University, learns and teaches in the Capital Region. She is hosted for one week by the Alliance and one week by the College of Saint Rose.
Professor Olga Zaslavskaya, an educator with a specialty in teaching the gifted, spends a week with our professionals.
Professor Vladimir Fokine spends two months working with professionals in the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany developing a new curriculum for training social workers, and another curriculum for social workers focused on gerontology. He brings copies of the book he edited of American and Russian professors of social and gerontology work, which is being distributed throughout Russia.
April The Alliance honors the Times Union and its leaders for safeguarding the first amendment.
May SABIT Intern Sergey Plakhov arrives for a three-month internship with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.
June The winners of the essay contest at the Pedagogical University and Gymnasiums in Tula and the University at Albany and high schools in the Capital Region are awarded their prizes.
Morgan Mandeville, who just graduated from Skidmore College, had a two-month internship in the City Administration in Tula.
Dr. Myron Gordon, Ob/Gyn, goes to Tula to make arrangements for the maternal/infant conference to be held in Tula.
July The fourth SABIT Intern in 2004 from Tula, Anna Troshina, arrives for her internship at SEFCU.
September “Songs at Sunset,” a fundraising concert donated by tenor Richard Miller, is presented at the home of the Buchanans.
The Yasnaya Polyana Balalaika Ensemble and Baritone Vasiliy Ovsyannikov give daily concerts in Capital Region Schools as well as other local venues for a week. An appearance on WAMC-FM is broadcast live to WAMC’s seven-state listening area.
Professor Igor Bushujev of the Tula branch of the Moscow Law Institute arrives for a weeklong stay, visiting and lecturing at Albany Law School.
November SABIT Intern Evgenia Federova arrives for a three-month internship at the Times Union.
April “Tolstoy in Love,” an original play written for this occasion, is presented at Capital Repertory Theatre as an artistic and fundraising event and includes the auction of children’s art from Tula.
Seven specialists from the Capital Region and two nationally recognized experts in gerontology present at a gerontology conference in Tula, with continuing plans for ongoing relationships and the beginning of a gerontology center at the Tolstoy State Pedagogical University.
May Eight businessmen/women and two facilitators from Tula go to Washington, DC for two days and the Capital Region for eight days of exposure to American business practices through the Library of Congress Open World grant.
Three obstetricians from the Capital Region go to Tula to perform a needs assessment in maternal/childcare issues.
September Irina Ignatova of the Pedagogical University arrives for a month-long stay to experience American life as she develops a course to teach American Culture.
November The Alliance hosts eight participants, two facilitators and an interpreter under an Open World Leadership grant from AED in the field of environment.
February The Tula-Albany Alliance office opens with part-time staff in the Hotel of Demidov’s Style in Tula, contributed by the Company of Demidov’s Style.
A semester-long course of law at the Institute of Law in Tula begins with presentations by eight professor of law from Albany Law School, who make sequential trips to Tula.
The Education Center in Tula begins, with a focus on marketing distance learning and university degrees from the Capital Region to Russians, particularly in business and information systems. (However, it really never got started.)
March The Yasnaya Polyana Balalaika Ensemble and baritone Vasiliy Ovsyannikov give daily concerts in Capital Region Schools and other venues for two weeks.
An informational and photographic display of Tula opens for a three-month exhibit at the Albany International Airport showing the relationship between the Capital Region and Tula.
April An art and music exhibit, “American National Traditions through the Eyes of Russian Children,” is presented in Albany, with paintings of American fairytales and traditions created by students in Tula.
Tenth anniversary celebrations begin:
Albany Law School presents James F. Collins, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, with an honorary doctorate degree.
Ambassador King is keynote speaker at the evening celebration.
The Yasnaya Polyana Ensemble and Baritone Vasiliy Ovsyannikov perform.
Igor Konorev, Chief Judge for the Tula Oblast, spends two weeks in the Capital Region learning about the US jury system, which will be implemented in Russia for criminal cases by January 2003.
May Albany Law School hosts eight judges from Tula for a week-long training session in the jury system and observation of the US court system.
Troy Savings Bank underwrites a concert by the Empire State Youth Orchestra and reception at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall to benefit the Alliance.
June English majors at the Tolstoy State Pedagogical University produce “Tom Sawyer” in English.
The “Romantic Russia 2002” tour takes 14 Americans for a trip to St. Petersburg, Moscow and Tula.
An appeal for the Tula Municipal Orphanage raises over $5,000 to purchase two washing machines, a refrigerator, clothing and bedding.
August The “Classic Russia 2002” group of 14 Americans attends the 10th anniversary celebration in Tula. Festivities include beautiful music jointly performed by Tulans and Findlay Cockrell and Cathie Gifford from Albany.
Professor Vladimir Fokine, Chair of the Department of Social Work at the Pedagogical University, presents copies of his book, the first “how-to” book on gerontology written in Russian for social workers, with contributions from specialists at the University at Albany, and sponsored by the Alliance.
The Alliance House reopens in a new location with four bedrooms.
September A hypertension project, funded by the Alliance, is implemented at the Polyclinic at Hospital #1 in Tula. Positive results with patients occurred with medication and life style changes based on education of patients.
The College of Saint Rose and the Tolstoy State Pedagogical University begin exchanging professors.
The first of three business seminars, each for two full days, is presented in Tula. Five presenters will focus on business organizations, marketing, human resources, public relations and team building.
October Eight health care professionals and policy makers, under an Open World Leadership grant from the Library of Congress, spend a week in the Capital Region.
February The US Department of Commerce announces the third SABIT grant to the Alliance to bring Tulans to the Capital Region for training in business in a free-market economy.
April Twelve leaders of not-for-profit organizations in the Capital Region go to Tula to participate in a non-government organization (NGO) conference with leaders of approximately 30 similar organizations in Tula. The US Embassy in Moscow sends the Cultural Attaché to attend.
A fashion show, featuring the designs of Tula fashion designer Albina Mikhailina, is presented at Schuyler Meadows Country Club.
May A fundraiser, “Songs at Sunset,” is held at the home of the Buchanans and features tenor Richard Miller and soprano Cathie Gifford.
June A Tula middle school teams with Maplewood School in Colonie to participate in theTimes Union annual stock market game and comes in 5th out of 1,300 contestant teams.
September The international education seminar group from the Capital Region holds a seminar in Tula to discuss the preparation of American teachers and education for the future.
October The Alliance sponsors “Romantic Russia: Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and Tolstoy,” a tour to St. Petersburg, Moscow and Tula.
November The Tula State University grants the tenth honorary doctorate in its 70-year history to Charlotte Buchanan, the first woman and the first foreigner to receive such an honor.
January Business internship begins the start of offshore computer programming, which benefits Capital Region companies as well as Tula, without taking jobs from qualified Americans.
April “Petrushka’s Street Fair,” an art show of the gift from Tulan art students of their paintings based on Russian fairytales, is presented at Emma Willard School with many performing artists throughout the day and evening.
May The winners of the Young Writers Competition, a university writing contest are announced. Tulan college students wrote in English on the topic of Mark Twain. Capital Region college students wrote in Russian on the topic of Tolstoy.
October Jr. Achievement Companies in Tula join with a Jr. Achievement Company in Scotia to create a global company.
A project is begun which will develop cooperative educational college programs and market Capital Region colleges and universities to Russians.
Chancellor Robert King of SUNY and President Karen Hitchcock of the University at Albany agree to be honorary chairs of the yearlong celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Albany-Tula Alliance.
The Young Writers Competition, in English by Russian students at the Tolstoy State Pedagogical University and in Russian by American students at the University at Albany, will be extended to high school students in Tula.
March A second educator participates in the Civitas Institute.
April Two cosmonauts, one from Tula, visit many schools in the Capital Region and participate in Space Week at RPI.
The Yasnaya Polyana Balalaika Ensemble performs Russian music to thousands of students in the Capital Region schools and participates in the Alliance’s gala event, “1999: A Space Odyssey.”
Dean Thomas Sponsler of Albany Law School makes his first trip to Tula to lecture and to initiate the growing relationship between the Albany Law School and Tula’s Institute of Law.
July A delegation from several colleges, governmental units and business from Tula come to Albany to work with professionals from the Capital Region on a grant proposal relating to the need for more and better water in Tula.
October Funds for drugs for hypertension are sent to Tula and a controlled study performed , resulting in an excellent report concluding that medication and education makes significant differences in persons with hypertension.
A visit by chair of the sociology department of Tolstoy State University, Professor Vladimir Fokine, to Rockefeller College of SUNY results in the publication of one of the first “how to do gerontology” books in Russia.
Alliance Chair David Carpenter announces receiving a grant for International Training in Environmental and Occupational Health. Dr. Carpenter selects Tulans to help with this grant.
About 100 people in Tula use software from MapInfo.
March A professor from Tula arrives for participation in Sage Colleges’ CIVITAS program.
August Two environmental teams, one each from the Capital Region and Tula, work on a proposal for an environmental grant to help clean up severe pollution in Tula.
September Attendees at the Tolstoy Conference in Tula celebrate Tolstoy’s 170th birthday anniversary as well as participate in academic exercises.
Artworks by Arlene Peartree are exhibited and sold as a fundraiser.
October Contributions for Tulan orphanages are sent to Tula, which has only about 20% totally healthy live births.
Nikolai Shurukhnov, Rector of Tula’s Institute of Law, and his deputy Alexander Pushkin, participate in a Civitas/Russia Conference on Civic Education held in Samara, Russia, under the auspices of Sage Colleges.
November The Alliance’s website is initiated—www.albanytula.org.
September The Albany-Tula Alliance House, with six bedrooms, is established to accommodate visitors from Tula.
October Tula State University acknowledges to Chairperson Linda Scatton that its Department of Environmental Health and Ecology owes its existence to inspiration and help from the Alliance.
January Rector Eduard Sokolov of Tula State University and Rector Nadezhda Shaidenko of the Tolstoy State Pedagogical University visit Capital Region colleges and universities.
February Tula sends a gymnastic team to participate in the international competition at Yury’s School of Gymnastics. The team performs in schools in the Capital Region.
April The junior high school class from the Maplewood School takes a trip to Tula to visit their sister school, Gymnasium No. 1.
The Jazz Ensemble of the College of Saint Rose performs in Tula.
Findlay Cockrell makes the first of many trips to Tula to perform with their musicians and teach students.
May Good primary outpatient care is provided in Tula to over 60,000 people with the success of funding efforts to help Tula build and equip an outpatient polyclinic for the managed health care initiative.
June The Soros Foundation announces it will give $1 million to Tula State University for computer technology for the city. Tula provides the infrastructure to support it.
July “Seeds for Democracy,” a fundraising birthday party for the 850th anniversary of Tula is held and hundreds of packages of seeds, as well as funds, are contributed.
September Hon. Cliff Wharton, former chancellor of the State University of New York and former Under Secretary of State, makes a presentation at the Albany-Tula Alliance Breakfast.
Professors and others from the Capital Region participate in the Tolstoy Conference in Tula.
October A delegation from the Capital Region goes to Tula to participate in the 850thanniversary of the founding of the city. Jack Aernecke of WRGB-TV produces a half-hour film on Tula.
Two scientists from Tula spend two months at Albany Medical Center focused on environmentally caused health problems.
February With the help of the Alliance, USAID awards Tula a grant to begin the development of managed care within Hospital #1—a multi-year project led by Dr. Robert Chodos and Warren Paley.
April Physicians as well as specialists in information technology and insurance come from Tula to Albany for training in managed health care.
The Puppet Theatre from Tula brings the set and puppets to perform “Little Red Riding Hood” in many Capital Region Schools. The Tulan group conducts puppet-making workshops at Albany High School and gives the puppet staging and puppets for “Little Red Riding Hood” to Emma Willard School, which hosted its stay.
May A delegation from the Capital Region participates in Tula in the 50th anniversary celebration of the end of World War II. Art from students in the Capital Region is given to Tula.
October A container load of good quality used hospital beds and equipment is donated by area hospitals and nursing homes and is shipped to Tula.
November Dr. James Figge, an endocrinologist, spends time in the Tula Region studying the effects of the fallout from Chernobyl on the Tulans, which resulted in an epidemic of thyroid cancer in children and adolescents.
Another of many shipments for the Family-to-Family program—112 individual boxes, plus medical equipment—is sent to Tula.
Capital District Physicians Health Plan underwrites printing of holiday cards for sale which feature paintings by Tulan students.
April The “C” Street Jazz Ensemble of the St. Cecilia Orchestra performs in Tula.
The first of several groups of farmers travels to Tula to share farming techniques and seeds.
August Tula sends a gymnastic team, which performs in many Capital Region schools.
September The first grant is awarded to the Alliance from the US Department of Commerce’s Special American Business Intern Training Program (SABIT), which results in bringing more than 30 businessmen and women from Tula to train in local companies for periods of one to six months about doing business in a free-market economy.
October The world premier of a new work for orchestra and balalaikas, commissioned by the Albany Symphony Orchestra, is performed in Albany and Troy by the Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Yasnaya Polyana Balalaika Ensemble. For ten solid days the Balalaika Ensemble plays to thousands of students in Capital Region schools.
The Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Alliance co-sponsor the Grand Symphony Ball, at which the Consul General of Russia is honored.
December $8,000 worth of needed medications is given to Tula.
November Maude Baum takes EBA Dance troop to perform in Tula.
August An official delegation travels to Tula for the signing of the proclamation declaring the City of Tula and the City of Albany twins. The document is signed by Mayor Whalen and Mayor Tyaglivy.
Two students begin to study at the College of Saint Rose for their MBA degrees which they will receive in 1995. More college students from Tula will attend the University at Albany, Hudson Valley Community College and the College of Saint Rose in later years.
September The first teacher from the Capital Region goes to Tula to teach English for nine months. Many teachers and newly graduated college students will teach in Tulan universities for periods of two weeks to nine months.
January The Albany-Tula Alliance, Inc. is incorporated.
February Directed by Ray Joyce, 16,000 pounds of clothing, food and medications are airlifted from the Capital Region to Tula. Later six additional shipments go directly to organizations in Tula, such as the local hospitals.
March The first delegation from the Capital Region goes to Tula.
April The Family-to-Family program is initiated. About 200 families in the Capital Region are connected with families in Tula. Packages are shipped to Tula
July Educators from Tula arrive in Albany for a conference on education.
August A 16-year-old violinist from Tula studies with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Saratoga.
October The Alliance hosts Tulans for a Friendship Conference.
Laura Chodos mounts the first of several art shows from Tulan children. The show travels to schools, nursing homes and hospitals.
November The Friends of the Albany-Tula Alliance is established.
September Mayor Thomas M. Whalen III and Charlotte Buchanan establish a steering committee and the City of Tula, Russia, is chosen as a sister city. Mayor Nikolay Tyaglivy of Tula eagerly accepts the hand of friendship.