ROANOKE – PSKOV & PSKOV OBLAST’ SISTER CITIES:

                                         A history of contacts, initiatives, exchanges & projects

 

 

 

In the fall of 1991, Mrs. Natasha Petersen, retired teacher of Russian of the city of Roanoke, Virginia, called together a group of friends and civic leaders to discuss the possibility of forming a Sister-City relationship with a city in Russia. After a good deal of research and contact with officials at Sister-Cities International, it was decided that Roanoke and Pskov, Russia would prove an excellent match.  Here follows a summary of activities between our cities to date. 

 

1992

 

May. Dr. Harry Wilson, Professor of Political Science at Roanoke College traveled to Pskov, Russia and met with members of the Pskov City Administration to present a proposal suggesting the formation of a Sister City relationship between Pskov and Roanoke, VA

                                                                                             

October.  A Pskov delegation, headed by Mayor Alexander Prokofiev, spent one week in Roanoke, where they stayed in the homes of various residents of Roanoke. At the end of the week an agreement of mutual co-operation was signed. Members of the delegation were welcomed and entertained at a “country supper” held on the farm of Sasha Saari, Associate Professor of Russian at Ferrum College.

                                                                                                         

1993

 

February. Two students of Russian from Ferrum College, Mike Adams and Todd Hamrick spent three months in Pskov.  They taught at the Pskov Pedagogical Institute, where they gave talks about American culture and assisted teachers in the English department.

 

March. An official Roanoke delegation of seven, led by Sister-City Chair Natasha Petersen, traveled to Pskov for a week’s visit During their visit members of the delegation visited the Polytechnic Institute, the Pskov Pedagogical Institute and several schools, as well as the Children’s Hospital and the Pskov City Hospital, where they delivered a large shipment of medical supplies.

 

June.  Dr. Larry Dennis, Director of Fetal and Maternal Medicine at Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital, and Dr. Hugh H. Wells, Neonatologist at Roanoke Community Hospital, visited the medical facilities in Pskov at the invitation of the Pskov City Government.

 

July. A delegation and a dance group from Roanoke participated in the annual Pskov City celebration.  Mayor David Bowers of Roanoke and his wife were part of the official delegation, which delivered medical supplies to the hospitals of Pskov.  Most members of the delegation and dance troupe stayed with local families.

 

Summer. Elaine Lopez and Elizabeth McGraw, two students of Russian from Ferrum College, taught English and American Culture at the Pskov Teacher Training College for a period of six weeks.

 

1994

 

March. Dr. Tatiana Pavlova, Director of the Pskov Children’s Hospital, Dr. Sergei Belyavsky, Pediatrician, and Valentina Korolyova, chief nurse at the Children’s Hospital, toured the medical facilities of the Roanoke Valley at the invitation of the City Government and the Roanoke-Pskov Sister City Committee. A reception in their honor, attended by members of the Sister City Organization, Major David Bowers and other local officials, was held at the home of Mr. Gordon Blake, Sister City Board Member.

 

May.  Under the leadership of Professor Sasha Saari of Ferrum College and Professor Harry Wilson of Roanoke College, students of Russian from both Ferrum and Roanoke College, along with ten Sister City members and Ms. Lesley Wilkinson of the United Nations, visited Pskov and delivered medical supplies to Pskov hospitals.  Most of the group members stayed with families of students and faculty of the Pskov Pedagogical Institute.  During this visit Dr. Anna Bizaeva of the Pskov Pedagogical Institute, was invited to come to Roanoke College for the fall semester of 1994 as a guest lecturer under the auspices of the Roanoke College Copenhaver Fellowship.

 

September-December.  Dr. Anna Bizaeva taught at Roanoke College, Salem, and Virgnia. In addition to teaching a course in Russian Culture, Dr. Bizaeva gave numerous lectures and talks in the college’s Department of Education, as well as at local civic organizations. Dr. Bizaeva stayed in the home of Sister City Chair Natasha Petersen during her three-month visit.

 

1995

 

Summer. A joint group of students of Russian from Roanoke College and Ferrum College spent approximately two months in Pskov during the summer of 1995.  Under group leader Tony Powell, they worked on the first stages of renovation of the ancient Snyatagorsk convent, while staying in the homes of local families.

 

Dr. Harry Wilson, professor of Political Science at Roanoke College and member of the Roanoke/Pskov Sister City Organization, spent a full year in Pskov, where he taught at the Pskov Pedagogical Institute and conducted several polls as a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship.  Jann LaCoss, a graduate of Ferrum College, spent the autumn in Pskov, where she completed research on contemporary children’s folklore for a PhD in Slavic Folklore at the University of Virginia.  This was accomplished under contacts made possible by the Sister-City Organization. Dr. Anna Bizaeva and other members of the faculty at the Pskov Pedagogical Institute provided Dr. LaCoss with valuable assistance and guidance during her several months in Pskov.

Her dissertation, Contemporary Russian Childlore: Coping with Change and Dissolution appeared in 1997.

 

 

 

Dr. Anna  Bizaeva was invited to Roanoke to participate at  the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Prokofiev’s “Alexander Nevsky Suite.”  She spoke to symphony patrons on the history and legend Alexander Nevsky, who is tied to Pskov history.  Forty students of Russian of Professor Saari from Ferrum College and Roanoke College, including Pskov student Oleg Vinogradov, presented a program of Russian traditional songs during the intermission of this sold-out performance.

 

1996

 

Ferrum College students Michael Christopher Catron, Barbara Jenkins and Bill Moore lived in Pskov for periods ranging from three months to one year.  They worked in a variety of schools where they provided help to students studying English.

 

 

April.  Dr. Ludmilla Stepanova, Director of Public Health for Pskov, and Dr. Yuri Petrov from the Mayor’s Health Committee in St. Petersburg, spoke at an International Health Care Conference at Roanoke College.  They were invited to participate by Roanoke College and by the Roanoke – Pskov Sister Committee.

 

May.  Dr. Hugh Wells and Ms. Jean Stephens, nurse practitioner, toured the medical and rehabilitation facilities of Pskov at the invitation of medical and city officials.

 

Summer.  A Delegation from Roanoke visited Pskov and delivered medical supplies.

 

1997

 

July. Natasha Petersen, Chair of the Roanoke/Pskov Organization, and her son, Don Petersen, spent one week in Pskov.  They met with Mayor Prokofiev and others from the City Administration, as well as with the Directors and others involved with orphanages in Pskov and Pskov Oblast’.

  

Summer. Ed Ewing, a Roanoke/Pskov Sister-City member, contacted the 4-H Educational Centre in Franklin County, Virginia, with the idea of having someone from Pskov teach at the 4H summer camp for youngsters.  As a result, Julia Alexandrova from Pskov spent an enjoyable period as a camp counselor at the 4-H camp at Smith Mountain Lake.  She taught classes on Russian Culture, Geography, songs etc. from June 8th until August 23rd.

 

1998

 

May. Dr. Anna Bizaeva was the 1998 commencement speaker at Ferrum College. To celebrate the occasion, members of the Ferrum faculty and staff, as well as members of the Roanoke Sister City Organization, attended a reception at the home of Sasha Saari.  During her stay Dr. Bizaeva also spoke at a meeting of the local Red Cross in celebration of the anniversary of the International Red Cross.  Dr. Bizaeva, herself a Red Cross member, described the work of the IRC in Russia and subsequently  The ROANOKER MAGAZINE ran feature photos of this occasion.

Before her departure, Dr. Bizaeva was given a check from the Roanoke Sister City for the purchase in Russia of a variety of items for children living in the orphanages of Pskov.

 

Summer. The Ferrum College Business Department, under the guidance of Department Chair Dr. Dmitri Tsanacas, sent a substantial shipment of business textbooks to the Pskov Pedagogical Institute for use in the new department of “Business English”.

 

 

1999

                                                                                                  

 July.  Sister City Board Members Gordon Blake, Associate Professor of Respiratory Therapy at the College of Health Sciences in Roanoke, and Sasha Saari, Associate Professor of Russian at Ferrum College, visited Pskov where Sasha conducted research on the Pskov School of Icon Painting.   Gordon and Sasha were warmly received by Alexander and Anna Bizaev, Mayor Alexander Prokofiev, Pskov Oblast’ Assistant Minister of Culture Golyshev and family, as well as other residents of Pskov.  Professor Saari and Dr. Anna Bizaeva visited one of the orphanages designated for help by our group, where they personally delivered a shipment of books.  Anna Alexandrovna also donated her own piano to this shelter.  Gordon, Sasha and Anna also visited the convent where Ferrum and Roanoke College students had worked in 1995, where they were most warmly received by the sisters.

 

                                                                                                  

November.  The Pskov-Roanoke Sister City Committee assisted Legacy International in hosting a ten-person business delegation from Pskov and the surrounding area.

 

 

Through the help of Duane Scott, a former pupil of Natasha Petersen and now an employee of Project Hope, our Sister City was able to purchase and ship  $200,000 worth of medication and medical supplies to Pskov.  In addition the Sister City, under the leadership of Board Member Ed Ewing, also purchased and included in the shipment both  “gently worn” and brand- new clothing and shoes for needy children.  Five hundred and four pairs of children’s shoes, ninety-four pairs of boots, two hundred and twenty eight pairs of socks and numerous items of clothing were cleaned, pressed, packed and added to the container.

            

Autumn. Dr. David Sulzen, a member of the faculty at Ferrum College, his wife Rima and their two children spent the fall semester of 1999 in Pskov.  Dave, under the auspices of a Fulbright Fellowship taught, at the Pskov Polytechnic and Pedagogical Institutes, while Rima worked in and with area orphanages and special schools as part of Ferrum’s Russian Internship program.   In addition, Rima represented the Sister –City Organization by receiving funds designated for the needy children of Pskov and by making a variety of purchases including medication, books, notebooks, plastic sheets, balls, toys and stuffed animals. The Sulzens also began the lengthy process of adopting two young girls from Pskov.

 

2000

 

July.  Natasha Petersen, accompanied by Sister-City Members Joyce and Walter Zahorchak, spent ten days in Pskov where they   purchased a wide variety of appliances, medicines, toys etc. for area orphanages and special schools.  These items included washing machines, a computer system, Xerox machine, assorted carpentry tools, material and sewing necessities, bed sheets, cooking pots and insulin for children with Diabetes.  Natasha Petersen, Joyce and Walter Zahorchak were received by Mayor Mikhail Khoronen and Alexander and Anna Bizaev.

 

 July a small group of students from Ferrum and Roanoke Colleges arrived in Pskov for a three-week period of intensive Russian lessons, cultural lectures, and excursions in and around the city.  Miss Olga Bizaeva of the Pskov Pedagogical Institute, and former participant in the Ferrum/Pskov exchange, supervised the students in their endeavors.  As part of their program they presented an icon of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco to the Nuns at the Snyatagorsk Convent.  This presentation was made possible thorough the efforts of Mr. Kelly Herrick, an alumnus of Ferrum College and a resident of Los Gatos, California, and based on a request made to Sasha Saari by a nun of the convent in 1999.

 

 

2001

 

Mr. Matt Dawson, a May 2001 graduate of Ferrum College, was named a recipient of a USA/Russia Young Leaders Fellowship in Public Policy, and departed in August of 2001 to spend a full year in Pskov.  Under the terms of this highly competitive program, Matt both studied at the Pedagogical Institute, volunteered at area orphanages, and acted as a conduit for humanitarian aid provided to the orphanages and special schools of Pskov by the Roanoke/Pskov and Pskov Oblast’ Sister City Organization.

 

March.  Mr. Alexander Bizaev, former Chief of the Foreign Office of the Pskov City Administration and now a member of the Administration of the Pskov Oblast’, was the keynote speaker at Ferrum College during Ferrum’s annual International Week.

A reception in his honor was sponsored by the Sister City Committee and held at Ferrum prior to his speech.

 

2002

 

July.  Charlie Crabtree, a student at Ferrum College, spent three weeks in Pskov in order to assist in providing humanitarian aid to area orphanages.  Charlie stayed with the family of Miss Dasha Savchenko, a student at the Pskov Pedagogical Institute, and a former participant in the Ferrum College/ Pskov exchange program. With the help of Matt Dawson, Charlie used funds provided by both the Roanoke Sister City Organization and  the Ferrum College Russian Club to make purchases ranging from soap and toothpaste to shoes, bicycles and skis for orphanages in the Pskov Oblast’.

 

 

From the beginning of the formal relationship between Pskov, Russia, and Roanoke, Virginia, the exchange program established between Ferrum College and the Pskov Pedagogical Institute under the guidance and support of the Sister City Organization, has been one of our most successful and enduring initiatives. The following Pskov students have received full scholarships to study for a semester at Ferrum College. These students have enriched both the community of Ferrum College and the wider communities of Franklin County and Roanoke County and City. They have spoken in churches, schools and to civic organizations. They have participated in performing arts groups and one participant even donated blood during a Red Cross sponsored “Bloodmobile”! They have helped make Pskov and Roanoke true Sister-Cities:

 

Oksana Demyanenko

Oleg Vinogradov

Alexsei Dmitriev

Olga Dmitrieva

Aliona Roshmendilo

Marianna Ivanova

Anton Golyshev

Olga Bizaeva

Olga  Ovsyannikova

Dasha Savchenko

Ksenia Arkhipova

Vera Sorokina

Irina Teteneva (fall semester 2002)

 

In addition, Vyacheslav Ivanov received a two- year scholarship from Roanoke College, from which institution he was graduated with a degree in English in May 1995.

 

 

We are very happy to announce the start of a brand new initiative in October 2002.  Wanting to leave behind a “good legacy” in Pskov, Matt Dawson laid the groundwork before his departure for the States for the opening of a “soup kitchen” for needy children.  With the cooperation and hard work of Tatiania Rumyantseva, Chief of the Foreign Office  of the Pskov City Administration, a Roanoke Sister City sponsored soup kitchen will open in Pskov in the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on October 1. Women of the church will feed twenty-five children per day and our organization will send  $300 per month to Pskov for the support of this endeavor.

 

Throughout this decade of contacts between the two cities, the Roanoke side of the partnership, receiving no governmental support, has relied on the creativity, generosity, and hard work of its members for financial support.  Our fund raisers have ranged from several gigantic “flea-markets,” to a concert of Russian music provided by well-known American husband and wife pianists, to an art-auction and reception, to several beautifully prepared Russian dinners (the latter two fund raisers under the able leadership of Ms. Mary Ann Conrad), to selling Russian candy at area festivals.  In addition, Board Member Ed Ewing continues to make one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry from amber which all of our travelers to Russia bring to him.  Ed donates all of his proceeds to our Sister-City.  All of us look forward to widening contacts and creating more opportunities for cooperation in the areas of education and health, culture and commerce between Roanoke and Pskov – a city that we have come to love.

 

 

 

Please note that the name of our organization has evolved from the Roanoke/Pskov Sister-City Organization to the Roanoke/Pskov and Pskov Oblast’ Sister-City Organization.

 

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