Some Russian kids....

By Regis Tremblay

Here’s the second in my series, Who Are These Russians? These are high school students from The School of the Future in Yalta, Crimea. I love these kids and hope you will too!

They were so excited to meet an American and practice their English. They take it for several years in school and are very competent and articulate. Meeting them and touring their school was one of the high points of my trip to Russia in May.

I am quite confident that if more Americans could visit Russia, we would discover that they are just like us. They do not want war. They want to be friends with us, and nearly all said they would love to visit America. Citizen diplomacy is much more effective than that practiced by our government.

Video by Regis Tremblay, Independent Filmmaker, Brunswick, Maine

[Regis recently made his second trip to Russia and will be releasing a series of videos about the people he met while there.  See his first video interview here.  He is going back to Russia again in September with a large group organized by the Center for Citizen Initiatives.  Regis will make a video about that delegation's visit to meet with Russian citizens.  This kind of citizen diplomacy between the west and Russia is needed now more than ever as the US wages its propaganda war against every thing Russian.  Not a day goes by where there is not a story in the mainstream media that demonizes Russia.  Just yesterday there was such a story in the Sports section of our local paper.  This does not just happen by coincidence.  It is an orchestrated campaign that is impacting the hearts and minds of most American people - including many on the 'left' who have little connection or information to counter these mind-washing programs.  You don't have to agree with every word coming out of Russia but at least can begin to understand nuance. It is up to each of us to learn to shield ourselves from the propaganda barrages that demonize countries before we go to war with them.  The modus operandi is clear - we saw it in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria and now see it with Iran, Russia and China.  See the writing on the wall....]

Bruce