Word: raisa
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...West, Raisa has earned high marks for her breadth of knowledge. At a private party given by Washington Hostess Pamela Harriman, the widow of Averell Harriman, who was U.S. Ambassador in Moscow from 1943 to 1946, Raisa discussed the U.S. Supreme Court with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and brought up the inner workings of Congress with Senators Barbara Mikulski and Nancy Kassebaum. However, Mikulski later said that "Mrs. Gorbachev is like an East European professor who speaks in paragraphs. There is no free exchange with...
...same trait was observed in early May by Arthur Mitchell, director of the Dance Theater of Harlem, during the company's Moscow tour. "She's charming, articulate and bright," said Mitchell after a 20-minute backstage chat with Raisa. "But you know when she asks a question that she has an opinion of her own and wants to see if you agree with...
...diligence can sometimes be charming. During a visit to Czechoslovakia in 1987, Raisa kept behind Mikhail and conscientiously repeated, "Thank you so much for coming," as they worked the crowd. In Prague she noticed that the General Secretary was about to overlook a young boy. "Mikhail Sergeyevich," she said in her high-pitched voice. Her husband turned around, greeted the child and invited him to Moscow. Her thoroughness can be irritating too. At a State Department lunch in Washington, Raisa upset Secretary of State George Shultz by having a brief conversation with each of the 180 people on the receiving...
...such idiosyncrasies are generally overlooked in the West, her audience at home is more critical. Asked to give their opinion of Raisa Gorbachev, some Soviets roll their eyes and choose their words carefully. "I'm with her because I think women should take a more active role in our society," says a young woman named Anna in Moscow. "But she must use more common sense. She goes to a factory wearing furs. That's bad taste. She's showing off, and it doesn't help her husband's public image...
...country where husbands usually have the last word on everything, the Gorbachevs appear to enjoy an unusually equal partnership. "I'm very lucky with Mikhail," Raisa confided to a dinner companion during her 1985 trip to Paris. "We are really friends -- or, if you prefer, we have a great rapport." Mikhail seems to enjoy his wife's feistiness. After his British publisher asked him last April about the possibility of Raisa's writing a book, the General Secretary smiled and said, "My wife is a very independent lady. On this occasion, I will act as a messenger boy. She will...