Word: raisa
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...benefits brought by the October Revolution but pointed to some shortcomings in Soviet rural life: the poor quality of food and clothing, the nonexistence of domestic plumbing and heating and the almost complete absence of entertainment. Sidney Monas, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, describes Raisa's paper, a synopsis of which is available at the Library of Congress as well as the Lenin Library in Moscow, as "slightly better than average, not altogether unorthodox, but with some distinct liberal tendencies." She pioneered sociological survey methods at a time when sociology was not considered a proper...
Though the dissertation was mildly contemptuous of peasant piety, Raisa professes tolerance for religion. "I am an atheist," she told a church group in Iceland in 1986. "But I know the church, and I respect all faiths. It is, after all, a personal matter." She does not necessarily reject spirituality; that would mean brushing aside much of Russian literature and art, subjects that are dear to her. After her husband's rise to power, she was said to have been instrumental in the rehabilitation of Nikolai Gumilyov, a poet executed by the Bolsheviks in 1921. Gumilyov's verses shimmer with...
Attractive, cultured and correctly attuned ideologically, Raisa Gorbachev was the model of the modern Soviet woman and an asset to her husband as he entertained Moscow dignitaries vacationing in the spas near Stavropol. Among them was Yuri Andropov, then chief of the KGB, who eventually became Mikhail's mentor. In 1978 Mikhail Gorbachev was promoted to Party Secretary for Agriculture, and the couple finally returned to Moscow. By 1985 Mikhail was General Secretary of the party and the leader of the Soviet Union. Spotting a photograph of Andropov in Washington last year, Raisa said, "We owe everything...
...initial trip abroad as First Lady, Raisa jokingly said to Danielle Mitterrand, wife of the French President, "Give me some advice. I'm a beginner at this job." She learned fast, and quickly became a hit in the West. In Washington, accompanied by Van Cliburn on the piano, she and her husband made White House guests smile by leading the Soviet delegation in a rendition of a sentimental Russian favorite, Moscow Nights...
...Raisa's fashion tastes have received mixed reviews. Parisian critics, for example, have described her as "elegant but not chic." In fact, she appears to avoid flashy clothes. Much of her wardrobe is prepared by a team of designers led by Tamara Mokeyeva of the "experimental" atelier at the Dom Modeli in Moscow. Soviet clothing factories depend on the shop's designs to keep track of what's hot and what's not. But the cuts and colors remain conservative. According to one report, Mokeyeva has only praise for her First Lady: "She has natural charm. This is not something...