Word: yakov
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...even stand-up comic Yakov Smirnoff could exaggerate the absurd reality of flying Aeroflot, the Soviet airline. Passengers must endure dismissive ticket agents, brusque cabin crews, delays as long as three days and white-knuckle flights on ancient jets. As a monopoly, Aeroflot nonetheless carried 120 million travelers last year, making it the world's largest carrier...
...fascination with the magical and the extrasensory is a distasteful reminder of the final years of the Russian empire -- with its demagogic holy men and a royal family under the sway of Rasputin. "It's deplorable that the state-run media would contribute to this hysteria," said Dr. Yakov Rudakov, a leading psychotherapist with the Institute for Physical-Technical Problems. Even the obsession with UFOs may be a projection of Soviet anxieties, a pseudoscientific distraction from the increasing economic and political burdens of daily life. Enraged that TASS publishes such reports, one Muscovite said, "It's a reflection...
...Gromyko's annoyance with Fedorenko went further than deep dislike for his personal style--long hair, flashy clothes, bow ties, all of which clashed with the strict, official appearance Gromyko thought should be standard for serious men. Gromyko also envied his status in the Academy of Sciences. Fedorenko, like Yakov Malik, who later replaced him as Ambassador, detested Gromyko. But unlike Malik, who was a lion with his subordinates and a mouse with Gromyko, Fedorenko did not fear the minister...
...next major crisis I witnessed came in early March 1969, and that one I did observe from New York. Fedorenko's successor Yakov Malik and I were in his office when the code cable operator gave Malik a dispatch from Moscow marked VERY URGENT. A Chinese army unit had invaded Damansky Island, in the Ussuri River on the Soviet-Chinese border, killing and wounding several dozen Soviet soldiers. This was the latest--and worst--of a series of border incidents over several years. Malik turned pale. I had seen him angry many times, but this was a level of fury...
Khrushchev's scheme was nearly revealed prematurely. In conversation with an ambassador from one of the socialist countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Yakov Malik could not resist the temptation to show off. He told the envoy that the U-2 pilot was alive and would testify publicly. Fortunately for Khrushchev's hoax, the ambassador was security conscious and immediately informed the Central Committee of this chat...