POSTING #92

A Tribute to Yuri

After a talk I gave recently to a Niagara-on-the-Lake club about the 1995-97 Russian project in which we created 21 model employment offices from Moscow to the Pacific, a woman came up to me with a story.

A family friend who had worked in Russia as a consultant found the experience very frustrating. He claimed that he couldn't get anything done because of a lack of cooperation on the part of the Russians.

That reminded me of a question I was asked as I was getting ready to leave Russia for the last time. I had had an ear infection and was concerned about possible problems on the flight home.

 I went to an American-run medical clinic in Moscow. After examining my ears---which were fine---the nurse, from somewhere in the US mid-west, asked whether I thought I had accomplished anything in Russia.

It struck me as a strange question and I had to ponder for a moment or two.

I thought of some of the remarkable changes our Canadian teams had made in the operation of the employment offices we had worked in.

I replied that yes, I thought we had accomplished something.

Surprised, she said, "You know, you're the first western consultant I've talked to that feels that way. They all complain about not being able to get anything done."

Why were we able to get things done?

The literature on how to run a successful technical assistance project contains a number of sensible recommendations including the importance of setting clear goals, of making sure that both sides have similar expectations, of having a senior contact in the host organization who is committed to the project and has credibility within the organization, and so on.

Those are all important, but there is another factor about which the literature is mainly silent.

It is the absolute importance of finding skilled and loyal local persons to look after office management and interpreting duties.

I was lucky to find Yuri (not his real name) who played both roles---superbly. Much of whatever success we had was due to Yuri.

Let me tell a few stories about Yuri---first in the role of office manager.

It is important to realize that matters that would have been straightforward in Canada, such a phone call to make plane reservations, involved convoluted and lengthy contacts and discussions.

I soon learned that if I tried to ask for something myself I would be met with a stolid look and the phrase, ``Problema, problema``, which I found is Russian for `this is very, very difficult, it may even be impossible---and regardless, it is going to take a long time to do`.

One of our visiting Canadian consultants threw up his hands at one point and said, ``There are no straight lines in Russia!``

Russia wasn't Canada, and one had to understand how to make the system work.

Yuri knew how.

He would pull out his well-worn, hard-covered notebook which served as his data base of names, phone numbers, and notes---I called it The Book.  He would make a phone call to someone, who knew someone, who knew someone at the office we needed to do business with.

If the task involved persuading a Russian official to do something---something that he or she was being paid to do---Yuri would gaze at the ceiling of our office and then come up with a strategy about how to win the compliance of the official. The strategy usually involved convincing the official that there was something in it for him if he worked with us, or something to fear if he didn't.

In Posting 12, March 22, 2009, I described how Yuri persuaded a technician to repair our fax machine by promising that I would bring him a pair of Canadian toe rubbers, which were not available in Russia at the time.

I am afraid that many of the foreign consultants who felt they didn't accomplish anything were acting as though they were back in the US, England or Germany.

They acted as though there were---or should have been---straight lines in Russia.

They needed a Yuri!

000

In addition to running the office well, Yuri was a great help in my personal life.

For example, on one occasion, my back went into spasm, and I was in a lot of pain.

Several long flights to Siberia were coming up.

What to do?

Yuri consulted The Book, made a phone call, left a message and told me that he was trying to arrange for a former trainer with the Russian national hockey team to give me a few massages.

That evening I was having dinner with Yuri and his family and I mentioned that the former trainer was going to give me a massage.

Yuri's wife's face clouded over, and she and Yuri  had a discussion in Russian.

Later, Yuri said that his wife was worried because the trainer had been fired from his job with the hockey team due to a drinking problem.

But Yuri had thought of that. He told his wife that he had arranged for the trainer to come to my apartment at 6 AM, well before he had a chance to get drunk.

The trainer arrived for our first session promptly at 6, stone sober---but perhaps a bit hung-over.

As I lay on the bed, he worked up and down my back, loosening the muscles and then probing and pummeling. It was a no-nonsense treatment, designed to get me back in the game.

And it worked. After three or four visits, my back was much better and I was able to make the trips to Siberia.

000

Let's turn to Yuri's work as an interpreter.

On one of our first trips together (before I had started Russian lessons---with a tutor found by Yuri), I had to make a toast to our hosts after a visit full of generous hospitality.

Russians love and are very good at elaborate toasts, and I was wracking my brain trying to think of something a little special to say.

I decided to tell them how much I had enjoyed being with them and that when we left I wasn't going to say 'Das vi danya' (which my guide book translated as 'Goodbye') but I was going to say 'Au revoir'. I explained that this meant 'until we see each other again'.

After I had finished speaking, Yuri interpreted what I had said to the group. They nodded at me approvingly. They liked my comments.

I was pleased with myself.

Later, in the train, on our way home Yuri said, "Oh, by the way, 'Das vi danya' means exactly the same as 'au revoir'."

Horrified, I asked, "Well, what did you say?"

"Oh, I made something up."

Now, that's a great interpreter for you!

000

Yuri has a very placid personality, he is not easily ruffled or upset. This is useful in dealing with foreign consultants who can get frustrated and feel the need to let off steam from time-to-time. (That's my hand up, pleading guilty.)

On one occasion, I saw him get a bit testy. One of our Canadian consultants, who was from Quebec, was commenting on how many Russian words had been borrowed from French.

She was rubbing it in a bit.

Yuri took it for a while and then responded that that was indeed true but that it was not a one-way street. There were French words that came from the Russian language. For example, he said, the French word  'bistro' came from the Russian 'bistra' (pronounced 'BEE-stra). He explained that 'bistra' means 'hurry'.

When Napoleon's troops were in Russia they often heard patrons in Russian restaurants shouting at waiters, 'bistra, bistra'.

Some of the soldiers, when they returned to France, started small restaurants that specialized in quick meals, and they called them bistros.

So, he said, with some satisfaction, the bistro---that most French of institutions---owes its name to a Russian word

000

Interpreting can be tough, frustrating work and  a sense of humour is essential if one is to keep some degree of sanity.

Yuri said that when interpreters get together, they love to tell each other the latest 'interpreter jokes'.

Yuri shared some of the jokes with me. Here are a couple of my favourites.

Khrushchev was going to China for a conference and his normal Chinese-Russian interpreter was ill so it was decided that the Chinese would provide an interpreter for him.

The head of the USSR made a long speech and then the interpreter took over. He only spoke for a couple of minutes. Khrushchev was impressed that the interpreter could condense his remarks so well, and asked for a tape of the speech and the translation.

When he was back in Moscow, he called in his Chinese-Russian interpreter, who had recovered, and told him he was going to play a tape. The interpreter should listen carefully and learn how the Chinese interpreter had been able to condense his remarks so well.

They listened to the tape of the long speech and the short translation.

"See", said Khrushchev," how brief the translation was. Tell me, what did he say."

The interpreter said, "He started off with your comments about being happy to be in China, and then he said, 'All the rest is horse sh-t', and stopped interpreting".

000

Then there was the story about a foreigner in Russia who stole a great deal of gold. The police caught him but the gold was missing.

When the police tried to question him it became clear that he didn't understand Russian so an interpreter was called in.

In response to questions translated by the interpreter, the man maintained that he didn't know what had happened to the gold.

Finally, the senior police officer told the interpreter to tell the thief that if he didn't tell them where the gold was he would be killed.

The policeman cocked his gun and pointed it at the thief who, realizing that the policeman was serious, told the interpreter where he had hidden the gold.

The policeman looked at the interpreter, "What did he say?"

The interpreter said, "He says he won't tell you."

000

Yuri's birthday is coming up---one of those decade-changing birthdays---and it is a good opportunity for me to thank him for his help and friendship.

He has been able to come to Canada fairly frequently in the years since our project ended---in his work as an interpreter for different organizations.

Pat says that when we meet it is just as though one of us has gone out of the room for a moment and then returned. We seem to pick up conversations and stories where we left off.

Please join me in a toast to Yuri, and to his wonderful family!

 

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See you on October 31st for Posting #93 with more stories from our family’s universe! If you have comments or suggestions, please leave a comment at the bottom of this posting,  or email me at johnpathunter@gmail.com.

Tags: Yuri, interpreter, Russian project