We continue to publish the memoirs of Natalia Belitser, a scientist, human rights activist, and writer (first chapter here).
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About escapism, which is more powerful than an escape to art.

...The most effective way to escape from the reality of the suffocating atmosphere was through Far Eastern expeditions. Because it was not virtual or in my dreams, but actually happened. Vadym Kavsan* was the initiator, organizer, and inspirer of all the trips. The backbone of the group consisted of three people: Vadym himself, his wife Alla, and me. The other participants varied: most often, one of Vadym and Alla's graduate students or employees would come along. And sometimes, as a generous gift, some of their close friends were included. Mostly, these were artists or the talented ceramist Olha (surname: Rapai. Her maiden name was Markish; she was the daughter of a famous Jewish poet who was arrested, along with his colleagues from the YAK*, during a campaign against the “rootless cosmopolitanism” of the struggle and shot in Stalin's time a year before the executioner died. And Olga, then a sculpture student, was also arrested as a CHSIR*; after prison, she was sent to Siberia and was able to return only during the “thaw.”)

...The hours spent in her studio belong to nostalgic memories; my son remembers them well, even though he was still a little boy. (And now he can show his love and respect for her in the author's programs on his own YouTube channel*).

...So, not only scientists, but also creative people who were fascinated by the slides and photographs, as well as stories about our stunning adventures and adventures, considered themselves lucky to have the opportunity to take part in expeditions from time to time (the Far East, Chukotka and Kamchatka, and even the Kuril Islands).

...The “host” was Vyacheslav Sova. An extraordinary personality: a top manager, adventurer and cynic, aesthete, athlete, and a handsome man with blue eyes who won women's hearts with great ease. He built his laboratory from scratch on the shore of a small and picturesque bay far from civilization. The house was made of wood, with a spacious veranda, and it blended in well with the landscape and did not spoil the view. He also turned a decommissioned barge into a “guest dormitory,” set up a sauna, and decorated the toilet with an orchid...

Slava repeatedly represented the Far Eastern branch* of Soviet science abroad. This was possible only thanks to “patronage,” which was entirely dependent on the decisions of the KGB. He did not hide this from us, and on the contrary, he often humorously told us about the “briefing” organized by his curator (and aptly quoted Vysotsky in doing so). And from time to time he shared secrets that he managed to hear from his patrons.

...We worked hard for him for two weeks, and the results of our work were enough for his laboratory to prepare an annual report. After that, we set out on a journey with the intention of reaching the most remote areas, looking for places where not only the Soviet government had not yet reached, but where no human foot had ever set foot before we arrived.

...It was a great deal of luck to be able to get into cities and border areas that were closed to tourists and ordinary people. During those trips, we were able to feel and see with our own eyes the beauty and majesty of the local nature, to reach places that were strikingly different from everything that was commonplace
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*A talented scientist, molecular biologist, corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences (1939-2014). He and his wife Alla, also an outstanding researcher, were my closest and dearest friends.
*Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee.
*CHSIR is an abbreviation for “Member of the Family of a Traitor to the Motherland”; according to Soviet law, this status provided for punishment for close relatives of the repressed.
*See, for example: Opening of the memorial plaque to Olga Rapay-Markish (report); “Zafurichyna” (oral story in a fictional language based on the sculpture by O. Rapay-Markish).
*Referring to the USSR Academy of Sciences.
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(To be continued)