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Published on 04/06/1998 All articles from this issue

Russian officials given the VIP treatment in Los Altos

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By Merle Baruch

Special to the Town Crier

The spirit of friendship, understanding and mutual respect was alive and well last week, when representatives from the Los Altos Sister Cities, Inc. organization hosted the Russian contingent from Syktyvkar, capital city of the Republic of Komi.

Syktyvkar, a city of 240,000 people, (Los Altos has 27,000 people) is located about 600 miles north of Moscow. This is the ninth anniversary of an official Sister Cities relationship with Los Altos and the fourth visit here from Syktyvkar residents. Los Altos members have visited Syktyvkar three times and have been invited back this summer.

The Russian contingent included the mayor of Syktyvkar, Evgeni Borisov, and Valeri Besnosov, deputy minister of foreign affairs from the Republic of Komi, as well as several other high ranking officials from the region.

Sister Cities members arranged a full schedule of events, based on the Russians' "wish list," including a mixture of sightseeing around the area, as well as visiting with Los Altos Mayor Kris Casto and the City Council to see how city government operates.

The Russian guests stayed at the homes of the Sister Cities members and were treated to a variety of experiences - from a reception and dinner at the homes of Los Altos residents Helen Helson and Barbara and Gary Loebner, to tours of San Francisco, Monterey Bay Aquarium and Silicon Valley.

"We have a very rich relationship with our friends," said Richard Hasenpflug, president of Los Altos Sister Cities. "We have had teacher exchanges through Foothill College, student exchanges, helped out with medical supplies and doctors in our medical exchange program, and given away many books. We are pleased to continue this relationship."

Olga Vokueva, a visiting teacher from Syktyvkar, is currently spending four months at Santa Rita School teaching English as a second language, as well as working at Linden Tree Children's Records and Books in Los Altos.

"I love it here," Vokueva said, "and I find much in common, such as the friendliness of the people where everyone knows everyone else."

Borisov, the first elected mayor, agreed that both places have good citizens and similar aims of making life more comfortable. Borisov said he came in the hopes of learning about how our city government effectively handles difficulties.

"Some of Syktyvkar's problems," Borisov said, "include a budget deficit, a decline of production, and unemployment that we never had to deal with before. We hope to learn how to make all of our enterprises work better."

Lou Becker, Los Altos mayor pro tem, and other City Council members engaged the Russians in discussion regarding their government and culture.

"We explained our process of open discussion before making decisions," Casto said. She said that it was a positive learning experience for both cities to exchange information and meet each other's counterparts.

Los Altos has two other sister cities, Bendigo, Australia, and Shih Lin, Taiwan. For more information about Los Altos Sister Cities, Inc., call Los Altos City Hall at 948-1491.

[Online note: See also the special feature webpage about Los Altos Sister Cities.