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My Violent Mugging in
The true story of how
I got on national TV in
(Taken
from my journals at www.happierabroad.com/Journals_2004.doc)
Update:
Winston assaulted by 5 gangsters, and gets on TV news!!!!!
Dear
all,
Some
of you may think this title is too dramatic to be real and that it is a joke,
but it's not. It's fucking serious, I'm sorry to say. It's time for me to write
the update that I'm going to hate to write, which will be shocking to read and
to some perhaps entertaining as well. Here it goes.
In
the last update, I had just left Katya's home in
The
attack
Outside,
I tried to hail a cab on the street, but there were few of them, and the ones that
passed by were full. I had hailed cabs on this street last year, and knew that
if I kept at it for a while I'd get one eventually, but I was too impatient so
I decided to take the trolleybus which was still running. It was between 8 and
When
I reached the intersection, I wasn't sure what to do, so I looked for people to
ask again. I thought of asking the people up ahead, but they were too far and I
was impatient to just get there. Behind me were three young guys walking toward
me and arguing about which direction to go. They looked shady and gangster
like, so I felt uncomfortable asking them for help, but somehow I felt the urge
to anyway against my better instincts. It was like it was part of my destiny to
do so...... When I asked one of them where the address was, he motioned to the
others to come, and they all united to follow me and show me the way. I didn't
like their company and I kept my distance from them, so I hoped I would get
there soon and be off these semi-dark streets. (You gotta remember that
Instead
of turning right, they told me to turn left instead. Suspicious, I asked an
older guy standing at a door if I was going in the right direction. He
confirmed that I was. So I continued. After about two blocks, the three young
seedy looking guys told me to turn right into a backstreet behind the building.
At first, I said no and demanded to know where it was exactly. One of them
pointed to windows at the bottom of the building in front of us, indicating
that there were lights and computers in there with people in there at an
underground level. And he pointed to the number 28 on the building as well,
which was in my address. It looked like an internet cafe all right, so I looked
around the front of the building for an entrance, but couldn't find any lighted
or clear signs of an entrance. But the guys didn't want to give me time to keep
looking. Instead, they said the entrance was in the back of the building and
told me to follow them. I did, but kept my distance. For a few seconds, I
paused and wondered if it was safe to go behind the building. When I saw that
it was fairly lighted back there, and there were a few pedestrians walking
through it, I thought it might be reasonably safe to walk through. So I
proceeded but slowly. Behind the building, I continued to scan for an entrance.
When I saw a doorway above the lighted windows, I moved toward it, but the guys
told me it was the wrong way and told me to continue on down the backstreet. It
was all too suspicious now, but something in me made me follow them just a bit
further. The area they wanted me to go to was unreasonably far from the lighted
windows of the internet cafe for the entrance to be there.
After
walking a few meters further down with them, I decided I had enough and turned
around. Suddenly, I saw the two guys in black leather jackets that were on the trolleybus
with me come around the corner to face me in my path back to the main street.
HOLY SHIT, I thought. This was looking bad now, and something in my gut feeling
told me I was in trouble. When I quicked my pace to walk the other way, one of
the guys behind me moved forward and threw a punch at my back. That quickly
confirmed my fears that I was in trouble. I couldn't believe I was about to be
mugged again. In a state of panic (I didn't want to stand around and fight five
guys! Even if I was Bruce Lee, I couldn't do that.) I ran in the direction back
to the main street. Deep down, I hoped that the two guys from the trolleybus
standing in my path were not part of the group that wanted to mug me, though I
knew that hope was probably in vain. And it was. When I was about to pass the
two guys, one of them, a tall skinny dark haired guy, moved to grab me, then
threw a quick series of kicks and punches at me until I was down on the floor.
Then he attempted to pull my backpack away from me. I thought that like the
assault in
Shocked
and still in denial, I murmured "No! Please bring my backpack back. I need
it!" My camcorder was in there, as well as two cassettes with priceless
footage and a photo camera as well. The cameras were replaceable, but the
cassettes and film were not. I guess the footage of Katya's sexy photos that I
wanted to show everyone were gone. There were many other valuables in there
too. Darn, I thought. I should have taken taxi here instead. The driver would
have shown me the real entrance to the internet cafe and drove me right to it.
What a stupid decision to walk instead! I saved 50 roubles on taxi fare just to
lose all my valuables! Soon, some passerbys came to look at me. Among them was
a couple that I saw pass by here just before I was mugged. I pointed to them
and told the group that they saw my muggers, but they only shrugged and
indicated that they didn't really see them or pay attention earlier. Then a guy
from a window above called out to me and offered to call the police militia. I
said ok, and he told me to stay put.
The
search
Within
a few minutes, a police car pulled up. Two militia men got out and came to my
aid when they saw me bruised and bloody on my face. I tried my best to tell
them what happened, and then I pleaded them for help in getting my backpack
back. I was even willing to offer them a reward in money, but I kept silent
about it to see what they would do first. After interrogating the group of
passerbys about what happened, they told me to get in the backseat of their
jeep. After asking me a few more questions, they told me that they would try to
help. When they checked my passport to report my identity, I tried to tell them
that this morning the police at the train station already filled out a lot of
paperwork on me, but I wasn't sure if they understood or not. Immediately, they
radioed headquarters and described the objects I lost as well as the 5 muggers.
Soon I saw other police jeeps joining up with us to search around. They
stopped, coordinated plans, radioed headquarters, and began patroling the
streets for the 5 muggers.
Soon,
I saw a lot of cops patroling out on the streets. Some were patroling on foot.
Others stood around as if stationed at a post or checkpoint. One team even had
a dog sniffing the streets, though I didn't know how that would help since I
had no drugs in my backpack and I wondered what exactly the dog would sniff
for. It looked like every cop in the city was out trying to help me and looking
for the 5 muggers. The cops in my jeep drove around to the various checkpoints
and stationed cops, checking to see what they found out, radioing everything
back to a dispatcher. The cop sitting next to me kept asking me a series of
questions about what happened. I tried my best to answer them.
Then
they started making stops to interview eyewitnesses that were found who might
know something. Some suspects here and there were also apprehended, and when
they were, I was driven to the spot to see if I recognized them. However, I
only clearly remembered two of the five muggers, which were the two who
followed me in the trolleybus. The suspects they had me look at were not of
those two, so I couldn't say precisely if they were among the other three or
not. I just hoped that my subconscious memory would recognize them if I saw
them. Another problem was that the five muggers wore black jackets, and almost
every guy here wore black jackets. A few suspects I felt might be among the
attackers, but I wasn't completely sure, so I told the police that I felt only
50 percent sure about recognizing them.
Throughout
all this, I constantly suggested to the cops in my car that we go to the first
internet cafe that I was at, because the staff guy that was there who wrote me
the address saw the two muggers that went on the trolleybus with me, and should
be able to describe them, possibly identifying them by name too, hopefully. And
also, the other youngsters there who were huddling and talking at the time I
left might still be there, and among them there might be someone who could
identify the two guys who left with me. If so, then we had to move quick before
those youngsters started leaving that internet cafe. I told them all this, but
they just kept telling me that they understood and that we would go there later.
For some reason, driving around to the various checkpoints and looking at the
apprehended suspects was more important. But I felt that going to the first
internet cafe to identify them was more important at the moment.
Throughout
all this, in my mind, I knew that logically the chances of getting my backpack
and video camera back were slim. However, I also had a strong calm feeling that
I would get them back too. I don't know why. I just didn't feel destined to
lose everything here. Still, I was in shock still over being attacked like
this, and also realized that my next update to this list would be quite
different than I had planned.
At
one stop, they found someone who found a little black belt back which was in my
backpack. They asked if it was mine. I said yes, and felt a glimmer of hope
that perhaps they found a trail. An old man was also there at the spot being
interviewed. I surmised that he was an eyewitness who might have seen some of
the muggers pass by and drop the belt back. Then he walked around with the
patrol teams. When we drove back to the spot where I was ambushed, we walked
around to the front of the internet cafe, where I finally saw the correct door
to it. There was written the word "Skynet" on a green metal door, but
in dim letters that you would have to look closely to see. If only they had a
brighter sign or neon lights on it, I thought. Then I would have seen it when I
passed it with the muggers and gone in instead! We went inside Skynet and the
cops interviewed the staff to see if they saw anything.
Eventually,
we drove up to the first internet cafe as I had suggested. Two policemen went
inside with me. I walked inside and up to the computer room while the people
there looked at me with a bloody bruised face in shock and wonder. In the
computer room, I quickly pointed out the staff guy who wrote me the address to
the other internet cafe. The cops interrogated him, and he nodded and said a
few things, though I couldn't understand it. Later, they pointed me to a little
spycam in the corner, and implied that the two guys I mentioned were on tape
now, and would be found eventually. I felt a strong sense of excitement and
relief, though I tried not to get my hopes up too much in case they would get
disappointed. But the cop implied to me that with the camera, they were sure to
find the suspects. Then they took me back to the jeep and drove me to the
police station.
At
the police station, I was led upstairs that contained an office and small
detention center. Inside the office, they continued examining my passport, and
asking me questions. They told me they needed a translator for me, and asked me
if I knew anyone who spoke good English. First, I had them call Julia so she
could at least explain why I was here, but her boyfriend answered and said she
was sleeping and refused to wake her. It was already about
Later,
I was taken to a detention area nearby to look at some suspects. When I saw
them, I immediately recognized the tall skinny dark haired guy who struck the
blows at me and took my backpack!!!!!!!!!!!! I happily and excitedly pointed to
him and said "That's him!!!!!! He's the one how attacked me!!!!!" in
Russian, using the best body language I could. I was glad that he was caught.
Now, hopefully, they could pry information from him about the other attackers
and where my stuff was. My chances were looking much better now.
A
while later, Lyuba was brought in while I was sitting in the office. When I saw
her, I said "Hi Lyuba, I never expected us to meet like this. I feel bad
for making you come down here so late." She told me that it was ok, but
admitted that she was about to go to sleep, feeling sad and hurt about some
personal problem too. When I tried to inquire about it, she would only tell me
that her feelings were hurt badly recently. I tried to cheer her up. In spite
of the situation, we tried to keep things humorous and lighthearted.
Then
the police business began. Lyuba talked to the police and told me that they couldn't
be sure that the man I identified was my attacker. I exclaimed "But I
already identified him! He's the one!" She said that they weren't sure if
my memory was correct or not. I was exasperated by this, and reminded them that
I am not just accusing anyone, because with the other suspects earlier, I let
them off when I couldn't recognize them. But with this guy, I definitely
recognized him as the guy who was with me on the trolleybus and who carried out
the final attack on me, stealing the backpack. Therefore, I was not just
randomly accusing people. I also recognized the other guy in the detention cell
with him as among the other three that led me to the ambush spot behind the
internet cafe. I knew it was him because during the walk, he kept constantly
pointing ahead and saying "Fwat Fwat!" (There There!)
Then
an officer came to me and showed me some floppy disks and a small mini DV
camcorder cassette. With a leap of happiness, I immediately recognized them as items
from my backpack, and was glad that at least one of the priceless camcorder
tapes was found. The other one in the camcorder had only a few minutes of
footage in it anyway, which were of Katya dancing to music in her home and
showing some more of her sexy photo albums. So even if that wasn't found, I at
least got back most of the footage lost. The rest of the items were mostly
replaceable, except for two developed rolls of photocamera film and one
undeveloped roll taken in St. Petersburg. Still, this was a big relief to me.
Lyuba
told me that these items were found in the suspect's pocket, whom I identified
as my attacker. I immediately told Lyuba to translate to the police that this
camcorder tape could be played so that my voice and image could be viewed, and
that also my name could be found in documents contained no the floppy disks,
and that all this was concrete proof that he was one of the attackers. Lyuba
agreed and told me that they already knew that it constituted proof. The two
guys were taken away to another area. Near the office was also a barred cell
where some other young guys and even a girl were being held. I thought I
recognized one guy, who was even looking at me and laughing, but later I was
told that he couldn't be among the attackers because he was here in the cell at
the time I was attacked.
Throughout
all this, I kept wondering if there was a slight chance that all of this was a
setup like the incident in Novgorod, and if the muggers were collaborating with
the police in order to ask me for money for the police services later. At this
point, I was already too privy to conspiracies here against me that I suspected
everything and anything. However, not once was I ever asked to pay a fee or
donation for the police's help. I even asked Lyuba about this, and she said she
didn't see why I would be asked for a fee or payment to the police for their
help. Still, I was curious about how they found my attacker exactly. I tried to
inquire about it, but the police seemed too busy to give a detailed response.
They just murmured something about finding him on the street. I wondered if he
was identified from the video tape in the internet cafe I left, but even if so,
I didn't understand how he could be found so quickly from it, and even more so,
how the police could find someone to play back the tape so quickly. But I was
glad that he was caught anyway.
Next,
we were brought to an upper level of the building to speak with an
investigator, who was a pretty brown haired serious woman in a nice red outfit.
We walked into her office with Russian folk music playing, and sat down. Lyuba
told me that she had to fill out a report about this case, and had many
questions to ask me. Lyuba would translate between us. First, I was asked
questions about me, including all the basics. Then I was asked many detailed
questions about the incidents leading up to the attack. I tried to answer as
detailed as possible. All of this took a very long time, and coffee was brought
in for the investigator and Lyuba too.
Then
my attacker was brought into the room, with one of my other bags, a camcorder
case, dangling from his shoulder. An office brought the camcorder case to me
and asked if it was mine. I said yes, took it, and proceeded to open it up.
Normally, I did not keep the video camera in it, only some other items, so I
didn't expect the camcorder to be in it. However, when I opened it, the
camcorder was in it! Apparently the attacker bundled it up in there while
organizing his share of the loot. I leapt with joy that I got the main
possession and most expensive stolen item back! I yelled out "Oh thank
God!" The other camcorder tape was still inside it too, so I got the
second one back too, thank goodness. And thank God the camcorder charger was
still there too, without which the camcorder would have been useless. But only one out of the three batteries I had
was left. In addition, the photo camera
was inside too, so I had the film I currently shot on it. Then Lyuba told me
that although these items were found, they would have to remain here in the
police station for the night for documentation purposes, and I could pick them
up tomorrow. She also told me that this guy I identified who attacked me was
the "chief" of the gangsters who surrounded me. I remarked that he
should be able to give the names and locations of the rest of them then, so
that the rest of my stuff could be brought back.
After
a lot more documentation work, waiting around, talking with the assistant
police chief about various things including my life and why I'm in Russia, etc.
etc. we were finally allowed to go. By then it was about 4 or 5am. It seemed
like the night would never be over. Whew. Lyuba and I were driven to where we
were going, her to home, and me to the internet cafe I was heading for before
the attack. However, we couldn't find it, so I was dropped off at another one
that was still open. There, I wrote up the last update on the reunion with
Julia and Katya sleepily for a few hours, knowing that the next report would be
much more shocking and significant. I tried to get some sleep in my chair, but
only got a little.
Aftermath
the next day
In
the early morning, this young guy in the internet cafe came up and befriended
me, asking what happened to my face. When I told him I was attacked by young
gangsters, he sympathized and said they were bad people, but that he was a good
person and would try to help me. I wasn't sure if he had an ulterior motives,
or if he was just trying to be nice, but he seemed kind so I socialized with
him. He offered to take me to get some coffee, so I went with him. I thought he
was going to buy me coffee, because that's what usually happens when someone
asks you to coffee, but in actuality he took me to coffee so I could get it for
him and me. We went into a supermarket nearby to get it. Obviously, if he
couldn't afford 4 roubles for a coffee, it meant that he was broke. And after
my experiences, I decided not to trust broke guys who befriend me anymore, so
he was put on my red flag list unfortunately. After all, if they are broke and
desperate here, with nothing better to do than to join gangs and stay out all
night, then I am a walking target for them, and perhaps the only income they
can have in their lives now. That to me represented a lot of danger, which I
didn't need.
Nevertheless,
he wanted to hang around me and take me places, so I agreed as long as we
stayed in public places. While I was getting a prepaid minutes card for my cell
phone and a charger for it (which among the lost items), two guys that knew my
new acquaintance, Yuliy, called out to him. After they spoke a while, the two
scruffy looking guys called out to me to come to them. Still traumatized from
the attack last night, I was not in the mood to talk to strangers or get close
to anyone. So I refused, though I felt bad for being unsociable and impolite.
But they insisted, and soon one of them suddenly said to me that we were all
going to Yuliy's home now, and then somewhere else later. He told me to go
along with them. No way, I told him. Does he really think that I'm going to
follow three broke desperate scruffy looking guys into a home in some building,
so that I could be a sitting duck behind closed doors, letting them do whatever
they wanted to me????!!!!! What do they think I am? Especially after yesterday.
Yuliy must have told them by now what happened to me. No way was I going to
trust any Russian guys, especially here where there are so many who are broke
and have nothing to do but join gangs, attack people, commit crimes, etc. Not
my crowd. These guys could easily behind closed doors attack me, incapacitate
me, take all my belongings including my wallet, passport, and even put a knife
to my throat demanding the pin number to my ATM card. Sheesh. It was horrifying
to think about it, but I had to after my experiences here. And plus, I was
still psychologically and emotionally traumatized from the attack that I was
unable to be physically close to any guy or stranger right now. With every
stranger that walked by me, I kept imagining him lunging at me to attack. I
just couldn't get it out of my mind. I hope that I wouldn't be like this
forever.
I
looked at Yuliy, who was standing with the two men, to see if he was wanting me
to go with them to his home too, but he just stood and waited for my answer. That
was awfully suspicious to me. I told them no way and that it was a stupid idea.
Then one of the men walked up to me and said something I didn't understand,
asking me for 50 roubles. I thought that maybe they needed it to ride the taxi
somewhere. I said no, and asked him why I should give him 50 roubles, that I
don't give money to strangers, that I don't even know him, that he's rude to
even ask, etc. Then he got mad and asked me for 10 roubles. I still told him
no, that we weren't even friends, and that I didn't even like him, so I wanted
him to leave me alone. He got angry and started becoming more pushy, getting
even closer to me and saying "Just give me 10 roubles! 10 roubles! 10
roubles!" What a rude and scary sight he was. I could easily see him holding
a knife to my throat if I had followed them to Yuliy's home, demanding the pin
number to my ATM card, while Yuliy in the background smiling with an "We
gotcha" look on his face. It was a possibility that I wasn't going to let
happen. And it was a bad time for this too, since I was still feeling
traumatized from the attack. I had a hard time just walking next to people now.
I backed off and walked back inside the cell phone store, uttering that perhaps
I ought to call the police.
Inside,
I waited for those two friends of Yuliy to leave. I was wondering if I should
call the police too. I was just tired of dealing with these kind of people.
Eventually, Yuliy came in and apologized, saying that those two men were bad
and had left. I walked back outside with him, but I was still paranoid that
those two men might pop out at any minute. I had never felt so vulnerable
before. I bought Yuliy some pizza and coke, and we went around shopping a bit
for a new backpack, to replace some of my lost belongings, jeans and new black
shoes too. Since I was tired and drowsy, he kept suggesting that we go to his
home where he would let me sleep. He even suggested that we could call for a
"working girl" who would come for 400 roubles. To that I told him,
"Um it's noon right now, the working girls are asleep now." to which
he laughed. He seemed nice, but I wasn't going to take the risk. After all,
those two men who were pushy earlier and asking me for money could easily come
in and all attack me to get my belongings and money. Why take such an awful
risk? He kept telling me that he was a "good guy" and would never
attack or ambush me. But I replied to that "Yeah, well you know what?
EVERY guy here claims to be a 'good guy', even the bad guys do. So what?"
Plus, when I inquired as to how he lived alone and had his own place even
though he was completely broke and couldn't even afford 4 roubles, he didn't
give me very clear answers, at least not in English, so I didn't trust him.
Instead,
we went around to shop for my items. I got some new shoes, new blue jeans (my
old ones were brown and stained from the assault and being on the floor), and a
little black bag to carry on my shoulder that looked cool. Throughout the day,
I tried approaching many girls I liked there, but when they saw my bandaged
forehead and black eye, they quickly moved away from me. I suddenly realized
that Russian women cared about looks after all. Usually, girls in
When
it got close to
Winston
gets on the local media
Then
Lyuba called me on my cell phone to ask me if I was coming. I said yes, and was
surprised that she was there too, since I wasn't expecting her to be there this
time. I took a cab to the police station, showing the address that the staff
wrote for me. When I arrived, I walked up to the 4th floor where my appointment
was. At the top of the stairs, I saw some people looking at me and smiling, as
if anticipating my arrival. What's going on, I wondered. When one of the
onlookers brought out a big professional media style video camera, I knew what
was going on. They were the media! I was going to be on the news!!!!!! Cool, I
thought. Maybe I'll get some interesting exposure, and anyone who knows me
knows that I love public exposure. Lyuba came out and greeted me. She was very
nicely dressed and in black pantyhose too. She and the media staff walked into
the investigator's office we were in the night before.
Inside,
I also took out my camcorder and camera to film and shoot what was happening. I
was about to be interviewed by these reporters, and I wanted to capture it
myself. I told them that I was sort of a journalist too. lol When I told Lyuba
that she ought to be glad because she's going to be on TV, she said she wasn't
as thrilled about it as I was. But, I told her, at least she could add
"professional translator for the police" to her resume now. lol Then
the camera was brought to me and turned on. With Lyuba translating, I was asked
two questions. 1) Do you still have a good impression of
After
that, Lyuba and I filled out some more paperwork to get some stuff back,
including a signed statement from me that I wouldn't try to inquire about the
results of the verdict of the trial of those muggers. I don't know why. Lyuba
said it was all just a lot of bureacracy that had to be done, and that the
trial of the muggers may take about two months, though I probably wouldn't have
to appear during the trial since they already have my signed statement and
story about what happened.
After
that, I was given my items back and allowed to leave. I asked if they were
still searching for the rest of my stuff, but they simply said it hasn't been
found. I was hoping my apprehended attacker would have been interrogated about
the location of the rest of my stuff or the location of the other muggers, but
it wasn't a subject anyone seemed interested in now, except me. I still had two
developed roles of film (which my beloved goddess Elena from
I
offered to take Lyuba out to eat, but she said she already made other plans. I
even offered to give her money for her time and trouble, but she refused it.
Outside, some guys picked her up in a car and she said goodbye. I felt bad that
we saw each other under such extreme circumstances. Lyuba said that she was
told I would be on TV that night at
I
took a cab to the train station to buy my tickets back to
Saying
goodbyes to Katya and Julia
At
the big supermarket across from Katya's neighborhood, I called her on the
payphone, telling her that I would wait for her in the pizza cafe area. She
said she'd be over in ten minutes. When she arrived and saw my face, there was
no expression on her face about it. Like I told you all before, she is fearless
and unimpressionable. When I asked her about it, she just said it was all ok
and that my injuries weren't that bad. Next, when I asked if she wanted to have
some pizza and coke, she told me that she had no money on her. She did not
assume like she always did in the past that I would just pay for everything
automatically without question. When I insisted, she said ok but only if I
would have to pay for her. This surprised me because she had never asked me
permission before asking me to pay for something before. She was now showing a
little respect toward me, which I saw as an improvement in her. I agreed to pay
for her pizza and coke, saying it was no problem, so we ordered at the counter
and sat down. While we sat, I told her highlights of what happened last night
and this morning, and that I was going to be on the news today. She would try
to see me, she said. However, she finished her meal much earlier than me, and
then began rushing me to eat quickly because she was tired and didn't like to
wait around for someone to eat. So I guess that aspect of her hasn't changed.
Most courteous people do not rush someone to eat quickly in a cafe unless there
was some schedule they had to keep, which wasn't the case here. We had plenty
of time, about 4 or 5 hours in fact before my train, and she was rushing me out
of sheer impatience. I guess some things never change.
After
eating as fast as I could, she invited me to her home to hang out before my
train left. While we walked to her home, we were talking about gangsters, and
she actually said she admired them. She reminded me that she was a gangster
type herself, citing as an example the incident we had at Izmailovsky Hotel in
Inside
Katya's home though, I was glad her mom was there, since it meant there was no
attack that was going to be set up on me there. I knew that I was being overly
paranoid, but I couldn't help it. We looked at the news channels to see if the
story on me would come on earlier. Later on, Katya's male friend Tolic called
and said that he saw me on the news earlier! Darn, I missed it, I thought. Then
when I called Julia, her boyfriend's home told me that she saw me on the news
too. Later on, when Julia called me from her friend's home where there was a
birthday celebration going on, she told me that she had seen me too. She said
that the news reported that me, an American man, was led to a backstreet and
ambushed by gangster guys, and that the police helped me get most of my stuff
back. Julia said that I was very stupid to follow those guys behind the
building like that, and said the following as to why the police helped me so
well, "For Cherepovets police, you very interesting, so they try to help
you." She concluded by saying
"Winston, you very famous in
For
the next few hours, I hung out at Katya's house watching TV, listening to
music, and drinking tea. I realized she was ok after all to have as a friend,
at least for now, and was very fun in many ways. I told her about my plans this
trip, what was ahead for me, etc. Then I told her my impression of her that I
told everyone, that she had a lot of charisma, was fun and interesting, and had
a fearlessness that I admired. She confirmed that she was fearless alright,
claiming that there was truly nothing that scared her. She just was incapable
of feeling the emotion of fear it seemed. I don't know if that was an oddity or
something to be admired.
Julia
invited me to the birthday party going on at her friend's place, but I said
there wasn't a lot of time left and I would just hang out with Katya until I
left. Later, Katya's male friend came over. She seemed a bit fond of him to a
degree, though she claimed they were only friends. A few times while Katya
changed clothes, she told me not to look, but I kept saying "Katya, it's
nothing I haven't seen before....." LOL
At
around
At
the station, I got my stuff from the storage room and paid the fee for the
service. Then we waited for my train, which arrived a few minutes later. After
I made a final photo with Katya in her movie star jacket, I tried to kiss her
goodbye but she adamantly still refused. Sheesh. How prudish of her. I only got
a hug from her at least. Then I said goodbye and ran to the train with my
luggage. Along the way, while walking to my wagon at the other end, some local
militia cops that walked by recognized me. I greeted them, commended them for
their help again, and they wished me a good trip. They asked me what happened
to the bandage on my head and I told them that I removed it because it wasn't
necessary anymore (but the real reason was that it made me look like a dork and
I didn't want to look like I just came out of the hospital which approaching
the girls here!) After settling in my seat and wagon, the train took off. Katya
called me by ringing twice and hanging up. (which is a common routine here by
some Russian girls when they want you to pay for the call, by ringing you and
hanging up so you could see them on your missed calls list and call back.
They've done it to me many times.) I called her back and she said she was just
checking to see if all was good. I said yes and that I would miss her. She said
she'd miss me too and would write me sometime.
Before
I left, she did suggest taking her with me to
During
the train ride, I turned in early, since it would be the first full resting
sleep I had in 48 hours! And even though I don't usually sleep well on trains,
I dozed off like a baby.
I
guess the moral of this story is: BE EXTRA CAREFUL in small cities outside
As
of now, it's been a few days but I'm still a bit traumatized from the attack
and have trouble walking close to strangers in public. I still get flashbacks
from it and worry that people who pass by me are suddenly going to lunge and
attack me. I don't know much about the normal psychological after-effects of
being attacked and beaten with many blows the way I was, but I imagine this is
probably common, especially if this was your first time. I just hope that I return
to normal and that these effects aren't long lasting on me, because I don't
want to walk around with irrational fears and paranoia constantly in me. Anyone
know how long it is supposed to take to heal emotionally from this? Right now,
I'm in
Anyway,
I will say bye for now. I hope you all learn something from this horrible
update, which I didn't like writing but had to. I'm sure some of you would like
seeing photos of my bruised face, which I took to show you all someday, but I'm
not sure if it's a good idea or not now.
By
the way, I wanted to also say that during my visits with Julia and Katya, I was
treated with much more respect than before.
Not once did they try to use me or take advantage of me, and never even
showed such an intention. So my
impression of them has improved a lot.
I
don't know, perhaps all these events and assaults that happened to me after I
left
Glad
to be alive,
Winston
Update:
Winston on national Russian TV yesterday!
Dear
all,
You
won’t believe this, but yesterday I was on national Russian TV! I didn’t expect the broadcast of my story in
So
apparently, my story has been broadcast at least in
However,
I found some clues tonight as to why it was broadcast. After copying the footage from Armen’s camcorder
to mine of the broadcast (we didn’t get all of it, but we got a lot of it, it
was pretty long), Armen, who understands a lot of Russian due to his Armenian
background, explained to me what the broadcast said. Then later, when my friend Alina picked us up
in her car, I showed her the broadcast from my camcorder, and she burst out
laughing harder than I ever seen her laugh.
After she finally stopped laughing, she explained to me what was said in
the broadcast.
Apparently,
a lot that was said about my story was completely fabricated, and deliberately
too, to make the story more interesting.
It was also riddled with errors too.
I didn’t know that the Russian media engages in complete and outright
fabrication like that. First, it stated
that I came to
Near
the end, the newscaster said that since I found a lady at the police station to
be beautiful, that now I will be looking for reasons to visit the police
station more often. That was based on a
partial truth though, since I did say that two of the ladies, including the
investigator who typed up my story, were very “kraseeva” (beautiful). But it was a strange thing for a professional
media to say though.
Another
thing I didn’t understand was, in the last eight days here in
Another
funny thing is that they showed my friend and translator Lyuba next to me, but
didn’t say who she was, and the program insinuated that I had a fiancee in
Anyway,
I can’t help but hope that something good will come out of this. Heck, maybe some girl who sees me on TV and
likes me may ask the TV station for my contact information, and maybe I’ll find
my soulmate here through that way. Lol
Finally,
I just wanted to say that for those of you who are seriously worried about my
safety and telling me to leave
But
anyhow, I do want to speed things up on this trip, but every time I am about to
leave, I meet a girl I like who seems to like me, so I stay longer to see what
will happen. Now though, I am even
thinking of not teaching English in
Anyhow,
bye for now. I’ll update you on the rest
later. I just wonder now how many more
people I meet will recognize me from TV.
Regards,
Winston
Internet
poster saw me on NTV, cowardice, bravery
http://www.waytorussia.net/TalkLounge/viewtopic.php?t=1449&start=15
Posted:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ow28
wrote:
Earth
to earth, ash to ash and trash to trash.
You
do not even understand how disgusted you were in
In
my opinion those who robbed just punished you for your greed, lust, stupidity
and personal filth.
"At
least I do not rob" -- you'd better rob then commit all your
"endevours".
In
my opnion, any robber is more respectable then you. At least they live
dangerous and manly life.
The
only useful lesson from your experience for forein travelers is ..........
This
is another perspective of Russian mentality that nobody has highlighted here so
far: many Russians have a very active categorization of people as
cowards/non-cowards. Admitting to be a coward is a great shame for an ordinary
Russian. Which is probobly why the cowards among them even lack the decent
currage to admit to their cowardice. ”ow28” here has the same pathetic way of
thinking: he classifies brave people as cowards and cowards as brave. This in
order to reckon himself, who is a true coward, as brave. But how ”dangerous and
manly” is it actually for five guys to attack a single boy? And if somebody
likes to live truely dangerously, like Winston does, then he is a coward! But
to normal people anywhere other than Russia, Winston’s adventures in Novgorod,
Vyborg and Cherepovets are clear evidence to his bravery. His essays made for
very entertaining reading, and I think Winston should seriously consider to do
a movie script based on his adventures. It would sure be a winner here in Russia.
He’s already famous here after the Cherepovets assault has been translated
severel times on different channels. I saw him on NTV, which is Russian
national television, Oktober 21st.
It
was on at least more than once. Winston was said to be in Russia looking for a
wife, with a Russian vocabulary limited to 3 words:
женщина,
любовь and
свадба. He was said to have been addressing
the five gangsters to ask for an internet cafe, with a camera dangling around
his neck, and told them that he was here to find a wife. They did not
understand him, so they took his stuff and got away. After he got his stuff
back, he found excuses for returning to the police station without any need,
because he liked one of the female detectives there.
For
those who saw this report, it will probably be in their memory for quite some
time, much because of it’s absurdity and irony. No matter what, it must be very
good PR for Winston.
Back
to top
Atomcat
Talk
Show Host
Joined:
30 Jul 2004
Posts:
111
Posted:
Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:09 pm Post subject:
Fine line
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There
is fine line between Bravery and stupidity.
brav·er·y
[ br?yv?ree, br?yvree ]
noun
great
courage: extreme courage in the face of danger or difficulty, or an example of
extreme courage
stupidity
stu·pid·i·ty
[ stoo p?dd?tee ] (plural stu·pid·i·ties)
noun
1.
lack of intelligence: lack of intelligence, perception, or common sense
2.
rashness or thoughtlessness: extremely rash or thoughtless behavior
Some
of Winston's actions I would say are brave like fighting off the attacker in
Novgorod, but trusting Vadim and the "private police" was stupid.
Spending all the money on Katya and looking for unprotect sex with a prostitute
is extremely stupid. Travelling across
Thomas,
you write really well, but there is no rational thought behind your argument.
Winston is over in Russia for beautiful women that he would not dare approach
in USA and writing about a sense of adventure in foreign land. I think most
people problem from Russia is not his actions, but his labelling the whole
country based his bad interactions. He has met some nice people, but he brings
up the negative aspects of everything he sees. Not only is he insulting these
people who says greedy or wahtever, but he is insulting their friends and
family. Of course they are angry with him.
Winston's
story in "Volga Region News" Newspaper
Dear
all,
I've
been informed by someone on my list that my story in
"Winston-
your story was in the Russian Newspaper "Volga Region News". They claim
the guy who beat you was just a kid.
Anyhow, if you want a paper version of your story, here it is:
http://newsvo.ru/news/2004/10/14/11:03:02.html
Here
is my exact translation:
"In
cheropovetz young people beat an American citizen and tore his video
camera and photocamera from him.
They
robbed a citizen of the USA in Cheropovetz.
Young people ripped a videocamera
and photocamera from the foriegner. The
militzia said that the 30 year old
american came to the city of metal workers (or maybe metalurgists?) as a guest to his friends. Near 10 at night he went out into the street
to find an internet kafe.
The
foriegner asked passerby young people the way.
They led him around a corner and
beat him, taking his apparatus. The
american didnt lose conciousness and went
to the miltzia right away. The
robbers were caught. However, only one
was held a guilty- a 17 year old
boy. The rest turned out to be only
witnessess of the robbery."
