Shnyukov fired

Hmm. Maybe it had something to do with me.

The news out of Stavropol is that Vassili Shnyukov, head of the department of religion, has been fired and replaced by a new guy.

Yesterday the community had a meeting to create a 'new community'. They are calling it 'together', or 'achdut'.

The new guy came to the meeting and promised his support.

This gives me some hope. I met Shnyukov twice while I was in Stavropol, and it was very clear that he was a friend of Yefim's.

The first time I met him was when one random day I came to the office to find Yefim chatting with two guys. I was told that they were from the department of religion. We chatted a bit, and they asked me if I need anything, and I told them 'no thank you. I'm settling in just fine.'

After they left, Yefim told me that they had been asking about the shul. I wish he'd have notified me earlier.

The second time was at this meeting in the center (obshina) with leaders of all religions. I didn't understand a thing of what was being said, but met some interesting and fun people, including a 'father Pavel' who was a young Ukrainian priest who ran a center to get people off drugs and spoke fluent English. We hit it off well, and he invited me for supper (which I declined after explaining about kashrus). But he left me his phone number, which I then sadly lost.

I think it would have ben interesting to meet him again.

Another guy I liked was this priest named 'Feodor.' He was an old man with a big white beard (looked like an eltere Chossid) and he smiled throughout the meeting. By far the most cheerful Russian I met. He seemed intrigued by me, but the language barrier prevented us from speaking much.

Anyway, having a new guy in the department of religion raises my hopes. Maybe somehow we can go back now. Maybe Shnyukov was one of the guys adamant about me not returning (he was a friend fo Yefim's).

I hope so.