Later, in the 1970s, when I worked for Teatro magazine, we worked together with Amistad de los Pueblos magazine. He was distinguished by a variety of parties: prose writers, poets, publicists from all the republics of the Soviet Union brought food. The division was simple: playwrights, when their works were published, for some reason brought us alcohol to Theater magazine, and we supplied Amistad de los Pueblos with this alcohol. Amazing Brest bison, amazing Armenian cognac, a variety of tinctures and vodka, which was brought from everywhere, saying: our vodka (Turkmen, Tajik, etc.) is the best. Well, “Friendship of the Peoples” opened all its containers; by the way, they themselves perfectly prepared shurpa, lagman, and no restaurant “Uzbekistan” could compare with them.
When I think about it, I don’t think of the food, of course, but of the people with whom I shared this meal. Together he enjoyed life, perhaps admired the same women, and certainly the same texts we read together. The centenary of the USSR is a historic date, this is a great decade of friendship that has fallen to our lot. Friendships that began at the table.
Guys, happy new year! Be happy, and may it be as good for you as it was for me when I remember all this.
Mikhail Shvydkoi, Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation
