Eric answers. Wish
The arrival of American film actor Eric ROBERTS to Moscow went unnoticed. There was no press conference, no security guards protecting the star from unplanned communication. The visit of the Hollywood star was of a working nature. In a short time, at an incredible pace, he had to manage to star in Rodion Nakhapetov’s new film “Contagion.” I had to spend two days on set so that I could ask my questions during a few short breaks.
OUR conversation began at the moment when, sitting on the windowsill in hospital flannel pajamas, the actor lazily tore up his photographs. They were just given as a gift, hoping to please the star. The whole pack!
Why are you doing this? No pity? - a question burst out from me.
I did poorly here. Here the wrinkles are visible on the neck. This is a bad angle. In general, I don’t like myself here and no one should see me like that. I generally don’t like it when the press films me. Now I'm wearing makeup. There's a bruise under my eye, cookie crumbs on my chin. My image now is a dream for the paparazzi. Take me off and give me the signature: “Eric Roberts fell down the stairs in a drunken stupor. The result is clear to see,” and many newspapers will be happy to print this canard. So many tales have been published about me!
But you once had problems with alcohol and they even wrote that you had problems with drugs...
This was hardly a problem. I just wanted to try a lot when I was young. Well, I tried it and realized: it greatly interferes with my work. Now my lifestyle can rather be called ascetic. My wife and I have been vegetarians for almost two decades. No cigarettes. No alcohol. I train in the gym every day. I can't stand parties.
And go to bed strictly at eleven, right?
I don't see anything funny in this. I go to bed at ten in the evening, or even better if at 9. But at 7 in the morning I’m already in the gym. To be a good actor, you must have good health and excellent physical shape. There is no demand for the sick and old.
Who do you play in Nakhapetov's film?
Psychiatrist. This is the main role. This man is a genius and a villain at the same time. He invented a way to manipulate people's minds. The personality is deep and dramatic.
Your sister Julia Roberts is a popular actress. But they say you don't like questions about her. Are you in a quarrel with her?
I don't like questions about her. Because everyone is asking the same thing. But I'm not Julia. It’s more logical to ask Julia herself questions about her personal life. Is not it? About the quarrel - complete nonsense. This stupidity, invented by someone unknown, in the absence of sensations, has been around for a long time. We have absolutely normal, warm, family relations. I'm happy that she became a mother. Her twins are absolutely adorable and I adore them. Julia now lives with her mother, who helps her take care of the children. And when I come to visit them, I save time: I see all my relatives at once and in one house. Of course, it would be worth seeing each other more often, but I have a lot of work. I am an actor, thank God, in demand.
Which celebrities are you friends with?
His closest friends are Christopher Walken and Sean Pen, who was annoyed with questions about his ex-wife, Madonna.
Can you remember any event in your life that shocked you, but with a plus sign?
I once spent the night at Jack Nicholson's house. Woke up early. Standing at the open window, I began to watch how the elderly, overweight gardener deftly trimmed the bushes and dug the ground. He was wearing a faded T-shirt and a funny Vietnamese hat that looked like a straw umbrella. The gardener noticed that I was watching him and shouted to me: “Ask the owner where the lawnmower is, I need it urgently!” I replied: “He’s still sleeping.” - “Wake him up. Tell him it’s time to get up.” I was taken aback by such insolence and was almost insolent in response. But then the gardener turned around. It was Marlon Brando. He lived next door to Nicholson. And without any stellar pathos, he improved someone else’s lawn after he finished with his own. Then I realized: the higher the star, the less external evidence you need that you are famous.
Was there anything in Moscow now that also amazed you?
The city itself. It's very similar to New York. I like it. I was at the Museum of the Armed Forces. Stunningly interesting exhibits. Hitler's things. Goering's pants. That was an ass... And the buckwheat porridge also amazed me. I'm ready to eat it every day. I called my wife and told her to find this cereal in America. And I already learned how to cook.
Your wife, they say, has parents from Ukraine. Has she ever been there?
She doesn't. Because he's afraid to fly. And I was in Kyiv.
What can move you to tears?
View of a homeless dog. At first I took everyone to my home, but then I realized that I couldn’t warm everyone on my own, and together with my friends we created and maintain shelters for stray animals.
A few years ago, at a festival in Sochi, I saw a man tormenting a bear. He gave him vodka, beat him and at the same time invited him to take pictures with the animal. I bought the bear, and they promised me that he would be named Eric and sent to the nearest zoo. I really want to know the future fate of the bear. Maybe your readers can help?
You often play people who, in Russian speaking, have gone through fire, water and copper pipes. They have nothing to lose, they are not afraid of anything. Are you afraid of anything in life?
I'm afraid of losing my wife. And I don’t want to survive it. I would prefer to die first. But it’s better if this happens after our common old age.
Full name: Eric
Similar names: Erik, Eriko, Erich, Eerik, Erkki, Eero, Eerikki, Eirik, Eri, Airik, Eirikur
Church name: -
Meaning: eternal ruler, powerful, leader
Patronymic: Erikovich, Erikivna
The meaning of the name Eric - interpretation
The male name Eric has obvious Scandinavian roots. According to one version of its origin, this name consists of two Scandinavian roots, and as a result it can be translated as “eternal ruler.” This leaves a significant imprint on the character and fate of a man. In our country, the name Eric is not particularly common.
Name Eric in other languages
Astrology of the name Eric
Favorable day: Monday
Years later
Eric as a child is distinguished by his calmness and phlegmatic temperament. He obeys adults unquestioningly, demonstrates musical abilities, and gravitates towards chess and mathematics. The name Eric is very serious and thoughtful, loves to read. Eric grows up as a calm, somewhat phlegmatic boy, timid and obedient. He will meekly recite poems in front of mom and dad's guests, even if he doesn't want to.
His abilities - musical and mathematical - manifest themselves very early, he plays chess well. Likes to read books about great travelers, imagining himself as one of them. Eric is serious beyond his age; his reasoning often plunges those around him into a state of shock. Since a boy tends to squander his own abilities over trifles, parents should instill in their child systematic planning, focus and perseverance, then in the future Eric will be able to achieve a lot.
Having matured a little, Eric by no means becomes an activist and leader in the class. He continues to be interested in exact sciences and is making progress in programming. He is interested in history and regional studies, voraciously reads fiction books about travel, but prefers journalistic reports. Carried away, he independently studies the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries. In high school and in his first years at university, he realizes the need to do something about his health. He is increasingly irritated by his own pain and obvious tendency towards scoliosis.
He begins to actively take care of himself - gradually overcomes excessive shyness and indecisiveness, through intense self-training he gets rid of the stutter that is often found among Erics, and practices eloquence and public speaking, all on his own. Begins to engage in social activities and gets a taste for it. To overcome the shortcomings of his own health, he goes to a fitness center, works out in a gym under the guidance of an experienced trainer, and takes yoga and capoeira lessons. Six months later, no trace of scoliosis remains, and the frail, fragile young man acquires an athletic figure, arousing genuine interest among girls. He is physically developed and very strong, but rarely enters into conflicts, and knows how to resolve them not with the help of force, but with the help of reasoning and words. Eric is an unspoken leader among his peers.
An adult Eric has completely gotten rid of shyness, makes many friends, has excellent health and good sporting achievements. At work, he becomes the initiator of corporate parties, at which he is a central figure. He devotes a lot of time to self-improvement and career.
Eric can rush headlong to defend what he believes is a just cause. Often gets burned, but is ready to start over. He is alien to prudence and any diplomatic tricks. Men named Eric give the impression of being childish, not adapted to the harsh prose of life. Nevertheless, they manage well thanks to their prudence and caution.
In private life they are strict moralists, although they are very sensual by nature. Eric's opinion is taken into account by those around him, he is valued and respected by his superiors, and therefore he very quickly reaches noticeable career heights, especially if he receives approval from his family and management.
Eric's character
Eric is characterized by inner composure, courage and perseverance; he is a born leader and knows how to captivate others. Eric does not strive for fame and recognition, but they find it themselves.
He is a decent, sincere, honest person, and cannot stand falsehood and deception in a panic. Eric is an excellent conversationalist, he has a very developed intellect, he respects the opinion of his opponent and will not defend his point of view with foam at the mouth. Calmness, balance and prudence make him attractive to the people around him.
It happens that some shyness can be traced in Eric’s character; he does not like to attract too much attention to himself, but this goes against the fact that his rare and beautiful name already sets him apart from the general environment.
However, if his parents manage to develop significant pride in him, then the picture may be exactly the opposite, and Eric risks turning into a rather selfish and narcissistic person, accustomed to always being the center of attention.
Eric's fate
Eric, in a favorable scenario, achieves very noticeable heights in his career and social life. Among the bearers of this name and its variants (Erich, Eriko, Eerikki) there are famous politicians, writers, musicians and royalty. Eric's character is ambiguous and changes with age. It is difficult for the bearer of this Scandinavian name to define himself.
Eric is characterized by inner composure, courage and perseverance; he is a born leader and knows how to captivate others. Eric does not strive for fame and recognition, but they find it themselves. He is a decent, sincere, honest person, and cannot stand falsehood and deception in a panic. Eric is an excellent conversationalist, he has a very developed intellect, he respects the opinion of his opponent and will not defend his point of view with foam at the mouth. Calmness, balance and prudence make him attractive to the people around him.
Career,
business
and money
Marriage
and family
Sex
and love
Health
Hobbies
and hobbies
Career, business and money
For an adult Eric, his career is of significant value and occupies an important place in his life. He reaches gradually, but quickly enough, to the very top of the business Olympus. Becomes a politician, statesman, famous musician or outstanding artist. Innate and acquired abilities for leadership and time management allow a man to run a successful business of his own. There is always enough money in the family.
Eric gains financial independence early and begins to earn a living. He will make an excellent diplomat, politician, judge or journalist. Eric's opinion is taken into account by those around him, he is valued and respected by his superiors, and therefore he very quickly reaches noticeable career heights. In addition to work, Eric has many interests and hobbies, he likes to travel, read world literature, and he also loves to work with his hands and is constantly building or making something.
Marriage and family
For the owner of this royal name, family occupies the most important place in life. For her sake, he is ready to sacrifice his own career, which his chosen one does not agree with. His wife becomes a strong, strong-willed woman who strives to support her husband in everything, remaining in the shadows and heartily rejoicing at his successes. His house is in complete order, there are several children, and there are always many guests. Eric is a good-natured, zealous owner and a loyal friend.
Eric is a born family man. He dreams of meeting a beautiful woman, starting a family with her and having many children. Eric gets married quite early, and his companion will be an attractive but not stunning beauty, smart, kind and thrifty. Eric takes into account the opinion of his wife, but makes all important decisions only himself. Over the years, he will build a large house where all members of his family will be comfortable. Eric is an excellent owner and a strict but fair father.
Sex and love
Sex for Eric is not the most important thing in life. Therefore, he is never interested in the adventures of his comrades and colleagues. He arouses increased interest among the opposite sex, but he himself cannot be called amorous; he remains cold towards girls.
Having met love, he marries, but not immediately, but after several years of relationship (without sex). She loses her virginity only on her wedding night. Eric's chosen one most often becomes a virgin or a girl with high moral standards; he will definitely not be attracted to a strolling lady for a serious relationship.
Health
Young Eric has rather poor health and is often sick. His physical form also leaves much to be desired. As a rule, in his youth, Eric does not like to engage in active sports, preferring walks with friends and study to an active lifestyle. However, already in adulthood, having taken charge of himself, Eric begins to play sports and gradually gains excellent health.
In general, Eric is in good health and has no obvious problems. Eric rarely gets sick and tolerates illness easily. This often leads to Eric being completely indifferent to his health. Often this negligence manifests itself at a later age in problems with the digestive organs, etc.
Interests and hobbies
Eric's hobbies are very varied. He loves to travel and read books. Sometimes he enjoys role-playing games. His vacation can be called genius - he selflessly moves iron in the gym, goes skiing, and is not against extreme entertainment. Paragliding, extreme park, climbing wall, flying club, diving, yachting - this is not a complete list of what Eric manages to try during his long life.
The name Erica allows him to be a noticeable personality. Therefore, for self-realization, he prefers areas where mental activity is required or where communication with the public is present. An example of this are such famous personalities as Eric Anthony Roberts, Eric Balfour and Eric Kyle Zmanda (Hollywood film actors), as well as scientists - Eric Laxman, Eric Drexler and illusionist Eric Weiss (Harry Houdini).
In this counseling section you can anonymously ask a question about HIV/AIDS.
A notification of the response will be sent to the e-mail you specified. The question and answer will be published on the website. If you do not want the question/answer to be published, please inform the consultant about this in the text of the question. Formulate the question clearly and carefully indicate your e-mail to receive timely notification of the receipt of a response.
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Answers Eric, HIV consultant
Hello. You are already taking lamivudine. So what's the replacement? What exactly does weight loss look like? What about nutrition and the gastrointestinal tract?
Answers Eric, HIV consultant
There is no risk. If you do not have a high temperature, then the symptoms have nothing to do with OS. Because You had no risk, no need to wait for anything, because... there is no reason for the test.
Vladimir, 10/26/19
Answers Eric, HIV consultant
To a psychiatrist.
Joe, 10/25/19
Answers Eric, HIV consultant
Hello. There is no risk. HIV is excluded by the result of an ELISA test 3 months after the last risk of infection (6 weeks are sufficient for the at+ag test).
Answers Eric, HIV consultant
I calmly explain if people ask me about HIV. And with phobias, I refer them to a specialized specialist: a psychiatrist. And there is no rudeness in this.
Is the answer helpful? Yes 0 / No 0
Answers Eric, HIV consultant
High.
Is the answer helpful? Yes 0 / No 0
Alexander, 11/25/12
Answers Eric, HIV consultant
Alexander, hello. Theoretically, it increases, but such details do not affect the real risk.
Maxim, 10/26/19
Answers Eric, HIV consultant
Yes, it makes sense if no more than a day has passed.
Now its spiritual successors, such as League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth, are celebrating success in the free-to-play gaming market, and Dota 2 is about to crush this stability. Valve's Erik Johnson answered some hot questions about Dota 2.
GameSpy: What is the business model of Dota 2? Will it be f2p with micro-transactions (similar to other MOBA games), or will it be a traditional purchase-to-play product?
Erik Johnson: We haven't said anything about the price of the game yet.
GameSpy: How close is Dota 2 to the original? Is it aimed at hardcore Defense of the Ancients fans, or less experienced players who are new to the MOBA genre?
Erik Johnson: I have a hard time understanding what the word “hardcore” means within the Dota community. The word "hardcore" is used to describe a small group within a larger community who are passionate about a certain product and have spent a lot of time interacting with the community both inside and outside of it. In the case of Dota, there are tens of millions of people who play it, and many of them seem to fit this description. For people who just want to play with friends, there are many pitfalls, but still the core mechanics of Dota look attractive to them. We want to make it easier for new players to understand these mechanics and give them the ability to play with their friends easily and simply. We believe Dota's fundamentals are the best it has!
GameSpy: What unique mechanics does Dota 2 have? In a nutshell: describe a couple of heroes, abilities, things. I would like to get a complete picture of what it looks like.
Erik Johnson: Dota 2 is a competitive game that combines elements of action, role-playing and real-time strategy. The gameplay is constantly changing, encouraging the coordinated actions of teammates and anticipating the enemy's actions, more than sleight of hand. Over the course of each match, which lasts less than an hour, you get the full RPG experience, your character starts with few resources and skills, but then becomes more powerful. The camera is the same as in other RTS, meaning you only need to control your hero and not worry about anything else.
GameSpy: What is Valve's position on the last hit? This is a pressing issue for fans of the genre, and yet LoL doesn't have it.
Erik Johnson: We don't really understand why this is even a problem. One of the reasons that Dota is so popular, we think, is the number of ways players can improve their skills. Many traditional RTS games encourage microcontrol; In Dota, the player is focused on a single hero, and he will definitely be rewarded in the subsequent parts of the game (mid, late). Good lane control in the early game is one such part, but it is not all that will allow a player to have fun and be competitive.
GameSpy: What are you doing to create a large, positive community for Dota 2? The original Dota is known for having a somewhat immoral (toxic, xenophobic community), are you doing anything to dispel that perception?
Erik Johnson: We don't think things are that bad in the Dota community. A huge number of users spend their time writing guides, thereby teaching new and experienced players. This happens in any community, and I don’t see anything wrong with it, I think it’s right. We want to provide more opportunities for interaction within the community, such as allowing an experienced player to train a new player. Most people follow their friends into Dota, so we think it makes sense.
GameSpy: What do you think makes Dota different from other MOBA games (League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth?) What do you want to do with Dota 2? In what direction should MOBA games develop, what has not yet been done?
Erik Johnson: We are making a sequel to Dota, and we hope that people in this community know that we have invested a lot in releasing Dota 2. I think that many fans of Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Portal, Left 4 Dead, would like to try Dota 2.
GameSpy: At Gamescom in Germany you are going to show Dota 2, you invited well-known teams. You've talked to pro-gaming organizations like MLG (Major League Games) about what's next for Dot 2 on the scene (LoL, HoN).
Erik Johnson: The same things that make people play Dota all over the world help make the game professional. Attracting the best teams from all over the world, and broadcasting online to the whole world, is a great opportunity to show everyone Dota 2 for the first time. We also hope to collaborate with major organizations and leagues to ensure that Dota 2 has what it needs to become a professional discipline.
GameSpy: What is Valve's position regarding Riot Games' Dota trademark and Blizzard's statements regarding this entire situation?
Erik Johnson: We're thinking about all the Dota fans and how we're moving to the top of one of the most popular games in the world. We are making a sequel to the game and hope that the community will be happy.
Have you ever traveled around Russia with an American? I happened to. For almost a month I was in the company of a nice, kind man (one could say small, if not for his nearly two-meter height). The American was good-natured and smiling. When he smiled, he was what is called a “Hollywood handsome man.” The rest of the time, unsmiling, the mask of tense bewilderment never left his face. This tension was transmitted to me as well. It wasn't easy to take it off.
"Wai?" - "Why?" - he asked every now and then. When I managed to find an answer to his “wow,” he said “wow” with uncertain delight. Or "wow."
Post-Soviet people have begun to get used to “wow,” because television show talkers and participants in all kinds of shows constantly wow. Well "wow" and "wow". You can “meow.” When you are professionally brutalized from the cradle, it is natural to switch to onomatopoeia of those into whom you are being turned.
This remark does not apply to my American. For him, “wow” is something like our “well, yes!” or “wow!”
I’m used to his “wow”, but with his “wow?” - endless “why?” it was more difficult.
Really, wow, are things happening in Russia that defy any explanation?
Well, why is a photographer, an employee of American newspapers unknown to anyone in Russia, greeted by the Kuban Cossacks like an astronaut: they prance in Circassian shorts, chop down vines, and then treat them to borscht, so much so that after the third plate the American soul asks for a fourth, and then, having soared indo, begins expand and feel a rapidly growing sense of kinship with the broad Russian soul?
You are trying to talk about traditional Russian hospitality. After a long silence you hear: “But it costs a lot of money!”
True. The price of the dinner offered to us far exceeded the salary of the schoolteacher in whose house we feasted.
So, just bicosis, we have such faith - we are obliged to accept the traveler, feed him and put him to bed.
And then the same thing happened in Ossetia. And here the broad Ossetian soul (in some manifestations wider than the Russian one) demonstrates its scope and miracles of hospitality.
Wine flows like a river! After just an hour, a curly lamb is no longer a detail of a mountain landscape, but a mountain of steaming delicious meat.
Beautiful, intricate toasts, the meaning of which becomes clear only after the poetic commentary of the toastmaster. Kind words about the overseas guest and a complete feeling that with his appearance came the same happiness that neither the poets of ancient and modern times, nor the heroes of the folk epic, nor the valiant political leadership could achieve. But then handsome Eric arrived from distant America, and a joyful light shone in the house standing under a five-century-old watchtower.
Why are they so happy to see me? Wai?
And you rest.
Do they have this kind of faith too?
So, so, so,” I answer quickly. - I'll explain it later.
But it is difficult to explain what kind of faith the Ossetians have. Most of them consider themselves Christians. About a third are Muslims. There are also pagans. They have no interfaith misunderstandings. Everyone considers themselves descendants of the ancient Alans and lives together. One of the main holidays of Ossetians of all religions is Jorguba in honor of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George. They celebrate it for a whole week. All over Ossetia they slaughter bulls and rams and feast day and night. We arrived just at this time.
Chapels and so-called “holy places” are erected for St. George in the form of pavilions with tables and barbecues. Nearby you will definitely see a tree with shreds, rags and scarves tied to its branches. An icon of St. George or an image of a mighty bearded old man in chain mail and a helmet on a horse with three legs will certainly hang in the pavilion. This is the hero of the folk epic. In modern popular consciousness, these two images have merged together. Only churchgoers know who is who. Non-church people listen quite good-naturedly to explanations that the bearded old man cannot possibly be Saint George, if only because George was martyred at a young age. People admit their ignorance without offense and even willingly talk about how Ossetia lost its bishops and priests during the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Without priests, they saved what they could. Pagan ideas intertwined with Christian ones.
During the communist rule, they tried to wean people away from this mixture of beliefs. But the Ossetians have not lost the concepts of honor, kindness, hospitality, respect for elders, and readiness to come to the aid of their neighbors. The ethical law was preserved in families and rural communities.
Eric understands this. Nods without any “wow”.
"Way" began in Beslan. In America he was told that in Beslan terrorism had acquired a new quality - it had become even more cruel.
Why did they kill children? Wai?
Go ahead and answer.
We wandered through the corridors and classrooms of the destroyed school, stepping on textbooks, notebooks, backpacks, briefcases, pencil cases, pencils and pens covered with plaster and glass.
A yellow ribbon, sneakers, a portrait of Pushkin next to a photograph of Lenin, a broken globe, a red T-shirt covered in white dust, bullet marks and inscriptions on the walls. Black and blue on white words of sorrow, declarations of love: “Aslanchik, we will never forget you!” Nearby are curses to the killers and promises of revenge. After the crowd seized the government building in Cherkessk, an inscription appeared: “Ossetians, seven women did in Cherkessk what you all have not been able to do so far!”
Boys' heads flashed in the doorways. The boys walked around us in circles, suddenly appeared coming out of side corridors and classrooms, and just as suddenly disappeared. Adults were coming out from somewhere, individually and in small groups. They looked into what had once been classrooms, looked at the traces of the pogrom, at the surviving portraits of great chemists, mathematicians, writers, and silently, under the crunch of crushed glass, moved to other rooms. This is how they walk in art galleries, looking at the paintings of great masters...
Some woman in black was copying wall texts into a notepad. While Eric was photographing a pile of textbooks and objects that the Beslan first-graders did not have time to use, I watched the lady. I recognized her. Journalist Politkovskaya recorded threats and calls for revenge.
My friends asked the abbot of the recently opened monastery in Beslan to serve a memorial service in the school gym. Or rather, what was left of it. The charred floor was covered with flowers everywhere. They stood in vases, buckets, and half-cut plastic bottles. Under the basketball backboard, to which the bandits tied explosives, there was a whole mountain of flowers. The bouquets stood on separate islands. This is how parents marked the places where their children died.
Hegumen Anthony came with his novices. They placed several icons next to flowers and lit candles. Lithium has begun. Censer smoke rose in bluish, curly streams past the burnt floor beams towards the sky.
When they sang “Rest with the Saints,” sobs were heard. During the litia, new people came up. There were many women in black. Caucasian women do not hide their grief and cry with lamentations and groans. Eric filmed the funeral service delicately, fearing to offend the grieving women.
Politkovskaya also took photographs. It seemed to me that she was clicking panoramic shots so as not to miss a single face.
After the funeral service, she approached Father Anthony. I hastened to warn him to be careful with her. You can expect anything from this admirer of “freedom fighters.” And she can describe the memorial service for the victims of terror as an incitement to revenge, and the monastery under construction as a zindan for future prisoners of war.
A man who had lost his son and grandson prayed with us. His father, having learned about what had happened, stopped eating and died twenty days later.
We went up to the second floor and prayed at the window from which the bandits threw his son. He turned out to be a relative of our friend and invited us all to stop by his house and remember his loved ones. On the way we stopped at a rural cemetery. There, women were crying at the new graves. Five of his neighbors died - a mother and four children. Later we learned that more than forty coffins were taken out of one Beslan house. Several families died completely. On this day, families went to school. Long before the first of September, people walked around Beslan and the surrounding villages and persuaded both old and young people to come with their children and grandchildren, because Moscow television would come, there would be a big celebration, and they would be able to talk about their problems...
After the cemetery we stopped at a house where there were five photographs in mourning frames.
Photos of the dead lay on carefully made beds. You cannot lie down or sit on them for a year.
Young women - aunts of murdered children - with tears showed us photographs of their nephews and nieces - happily smiling babies. Boys in musketeer costumes, girls in crinallins and wigs with curls.
Elderly women sat in the courtyard, their eyes red from tears. Sad turkeys quietly wandered around the yard. It seemed that their eyes were teary.
Our owner said that his dog cried like a man for exactly forty days and howled all night long.
The funeral feast, which his wife quickly prepared, was not an easy test. How should we, strangers, behave in a house where everything speaks of grief? Dried clusters of grapes - there is no grandson who would happily pick them. Piles of corn stalks like burial pyramids. A child's bicycle leaning against a cast iron pot. Even a perfectly swept and washed paved yard indicated that it was easy to get rid of garbage and dirt, but what to do with the grief...
Surprisingly quickly we stopped feeling like outsiders. Perhaps because in the Caucasus kinship is felt more acutely: many clans have long become related to each other. You can almost say with certainty that your neighbor is at least a distant relative. It's just a matter of degree of relationship. Therefore, joy and sorrow are experienced together. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are invited to weddings, and entire villages come to funerals.
We didn't have to think of anything to say. The words of sympathy themselves came from the heart. Eric also said a few words. In a humanized translation from the American, “Ay am sori” can sound quite heartfelt.
I had to translate for Erica, but to his “wy?” there was not enough time or talent. I promised to translate it later.
To the cemetery we drove along Stalin Street past the monument to Stalin.
- “Why Stalin?”
Who knows? Actually, it can be explained. But here begins, I would say, “political trigonometry.” Political correctness does not allow us to formulate an answer intelligibly, so as not to offend the Ossetians. If you talk about firm power, which you cannot do without in the Caucasus, your closest neighbors will remind you of deportation. And what will a nice American understand about our problems?! He didn't even read Mu-Mu. I'm trying to laugh it off. I'm talking about democracy. Some people like mustaches and marshal shoulder straps. They have the right to deliver.
But the cemetery is no time for jokes. Behind the fence of the Beslan cemetery are not new graves, but an entire city. The mines and factories (except for alcohol) are not working, but here there is just shock construction: wheeled tractors are rolling, loaded dump trucks pass one after another, several excavators are lifting buckets, dumping earth into trucks. Small German rollers are rolling out the newly laid asphalt. There is something terribly offensive in this lively movement. The life of the mechanisms seems autonomous and self-sufficient. This is some kind of ominous antithesis to those who passed away. It doesn't fit at all with what happens at the graves. Almost everyone has people. It seems the whole city has moved to the cemetery. Women in black dresses and mourning scarves. Many cry and kiss photographs on crosses and pyramidal obelisks. The faces in the photographs are mostly children's. Lots of women's ones. All of them are beautiful and spiritual. Several photographs of boys in the musketeer attire we have already seen. Six to ten year old girls in carnival dresses. Some with fans. Childish coquetry and boundless joy, anticipation of an endless holiday, eyes sparkling with happiness... You can feel the handwriting of the same photographer. Apparently, they all used his services on the same day. In identical poses, with very similar smiles, as if siblings froze forever, showing their loved ones how beautiful and handsome they are... Endless rows of beautiful faces, who one day became neighbors in the cemetery and brothers-sisters of one heavenly sisterhood-brotherhood.
Men are kept separate from women. Someone is straightening the grave, someone is laying tiles on the path between the graves. Nearby, relatives and friends pour vodka into glasses and drink. Some are silent, others say something. Our friend was recognized. He is a famous person in Ossetia. They began to beckon to us with gestures.
“Let’s go, say the Kingdom of Heaven,” he ordered and headed to the nearest grave.
We had to drink several times with the fathers and relatives of the murdered children. We moved from grave to grave. And again I was surprised that I managed to find words of consolation without repeating myself or being false. When you see a heart open with grief and pray for it to find consolation, your lips begin to speak themselves.
We lingered for a long time at the last grave. The forty-year-old father, who had lost his daughter and son, seemed calm. His friends and brothers, after three funeral toasts, began to talk about the details of that terrible day. They talked about things that were not written in the newspapers. That Ossetia is the most faithful friend of the Russians in the Caucasus, but that Moscow has accumulated a lot of questions.
They asked me these questions as if I were the chief cook of the political kitchen. "Why?" - they asked. "Wai?" - Eric echoed them.
Why did the high Kremlin boss say on the very first day that among the bandits there were Russians, Arabs and even blacks? The black man turned out to be black only on his hands and his face smeared with wax. Everything else was completely white and easily identifiable ethnically. There was no one other than the closest neighbors in the gang. Why didn't television refute the lie? Why do we need to attribute Russians to these monsters?
For some reason, it still seems to me that our leadership bases its actions on considerations of the common good.
Obviously, in order to extinguish the desire for revenge. To avoid a new massacre, we decided to take part of the blame upon ourselves. Now everyone is grieving with you, but if you start slaughtering the children of your enemies in retaliation, you will be no better than them - this is how I tried to find a sensible explanation for the leadership’s position.
But we know who arranged it. We don't need to lie. Even if the TV talks about blacks and the Chinese, we still won’t go to Africa or China. We know our enemies.
Why didn't our main boss go to the bandits? Even if he had died, we would have honored him as a hero, but now that he promised to resign and did not resign, not a single person will find an excuse for him. He removed all the guilty officials and transferred them to better positions... This will not work in Ossetia...
They talked for a long time about the betrayal of the school director, about the mistakes of the security forces, about terrible corruption, when management at all levels forces subordinates to engage in extortion so that what they collect goes to the top...
Why is this so?
Wai? – Eric asked.
Really, "wow?"
I didn’t want to talk about the details of the operation at all. Of course, what we saw in television reports bore little resemblance to the exploits of our home-grown “Rambo” and “cops” from television series. But for me it is enough that our guys gave their lives for the liberation of the Beslan children. Whether it’s competent or not from the point of view of professionals is not for me to judge. Kingdom of Heaven to the lost and good health to the survivors. Moreover, I didn’t want to talk about politics. It seemed blasphemous to talk from fresh graves about why the stabilization fund was placed in American banks at one percent when the dollar fell by ten percent. But my new acquaintances themselves started this conversation. After some silence, the father of the dead children entered the conversation. He was a tall, handsome Ossetian. He spoke Russian without any accent. God grant the Moscow intellectuals such a speech.
What is the use of looking for the origins of terrorism where they do not exist? Here we were killed the same way as in 1992. They didn't become any more cruel. They have always been like this. For them, a little Ossetian is tomorrow’s adult. And terrorism remained as it was intended. Read Bakunin's Catechism of a Revolutionary. You need to kill the best. Both officials and military personnel. The bribe-taker and the scoundrel must be protected. They are better than any revolutionary at discrediting and undermining the system. Our officials are not killed. Our best thing was killed - our children...
They drank in silence.
And what will Moscow advise us to do? – six powerful Caucasian men looked at me sternly. Eric looked longingly into the empty glass. Our host said something in Ossetian and began to say goodbye. I couldn't leave without answering.
I don’t know about Moscow. The Kremlin's tower has been gone for a long time. Let's pray that she will stop and take her place. But Orthodox Russia is praying for your children. Our children are also being killed. But not so loud and without live broadcast. Drugs, gang warfare, lies and hopelessness. And we will not stop this destruction unless we become different ourselves. We must stop lying and being afraid. And under no circumstances should you live in a dream of revenge. The Lord commanded that vengeance be left to him...
I'll leave it. Others won't leave. “He shook our hands and walked behind the cross, giving his friends the opportunity to say goodbye to us.
At the cemetery gates I looked back. He looked after us. Friends collected what was left from the meal into bags.
The next day we attended the liturgy at the Elias Church. The temple was full. Most of the parishioners are Ossetians. The bishop served. After the service, the bishop gave a sermon. The main theme was the need for awareness of sin and the churching of the people. In conclusion, he urged everyone not to give in to calls for revenge.
I translated the sermon for Eric. Eric approved of it.
A crowd gathered at the gates of the military registration and enlistment office in front of the Elias Church. Relatives, young men and women saw off the recruits. Mothers stood with Ossetian pies wrapped in canvas. The new recruits were cheerful. The young boy began to dance the lesginka. Everyone started clapping their hands and singing along. I haven’t seen such a farewell to the army for a long time. Eric took out his camera.
When people saw that they were being filmed, they were not embarrassed. Several young men came up to us and began to tell us where they were being sent and how they would serve. A major typesetter from the Moscow district came out. I said a few warm words to my family. And he told us that no one serves in the army better than Ossetians now.
Well, for the destroyers of Russia this is a serious reason for punishment.
