It Takes Time
The pilot Troyanov is alive and well and is returning to the Motherland. The plane crashed, but it possibly will make it back to the Motherland also -- in pieces. I don't think NATO will find something really new about the Russian jet fighter Su-27. The transponder, according to Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov, self-destructed itself at least twice - during the pilot ejection and during the impact with the ground. In other words, there is nothing to worry about. Of course, Russia would have to pay a compensation for the accident. But who can explain to me why this fairly ordinary event is taking the news headlines for last three weeks?
Well, things happen and the planes are flying in the wrong places. They don't always crash, though. For instance, Mathias Rust, made all the way to the heart of our Motherland -- the Red Square -- and even perfectly landed in front of bewildered public. And that happened in the times when the Soviet Army, including the air-defense, was in quite blooming condition. There were several cases with Su-27 - including abroad as well - and in some of these cases the people have died. Sometimes the war planes are flying in the combat zone and drop a bomb in absolutely wrong bordering country. It happened, for example during the Yugoslavian crisis. The deceased General Alexander Lebed said in his soldier humor: "F..ck, they missed the whole country."
I don't think that Lithuanian authorities seriously suspected that Russian pilot was on some sort of secret mission. What kind of mission could that be that left only pieces from the aircraft. I don't really think that Russian authorities were seriously scared for the fate of their pilot in the "Lithuanian captivity." He was sitting not in Russian prison Matrosskaya Tishina, but under the house arrest. They say, the Lithuanian authorities were not attentive enough to the pilot's health needs. Well, I just won't mention inattentiveness of Russian authorities to the health of a lot of Russian defendants and prisoners --not to mention foreigners. Just imagine a foreign military pilot crossed our border.
So, it was just unpleasant incident and no more. But why all this tension between close some time ago - at least formally - countries? Why all this fuss, all these suspicions and statements? The explanation is simple. We just parted not so long ago. This is life. The on who went through the divorce will understand that. It looks like everything is over -- the kids and property are divided. But there is a still feeling of anger lingering deep inside. One side feels upset and another - deceived. One word still can create a storm of emotions, because not everything is forgotten and forgiven. This will pass. Five years after these people, after bumping to each other in the street would be sitting peacefully in some cafe and talk about their already separate lives. It just takes time...
Natalia Gevorkyan, columnist
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 07, 2005
|
