The Ballad of Igor and Vlad

In my search for calculators from the former Soviet Union, I have made several Russian friends. Two of these in particular have been helping me out heaps. Igor in Moscow, and Vlad in Saratov. In an effort to find calculators, I posted over 1000 emails to Russia. I received about 30 replies in all, but only two followed up with further emails. Yes, Igor and Vlad!

Igor Sokalski

Vlad Toronov

me, Andrew Davie

Transferring money to pay for the items that my Russian friends find for me has been extremely difficult. I have tried (and failed, several times) bank transfers, international money orders, travelers' checks. You name it, I've tried it. On one occasion I transferred some funds to Vlad's account only to find that the bank across the road from his kept the funds for two months and then returned them all the way to Australia... because they didn't have an agreement with the bank a stones' throw away!

Vlad had been a champion finding stuff, but funds were tight and he needed money. I'd been trying for quite a while but couldn't see a way to do it. Igor has also found some wonderful items, but getting funds to him has been somewhat simpler; Igor has a German friend to whom I transfer money, and he gets it to Igor when he (or a friend) visits. All the items I have received to date have been posted either from Germany or the United States, after being hand-carried out of the country. The Soviet items really are smuggled out of the country - in one case inside a cereal box!

Recently, I received an urgent email from Vlad. Vlad had been offered a tenure in a US university, and he urgently needed money for a US visa. Vlad, like many Soviets, does not get a high salary, and the cost of a visa (even walking in to the embassy is expensive!) was way beyond his reach. Vlad, out of desperation, asked me if I could get him some funds, somehow. Now, I was of a mind to help out (I'm a nice guy, really!), but we both knew that getting funds to Russia was next-to-impossible!

And then I remembered my friend Igor! Well... I figure... I could ask Igor to get some funds to Vlad; I'd transfer money to Germany and have Igor hand-deliver it to Vlad. Tricky, but possible! So, I emailed and asked Igor if I could get him to deliver funds to a friend of mine.

Igor said "of course - give him my name and email"...and so I told Vlad he should contact a friend of mine; "Igor Sokalski". Vlad writes back "this is unbelievable... I had a friend Igor Sokal'ski, back in school 15 years ago - surely it cannot be him?". Yes, you guessed it. One and the same! They hadn't talked for years and had lost touch. Brought together again by a guy in Australia, collecting slide rules and electronic calculators.

Now ain't that neat?

Altruism is alive and well; Vlad did me a favour by finding items for a stranger in Australia, spending his own money and time with no promise of recompense; and in return he has unexpectedly received the money he so desperately needed, and found a long-lost friend! Hope you like my story... it's all true!

As a follow-up to this story, Vlad did indeed make his trip to the USA, where he stayed in Illinois. He carried a number of slide rules and calculators with him, which he posted to me on his arrival. He achieved his dream of visiting the Mississippi river and retracing the route of Huckleberry Finn, a book he loved in his childhood. Vlad's wife and child visited him for a few months, and they all loved America. For Vlad, thinking about returning to Russia was like "a nightmare".

I still keep in regular touch with Igor and Vlad; the Russian friends I have made are wonderful people. Their enthusiasm and hard working attitude are inspiring. Truly, this site is as much theirs as anyone's. I invite you to visit Igor's home page and leave a note in his guest book.

In December 1997-2000, I made a trip to the USA, during which I made a detour just to visit Vlad and say hello. It was quite strange meeting in person after such an interesting start to a friendship. I was only able to spend a few short hours with him, and he showed me the work he is doing and where he lives. He hopes to have his family with him soon - it must be very lonely living in another country away from your wife and children.

We shared a meal at a Mexican restaurant in Chicago, and actually I felt sorry for the Mexican waiter trying to make sense of two guys at his table, one with a Russian accent and the other Australian, talking passionately about old calculators. He got a good tip :)

"Reading your story about Vlad and Igor' I was surprised once again how small our world is. Back to Moscow (now I live in Sydney) I studied Solid State and Laser Physics with Vlad and Igor' was three years senior. Just for now I want to thank you again for what you have done for Vlad! Well done!"

- Eugene Charyshkin