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ANYA
WAS AWARDED
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A
PRESTIGIOUS
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For
having earned “5’s” (or “A’s”) in
ALL her courses
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during her 5 years at the Russian Customs Service Academia!
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ANYA’S
GRADUATION CEREMONY—14 JUNE 2002
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This
photo shows Anya in ranks with her classmates at the Russian Customs
Service Academia just before her Graduation Ceremony. Yelena had made
a 3-week trip to Moscow for this special event without Steve because
*ONLY* RUSSIAN...
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...CITIZENS
are allowed to physically enter the Customs Service Academia’s
facilities and grounds. [And, even Russian citizens who are not part
of the Academia must have prior written approval to enter these “hallowed
halls!” Sigh...don’t ask “WHY!!!!”]
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Needless
to say, having completed 5 years of hard academic studies (and graduating
at the TOP of her class), Anya was quite thrilled to receive her commission
and rank as an Officer in the Russian Customs Service. Anya was originally
supposed to serve...
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..three
year’s of active duty in the Russian Customs Service as a “pay
back” to the Russian government for her 5 year’s “free”
college education. However, a month after she was commissioned as an
officer, the Russian government converted these ‘officer’
positions to ‘civilian’ jobs...
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...and
Anya ended up NOT having any active duty repayment obligation for her
education. In this photo taken immediately after the ceremony, Anya’s
grandmother has obviously decided that Anya’s flowers must have
really been for her! <grin>
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Unfortunately,
while Lena was able to take a few digital photos at the graduation ceremony,
most of these images were taken on 35mm film—and scans of these
35mm photos definitely do NOT begin to match the quality of the digital
images!
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This
(and the next) photo were taken just outside the Russian Customs Service
Academia. And, this is as far as Steve—because he is not a Russian
citizen—was allowed to go when he went to see Anya’s academia
during his Moscow visit in 2001.
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Even
Anya’s grandfather—who is a retired senior Russian Army Colonel—was
not allowed to actually enter the Academia when he went to pick up the
family because his name had not previously been put on the “Authorized
Guest List.”
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This
is digital photo of Anya relaxing after the ceremony while talking on
her cell phone—note the difference in quality of this photo (and
the previous photo of her with her grandparents) as compared to the
other 35mm film scans shown earlier on this page!
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After
their graduation, the newly-commissioned officers went by bus to a resort
for a weekend’s celebration. Before leaving for the weekend graduation
party, however, there was one MAJOR decision that had to be made: WHAT
TO WEAR! Anya chose this gold dress and matching...
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...gold
purse and gold shoes. In addition, however, she had also sat—very
patiently—while having her fingernails and TOE NAILS custom colored
to match her outfit! (Every woman ought to go through this experiece
at least once!)
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This
“BIG GUY” is one of Anya’s classmates. (I’d hate
to disagree with him...or to have to pay his FEED & BAR BILL!) The
other girl, Oksana, is one...
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...of
Anya’s closest friends from the Academia. Anya and her classmates
really ‘kicked back’ and enjoyed the great food and many various
‘beverages’ which were available at the resort.
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It
is a shame that we don’t have any digital photos of the activities
at the resort during their 2-day graduation celebration because these
35mm film scans simply leave a lot to be desired.
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This
is a 35mm photo scan of many of Anya’s Customs Service classmates
with whom she shared many experiences over her 5 years at the Academia.
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To
commemorate their graduation, Anya’s Customs Service class bought
a marble slab on Arbot Street (which is a popular tourist area near
the Kremlin). This is similar to movie stars having their foot/hand
prints in concrete on the "Walk of Fame" section of sidewalk
in Hollywood.
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