The Red Collusion

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This book is dedicated to three close and beloved individuals who are no longer with us, and I feel their absence every day. First of all my father, a loving and caring father and grandfather, a noble man, wise and knowledgeable, and at the same time modest and unassuming; and also to my mother, who was his complete opposite — that is, she was a dominant woman, a socialite whose captivating presence could not be ignored, as well as the unique sense of humor which so characterized her. The book is also dedicated to my cousin, Elliel Yossi of blessed memory, a remarkable fighter pilot with an equally remarkable sense of humor. Yossi and I were the same age, and together we shared many unforgettable experiences; he was like a brother to me in every way.

The 500-year old Novodevichy convent sits by the Moscow river. It is home to Russia’s most revered cemetery. Some 27,000 sons and daughters of Russia, military heroes as well as cultural icons, rest in peace completely, some since the days of Ivan the Terrible. The cemetery’s elaborately decorated tombs, sculpted in stone and granite in the image of the dead, nestling amidst dense, manicured greenery, lend it the air of a museum of Russian history. Muscovites enjoy occasional visits to the Novodevichy Cemetery, as do other Russians from all over this vast country, who are referred to condescendingly by the locals as “tourists”. Both tourists and locals follow the custom of leaving colorful bouquets on their favorite heroes’ graves.

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