Interview with Vladimir A. Shvarstman
Vladimir was born and lived in the Far East part of Russia until his family, when he reached fifteen, moved to the western part of Russia. After earning MSEE from Jdanov University with a major in electronic engineering, he enrolled into Polytechnic University of St. Petersburg. Four years later, he gained MSBE in bio-medical cybernetics while working in the Academy of Russian Science, Nuclei Research Facilities studying a chemical protection against a nuclei poisoning. Mr. Shvartsman intensively experimented with telekinesis and defended his highest degree with the thesis “Studying electrical responses of a single neuron from a non-restrain animal.” Later on, he joined the Research Institute of High Nervous System for studying peculiar functions of a brain. In 1997, after settling in the USA, he took a position in U of L along with gaining an NIH grant for devising a parallel signal processor utilizing his invention (the neural-cell) for detecting the faint signal, called Bundle of His, from the body's surface on a beat-by-beat basis. Twenty publications and a dozen presentations helped advance the new idea to become, seven years later, the basis for the Neural Network branch of science. In 1983, he founded a high-tech company to commercialize a new super-high resolution electrocardiograph (ECG). Winning several highly competitive SBIR grants provided funds for development various technologies. The progress did not last for long. A hired attorney embezzled company funds and a five-year long litigation for recovering stolen money killed the momentum. During the last twenty years, he has published about one hundred scientific/technical papers, read a number of lectures, published seven books, and patented a dozen of his inventions. Since 1974, he has painted, having about 400-finished works on a display at his private art-gallery, VS Holding, LLC. A few exhibitions in Russia brought him no fame, but rather trouble from the government. That was one of the reasons encouraged him to immigrate. Shvartsman started writing from 1994 after twelve years of marriage when his family fell apart, and writing was a single available way for releasing pain and frustrations. The first book of the series “The Fool,” is “Born under Dark Sun” and it was published in 2008. The second book, “Nibbling the Freedom,” was published in 2011. The third book, “Too Personal and Too Reviling” is in a finishing stage to be published at the end of 2012 and the fourth book, “It’s Easy Hating a White Man” will follow. Two more books, including paintings in full colors, were published in 2001 “Colors of the Truth” and “Colors of Life” after his art-exhibition in Frankfort, KY in 2008. In 2004, he started writing, “Dirty Body could be washed off, but not a Dirtied Soul” which consists of three books. Two first books were published, “Dysfunctional Girl from a Dysfunctional Family” in 2010 and the second, “Jailed Jailbird” in 2011. Presently, he is working on the third book of that series, “Bleaching the Dirtied Soul.” A collection of stories from his life, “How to Paint Chickens and other stories” was published in 2011. Presently, Shvartsman is running a small-high tech company. He continues painting, writing, publishing, and inventing. Tyler: Welcome, Vladimir. I’m excited to have the opportunity to talk to you today. To begin, your subtitle for “How to Paint Chickens and Other Stories” is “The Way My Life Was and How It Is Now.” Does that mean that the short stories in the book are based on your own experiences in your life? Are any of them fiction or are they all non-fiction?
The book is a collection of stories written during the past twenty years and is a glimpse into the spiritual world of a contemporary thinker. Living half of his life in Communistic Russia has expanded Shvartsman’s awareness of reality and helped him with the comprehension of modern day’s social transmutations. Stories convey his rich experience and thoughts about life, relationships, and politics. Endure as scientist, inventor, writer, and the head of small high-tech company he still finds a time and inspiration for working on a canvas. The author illustrated this and seven others books with reproductions of his remarkable, expressionistic paintings. A short answer to your first question would be yes. All stories are reflections of events from my life that would characterize them as non-fictional. However, there is a little twist to that description. I wrote them years after events occurred. Since the time of the event, I became a little bit more mature, and obviously, an interpretation of it varied. I wish to warn impatient readers looking for easy reading, such as a twisted drama or sexy romance, the book will be unlikely to bring you full satisfaction. You’ll make a right choice if you like feeding your brain with natural, no additive added thoughts. In any case, I would not be surprised receiving complaints from some readers, of such sort, “some sentences were difficult to comprehend” and “writings (English) desired to be better.” Here are facts and it is not an attempt of finding excuses and defend indefensible. During my schooling, I learned Russian (my native language) and German. In my wildest imagination, I couldn’t foresee me talking English. I’ve attended no English school and learned to read, speak and write on my own. You’re welcome to get in touch with me for any additional clarifications. In spite of someone’s opinion and saying of “uneducated” Russian, I’m compelled to tell about my life, observations and thoughts. You would have nothing to lose learning my opinion and much to gain. Everyone has something to tell about life. The first fifty pages from a book written by a shepherd might give us enjoyment and serenity, but very few of us have a privilege living that kind of life. Life most of us live is a turbulent journey, like a roller-coaster ride. We recognized unfairness in many aspects of our lives, because we were rather seldom on the top of the ride. It is not easy remaining to be an optimist while located on the bottom. Sometimes we lose the battle against what seems to be dominating dark forces that were pushing us down. As the result of it, we are confronting life itself and concerning folks. In some ways, an agitated life might be considered as good news, counting many and different stories happened. That would provide plenty of material for writing not one but many books. Tyler: How do you feel writing about your life and why would you write about it? Vladimir: I live an unperturbed life and don’t see a chance of becoming a person of interest to historians or biographers. Writing about my life was a single option not to vanish in dust. On many occasions, I characterized my life as a chain of mistakes. Reading about lives of the successful and famous, an unsettling question was always bumping in my head. How is it possible? Consider so much work already accomplished, I’m still struggling. It is probably true that the best were able to improve their lives learning from other people’s mistakes when lesser successful folks kept recycling their own. Reading about other people’s mistakes makes it the best book to read. Tyler: I’m intrigued by the title story. Will you tell us why a person would want to paint chickens? Vladimir: Coming out with a snappy title and so with a respectful kid’s name is a diligent obligation of us who gave them existence. I remember days my wife and I spent on naming our son Andrew and how many thoughts I gave for the title of another of my books “The Fool.” I even wrote a full chapter describing that struggle. It was an easy task. I spent no time for creating the title “How to Paint Chickens.” This title is a description of the event and realistically is what I did while I protected my chickens. Please imagine forty families living in multi-apartment building, each owning a dozen or more chickens. Chickens live in small sheds spaced about five-foot of land and separated by six-foot tall fence. That is not all, every one chicken is white and all of them can fly over fences in search of food. How would you identify your chickens among 500 alike? There was not much crime reported in the city. I don’t remember a case of a stolen chicken, but a family would lose rights, on a running-around-chicken, if they could not positively identify it. Usually placing several different color strips around chicken legs works well. Each family owned a unique combination and this is how peace among neighbors was maintained. It was a good system but not without drawbacks. Those strips must be checked out at least weekly. For a nine-year old boy, it was too much work especially during a summer break. I was looking for a better, maintenance-free way for indentifying our chickens. Painting came to my mind. Writing above, I started thinking that a decision to paint chickens, and support my parents provided to me, helped me choose painting in my twenties when I was looking for a media for reflecting my thoughts. If a concern about losing chickens were not more important on the minds of my parents, then my life would be different, less creative. Tyler: Vladimir, I understand you are an inventor and a scientist, and we often think the sciences are almost the opposite of the humanities, so what about writing appeals to you and what made you decide to write a short story collection? Vladimir: That is a rather appalling statement. I’m sure there exist a small number of “evil” scientists and most likely, there are a much larger number of malicious-minded people of others professions in the world. I’ve worked with scientists in both countries and the majority of them were hard working, life loving and humanitarian individuals. Money and power could corrupt the best of us. It is said watching how intelligence is wasted on satisfying its own greed. In my book, “Nibbling the Freedom” I described one of such cases. I would love to answer your question with a story that I learned a long time ago. Here it is, the way I’m recollecting it now. A peaceful and prosperous secluded region would be envious to anyone living in the country, if no terrifying tradition drowns them away. Once a month, a local governor called for a barber who would never go back to his family alive. A winning “honorable” lottery became a funeral procession for the unlucky family of barber Smith. When he arrived, he was taken straight to the governor. Smith dropped on his knees and crying begged for his life, citing his large family that would be left unfed if he would vanish. In a rare moment of compassion, the governor offered him a deal. Very few people knew that Governor was embarrassed having long ears, like a donkey. He said, “I let you and your family live as long as no one else learned about this” and he pointed towards his hanging ears. Smith did an excellent job. Governor appointed him as a permanent barber and let him go with a full bag of gold. Smith’s family was ecstatic and his life should be as well, but the secret couldn’t let him sleep or eat. Being close to death, he decided to visit a wise man and asked for his advice. There were a few options left to him personally. He would die by telling the truth and if he wouldn’t. The man told him to go in the middle of an open field, dig a hole, and yelp three times his secret into the hole, and so he did. It was a miracle indeed. Since that moment, the Smith family lives prosperous, but that suddenly ended and rather soon. Having a release-valve is important for functioning normally in our stressful life. In my life it has been painting, writing, and creating new technologies. There are many reasons why people were telling about their private lives. We possess a compelling desire for sharing feelings and spreading gained knowledge. A journalist would write a story about someone else’s secret and a writer writes about his own. We are social animals. When we’re lonely and outcast, we are weak but creative. Rather often, we are trading down our intelligence and individuality on belonging to a mob. I can explain a lot but have difficulty comprehending why some humans would exchange personal freedom and become an insignificant cell of a crowd, a part of a ferocious beast. In “Born under the Dark Sun,” I wrote, “I had no friends with enough time to listen to my story patiently. Either, I had no dog or gained a habit of visiting a bar where I could have found a stranger’s sympathy to ease my pain and defuse the mind-blowing tension. There was no other option by which to share my story, so I’ve turned to my faultless friend—the computer. I knew it would withstand any of my verbal abuse. It would not complain about being awakened during the middle of the night, running for a week without rest, and hearing repeatedly the same sentence until it came out sensibly.” Here is more from the same book, “The pain induced by the destruction of my family was so strong that writing was the only way to save my sanity. At the end of my third year of continuous work, a story of about two thousand pages long was almost completed. The writings might have explained some of the events that happened with my family and life; However, I in no way agreed with the fairness of neither the events nor their outcomes. Everyone’s life is worth writing a book about. I think it is sad that most of us do not have time or energy to invest several years of hard work into such a project. At first, I was writing about myself, but slowly about subjects concerning all of us. I would consider it a significant accomplishment and privilege if you, as I do, feel that I had written not only about my life but also about yours as well. It is a story about all of us who are not giving up, and who are carrying our souls high, despite the faithlessness of the world we live in. Tyler: What are some of the titles and themes of the other stories in the book? Vladimir: The book is a collection of twenty-seven stories written in different times, on different occasions, and subjects. A few stories were originally published in my other books, but I wasn’t satisfied with them. Some didn’t include important information and had paragraphs that weren’t written well. After re-writing and expanding the context of those stories, I included them in “How to Paint Chickens and other stories.” They were written during the last fifteen years and collecting dust among others, waiting for the occasion to be published. The book would be too large for all stories, and I am sure, the chosen stories were cheered up, learning of gaining a chance to see light. “The place to exercise the human essence” was about the living condition and social environment regular folks had in the Soviet Union in the 50’s and 60’s. It was time of my childhood, living with Nature as close as one of modern times had. All my free time I spent in the forest staying busy with collecting wild berries and mushrooms, hunting wild rabbits, geese and ducks, also fishing in a fast running crystal-clear river. In reality, kids of my age and I had little time for leisure. Summer lasted only three months and the rest it was a brutally cold winter. During the springtime, we helped our parents to plant potatoes, carrots and seeds of sunflowers, and the fall was busy with collecting the harvest. In total, we had a couple of months for summer fun or whatever was left out of it. Because on kids’ shoulders were responsibilities of watching after livestock, about two weeks were spent at a summer camp and having a chance of wrestling a wild bear cub. It would tolerate just anything but being defeated. My son never tired of listening to those stories and I thought they might be entertaining for other kids to hear. The second story on the Contents list was borrowed from a not yet published book, “Too Personal and Too Reviling” a third books from the series “The Fool.” It is about modern-day living and consists of various thoughts about the life of a married man and of politico-philosophical natures. “Arnold Schwarzenegger turned out to be a confused individual who ended up choosing the wrong political affiliation. He would’ve achieved much more as a left-leaning Democrat. I think he has difficulty taking bribes, which is one of the major qualifications of politicians. He is too honest for politics and not as flexible in life for diplomacy. I wish he would go back to acting and leave politics to politicians.” About investing of too much time in gyms. “Most of us, including myself, want to live longer, but exchanging a hundred hours of full energy life on one hour in a hospital, while someone changes my dirty underwear, is just a ridiculous proposition.” It is about personal nature, “Our frequent arguments, hardly consisting of anything important, were getting more antagonistic. The most depressing part of it was that they never ended with a make-up sex. It was obvious she had become tired of our relationship. There was no other explanation for her determined desire to join the gym, besides that she had decided to put her body on the market again.” Even more, about the spiritual, “I refuse to believe, and it is an insulting thought, that once our hearts stop working, all of us turn into a pile of perishing biological cells. I’m sure there is something else that will remain after my death and that must be my soul. My soul is my pathway to God and to a new me. Thinking about Hell and Heaven, they are here with us, while we’re alive. We’re creating Hell by dirtying our souls while doing bad deeds. Punishments (Hell) and rewards (Heaven) originated and remain in our soul-based biological life form. A dirtied soul makes murky the pathway and hazes over the life purpose. Bad deeds from within get the soul dirtier. That is the consequence of any crime.” “Emigration’s nightmare” is a fictional story about a family that were about to leave their motherland. They arrived much earlier to a strange city located on the border. There was nothing much to do and the mother with her son took a short journey to a local shopping mall. The time could not be more dreadful. The story, mostly about the boy who got separated and not knowing where he was going, found himself at a meeting of a local bunch of hooligans. When soldiers appeared to disperse the crowd, everyone had run away but the boy. A hat with large red ribbons was mounted on his head at the meeting and was impressive. He forgot to remove it. An officer ordered to fire. Lying in the dirt, fatally wounded, the boy tried to comprehend the situation. The last paragraph ended the following way. “Something fell from my head. It was my skullcap. How did it happen that I had forgotten to take the cap with the big red ribbon off my head? I gathered my last bit of energy, intending for rectifying the situation, but muscles would not obey my orders. The soldiers should have known that it was not my skullcap. It was a big misunderstanding. I was glad my brain is working fine. I will rest and talk with the officer. I will keep my train tickets and when I'll get home, I'll frame them. They are so important in my life. It is so peaceful and quiet now. Nothing bad will happen to me anymore. I’m getting better and my pain has gone. At last, I am free.” “General understanding of life” is a philosophical journey about life, politics and responsibilities. Here is sample of it. “We are born with energy and health, most of which will be wasted on unimportant and useless pursuits. Mostly we have no clue what to do with our precious time, and so we simply make an effort to stay busy. Many of us believe that we are entitled for much more than we received, and so, at some point in our lives, we become angry and upset that promotions, wealth, hangouts, health, presents, beauty, and privileges are divided unfairly among us. At the culmination of our disappointment, we begin to look for righteousness. Sometimes we take matters into our own hands and become like Robin Hood, Don Quixote, or just an ordinary thief. In the search of absolute rightness, or at least fairness, we will find a way to justify our actions so that they can be, at best, morally ambiguous, and, at worst, horrifyingly evil. Sometimes we lose hope that we will ever find justice among the living, and we turn our search to what is beyond this world. Sometimes, fairness becomes a code word for taking from one and giving to others, forgetting that it was unfair to take forcefully in the first place. There is something even worse. During all righteous deeds, we take control of people’s lives and take fortunes into our own hands. We started pretending to be God.” Divorce has changed my life in many ways and having only one vacation during last fifteen years is just an example. During marriage, we had three vacations each year. Kind of suddenly, my son expressed his concern about me working without a break and offered his companionship. I gave up and went on vacation with him. A dozen stories I wrote during that time and a few of them included in the book. Among them, “On the way to Jamaica’s beaches,” “To be or not to be an explorer,” and “A day with my son in paradise.” It was a wonderful time and this paragraph reflects it, “An old expression goes. “You’re raising a girl for yourself and a boy for his wife.” Well, it is probably true. However, can you ask your daughter to bring a drink and especially when a bartender is a good looking and lighthearted fellow? Silly me, I almost neglected to record the most important reason for having a son. I do not want my last name to become historical dust and who if not my son will carry it on proudly without effort.” Tyler: Vladimir, I understand you are an inventor and a scientist, and we often think the sciences are almost the opposite of the humanities, so what about writing appeals to you and what made you decide to write a short story collection? Vladimir: That is a rather appalling statement. I’m sure there exist a small number of “evil” scientists and most likely, there are a much larger number of malicious-minded people of others professions in the world. I’ve worked with scientists in both countries and the majority of them were hard working, life loving and humanitarian individuals. Money and power could corrupt the best of us. It is said watching how intelligence is wasted on satisfying its own greed. In my book, “Nibbling the Freedom” I described one of such cases. I would love to answer your question with a story that I learned a long time ago. Here it is, the way I’m recollecting it now. A peaceful and prosperous secluded region would be envious to anyone living in the country, if no terrifying tradition drowns them away. Once a month, a local governor called for a barber who would never go back to his family alive. A winning “honorable” lottery became a funeral procession for the unlucky family of barber Smith. When he arrived, he was taken straight to the governor. Smith dropped on his knees and crying begged for his life, citing his large family that would be left unfed if he would vanish. In a rare moment of compassion, the governor offered him a deal. Very few people knew that Governor was embarrassed having long ears, like a donkey. He said, “I let you and your family live as long as no one else learned about this” and he pointed towards his hanging ears. Smith did an excellent job. Governor appointed him as a permanent barber and let him go with a full bag of gold. Smith’s family was ecstatic and his life should be as well, but the secret couldn’t let him sleep or eat. Being close to death, he decided to visit a wise man and asked for his advice. There were a few options left to him personally. He would die by telling the truth and if he wouldn’t. The man told him to go in the middle of an open field, dig a hole, and yelp three times his secret into the hole, and so he did. It was a miracle indeed. Since that moment, the Smith family lives prosperous, but that suddenly ended and rather soon. Having a release-valve is important for functioning normally in our stressful life. In my life it has been painting, writing, and creating new technologies. There are many reasons why people were telling about their private lives. We possess a compelling desire for sharing feelings and spreading gained knowledge. A journalist would write a story about someone else’s secret and a writer writes about his own. We are social animals. When we’re lonely and outcast, we are weak but creative. Rather often, we are trading down our intelligence and individuality on belonging to a mob. I can explain a lot but have difficulty comprehending why some humans would exchange personal freedom and become an insignificant cell of a crowd, a part of a ferocious beast. In “Born under the Dark Sun,” I wrote, “I had no friends with enough time to listen to my story patiently. Either, I had no dog or gained a habit of visiting a bar where I could have found a stranger’s sympathy to ease my pain and defuse the mind-blowing tension. There was no other option by which to share my story, so I’ve turned to my faultless friend—the computer. I knew it would withstand any of my verbal abuse. It would not complain about being awakened during the middle of the night, running for a week without rest, and hearing repeatedly the same sentence until it came out sensibly.” Here is more from the same book, “The pain induced by the destruction of my family was so strong that writing was the only way to save my sanity. At the end of my third year of continuous work, a story of about two thousand pages long was almost completed. The writings might have explained some of the events that happened with my family and life; However, I in no way agreed with the fairness of neither the events nor their outcomes. Everyone’s life is worth writing a book about. I think it is sad that most of us do not have time or energy to invest several years of hard work into such a project. At first, I was writing about myself, but slowly about subjects concerning all of us. I would consider it a significant accomplishment and privilege if you, as I do, feel that I had written not only about my life but also about yours as well. It is a story about all of us who are not giving up, and who are carrying our souls high, despite the faithlessness of the world we live in. Tyler: What are some of the titles and themes of the other stories in the book? Vladimir: The book is a collection of twenty-seven stories written in different times, on different occasions, and subjects. A few stories were originally published in my other books, but I wasn’t satisfied with them. Some didn’t include important information and had paragraphs that weren’t written well. After re-writing and expanding the context of those stories, I included them in “How to Paint Chickens and other stories.” They were written during the last fifteen years and collecting dust among others, waiting for the occasion to be published. The book would be too large for all stories, and I am sure, the chosen stories were cheered up, learning of gaining a chance to see light. “The place to exercise the human essence” was about the living condition and social environment regular folks had in the Soviet Union in the 50’s and 60’s. It was time of my childhood, living with Nature as close as one of modern times had. All my free time I spent in the forest staying busy with collecting wild berries and mushrooms, hunting wild rabbits, geese and ducks, also fishing in a fast running crystal-clear river. In reality, kids of my age and I had little time for leisure. Summer lasted only three months and the rest it was a brutally cold winter. During the springtime, we helped our parents to plant potatoes, carrots and seeds of sunflowers, and the fall was busy with collecting the harvest. In total, we had a couple of months for summer fun or whatever was left out of it. Because on kids’ shoulders were responsibilities of watching after livestock, about two weeks were spent at a summer camp and having a chance of wrestling a wild bear cub. It would tolerate just anything but being defeated. My son never tired of listening to those stories and I thought they might be entertaining for other kids to hear. The second story on the Contents list was borrowed from a not yet published book, “Too Personal and Too Reviling” a third books from the series “The Fool.” It is about modern-day living and consists of various thoughts about the life of a married man and of politico-philosophical natures. “Arnold Schwarzenegger turned out to be a confused individual who ended up choosing the wrong political affiliation. He would’ve achieved much more as a left-leaning Democrat. I think he has difficulty taking bribes, which is one of the major qualifications of politicians. He is too honest for politics and not as flexible in life for diplomacy. I wish he would go back to acting and leave politics to politicians.” About investing of too much time in gyms. “Most of us, including myself, want to live longer, but exchanging a hundred hours of full energy life on one hour in a hospital, while someone changes my dirty underwear, is just a ridiculous proposition.” It is about personal nature, “Our frequent arguments, hardly consisting of anything important, were getting more antagonistic. The most depressing part of it was that they never ended with a make-up sex. It was obvious she had become tired of our relationship. There was no other explanation for her determined desire to join the gym, besides that she had decided to put her body on the market again.” Even more, about the spiritual, “I refuse to believe, and it is an insulting thought, that once our hearts stop working, all of us turn into a pile of perishing biological cells. I’m sure there is something else that will remain after my death and that must be my soul. My soul is my pathway to God and to a new me. Thinking about Hell and Heaven, they are here with us, while we’re alive. We’re creating Hell by dirtying our souls while doing bad deeds. Punishments (Hell) and rewards (Heaven) originated and remain in our soul-based biological life form. A dirtied soul makes murky the pathway and hazes over the life purpose. Bad deeds from within get the soul dirtier. That is the consequence of any crime.” “Emigration’s nightmare” is a fictional story about a family that were about to leave their motherland. They arrived much earlier to a strange city located on the border. There was nothing much to do and the mother with her son took a short journey to a local shopping mall. The time could not be more dreadful. The story, mostly about the boy who got separated and not knowing where he was going, found himself at a meeting of a local bunch of hooligans. When soldiers appeared to disperse the crowd, everyone had run away but the boy. A hat with large red ribbons was mounted on his head at the meeting and was impressive. He forgot to remove it. An officer ordered to fire. Lying in the dirt, fatally wounded, the boy tried to comprehend the situation. The last paragraph ended the following way. “Something fell from my head. It was my skullcap. How did it happen that I had forgotten to take the cap with the big red ribbon off my head? I gathered my last bit of energy, intending for rectifying the situation, but muscles would not obey my orders. The soldiers should have known that it was not my skullcap. It was a big misunderstanding. I was glad my brain is working fine. I will rest and talk with the officer. I will keep my train tickets and when I'll get home, I'll frame them. They are so important in my life. It is so peaceful and quiet now. Nothing bad will happen to me anymore. I’m getting better and my pain has gone. At last, I am free.” “General understanding of life” is a philosophical journey about life, politics and responsibilities. Here is sample of it. “We are born with energy and health, most of which will be wasted on unimportant and useless pursuits. Mostly we have no clue what to do with our precious time, and so we simply make an effort to stay busy. Many of us believe that we are entitled for much more than we received, and so, at some point in our lives, we become angry and upset that promotions, wealth, hangouts, health, presents, beauty, and privileges are divided unfairly among us. At the culmination of our disappointment, we begin to look for righteousness. Sometimes we take matters into our own hands and become like Robin Hood, Don Quixote, or just an ordinary thief. In the search of absolute rightness, or at least fairness, we will find a way to justify our actions so that they can be, at best, morally ambiguous, and, at worst, horrifyingly evil. Sometimes we lose hope that we will ever find justice among the living, and we turn our search to what is beyond this world. Sometimes, fairness becomes a code word for taking from one and giving to others, forgetting that it was unfair to take forcefully in the first place. There is something even worse. During all righteous deeds, we take control of people’s lives and take fortunes into our own hands. We started pretending to be God.” Divorce has changed my life in many ways and having only one vacation during last fifteen years is just an example. During marriage, we had three vacations each year. Kind of suddenly, my son expressed his concern about me working without a break and offered his companionship. I gave up and went on vacation with him. A dozen stories I wrote during that time and a few of them included in the book. Among them, “On the way to Jamaica’s beaches,” “To be or not to be an explorer,” and “A day with my son in paradise.” It was a wonderful time and this paragraph reflects it, “An old expression goes. “You’re raising a girl for yourself and a boy for his wife.” Well, it is probably true. However, can you ask your daughter to bring a drink and especially when a bartender is a good looking and lighthearted fellow? Silly me, I almost neglected to record the most important reason for having a son. I do not want my last name to become historical dust and who if not my son will carry it on proudly without effort.” “The way we live now and the great food chain” The technological advancements have changed us, and most likely, we are advancing even more toward reducing non-voluntary physical activities at work, at home and at play. There are a number of additional forces swindling kids’ minds in wrong directions, and further proliferation of video games will decrease their effort to satisfy a hunger for fun by being creative. I felt sorry for my son, observing him dedicatedly playing video games. During those moments, I wished games had never become commercially available. A video game is a pleasurable way to kill an allotted time for an opportunity and advancement. “A “thank-you” letter from a Jew-hater” There were many reasons behind my decision to choose the United States over other countries. Most significant among them, I was under the impression, after reading a few books, that anti-Semitism might be present, but wasn’t as visible as in other countries. Upon arrival in 1997, I found a few government regulations and worked as much as I wished. In general, I was satisfied and until 2009, there have been only a few anti-Semitic outbursts and all of them were mild. They were like minor nuisances, and I did not worry much and ignored them. Some people must be equipped with a pressure release valve helping them to remain civil. Without having a chance to blow up once in awhile, internal dissatisfaction could really push them to explode and that would increase a chance for social unrest. It is a well-known fact that having a few Jews around is very useful for keeping down anti-government sentiments. “A short conversation with a prostitute” I told her that only a few, the best and luckiest women were able to f**k themselves out of poverty while offering her my friendship, but she was young, and could care less about having a stable relationship. Her life was an endless chain of emergencies and money shortfalls. She did not worry much and told me as long as she could spread her legs she would be able to solve any problem. She preferred to date indiscriminately as long as there was money at the end of an accord. That was her way of being independent. “Nerdish thoughts about geeks and politics” We have a tendency of using words for much broader applications than they were originally intended. This is especially true, when certain words or lingo become popular. It happens when the media alters the original meanings of the word. I would like to bring one such word to your attention: nerd. By definition, it is a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive person or, an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit. I do not know how much you like such definitions, but honestly, I am insulted. Do you really think a person who loves working and playing with a computer was obsessed with a nonsocial hobby and should be deemed unintelligent or worse? The disrespectful treatment of an intellectual is a sad sign of social degradation. It is especially bad because Hollywood quite often makes a fun of those who love and move technological progress. Is it possible that our society will change in such a way that females prefer a nerd to a stud? Thank God, there was no Hollywood in Russia at the time I was growing up. There was no such ridicule directed toward the most intelligent kids. I was slightly above an average student. In no way would I have been considered as a nerd. However, here in America, since I spent more time with books than the average boy did, I am sure there would be some occasions when that insult would have been thrown in my way. If I had grown up here, my childhood would have been more miserable than it was, but for different reasons. A child’s world is not compassionate and is a rather cruel battle to be the “coolest.” Nevertheless, movies, music, and a host of other influences encouraged some of my schoolmates to come out with a dozen additional names to make fun of me. Sometimes I imagine what would happen with society if women directed their affections and their choices in selecting mates towards a male with characteristics of nerds. How much more society would have gained if muscle-big and brain-small males were the butt of jokes, instead of nerds. “Various thoughts—how different are we?” My adjustment to American culture was not simple. The language has been the most difficult obstacles to overcome. I know what it means to be a minority. Some looked at me with sympathy and others with hatred. My reactions to both those judgments are the same—it is very degrading and insulting. The worst part of it was that I wasn’t capable of, or in some cases was not allowed to, stand up and defend myself. I could’ve hired an attorney for defending me or learn on my own, and that requires getting educated. Gaining knowledge wasn’t an easy task. Visiting classes can be done only after my work but I felt completely exhausted. Self-schooling was my single option and I did not give up. I remember feeling proud of myself for extending my vocabulary by a few more words. My satisfaction climbed even higher once I gained a chance using those words during conversations. I told myself, “From now on, you are not a minority anymore.” “Male-secretary” “A few moments later, I needed a document from the front file cabinet and not wanting to disturb him went to get it. I bent over in order to withdraw it from the lowest compartment. Suddenly, the feeling of a heavy beam sliding down my body and stopping on my ass appalled me. I had never had any similar awareness. It was like a piece of ice sliding all over my body while I was half-awaked. It was almost like a raw animal sensation, as if I was in an unfriendly cave, not having clothes to protect my naked body. I was captured and tied to a poll while unconscious. It happened after the fight with our rival wasn’t successful for our tribe. Everyone was killed and I was left alive with a non-life threatening bump on my head, standing in front of strangers. The fight started while disputing females' ownership. There was a general shortage of females in the region because they were dying too early. Now, a group of cavemen wanted a reward. To their disappointment, most of the females were killed during the fight. We were proud of our women. Our women knew how to fight and were all of the time shoulder to shoulder, but we were overwhelmed and outnumbered. Now, they see me as their prize, as a war trophy for risking their lives.” “Socialistic residuals” Significant changes occurred in the Soviet Block after I left Russia. Most likely, I still would live there. Firstly, being excited by observing and most likely participating in the Communist Party declining. Shortly, many things changed again and I felt sorrow and terrified with what became of the country and folks. Settling in the USA made me an observer. New responsibilities left not much time for wondering about Soviet Union transformations. Several technicians from Ukraine worked in my company and they kept me informed on ongoing struggles and tragedy. “Life was not easy in Ukraine. It was difficult finding a job due to unemployment of about 30 percent. Even having a job would not guarantee bringing home a salary. The Soviet Union’s demise brought sixteen countries, Ukraine among them, into despair. Each country went through the turmoil of political and economical uncertainty. Overnight, ex-members of the Communist Party became wealthy entrepreneurs. They never cared for people before and now their ugly and greedy nature has showed its true face. After they ran a privatization scheme, they would split profits among themselves by dismantling factories and selling all machinery as scrap metal. People lost a place to work and a way to make an honest living.”Later, I took a trip to Poland. I watched there what has become a norm in falling socialistic countries. Here is a paragraph from the same story. “I liked to take a walk and on the streets of Warsaw, which provided plenty of sights. A common picture, a begging woman holding a sleeping baby in her arms, occupied my attention. I was intrigued by how a baby could sleep during the middle of the day. I left the scene but came back three hours later. The baby was still asleep. I approached to take a closer look. Was the baby sleeping, or was it just pretending? I did not want to raise any suspicion and dropped a coin into the collecting pot. I did not have much time for an investigation, but it appeared to me the baby was asleep indeed. I had often argued with my son to get him to bed by ten at night. Getting him to sleep during the day would have been an impossible task. The baby looked healthy. I think the only way the baby would sleep during daytime was if it were deadly tired of playing games, drugged, or ill. It was too young for work in a sweatshop during the nighttime. What else could have made the baby so tired?” “What else’s in front of us?”“I see us divided even more in the future. A war, as it is depicted in science fiction books, would be the way of our life. It is unavoidable unless we’ll change our attitude toward ourselves and technology, and all of us start working hard to love each other, with devotion, appreciation to other people’s contributions, and respect and support desires for improvements. We are developing technology and gaining new knowledge too quickly. We are not morally or ethically ready for the pace of its development. We are not wise or intelligent enough yet to escape harming ourselves unintentionally. Nuclear or biological warfare, gene manipulation, or inexpensive but super-powerful computers may become the toys of mentally unstable maniacs, from what we presently know. I cannot estimate which is the graver risk, but I see either of these as a grave obstacle to the survival of the human race.” “Evolution, natural selection, and humans” Here is a paragraph from “Evolution, natural selection, and humans,” “I do not have the capacity or position to criticize Creator, but allowing us to live as an animal for such a long time has left a lot of animal and primal instincts within our characteristics. Creator should have known better. There is talk about the year 2012 being the end of either the human race or the Earth. I do not believe we will all vanish or that the Earth will disappear, but I do believe that Creator will pay us a visit in the future. I do not see how else we could save ourselves from annihilation and without damaging Earth, making it inhospitable for our own survivability. The experience of millions of years of living like beasts to survive and reproduce at any cost cannot be forgotten or dissipated in three thousand years. We learned to eat with a fork and spoon, to write books, and create works of arts, but under the skin, we are not much different from a wild beast. We will lie, steal, deceive, desert, and even kill for our own survival and quite often for a pleasure. There is too much of animal instinct still lingering inside of us.” “Please, give no human’s name to a pig” The warmest weather in October is around -20oC. The announcement for the beginning of the winter festival was typically the first scream of a pig. The time had come to put something else on the table besides potatoes and fish. It is also the time and opportunity to prove indisputably if you could be a friend and not just an acquaintance. Are you capable of sacrificing your own life to let your friend live or not? It was also a time for tears. During the short summer, people had become so attached and accustomed to caring for their pigs that often some women felt completely depressed when it came time for the slaughter. Thoughts of the upcoming slaughter were intolerable for some families because they made the grave mistake of naming their pig. How could anyone kill his or her friend “Bob,” even if it was a pig? If you are planning to eat something, isn’t it better off as a complete stranger? People had no choice but to kill their pigs. Hunger was in charge. With pain in their hearts and tears in their eyes, they would allow their friends to be killed.“Three traffic citations” At last, after several minutes of silence, the judge spoke. He dismissed the last two citations and asked my opinion on the first, which was the speeding citation. At first, I thought of taking advantage of the situation and asking him to dismiss it as well, but I was already happy with winning my case and decided not to press my luck. “Yes, it is possible that my car was driving slightly above the speed limit,” I said.I noticed a suppressed smile on the judge’s lips, and without any words, he ruled for reducing the fine from 15-miles to 5-miles above the speed limit. “Birth of my son” I do not have scientific evidence that intellectual development seems hostile to fertility, but in my case, it was applicable. After many unsuccessful tries, and at last with aid from modern medicine, we were able to impregnate my wife. Looking back, I knew that I had failed to fulfill my responsibility of reproduction. Most likely, this was one of the reasons for my wife acting so hateful toward me near the end of our marriage. Her averagely high, full-breasted, broad-hipped, and short-legged body was perfect for childbearing. At forty, she realized that her time had almost passed of fulfilling her dream of becoming the mother of a big family. I think that at least having three kids would have occupied her mind, filled her daily schedule, and kept our family solid. Plenty of kids in the house would give purpose to her life, and to most of us.My controversy en route for women
Tyler: Vladimir, part of the book focuses on your life growing up in Siberia during the time of the Soviet Union. What made you decide to write about your experiences? Vladimir: There were numerous reasons to write about my life, the country where I lived, and things I made. All my life I have communicated using what I’ve learned during my life-journey. Mostly it is in the form of instructions. How to do things better, scientific publications describing results of investigations, technical papers about my inventions, and how to develop devices based on the most efficient ways, and exhibitions where attached page-long stories provided an explanation to my paintings. Among all media, giving out advice to my friends and anyone who would ask was not the reliable means for storing them, because temporary imprints were obscured by peoples’ memories and interpretations. Only a book offers a permanent storage and as long as we remain civilized, its contents will be available for lasting enjoyment and education for generations to come. Another reason was more demanding and practical. America goes through dramatic and drastic social changes. I’m concerned where the country is moving and the possible outcome is frightening to me. I used to live in a not so friendly and you probably could say anti-Semitic country. My father died in agony, while I was holding him in my hands, having a massive heart attack after a Jew-hater hammered his chest. Here in USA, I faced the ugliness only on a few occasions. One such event is included in “How to Paint Chickens and Other stories.” I have not received a direct threat while living here yet. However, death wishes the way my father died came. I’m a tiny voice and a chance of reaching the megaphone is slim. Only a few people known of my concerns. If I and other people will keep our mouths shut, then there is a possibility that we’ll be too late. There are forces fighting for replacing faithfulness in God, with fetishes or modern forms of “religion” like “animal” and “green earth” rights all rooted in atheism. We are mortal and limited things and that is frightening to us. Once we get rid of one significant thing, we would find an obsession with another (thing or stuff). Tyler: Vladimir, will you tell us how you came to live in the United States? Vladimir: It is a loaded question, Tyler. The best answer articulated on pages of my book, “Born Under the Dark Sun.” Life in Russia became unbearable for me after one of my art-exhibitions was shut down and I was dragged to KGB headquarters for interrogation, which resulted in losing my job and a permission to live in Leningrad (present San-Petersburg). Only after a militiaman killed my father, immigration papers were issued to my wife and me, and we were able to leave Russia. After long and frightening trials, I received a chance, choosing a country to settle; America and Israel were the first on my list. Unfortunately, my knowledge about Israel was extremely sketchy and what I heard from emigrants who went before me made me change my travel destination. I was eager to work, having a mass of ideas, and wanted to settle in a country with minimum regulations and social conflicts. The USA was an obvious choice at that time. Sadly, so many changes occurred here since that time in this country. I would think twice now. Tyler: What kind of response do you receive from people when you tell them you grew up in Siberia? Do Americans have any misconceptions about what life in Communist Russia was like that you frequently hear? Vladimir: On December 24 of 1977, my family settled in Louisville, KY. At that time, questions did not bother me at all because I couldn’t speak much English and definitely did not understand the dialect of native Kentuckians. During the following years, I’ve answered a numerous bizarre and sometimes weird questions and most of them were plain insulting and degrading. My guess, the general response was that Siberia is somewhere where it is very cold, lots of snow and people barely educated. Most of the American people then and still now do not fully comprehend what it is like to live under the Communists’ regime. If Americans knew and understood what it was like to live under Communists, they would love Capitalism fanatically. Sometimes, I get the feeling that newcomers’ stories were not considered truthful, and in many instances, were ignored. I guess Americans think that we told stories about our lives because we were looking for pity and a free meal. Our stories about brutalities in the most advanced socialistic country were politely heard and quietly rejected as if they were told by brat kids. Since the time of Perestroika and the dismantling, (a better word is the camouflaging) of the Soviet empire, American people with the help of the Internet have a better understanding of life in former Russia. America and people have changed a lot since 1977. I guess, political correctness, influences by contemporary feminists, popularity of “coming-out-of closet” events and other “progressive” forces and actions are factors behind those modifications. I’ve noticed many illnesses that plagued Russia here in the United States. Sometimes we say that we as a society progress only technologically. Socially we are cycling as we repeat old mistakes. We have forgotten what we did, never learned, or those who want our demise are intentionally altering our history books. If we could have cherished knowledge, especially about our past, it would help us avoiding many social disastrous. The way I see it, America is rushing into the same sort of hindrance those socially inclined countries had. Tyler: You talk a lot in the book about your online dating experiences with women. Do you have any funny or enlightening stories you tell in the book that you can briefly share with us here? Vladimir: The book included several stories about my venture into Internet dating. “The first step—fabricating bait,” “Ruined booty-call,” “Some thoughts encouraged by ‘ruined booty-call,’” “A date with an anonymous,” “Faceless attraction,” ‘Angela,” and “Vicky.” I’m a workaholic in the best sense of its meaning and a very productive one. Descriptions that WIKIPEDIA provides are insulting, demeaning and probably made by people who hate to work. I love to be married and have a family as much as being occupied with a project. Unfortunately, both are incompatible in the view of the other head of a family, a female. It is very hard meeting a woman who is ready “sacrificing” her youth for a project. I’m sure we have common interest and dislikes. For us, workaholics, an ad “I’m worth it” that shows a pretty woman is a mood-spoiler. We know that an entertainment is a must for a modern-female mind. Where and how can we find a time for such luxury? Harry in a movie “True Lies” had found a solution by letting his wife participate in his job. But it would not work for a workaholic and it was just a movie. When Internet dating became a reality, I took it as a panacea for my problem. I spent nights filling out many forms and answering all kinds of personal questions, thinking of a potential success. My ad probably was one of the most informative. A 6.1’, 210 lb, male born in 1945 is looking for a female. This is my entrance into a popularity contest and an attempt to sell myself like a partner, lover and friend. I found this is more difficult than getting a job, if I would need it. If you like, a well-prepared food and a person who knows how to cook it, you are reading about him. My diet is 80 percent seafood, 15 percent poultry and also beef and lamb. If you like a strong coffee, I make the best Turkish-style cup of coffee you could imagine. I like fishing in the ocean, throwing extravagant parties, painting, writing and taking care of people. My small electronics company and my 14-year old boy take up most of my time. I like stability, love to be with a woman and miss that very much. My strong body and mind is not letting me retire, though I have made enough money to do so. I guess I’m not yet ready to spend the rest of life just traveling. That would be considered a waste of my life. I am looking for a partner with whom I can share and turn both of our dreams into realities. I see relationships as a two-way street, as satellites that are connected invisibly, but with a strong link of love. Although partners could have different interests, they depend upon each other to succeed and prosper. I had many funny and enlightening stories and that is why some of them are included in the book. More importantly, I learned that is no way of escaping from yourself. Dating websites probably were created for criminal-minded folks by criminal-minded people. Still, Internet dating has some positives; it allows me to communicate with the other player while I was in my pajamas. Tyler: I understand you also did the illustrations for the stories. Will you tell us about your process—do the stories or the illustrations come first? How do you decide what scenes to illustrate? Vladimir: That is a very interesting question. All illustrations in my books are made many years before the idea for a book was conceived. Sometimes I wonder myself if my subconscious brought to my attention an event that helped me better explain what was painted on the canvas? Tyler: What types of illustrations do you do? Would you define them as watercolors, for example, or is there a variety of mediums? Vladimir: Most of my paintings are oil and just a few are watercolors. It is much harder for me to work with watercolor. I usually don’t make making any prior drawings. Probably 99% of my works were improvised. It is harder to hide mistakes because working with watercolors is rather a time-consuming process and I never have had enough time. I started painting in Russia, where a person had to be a member of the Academy of Art to be able to buy canvases and other art supplies. I had to break cardboard boxes for a piece of cardboard and used it instead of a canvas. Tyler: Vladimir, what motivates you to share your personal stories and why do you think they will interest readers? Vladimir: Half of my life, I lived in a socialistic country and half in a fuzzy-capitalistic. I accumulated unique experiences as the result. That provides to me a wider view for analyzing social events on either micro or global levels. In some ways, I can be looked at as a living history book. All of us must read history books if we want not to replicate the same social disasters. One more aspect of my makeup, I think, is important. My education and training helped my mind to develop as a professional investigator’s mind, which approaches either technical or social problems with the same procedure. It analyzes, comprehends the problem, and finds the best possible solution of a situation. I hope my books are not only entertaining but can provide important and valuable information to curious readers. Tyler: Vladimir, I understand you’ve published several other books. Will you tell us about them and how they are different or similar to “How to Paint Chickens”? Vladimir: So far, I published seven books. Two of them were about my paintings. It is “Colors of Truth” including 47-paintings in full colors, and the second one “Colors of Life” published after a 1998 art-exhibition that included many of my pictures that were on display. Two more books have a collective title “The Fool,” one is “Born under the Dark Sun” and the other is “Nibbling the Freedom.” They were published in 2006 and 2011 respectfully. “The Fool” is a story of my life. The first book covers the life in Russia and immigration. The second is about putting down roots in the United States’ soil and included finding the first job, making the first-kind super-high resolution ECG, forming Electronic Design & Research Inc., and fighting with an attorney-embezzler. I am planning to publish at least two more books. The third book “Too personal for publication” will be about the breaking of my family and slowly restoring sanity. The fourth book “It is easy to hate a white man” is about my divorce battle, fighting for my son, the court hearing, and living lonely. In 2005, I was involved in a love relationship with a drug-addicted woman. Believing in my skill of persuasiveness, I went on a quest to save a lost soul and kick out her drugs addiction. A miracle could’ve helped me, but I was not in charge of distributing it. She fueled my effort by telling me about her love for me. Looking back, it was indeed a crazy desire that a twenty five-year ghetto-raised person would forget in a few months much of what helped her to survive. It took six months for me to realize that I just was one of her “clients.” She dated me to get money for supporting her true love—drugs. I wasn’t her lover. I was her enabler. I stopped answering her calls. A few months later, she was caught with drugs and put in jail. While waiting for a trial, she started writing me love-letters. I replied, and in a couple of months, when there was no room left in a drawer where her letters were kept, I decided to organize all our communications, along with writings about others events into a series of books with the combined title “Dirty Body can be washed off, but not a Dirtied Soul.” The story shines a light on the lives and events of many people, and Edward and Rosen are two major persons in the book. Edward was raised in Communist Russia, believing that caring for friends was more important than caring for him. No one in his birthplace needed to or dared ask for help, except in cases where lives were at risk. Respect and belief in the goodness of others as well as gratitude are the pillars of Edward’s life. Rosen was raised by a drug-addicted mother in a hardscrabble ghetto. To survive, Rosen learned first to get whatever she could for herself and scheme for more, later. Love meant sharing a joint or some coke. Respect came from using a physical power. Communication was more about volume than words. “Dysfunctional Girl from a Dysfunctional Family” is the title of the first book. When a mature and educated Edward accidentally meets a young and fun-loving Rosen, his life becomes a roller-coaster ride. A few “innocent” dates grow, at least in Edward’s mind, into a serious relationship after Rosen expresses her love for him. Her confession about her past both thrills and alarms him at the same time. She describes her difficult upbringing and blames her wasteful, expensive habits and lifestyle on her ghetto based environment. He would have brushed off her confession if she had not asked for help. That is the magic word—a person in distress asking for help. He could not be an observer anymore. He believed her words were a genuine cry for help, and help he would. Edward attempts to channel her into a better life. But that means Rosen must conquer her drug addiction, and prostituting. She must also leave her old friends behind. Again and again, she returns to Edward, to her personal ATM. Is she addicted to him or just using him? One thing is for sure: He’s addicted to her. He could shake her if she would stay away, but she keeps coming back. Her love for drugs is stronger than her love for Edward, and she dumps him. After months of living wild and breaking laws, Rosen lands in jail. Edward retains his faith in the basic goodness of humanity while Rosen writes him dozens of love letters, saturated with confessions. She perseveres until she converts his general faith in humanity into a belief in her own goodness and repentance. “Don’t we all deserve a second chance?” Again, hoping for a miracle, Edward paid her bond. Driving her to his house, he was dreaming of a good breakfast together after a passionate night and a better life ahead for both of them. Meanwhile, Rosen was designing a meeting with her sweetheart drug-dealer. “Jailed Jailbird” covers events started from the second day after Edward brought Rosen home; she ran to her drug-dealer boyfriend for “the last drop of honey,” while waiting for the trial. During the four-month wild life, Rosen probably had the best time of her life. Besides endless parties, she married her boyfriend and became pregnant. After the judge’s rulings, she was transferred into a State Prison to serve her fifteen-year sentence. Why Edward loved her is a mystery. Their backgrounds and values are so opposite. Despite all odds, Edward displays an almost fanatical determination to save drug-addicted Rosen. She wrote him again and Edward enthusiastically responded. Unfortunately, but more likely fortunately, her letters from the prison reminded him of others that were written just a few months ago from jail. There was similarity in the request for money and her pleas that she has repented and was ready to start her life over again. Nothing has changed. He was a money pit for her as he was in the past. Edward’s skepticism reaches the culmination point. He decided to write her about human natures, and soul and spirit, and parenting. Edward hoped the knowledge would save her and started explaining what she needed in order to achieve a better life. He desperately wanted a successful conclusion to his striving. He did not want four years of his effort in saving her to be in vain. Failure to change Rosen has not discouraged Edward from trying to create a better life for other people. One day, he got a cry-letter from a drug-addicted woman slowly dying. He rescues her, moving her to his house. The following two years were not an easy battle. Getting rid of her drug addiction and restore her health was seems to be endless hard work. The combination of living in a different environment and regular visitation to a Methadone Clinic brought a positive result. Now, I’m working on a manuscript “Bleaching Dirtied Soul,” which I am planning to have published in 2013. Read Review of How to Paint Chickens and Other Stories
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