Searching for Zhenya

The Story

The seven vignettes that comprise “Searching for Zhenya” tell a story of a friendship rediscovered in 2019 after twenty five years. The articles are short – ranging from 500 words to a concluding story of 1,800 words – and connect one to the other, so I recommend reading them in order. I have included photos and memorabilia from the time to evoke the incredible period of history — the collapse of the Soviet Union — that I personally witnessed. “Searching for Zhenya” is a story of connection, and writing it helped me weather the losses and dis-connections associated with the 2020-21 pandemic.

One more thing: My father worked in the CIA for 27 years until 1978. He then began a second career as a China expert in government and diplomat. Before I headed off to Leningrad in 1989 to study Russian – and ultimately meet Zhenya — some of my father’s former colleagues invited me to lunch at a Washington restaurant called Le Lion d’Or, which I later learned was a popular gathering spot for old spies. These guys were, indeed, old spies. One was the specialist on the KGB, and another had the moniker The Blond Ghost.

“So, Jeff, we understand you are heading off to study Russian in the Soviet Union,” they said. “You know, they know who your father is, and we invited you here to give you some advice.” At that time my dad’s name had been in the papers as a possible candidate for director of the CIA for incoming president George H.W. Bush. The foursome of veteran spies advised me not to go out alone when I was in Leningrad, socialize with Russian women or drink alcohol. They basically told me I shouldn’t interact with Russians.

I came away from the lunch meeting feeling as if we were on two different planets. Needless to say, I didn’t pay much attention to their advice.