Page 31 - DIVA_1_2016

As a child my father used to read to
me the works of Gogol, Lermontov,
Pushkin and other classics. Most
speakers of Russian think I speak
Russian betterthan I actually do since
I have almost no accent. My parents
spoke to me in Russian so one can say
that it is my childhood language.

Q. Can you tell me why
you still do not have Swiss
nationality?
When I was a child I had a Nansen
passport. Until now I remain a state-
less person but I do hold a Swiss Per-
mit C. I applied twice for citizenship
that for various reasons was refused.
The first time it was because of envy.
Shortly before the end of art school
when I was about seventeen or eight-
een I participated in a city competition ,"i.
for the design of a mosaic which was
to decorate the mall in the city centre
on the site of the present day Globus.
I won the competition and the mosaic
graced the passage way for over forty
years. It infuriated the school direc-
tor who also participated. He did his
utmost to prevent me from obtaining
Swiss nationality and also expelled me
from school without a diploma.

The second time it was refused for
other reasons. I have been a widower
for over twenty years. My wife was
Swiss and before her death she insist-
ed that I try again to apply for natu-
ralization. Again they found reasons
not to grant it to me. I applied twice
for the documents and twice was re-
fused. Now it is me who has decided
I do not want them. I have always
been a resident of Geneva but have
also spent a lot of time in Paris where
I have been rewarded in France. I did
a lot of stage design and d6cor for the
Paris Opera and for the Grand Thea-
tre in Geneva. I have completed more
than seventy stage designs.

Q. You have lived in Ge-
neva all your life. Do you
feel Russian or Swiss?
I find it a hard question to answer. I
am proud of being Russian. My best

IN TER N ATIO N AL DI PLO M AT - DIV A