Ambassador of Russia

On the 14th in the temple of Cosmas and Damian, in Shubin, they buried Ekaterina Yuryevna Genieva. Civil farewell took place a day earlier in the library of foreign literature.

The New Gazeta wrote: “God took a woman who has not become the Minister of Culture” (a marvelous title, after this and the text is not necessary). Not sure that for Ekaterina Yuryevna this non-being of the minister was such a big loss.

I remember the day when the Russian library association had a chance to elect E.Yu. President - and almost in full force chose. The dusty tongue -tied peasants who replaced each other in this position, of course, could not (cannot still), and the election of E.Yu. He promised some life, some movement, new opportunities, but also new works, and new responsibility. The frightened and worried swarm of the library leaders muffledly scurried about one and a half days on the stairs and floors. They hid their eyes from each other and from random mirrors. And - they rolled Geniev on a friendly, rare unanimity of voting.

For dinner, they sat in an awkward silence. It was in Tomsk, by the evening it froze tightly. E.Yu. was visibly angry and offended. We did not know what to say. Suddenly she looked up at us, grinned with some crooked hooligan smile and said: “And let's drink-vodka!” And the table - with tales, plans, new ideas, unrealizable spotlights - flowing. And the amusing presidency of all library Rus' is a sunk.

The ranks meant for her (for all her ambitiousness) a little: E.Yu. It was personally larger than the majority of possible titles.

Her last interviews coincided with the vile vengeful collision of the palace pack to the Soros Foundation because of the position of the creator of the fund in relation to the situation in Ukraine. E.Yu., who worked with Soros for many years and forced the old man to intend to the Russian hinterland firmly, repeated as a spell: “I go to the libraries of Russia and see how many in their work, today's successes - from the projects of the Soros Foundation.”

This, of course, is true - but not all. The fact that some libraries turned from dust storage into the focus of culture and attraction centers contributed a lot to the fund's money. But without that enormous world experience and personal example, which were invested in the library projects of E.Yu. And her team, nothing would simply have happened.

E.Yu., always smiling, forever with new plans and ideas, in the analysis of situations was always extremely accurate, not deceived in vain and did not deceive the one who decided to listen to her. She understood and willingly said that the book world is in a fierce crisis-and that only inhuman efforts can be saved at least something. There were those who heard.

There was something in it from the hero of the famous joke about the second World Flood. There, God, tired of the sinfulness and cruelty of earthlings, decides to wash off everything again, but in a couple of months he warns some spiritual leaders, whom he offers him alive in heaven. Some are returning to the ground with a demand for general repentance, others-with the plan of instant blitzkrieg-gazavata, and only one collects his faithful and reports: “We have two whole months to learn how to live under water!”

Now, when her absence is felt so strongly, so painful, I think everything: who would I see her? If not the Minister, not the President - by whom?

Probably the ambassador of Russia to our unfortunate federation. A great country, respecting its past, religious and cultural heritage. This Russia does not need to silence its tragedies and to sweep the victims under the carpet, she knows her story and remembers - and her head is raised high.

In recent years, I often heard a murmur (and Roptal myself that) that, they say, we lost this country that it did not come true to us. Maybe because we did not fill her with our breath, our life? Ekaterina Yuryevna lived as if there was no other, but there is only this one: a strong, generous, abundant country, equal interlocutor of her neighbors, cordially and purely living in the circle of world cultures.

And I saw her. Now there was nowhere to watch.