Through our cousins Ray and Joan, and their friends Yeva and Irv, we had learned about our distant cousins the Rudinksky's who live near Moscow.  Through letters and e-mail we had arranged to meet with them.  Sasha came and picked us up at our hotel in Moscow, and drove us to their apartment in Odintsovo, about 20 km. west of Moscow on the old Smolensk road.  Here are Sasha, his wife, Ira, and David.  Most of meal (obviously excluding the drinks) they grew at their dacha.
 
 

Sasha and Ira live in a multi-storey apartment similar to the one next door to them, shown here in the view from their balcony.  Across the street is a wooded area where they go walking and, in the winter, cross country skiing.  The apartment is nicely furnshed, and Sasha has been remodelling, installing wood panelling and new appliances.  However, the common areas of the building are dim and poorly kept up.  Sasha, Ira, and their son, Dima, live in four rooms.  Dima is now away much of time, studying at a technical institute.  He and a friend took the train to St. Petersburg to spend a day with us.
Since Sasha and Ira speak no English, and David's Russian is quite limited (and Ruth's limited to "thank you,"  "please," and "I love you,") the conversation tended to flag a bit.  Sasha filled one gap by showing us his collection of commemorative pins.  During Soviet times, he was an airplane construction engineer, and many of pins commemorate numerous airplanes that he worked on.  Others are from fairs, expositions, historical anniversaries, etc.  His company did not fare well under the new economic system, and he now works for the local cultural affairs office.  Ira is trained in the law and works for a notary office.  Notaries seem to be more important in Russia than they are here, playing a role in all sorts of transactions such as selling a car.