As a newly minted U.S. diplomat in 1990, I was assigned to do consular work in Istanbul. The USSR had largely opened up by then, Soviet cruise ships were regularly stopping in Istanbul, and Russian was increasingly heard in the Grand Bazaar. The odd Soviet tourist, still acting on anachronistic Cold War reflexes, would show up from time to time at the U.S. Consulate to inquire about political asylum, and as the only Russian-speaker in the Consular Section, I was generally tasked to deal with these cases. This was not the 1950s and the United States was certainly not offering …read more
Source: The American Interest
