About the book: 2009 / These stories written by a man whom we know as a successful businessman, vice-president of a famous Western company and a columnist for reputable financial publications, send us back to the distant 1970s. A time of shortages in the USSR, party committees, “characteristics,” but also a time of youth and joyful exploration of life in the mysterious country of Yemen. Who are military translators and what were they doing on the other side of the earth? How did you enter MGIMO and why is it vital to know the “Charter of the Guard Service”? What were Wrangler jeans and an AIWA stereo system to a Soviet person? How did you live, serve and dream then? The book will be of interest both to those for whom the 70s are not just numbers, and to those who are fascinated by the still distant and misunderstood Arab East.