Robin Pentola was born in Iwakuni, Japan and lived there long enough to learn Japanese baby talk, become addicted to seaweed rolls, soy sauce and pickled ginger, and form a life-long fondness for futons. Childhood was spent in Westminster, MD, where I grew up with two cats, a dog, a pony, and an older brother (who is now a Web programmer guy!). Liked the Mid-Atlantic so much I stayed in the area for college and graduate school.
But things got boring.....
January 2, 1993, I moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. Over the course of the next 4.5 years I worked in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and got to know a side of Russia that no tourist or casual traveler will ever see.
Personal/political observation: Western reporters in Moscow really do not understand what is happening in Russia. A local "alternative" newspaper in Russia, The eXile, had a mock playoff contest to determine the Worst Western Journalist in Moscow. The editors took a weekly sample of each "contestant's" writing and rated it on accuracy and political insight. The reporter who wrote the worst analysis "won" and advanced to the next round.
David Hoffman of the Washington Post, who drives me nuts because he is so off base, soared above the pack and won the title of Worst Western Journalist in Moscow 2000 for his incredibly bad analysis of the Russian election results.
I can not link to the article, but Hoffman's reporting went something along these lines: since so many Russians voted for Putin (the former KGB officer who is now Russia's president) instead of Zhuganov (the Communist Party candidate), that this meant that Russia was a Democracy, because they rejected the "Old Guard."
Hoffman obviously doesn't know beans about Russia. Putin IS the Old Guard. Not only was Putin educated and indoctrinated in the old system, he learned how to manipulate it for his own advancement. To say that his election means that Russia is a Democracy is absurd, and calling Putin a Democrat is wishful thinking. Putin is decisive and a man who will lead with a strong hand--traits the Russians respect and desire in leaders. However, such characteristics are not generally associated with a leader who embraces democratic rule.
If you want to learn about what's really happening in Russia, read The Moscow Times. It's in English!
During the time I was working in Russia, I got married and my husband moved to Moscow. My husband is American--we met in graduate school many years ago. We came back to the USA on Independence Day, 1997. Over the past few years I've continued to work on Russian issues, but am now transitioning out of the field. I'm tired of extensive international travel. Well, at least I'm tired of going to Moscow....
So I decided to transition into IT, a field I have always liked, but never knew what or how to enter it. I'm working on a technical degree from Northern Virginia Community College (in Applications Development), and in January I began a five month certificate program at George Mason University for Web Devlopment and Interactive Programming. I currently am working part time at Digital Division, Inc., where I am building and maintaining sites for clients. If all goes according to plan, I will begin working full time as a Web Developer in the Summer of 2001.
