Gravitas, Loyalty, and Balconies

It’s overwhelming really, the feeling of being in the epicenter of something great, of witnessing a movement coming into its own. An old friend asked me yesterday how we keep Sosnovka from getting stale, from becoming just another worthless conference, merely a travel opportunity for opportunistic types. The answer is in the truth that Sosnovka is just as much about relationships as it is about the actual work that we do. The trust and respect that connects Sosnovtsy runs deep, smoothing potential conflicts and inspiring us all to push harder and further than ever before. Friendships and professional relationships blur together and are compelled forward by the beauty of Russia’s wilds. This year, our backdrop was Lake Baikal, a place of indescribable beauty, both in-your-face and undeniably subtle. After four days of intense work and play with many of my professional heroes, the connection and loyalty I feel for these people is weighty.

What is Sosnovka? In 2006, I wrote this about Sosnovka in Altai:
Sosnovka is an annual meeting of all the top environmental activists from Siberia and the Russian Far East, with a few lawyer and policy types from Moscow thrown in for good measure. The conference is always a blur of intense strategy conversations and jovial social time. (To my great relief, the vodka consumption was mild this year.) Many of the Sosnovtsy are old friends who see each other once or twice each year, which means Day One of the conference involves a lot of who got married, who had kids, and who got divorced conversations. What a treat to now be a part of this merry band! Our strategy conversations were simultaneously broad and narrow, covering the hottest topics, both new and old: forestry, protected areas, mining, fisheries, oil and gas development, alternative energy sources, etc. Not enough time, so much information, so many ideas, so many plans …

I cannot say the same of the group’s vodka consumption this year ;), but I can say that I am humbled by the knowledge that many of my dear Sosnovka friends would drop everything to help me if need be. I am personally grateful. Oh, and we laugh a lot together too. Two highlights (in order of laughs elicited):
1. Dima’s spontaneous 5:45am decision to jump on Petr’s and Chagat’s shoulders and scale my balcony, putting him together with Misha Kreindlin in the elite club of Sosnovtsy who have scaled balconies for me. [I am left wondering, would anyone in California join this club? Doubtful.]
2. Mid-banquet decisions to shuffle the world’s geography, putting San Francisco somewhere between Chita and Blagoveshensk in the Russian Far East, and putting the Altai both in the Russian Far East and in the Arctic. [Because clearly, we have this authority ;).]

To my Sosnovtsy, now scattered throughout Russia, you are dearest of friends and the best of colleagues ... I love you all!