Major, Back in the USSR

Moran Baxter, Major Watt Espy, Sr., George Grimsley, July 1959
(Aunt Marilyn gave me this bag.  A piece of treasure!)

This trio from Alabama is preparing to embark on a Roquemore Goodwill Beef/Dairy Tour to Russia and the Ukraine with other agribusiness leaders. A fairly large delegation toured the U.S.S.R. in order to inspect farming methods and share knowledge. M. W. Espy, Sr. is my grandfather.

My daddy, George H. Grimsley, Sr., represented education.  My future father-in- law, Moran Baxter, represented agriculture.  And Mr. Major Espy represented the business and banking sides of American culture on that trip.  - Karen Grimsley Baxter

I remember when they went. I started working with Mr. Espy Oct. 1959 and he talked about the trip constantly.  - Edna Whitehead

Major on the left

Walking towards Red Square and St. Basil's

Red Square is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The words 'Red Square' in Russian are Красная площадь or Krasnaya Ploshchad. The word Krasnaya actually has two meanings in Russian: Beautiful (the archaic meaning) and Red. And, the square itself was actually named using the archaic meaning, thus actually making it Beautiful Square. However, over time, it was switched to Red, although there's no link between the name and Communism. The square was etablished in 1493 but given the name Krasnaya Ploshchad in the 17th Century. St. Basil's was constructed in the mid-16th Century.

That must have been a new camera Granddad Major was working!

Kremlin walls, towers and government offices. The word 'kremlin' means fortress. Kremlins are actually found in many towns and cities in Russia. These fortified complexes were built to keep out enemies and provide a symbol of power. The Moscow Kremlin "embankment" was first inhabited by Slavs in 1090.

Kremlin Walls, Palace and Cathedrals

World-renown Bolshoi Theater, first constructed 1781, subsequent fires caused it to be rebuilt a few times, currently getting a purported $1 billion upgrade (yes, that's a billion)

Monument of Grand Duke Yury Dolgoruky, the founder of Moscow in 1156

One of Stalin's Seven Sisters: The Hotel Ukraina. Constructed from 1953-1957, 34 floors, the last of the "series."

Lenin Stadium (today it's called the Luzhniki Olympic Complex), opened 1956, seating capacity 78,000 plus.  Here's the stadium view today, as seen from Moscow State Tower.

Another of Stalin's Seven Sisters: Moscow State University, looks like a wedding cake

Train Station in Moscow

A dacha in the countryside

Soviet/American Delegation

Envelope that Aunt Marliyn sent to Major, N0. 1 Gorky is now No. 1 Tverskaya, and it's the address of the National Hotel in Moscow

Found this picture on Tumblr.  Dated 1959.  It would have been taken from the very hotel where Granddad Major's group stayed in Moscow.  They stayed at the National Hotel on Tverskaya Street.

I would love to have been there for the debriefing of Granddad Major after his return from his trip.  I wonder what kinds of things he learned, what interested him, what perceptions he had going and what his thinking was upon returning, and also whether or not he had chances to sit down for a chat with Russians and locals wherever he visited.

Back in 2007, Dad actually toured St. Petersburg, Russia for a day, as a part of a cruise to some Scandinavian countries plus Estonia and Russia.  The late Nick Weeks of Headland spent a little more time in St. Petersburg on his trip- again, a cruise - in the 90s.  I recall asking him about it, and he said the city was very beautiful.