[Radio] This is Sawt al-Arab radio from Cairo
[Viktor Yakushev, Military Interpreter, Lieutenant Colonel, Retired]
[Viktor] I was almost 14 years old
[Viktor] I was in high school when I heard Sawt al-Arab radio
[Viktor] I realised that it was in Arabic,
I was fascinated by it
[Viktor] I sent a request to a bookstore...
in Moscow, and within 3 days, I received the books I needed
[Viktor] That's how my journey began
[Viktor] After school, I tried to go to Leningrad University
[Viktor] Today it's Saint Petersburg State University,
a renowned centre of oriental studies
[Viktor] But I failed the Russian language exam
[Viktor] I had an excellent grade in Arabic, but failed at Russian
[Viktor] Then, I learnt from a retired major
about a Military Foreign Languages school in Moscow
[Viktor] That's where I enrolled
[Viktor] This is my notebook
[Viktor] From our freshman year in 1967
[Viktor] I'd just started learning to write in Arabic
[Viktor] This is my photo
[Viktor] This is what I looked like
when I arrived in Egypt on August 17, 1971,
with the rank of Junior Lieutenant
[Viktor] When you put on a military uniform,
you have to be ready to go on any mission. That's life
[Viktor] Half my classmates went to Syria,
and half went to Egypt
[Viktor] I was lucky
RETURN TO EGYPT
[GEO] Cairo
[Viktor] Egypt has changed so much in these 50 years
[Viktor] The world's changed, and so have we
[Viktor] I can't believe I'm back here after all these years
[Viktor] The country has changed a lot:
streets, bridges, buildings...
it all looks different now
[Viktor] But it still feels like home
[Viktor] This is Cairo, the capital I kept thinking of all these years
[Viktor] The River Nile is the main source of livelihood in Egypt
for poor farmers and the entire country
[Viktor] Since ancient times, the River Nile has played a vital role
[Viktor] I guess, there's little difference in the Volga's significance to Russia
and the Nile's to Egypt
[Viktor] There's a proverb...
'He who drinks from the Nile
will always return to it'
[Viktor] That did indeed happen
[Viktor] I have come back
[GEO] Giza
[Viktor] When I was on a business trip,
I didn't have time to explore any of the sights
[Viktor] Even the pyramids, I've only seen them from a distance
[Viktor] Egypt is a legend
[Viktor] It's filled with history
[Viktor] Everything we learned at school, we can see here with our own eyes
[Viktor] The great civilisation of the Pharaohs!
[Viktor] I feel its greatness here,
at the foot of these immortal pyramids
[Viktor] Today, a lot of attention is paid to tourism in Egypt
[Viktor] I've found that
a lot of world-class museums have opened recently
[Viktor] The Museum of Civilisation teaches Egypt's history
from the Pharaohs to the present day
[Viktor] It's remarkable that buildings from the Muhammad Ali era...
have survived to this day
[Viktor] Historical monuments are everywhere, not just in museums
[Viktor] The whole of Egypt is one big museum
[Viktor] I was...
assigned to the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff,
which is responsible for battle planning in any army
[Viktor] On exercises and drills, individual elements
of the general plan
were put into practice
[Viktor] President Sadat's residence was in that area
[Viktor] He personally supervised the drills
as the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief
[Viktor] We're in El Qanater El Khayreya
[Viktor] I couldn't imagine coming back here after more than 50 years
this time under completely different circumstances
[Viktor] In September...
1971,
[Viktor] Egyptian military engineers were trained here
to cross canals that were filled
with an incendiary mixture, napalm
[Viktor] After the drills,
the Egyptian leadership concluded
that it was impossible to cross the canal
while the mixture was burning on the surface of the water
[Viktor] So, a special forces unit was tasked with cutting the pipes
that carried the mixture into the canal
[Viktor] Egypt's special forces accomplished that task
[GEO] Cairo
[Viktor] Cairo has its own character
[Viktor] It's unique
[Viktor] I remember how we walked along these streets,
going to shops, cafés, and cinemas
[Viktor] When I was in Egypt, we mainly went to watch foreign films
[Viktor] But Egyptian films...
we saw those in Russia
[Viktor] We learned the Egyptian dialect from Egyptian films
like 'Black Glasses', 'The Man in Our House', 'Fighting in the Valley', etc.
[Viktor] Egyptian actors were familiar to Russian viewers:
[Viktor] Omar Sharif, Faten Hamama,
Ahmed Ramzy, Nadia Lutfi
[Viktor] Those names were well-known in Russia
[Viktor] I was 22
when I first came to Egypt on a two-year posting
[Viktor] We arrived at airport in Cairo,
we sat on a bus, and went to Nasr City
[Viktor] There were high-rise buildings,
in which they accommodated us
[Viktor] I came here on August 17, 1971
together with Soviet specialists and advisers
[Viktor] We were tasked with defending...
the Egyptian skies from Israeli air raids
[Ahmed] Hello! Good morning! [Viktor] Peace be with you!
[Viktor] Well, we meet at last!
[Ahmed] How are you doing? Come on in, dear friend
[Ahmed] Thank you, my dear, thank you! [Viktor] Thank you
[Viktor] It's a great honour to be your guest!
[Viktor] The pilot, the General is a man who fought...
for the return of native land. It is indeed a great honour...
[Ahmed] It's an honour for us too
[Viktor] Same here!
[Viktor] It's hard for me...
to express my feelings
[Viktor] I feel like I'm in my family's house
[Ahmed Kamal Al-Mansoury, Air Force Major General]
[Ahmed] Thank you, dear Viktor!
[Ahmed] I had the honour of being a fighter pilot
[Ahmed] I flew all the MiG aircraft:
MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21, and the MiG-23
[Ahmed] I'm proud that I fought against American weapons on those aircraft
[Ahmed] I'm proud to have shot down a 'Phantom' plane
during one of the longest air battles in the Ain Sokhna area,
in which 2 Egyptian MiG-21s and 6 'Phantom' planes were involved
[Ahmed] Preparations for the 1973 war
began in the early 1970s. It was a real war
[Ahmed] It's thanks to the help of Russian specialists
and Russian weapons, that the war was won
[Viktor] Could you please tell me about these photos?
[Ahmed] This is the most beautiful photo, it's a MiG-21
[Ahmed] My favourite plane
[Ahmed] I go to see this plane at the 'October War' Panorama
every year on October 6, I say to it, 'I love you, I miss you'
[Ahmed] I spent more time with that plane than I did with my wife!
[Ahmed] We spent more time in the sky than on the ground
[Ahmed] I fought in it, and became famous in it
[Ahmed] I realised my potential in it
[Ahmed] It was my weapon
[Ahmed] This is a very rare photo,
the MiG-21 has been shot from a very good angle
[Ahmed] We spent so much time together...
that I love it almost as much as my wife
[Ahmed] When I leave, it's as if the plane is talking to me, asking me to stay
[Viktor] Two Soviet air groups:
the 135th Air Fighter Regiment, in Gianaclis
and 35th Separate Air Fighter Squadron
in Kom Aushim and Beni Suef
[Viktor] This is about 80 MiGs
[Ahmed] I welcomed them myself
[Ahmed] They fought and they died
[Viktor] On July 30,
three of them died in the first aerial battle with the Israelis
[Viktor] I remember their names:
Zhuravlyov,
Yurchenko, and Yakovlev, all Captains
[Ahmed] I was there...
on that day...
at the Bir Areida airfield
[Ahmed] I fought, too
[Ahmed] We all risked our lives
[Ahmed] A flying missile doesn't care if you're a Russian specialist or Egyptian,
a Muslim or a Christian...
it destroys anyone!
[Viktor] I understand, we were in the same trenches
[Viktor] You saw the MiG-25,
that took off from Cairo West Air Base and landed in Damascus
[Ahmed] We named that plane '333':
[Ahmed] Mach 3, 30km altitude, 3 hours of flight time
[Ahmed] It's unique!
[Viktor] They used titanium in its manufacture
[Ahmed] The aircraft is literally as valuable as gold,
because titanium is one the most expensive materials in the world
[Viktor] I see the word...
'hero' written here, in Russian
[Ahmed] These are the state-of-the-art MiG aircraft we received from Russia
and 20 MiG-29s are now based...
at the same airfield from which I flew combat missions
[Ahmed] For me, it was an honour...
to visit that place, sit in that plane, and reminisce
[Viktor] Among the certificates of merit, I see one from a school near Agouza
[Viktor] You talk to the younger generation
[Ahmed] They are our hope
[Ahmed] There are 60 million people in Egypt under the age of 45
[Ahmed] That's a good point
[Ahmed] You're my comrade-in-arms, and you've paid attention to our youth,
for which we have high hopes
[GEO] Alexandria
[Viktor] Can you tell me about this building?
[Viktor] I'm not asking out of idle curiosity, I was here with Soviet military experts
and advisers in 1971 and 1972...
[Viktor] I spent a few days in Alexandria, but never saw such beautiful buildings
[Aleksandra, Russian House, Alexandria] You could have come here at that time
because the Soviet authorities purchased the building in 1961
[Aleksandra] This is a famous villa here in Alexandria, it's historic
[Aleksandra] It once belonged to Constantine Salvagos
[Aleksandra] It was built in 1915
[Aleksandra] All the interior decorations have been preserved
[Aleksandra] We try to keep it in pristine condition
[Aleksandra] For example, this wonderful stained glass window, by a French artist,
was specially made for this centre,
and still gives us joy to this day
[Aleksandra] You can see here these beautifully crafted wooden elements,
they're made from the highest-grade cedar
[Aleksandra] They're preserved in their original form
[Aleksandra] We try to maintain all this beauty and decor for future generations
[Aleksandra] Our centre hosts a variety of cultural activities
[Aleksandra] It also offers Russian language courses for Egyptians
[Aleksandra] Russian ballet and gymnastics schools, known around the world
[Aleksandra] There are also various music courses:
piano school, guitar school, and so on
[Aleksandra] Our Russian Centre has long hosted the 'Alexandria' Compatriots Club,
which brings people together from older and younger generations
[Aleksandra] Our kids still go
[Viktor] Are Egyptians interested in learning Russian language and culture?
[Aleksandra] Demand is constant, people always come to study
[Aleksandra] Often, they visit Russia afterwards to learn our language
[Man 1] I already talk Russian well [Viktor] Speak Russian
[Man 1] I alroody [Viktor] Already! I speak well...
[Man 1] I already speak Russian well
[Man 2] I've come to Alexandria to improve my Arabic
[Man 2] I've started to learn an Arabic dialect
[Viktor] To move forward, we must learn from those who walked this path before
[Man 1] I'm very pleased we talked, I want to learn Russian just as well
[Viktor] It won't be a problem, you just need to make an effort
[Man 1] I'm trying, but I don't feel that I speak as fluently as you in Arabic
[Viktor] I've been learning Arabic for more than 50 years,
but I can't say I know it perfectly
[Viktor] It's the same with Russian, when you reach a certain level,
you turn on the radio
and realise that you understand everything
[Man 1] Yes?
[Viktor] For sure! It's all about persistence and not being afraid
to face problems, that's the main point
[Viktor] You need to read a lot
and watch films in Russian
Does Russian have dialects, like in Arabic?
[Viktor] Russian is only a literary language
[Viktor] Regions have their own dialects, but they're simpler than yours
[Viktor] This makes learning the language easier
[Man 2] It's been nice to meet you
[Man 2] I'm in Alexandria for a month, I'd like to talk to you again
[Man 2] I can help you with Russian...
and you can help me with Arabic
[Man 1] That's a great idea
[Viktor] I wish you both success in your language studies,
for you two this is a great opportunity
[GEO] Cairo
[Viktor] Thank you! [Man] You're welcome!
[Man] Peace be with you! [Viktor] And with you!
[Viktor Yakushev, Military Interpreter, Lieutenant Colonel, Retired]
[Viktor] We knew: what was taken by force can only be returned by force
[Viktor] That was the Egyptian people's motto at the time, and we supported it
[Viktor] The concept of 'occupation' is rejected by Russians
[Viktor] We felt it was a just cause,
that it would be fair to help the Egyptians and the Arab people
[Viktor] And as military men, we support the people's right to land and sovereignty
VIKTOR IS ONE OF THOUSANDS OF RUSSIANS WHO WORKED IN EGYPT.
NOW, ITS DIALECT, CULTURE, CITIES, STREETS, AND PEOPLE
HAVE BECOME PART OF THEIR LIVES AND MEMORIES FOREVER.