Nina of Minsk
D. Mysiakov, Nina of Minsk. October 9, 1986
Co-author P. Yakubovich
Excerpts from an article
Original Source: Komsomolskaia pravda, 9 October 1986.
We are talking about a certain category of young women. They used to try to remain incognito, and if they failed, they vowed they "would never do it again." But as time passed, their timidity vanished. They feet absolutely invulnerable since they aren't violating anything. They ceremoniously exchange greetings with doormen and hail policemen in a familiar and friendly way. In the hotel, bar and restaurant they know everyone and everyone knows them too. For these damsels, there is no such thing as public opinion.
Their "business," as they see it, is no worse than any other, and is in many respects even better. The main advantage is security... At worst, they will be called in to the police station for a warning. They will be shamed and admonished. But they will be released in any case. The problem here is by no means poor work on the part of the police. On the contrary, they deserve good mention. Mikhail Gapanovich, the officer in charge of criminal investigations at the Central Borough Internal Affairs Department, even keeps a special album containing photographs of all the "ladies" without exception. Mikhail can tell you everything there is to know about each and every one of them. But unfortunately, the law is powerless against these "business-women." True, from time to time some reason for serious talking arises. The ladies usually don't work in one place for very long. But as soon as they see the clouds gathering, they quickly get a job. They look for the sort of job where they don't have to strain themselves too much. If possible, they prefer to be officially listed as employed without actually holding a job...
Nina had something that most of her friends did not-her own two-room flat fairly close to the center of town. Whenever necessary, she "deposited" her school-age son on her neighbor's doorstep. Many of the ladies would take their new friends to her flat to continue the friendships struck up in the restaurant.
Services of another kind were also on offer. Since their guests were usually foreigners, the payment the ladies received from them for their night-time service was in foreign currency. Nina would convert it, retaining a commission. Through an acquaintance from a southern country who was for some reason called Paul although his name was really Mohammed, the enterprising woman bought and sold dollars, marks and kroner.
Nina got her just punishment for maintaining a house of ill repute, procuring girls for prostitution, speculation and violation of currency regulations. The charge brought against her younger friends was far more concise-illegal foreign-currency transactions. The measures applied to put a stop to their activities were also much less severe. A few days after the trial they could be seen once again, back in their usual places. What's more, only a few of those who might have ended up in the dock appeared there. What about the rest? Is there really no way of dealing with them? Will they really be able to continue their shameful trade with impunity like this, bringing greater discredit to our morality than to themselves? ...
Minsk, by the way, is a relatively lucky city in this respect. The situation in Moscow, Leningrad, Riga and other majorcenters is far more alarming ... Let's admit it: this immoral "business" still exists. For many years now, we have pretended not to notice-not to know a thing about it. It's shameful, and it's not surprising that we keep it quiet. But these women are growing positively impudent ...
We do not intend simply to confirm the existence of these "ladies" and the places where they do business. By pooling the efforts of the police and the Komsomol, we are going to rid our society of this pollution.
Source: George R. Urban, ed., Social and Economic Rights in the Soviet bloc: a documentary review seventy years after the Bolshevik Revolution (New Brunswick: Transaction, 1988), pp. 193-194.