Shift Delete

by Gary L. Rashba

  6. RETROSPECT

  Quite a trip it had been— an approach from both a fugitive traitor and possibly by the KGB, or whatever the hell they call themselves now. Parovsky couldn’t help but think about Snowden. He certainly didn’t envy the guy: living a life of paranoia, looking over his shoulder, unable to trust anyone. Detested, vilified, notorious, cut off from his family, friends and all that he has ever known. It had to be a living hell, but one he had brought upon himself. What sickened Parovsky about him was that Snowden acted on his own volition, not because he was recruited by another country or tempted by money. He meant to ask his colleague and new friend Dan Chaseman at the embassy in Moscow whether someone in one of the TLA’s stationed in Moscow was keeping tabs on him with plans to snatch him if he’s dumb enough to travel somewhere outside of Russia, but then wondered if this was too much cloak and dagger stuff that movies are made of. He figured that murdering someone in Moscow was against the rules. Russia and United States operated spies in each other’s countries—that was a given—but murder probably crossed a red line. Or perhaps not. Now that he thought about it, Parovsky recalled the Russians took out renegade spy Alexander Litvinenko in London by radioactive poisoning back in 2006. So even in the heart of Mother Russia, Parovsky realized, Snowden might be fair game. He relished the thought.

  Snowden had to know he is doomed, that in the end he would be apprehended and held accountable for his actions. Despite his exuberant outward confidence demonstrated at the conference, Snowden must realize that he’s merely a pawn in the hands of the Russian government, which should scare him to the point that it’s probably even making him physically ill. With all this weighing down on him, Parovsky reasoned, maybe his approach to me wasn’t a publicity stunt, but rather a simple longing for camaraderie from a fellow American. Well, you chose the wrong guy, loser. What further agitated Parovsky was that Snowden had been putting on the positive spin, suggesting that his actions were in the name of protecting citizen’s personal freedoms, but then again every traitor or criminal for that matter tries to justify his actions with a spin, to portray himself as having acted in the name of a noble cause.

  Parovsky was happy to have left all of that behind in Moscow and to be back in Washington. He liked being at home in his comfortably- appointed apartment. A large geometric-patterned Oriental carpet covered part of the living room’s lacquered hard-wood floor. A modern dark venga wood and sleek metal-framed coffee table and entertainment unit, along with a two-seater dark brown leather couch with matching metal legs and frame filled the bright, airy room. A 50” Sony flat screen smart television was the focus of the custom-built entertainment unit, flanked on one side by transparent glass cabinets filled with his large musical compact disk collection, and his $10,000 high-fidelity component stereo system—the type reserved for true audiophiles in this age of digital music—behind symmetrical glass doors on the other flank. Clearly he took his music seriously.

  Parovsky was sitting before his laptop at his tidy glass-topped, metal- legged desk in a corner of the living room, with the TV on in the background. He sipped coffee from a colored ceramic mug while his laptop powered up. Once behind the firewall into DCA’s VPN, he began reading emails that had accumulated during his trip, where he had been without email out of security concerns. The “out of office” notice had failed to deflect many to his team.

  From:Alexandra Iserovich

  To:Elliot Parovsky

  Subject:Meeting you

  Nice to see you in Russia, Mr. Parovsky. ©

  Yours,

  Alexandra

  He smiled as he realized it was that perfect specimen who had greeted him at the Kostrinsky Labs conference, figuring someone had helped her with the English. This certainly wasn’t the first time he had been approached like this, he just didn’t see the point of staying in contact with a woman so far away. With his dark complexion, clear skin, good build and outwardly confident manner, women tended to look his way. He knew he was good-looking. He didn’t revel in the attention, he simply took advantage of it; when the opportunity rose, he took the woman up on her offer, which was the way he interpreted such approaches. Otherwise the woman wouldn’t have bothered contacting him, he reasoned. “Nice to see you in Russia” equaled “I want to have sex with you.” The statistics were with him; such approaches inevitably resulted in a one-off encounter, evolved into a sexual relationship until he tired of the woman and ended it, or she expected more of the relationship than he was willing to give.

  From:Kostrinsky

  To:Elliot Parovsky

  Subject:Conference list

  Attach:Attendees.ppt

  Please click the attached list of conference attendees from Moscow conference.

  They’ve gotta be kidding! He shook his head, dismissing this pathetic attempt at luring him to click on an attachment. This was a cyber security conference, its attendees coming from the industry and presumably aware of the dangers lurking out there and alert for these types of things. But then again, he thought, he shouldn’t underestimate people’s stupidity, wondering if anyone would actually open the attachment. Out of curiosity, he clicked on the “From” address and found it was sent from Kostrinsky@gmail.com, rather than the company’s legitimate domain. He considered sending it to work for analysis, but couldn’t be bothered.

  “Nice try, guys!” he said out loud as he keyed the shift and delete keys, permanently deleting the message.

  From:Anna Parovsky

  To:Elliot Parovsky

  Subject:Miss you

  Miss you Elliot. Can’t wait to hear about your trip to Russia.

  It’s so nice that you get to travel to interesting places as part of your work.

  Love, Mom.

  Parovsky hit Shift/Delete.

  From:Reunion Committee

  To:Elliot Parovsky

  Subject:American University Class of 1990 Reunion

  Dear Class of 1990.

  Can you believe it’s been 25 years?

  Come back to American University to connect with classmates, catch up with old friends, and celebrate all that is American!

  This one attracted his attention. He read on about the upcoming reunion being held as part of Homecoming Weekend. Gosh, he really hadn’t thought about the people from so long ago, even though he only lived a few miles from American University, which is what brought him to Washington DC more than twenty-five years earlier. And loving the city, he had never left. Yet he lost contact with the people from college- -all by fault of his own—in that pre-social media age, and had never looked back. But now he was intrigued. His roommate and best friend from those days had been an outspoken pro-lsrael activist on campus and afterwards. With over-paranoia, he feared that friendship might be a scarlet letter that could somehow harm his career advancement within the TLA community, and he broke off contact, There were girls he had dated or just screwed around with whose names he could hardly recall, the girl he was totally infatuated with, and the spoiled rich jerk from New York who he hated. What was his name again? Lippnow, that was it! Darrel Lippnow.

  He had some friends from graduate and law school, work and the gym. Whenever one of his friends suggested the gang get together, Elliot always had something else going on. It always seemed more of an excuse, for he never made the effort to join the others, even though the get-togethers were few and far between considering that everyone had his own life, whether graduate school, work obligations or young families. His friends grew frustrated with his lack of effort. Parovsky sensed that some of them wondered about his sexuality given he was in his mid-forties, not married and nary a significant relationship to speak of throughout the years. He noticed the way he was asked if there was anyone special in his life, intentionally keeping the question gender- neutral in the event that was the case. Hie left it a mystery, letting them guess that maybe he feared prying questions about his personal life, even
though no one ever asked beyond basic questions out of sincere interest in their friend’s life, or in hopes of living vicariously through a good story or two. He had plenty of such stories to recount, but kept them to himself. Maybe it had to do with his security clearance, they wondered, which would make coming out risky. Or maybe it was just too much effort trying to maintain contact with someone who clearly wasn’t interested.

  Despite having no true lasting friendships from college to speak of, he still had good feelings about the university which had attracted him from his native Los Angeles to DC, which he had fallen in love with and adopted as his home.

  He received American Magazine, the university’s alumni magazine, and enjoyed the eclectic articles and reading about the accomplishments of people he did not know, despite the pangs of jealousy it sometimes caused about how successful everyone else seemed to be, whether professionally or in family life, while he was perpetually unhappy.

  Yes Elliot, it is time for the great Class of ‘90 to reconnect, revel, and rejoice as we celebrate our milestone 25th Reunion.

  The email got him thinking about his four years there. The guys he had hung out with in Anderson Hall during his freshman year. And how that random housing assignment influences who becomes your friend and even the overall experience at the university.

  Stay Connected to the Class of 1990! Don’t wait for the Reunion to reconnect with your classmates. Stay up to date on all things related to the Class of 1990 by joining us online. Join your classmates who are sharing memories, photos, videos and other updates on our Facebook page, or look for news and photos posted throughout the year on Twitter and Instagram.

  Darrel Lippnow. The name was stuck in his head now. Lippnow wasn’t the type of person Parovsky would normally have associated with, but in those vulnerable first days at college, when people are searching for friends to cling on to, to bring the overwhelming down to something manageable in size, circumstances thrust them together and destined them to be in the same circle. And sometimes those first people one clings to wind up being friends for all four years, sometimes even for a lifetime. Like it or not, Parovsky found himself stuck with the spoiled rich jerk from New York.

  Parovsky thought to check out Lippnow online to see what had become of him, but when he opened Internet Explorer and it brought up his default homepage of International News Network (INN), he was distracted by the headline:

  Moscow signals concern for Russians in Estonia (INN) - Russia signaled concern at Estonia’s treatment of its large ethnic Russian minority, comparing language policy in the Baltic state with what it said was a call in Ukraine to prevent the use of the Russian language.

  Russia has defended its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula by arguing it has the right to protect Russian-speakers outside its borders, so the reference to linguistic tensions in another former Soviet republic comes at a highly sensitive moment.

  “Language should not be used to segregate and isolate groups,” a Russian diplomat was reported as saying. Russia was “concerned by steps taken in this regard in Estonia as well as in Ukraine,” the Moscow envoy was said to have added.

  No wonder the Estonians were worried, Parovsky understood. The Russian government was using “Ukraine” and “Estonia” in the same sentence when discussing persecution of Russian-speaking minorities. They were signaling that circumstances in Estonia were the same as they had been before Ukraine was invaded.

  Curious, Parovsky Googled the topic and began reading, learning that ethnic Russians were moved to Estonia following World War II to “Russify” the country. But most material he found online dealt with persecutions, massacres and deportations of Estonians, causing deep-seated resentment towards Russia. When Estonia became independent in 1990, Russians in Estonia became second-class citizens. Russian is not recognized as a second language in Estonia. Doing so, Estonia’s president explained, was paramount to fostering the Soviet legacy— seen by Estonia as a half century of occupation and oppression. Fluency in the Estonian language became a requirement for citizenship, and many Russians carry a special gray passport labeling them as aliens. They also lack the right to vote in national elections.

  Once free of the Soviet yoke, Estonia flourished. Its economy soared, tourism grew and industry developed, all giving the country much to be proud of. Anything reminiscent of the Soviet days was viewed as an insulting vestige of the past.

  Today Estonia boasts 1.5 million citizens, of whom more than half a million are non-Estonians, the vast majority of them Russian. An ordinary Estonian would say there are two nationalities living in Estonia: Estonians and Russians. Different religious backgrounds (Orthodox and Protestant), languages, even the way people behave differentiate the two nationalities. Estonians are distrustful of Russia, which they consider a dangerous neighbor, whereas Russian Estonians, valuing their Russian roots, naturally support their neighbor to the east, with whom they strongly identify culturally.

  The ethnic Russians’ resurgence began after Russia’s military interventions in Georgia and then Ukraine empowered the Russian minorities to reassert themselves, their rights and place in society. For a generation they were made to feel like unwanted outsiders. They were proud of their Russian heritage and sought to strengthen these links. Parovsky could see what a volatile situation this could be, especially with resurgent Russia as such a willing partner.

  .7 PROVOCATION, ESCALATION & WAR

  Part 1

  Chaseman’s comments about Russia and Estonia were playing out largely as predicted. An unapproved demonstration in Estonia in support of their fellow ethnic Russians’ separatist aspirations in Ukraine turned violent and a number of ethnic Russians were injured, and dozens arrested. Russia condemned Estonia’s response as heavy-handed. Estonia responded that Russia should take a good look at itself before pointing an accusatory finger at anyone. The war of words heated up. Recriminations and accusations flew back and forth. “Russian-speakers refuse to integrate themselves into Estonia,” it was said, “and then complain they feel like outsiders.”

  The ethnic Russians always point to the Estonian Government’s 2007 removal of the so-called Bronze Soldier monument as the quintessential example of Estonia’s hostility and insensitivity towards them. Situated on a hill then known as Liberator’s Square, the World War II monument to the Soviet sacrifice and “liberators” of Estonia was revered by the minority Russians.

  “The Estonian government claimed the statue had become a public order menace as a focus for Estonian and Russian nationalists,” Chaseman had explained. “But in reality they simply saw it as a painful and insulting reminder of the 50 years of Soviet occupation and oppression.”

  “And the Russians?” Parovsky had asked.

  “They regarded it as a shrine to their soldiers who died fighting the Nazis.”

  “So I guess it didn’t go over well when Estonia moved the statue!”

  “And dug up the remains of some soldiers buried there!”

  “Aha.”

  “Aha is right. There was some serious rioting, and the Russians haven’t forgotten it.” Not to mention the subsequent cyber-attack.

  Parovsky walked into his apartment after a work-out at the gym and before heading into the shower, flipped on his flat screen television to INN. The Estonia-Russia crisis had made it to the world stage now. INN was reporting on the “crisis in Estonia.” So it was now a crisis, Parovsky thought to himself. Standing in his kitchen drinking Tropicana orange juice from the carton, Parovsky listened to INN’s report, which for a change was talking about something of substance rather than just running advertisements for medications for erectile dysfunction.

  “More than 500 people were detained and 66 injured after a second night of riots in Estonia’s capital Tallinn,” the INN anchor reported from the newsroom in Atlanta before turning the broadcast over to their on- site correspondent.

  Standing by a burnt-out stor
efront with shattered glass shop windows in the Estonian capital, the correspondent began: “Estonian police say scores of people have been arrested during the unrest here. Police fired tear gas and used water cannons after new clashes erupted between police and ethnic Russians.”

  Footage of the rioting showed yellow-vested Estonian police holding protective transparent perplex shields with one hand and wielding batons in the other charging at the rioters, and then another clip of police arresting some young men, who are lying face down on the street being frisked, handcuffed and then led to a police van.

  The reporter continued, adding that, “Police say some 50 premises were damaged as groups of vandals roamed the streets of Tallinn, breaking shop windows, looting stores and burning cars.”

  “Russia, which has had troubled ties with Estonia since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, has condemned the Estonian response. Russia’s president today expressed his ‘most serious concern’ to the European Union about events surrounding what he called a ‘peaceful demonstration’ gone awry by the unnecessarily brutal Estonian reaction. In response, the European Union called for both sides to exercise restraint.”

  The reporter briefly interviewed an ethnic Russian rioter wearing a black balaklava to hide his face, who called himself a separatist and said they wanted independence from Estonia.

  Russia’s play in Estonia was running like a well-orchestrated plan. When Parovsky arrived at work one morning, he found an email from Dan Chaseman with a link to an op-ed piece in the New York Times written by the Russian president where he accused Estonia of intimidating the country’s large minority of Russian-speakers and ethnic Russians, and threatened to use force to protect these populations. “Russia has the broad right to protect compatriots and fellow citizens outside of Russia.” He was making pretty bold claims, Parovsky noticed.