Sandy’s Stories

If you were child in the 1950s as I was, you probably remember things like air raid drills, fallout shelters, and nightmares about an atomic bomb falling on your head. The word “Russia” caused us to quake in our saddle shoes, and Premier Khrushchev was the Bogeyman Personified. Although we weren’t in an actual war with Russia, our relations with the country were so strained that they were a constant source of political unease for both sides, and general anxiety for their citizens. This Cold War, as it was called, which had begun shortly after the end of World War II, lasted until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Even without direct fighting the two world superpowers held vastly different views ideologically, politically, and economically.

The concept of “sister cities” had already been around for a while by 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved. The initiative was started by President Eisenhower in 1956, with a mission to promote peace through cooperation, mutual respect, and understanding. To this end, in May of 1991, Londonderry established the “Twin Cities Resolution Agreement” with the Russian city of Vologda. Vologda is a city along the Vologda River in Russia, considered a major transport hub. It’s located nearly 300 miles north of Moscow, and has a population of over 300,000 – much larger than our little burg of about 26,000.

For several years the relationship thrived. Business folks from Londonderry traveled to Vologda to “identify the city’s needed goods and goods to be purchased from the U.S.S.R., and methods of transportation, communication, and payment.” Additionally, cultural exchanges took place. The agreement between the municipalities specified that the sending city would foot the bill for all travel costs and the host city would provide housing, transportation, and entertainment. So, when dance and theater groups from Vologda visited our town, troupe members, who were often children, stayed with host families in the area. The Vologda girls’ basketball team paid us a visit, as did a police delegation, an orchestra, and an opera group. The visits between the two places uncovered the fact that our friends in Russia needed some basic goods that we take for granted, such as food, toiletries, and medicines. A philanthropic organization called “Friends of Vologda” was formed to raise money and to collect these much-needed goods for easing shortages in Vologda. The local churches also became involved, sending an emissary to personally deliver Bibles to the city. It was common for the two cities to exchange gifts while visiting. Londonderry received Vologda’s town seal, a book about the city and its surrounding region, and a special medal, while somewhere in Vologda are a Londonderry town history, badges from public agencies, an anniversary coin, pins, mugs, and a town seal.

Fast forward about three decades. The International Exchange Committee, Londonderry’s liaison with Vologda, seemed to have become inactive. Nothing much happened between the sisters after 2007, at least, nothing worthy enough to make it to the local newspapers. So, when Russia began aggressions against the United States ally of Ukraine in 2022, it seemed like a good time to sever the relationship.  The ties were officially broken at the March 28, 2022 Town Council meeting, where it was pointed out that Russia was “breaking all possible rules and principles of international and humanitarian law.” It’s not clear whether Vologda was informed about this divorce; Sister Cities of the World website still lists Londonderry and Vologda as siblings.