First Lady Gave Them Tour : Raisa Gorbachev Impresses U.S. Teens

Raisa Gorbachev was a hit with Orange County teen-agers who visited her recently. They described her as gracious, friendly and warm.

The teen-agers returned earlier this month from a youth summit in the Soviet Union. This week they reminisced about their trip, in which they met the wife of Soviet General Secretary Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

“I was very happy (Raisa Gorbachev) was there,” 17-year-old Newport Harbor High senior Rachel Robboy said. “She was very happy to see us. She was very touched that we had so many things to give to her.”

Thirty-seven students from across the United States, ages 12 to 19, including nine teen-agers from Orange County, went on the trip sponsored by Youth Ambassadors International, a nonprofit group based in Washington state. The group organizes discussions and seminars for teen-agers on issues affecting their lives.

The group left for the 2-week trip on March 19, stopping in Helsinki, Finland, and Leningrad, for 2 days at each place. Then the students took an 8-hour train ride to Moscow.

Group organizer Ed Johnson said traveling was rough.

“American kids carry a lot of luggage,” he said. “They tried to take everything with them.”

The teen-agers were surprised to learn that they would meet Gorbachev, who would give them a tour of the Kremlin.

When they arrived at the building that serves as the seat of government, the students swarmed around the Soviet first lady, Johnson said. She immediately went over to a 12-year-old girl wearing traditional American Indian clothing and an 11-year-old boy and asked them their names.

American news correspondents, not wanting to miss an opportunity to talk to Gorbachev, hurled questions at her while she mingled with the kids, he said.

“The press was very rude,” Johnson said. “They were just pushing kids aside.”

The students were led through the Kremlin and saw various religious paintings and other art adorning the rooms as Gorbachev acted as tour guide.

Betsy Bissell, 13, of Irvine presented Gorbachev with a lithographic reproduction of a painting by Newport Beach artist Penny McManigal. The painting, done with acrylics and titled “Peace for Our Children,” depicts a view of Earth as seen from space. McManigal intends to send Gorbachev the painting later.

The students finished the week by participating in a youth summit with Russian teen-agers. They discussed such subjects as peace through the arts, conservation and human rights.

The students also spent a night in homes of Russian families.

“It was really overwhelming seeing how little (Soviets) have,” said Robin Howland, 17, of Irvine. But “they had a lot of pride in their families and what they have on the inside.”

Robin said she was surprised at how little free time a Soviet friend had, contrasted with most American youth.

“They don’t have MTV, sports, stuff like that,” she said.

During the trip, Brian Tyler, 16, of Corona del Mar, played a piano concerto he wrote on Radio Moscow. The piece was titled A Concerto in the Key of Peace.

“We are finding that we (and the Russians) are really the same,” he said. “That’s how peace can be achieved.”

Overall, the trip was a success, officials said.

Student Rachel said: “I think part of our trip was to let these people (the Soviets) know that the kids were really interested in our future, that we are going to make the world a better place if given the opportunity.”