244 Chapter 6
that the republics of Central Asia are independent republics, not backwards
as they were forty years ago.”^97
For these citizen-diplomats, the tolerance of inappropriate behavior was
much narrower abroad than at home, and the penalties could be more se-
vere: tourists who violated the rules would lose the right to travel abroad
again. The group as well as the leader set and enforced norms of behavior:
lack of punctuality or losing one’s documents wasted everyone’s precious
time and was commonly noted in the reports, as were cases of individu-
als who wandered outside the group orbit.^98 Leaving the group was doubly
dangerous abroad: not only did it violate the normal code of the Soviet tour-
ist collective, but inexperienced tourists on their own in foreign countries
might end up in compromising situations. Many tourists wished to take up
invitations to visit new acquaintances at home or in restaurants; in some
cases, this might have been a worthy pursuit of international friendship, but
frequently enough Soviet tourists, often females, were looking for romantic
companionship and sexual encounters. Extramarital sexual activity was a
common adjunct to normal domestic tourist and vacation pleasures; in the
trip reports, vacation romances with fellow Soviet travelers were sometimes
noted with disapproval, but it was sex with foreigners that presented the
gravest dangers. Instances of “sexual debauchery” abroad were noted, as was
the absence of such behavior. (“The behavior of the group was outstanding.”)
Drinking to excess, “the joy of the Rus,” always drew censure for the lack of
culture it revealed, but it was especially dangerous abroad, when drunken-
ness could lead to brawls and fi stfi ghts as well as to sexual relations and
uncensored speech. The drunk tourist Smirnov received a reprimand for
an unsanctioned midnight swim but even more for insisting in his defense
that once he decided to do something, he would do it, even if “Khrushchev
himself” disapproved.^99 These everyday behaviors, tolerable at home, could
hurt the reputation of Soviet tourists abroad.
Given the heavy responsibilities of representing their country and their
lack of experience in international travel, many tourists expressed anxieties
about how to behave and what to wear and about mealtime etiquette.^100 But
they also brought with them distinctive expectations about what to see and
do. Above all, and in the practical tradition of proletarian tourism, some- GARF, f. 9520, op. 1, d. 390 (tourism seminar, March 1961), ll. 56 (quote), 16, 17, 33.
- Trip reports would specify individuals with a notation that they should not be al-
lowed on further foreign tours. E.g. GARF, f. 9520, op. 1, d. 1115, l. 29; see also Gorsuch,
All This Is Your World , 119. When a tourist from a Kiev group visiting Bulgaria violated the
norms of discipline, the entire group met to discuss her behavior. GARF, f. 9520, op. 1, d.
1109 (group leader reports, 1967), l. 63; d. 1104 (group leader reports, 1967), l. 4. - GARF, f. 9520, op. 1, d. 491 (group leader reports, 1962), ll. 3, 88, 89; GARF, f. 9520,
op. 1, d. 390, l. 7; d. 409 (group leader reports, 1961), ll. 151, 3, 101, 121; d. 421 (group leader
reports, 1961), ll. 1, 20, “Khrushchev himself,” 25; “behavior of the group,” d. 716 (group
leader reports, 1964), l. 2. - GARF, f. 9520, op. 1, d. 701, ll. 2, 139.