Life Goes On - 45. Siberia – A Place for Friendships

The condition of the Irkutsk airport passenger terminal in 1992 personified the decay of the infrastructure of the Soviet Union. Crowded, dilapidated were understatements to describe this facility. In Moscow Vladek’s one small suitcase had been x-rayed prior to entry into the terminal. Again he waited in line, this time for his bag to be x-rayed before he could leave the terminal. There was no ‘Welcome to Irkutsk’ desk or kiosk, just tired looking guards with machine guns. As Vladek waited he scanned the faces of people outside the terminal wondering if someone was there to meet him. After he retrieved his bag he walked out the broken exit door and paused. Two handsome men in their fifties approached him. “Vladimir Melnikov?” When Vladek answered yes both men smiled and held out their hands to shake. “Welcome to Irkutsk. I am Maxim and this is Grigory. Papa is thrilled that you are visiting. I have not seen him this happy in years.”

As they drove to Franz’s place Maxim told about his background. “When you called Papa, he told you he had two sons, orphan boys whose parents died as a result of the father’s war trauma. He and the late Ilya have two other unofficial sons, Grigory and I. Franz was my teacher when I was fourteen here in Irkutsk. One day I arrived at school with bruises. After class he talked to me and after much reluctance I admitted that my father had beat me and that I deserved it. Franz was very tender and understanding. After many questions I finally admitted my father had discovered me kissing another boy. We were both naked. I cried as I admitted this sin. Franz was totally understanding. He offered to let me stay at his room with he, Ilya, Piotr and Pavel. He became like a father to me. He and Ilya would take the younger boys on excursions to the playground or train station on Sunday afternoons while my friend visited me for a study session, or at least that is what we all called it. That was over forty years ago. Grigory and I have been together since. We both have engineering degrees from Irkutsk Technical University and are aeronautical engineers at the aircraft factory. We both took the afternoon from work to meet such a good friend of Papa.”

When Maxim opened the door to Franz’s apartment the old man stood and walked to his friend. When Vladek put his hand out for a handshake Franz instead wrapped his arms around his former student. They held each other while starring into the other’s face. “It is so wonderful to once again hold my young friend of so many years ago. With tears in all of their eyes the two touched lips. The kiss was deep and passionate.”

Grigory spoke, “We will give you two some quiet time to catch up on your lives and will return at 18.00 (6pm) to take you to dinner at our place.” As the two friends embraced the sons quietly departed.

Franz spoke, “We will have plenty of time to talk later. Now I just want to hold you.” The passions of the two men were as strong at their ages of 72 and 87 as it had been when they met as student /teacher at ages 16 and 31 having last seen each other at the onset of the war when each was 19 and 34. As Vladek embraced his frail friend the two drifted to the bed. Franz felt the younger’s hardness. “You are as healthy as ever. At my age the passions run as high as ever, but the dick does not respond. While I cannot make love to you as we did years ago, I can appreciate your body.”

Vladek stood and removed his clothes. Standing naked at the side of the bed he stroked his hard dick. Franz sat up and played with it. He pulled Vladek forward and kissed the uncovered head. “You still have the school boy smell and taste that I remember.” Franz gently squeezed precum from the dick hole and licked it clean. Vladek slowly stroked as his friend pictured the school boy jerking off. Franz rubbed his finger over the wet head as the younger man slowly hacked. When Vladek announced he was close Franz moved in with an open mouth. While at his age Vladek no longer shot geysers he did let go with spurts that landed in his teacher’s mouth. While the force of the cumming was not as intense as years past the feeling was as powerful. As Vladek shot he leaned forward and braced himself against the wall. He felt dizzy as the nostalgic cum squirted out. Franz then squeezed out the last drops and cleaned the dick head with his lips and tongue. Vladek leaned in and kissed his friend, tasting his own spunk.

Vladek dressed. Franz stated that he had not had feelings of passion that strong since the death of his lover, Ilya. The two sat at the table drinking tea and discussing their lives over the past fifty years.

Promptly at 18.00 there was a knock at the door. As Grigory drove them to his apartment he explained that Maxim was preparing the celebration dinner. “Grisha will also be there with his friend. They live in a building owned by Irkutsk State University where they share a room in an apartment. They have lived together for about five years. While no formal announcement has been made, I assume they share more than just living space.” Franz then reminded Vladek that his grandson Grisha was the person who answered the phone when Vladek called from Moscow.

The dinner was a festive occasion with the three generations sharing life adventures. When Vladek and Franz kissed following one of the many toasts Grisha stated, “Grandpa, you are such an inspiration.” He then leaned into his friend, Sergi, and the two locked lips. Not to be outdone Maxim and Grigory embraced. Grisha then stood and walked over to his grandfather’s seat. Leaning in he kissed the old man, not on the cheek but firmly on the lips. “Grandpa, ever since I was a little boy I admired and loved you and Ilya. I knew it was not right to show passionate affection to a man and especially a family member. But to hell with the rules, I love you.” With that he leaned in and kissed grandpa again. Then with a twinkle in his eye he turned to his lover, “Don’t worry Sergi, after Grandpa you will always be number one in my heart.” Grisha then returned to his seat and again deep kissed his young love while erotically caressing his body.

Maxim asked, “Would you two like ‘time out’ in the bedroom before we have cake?”

The two youngest sat up straight and just smiled as cake was served to all.

They discussed plans for the remainder of Vladek’s visit. The following day, Saturday, the six would drive to the lakeside town of Listvyanka, about 70 km (42 miles) away on the shore of Lake Baikal. There they would take an hour long boat excursion on the lake. Then they would drive on dirt roads to a parking place where they would hike the short distance to the lake shore. Years earlier Maxim had discovered a secluded place where he and friends could visit and just be themselves. They would relax in total privacy, roast sausages on a bonfire and swim or just wade in the cold waters of this pristine lake. Some friends would join them.

Note: I have visited this beautiful lake during trips to Russia in 2007 and 2010. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing 22–23% of the world's fresh surface water. It contains more water than the North American Great Lakes combined. With a maximum depth of 1,642 m (5,387 feet – over a mile) it is the world's deepest lake. It is considered the world's oldest lake at 25–30 million years. The lake is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which exist nowhere else in the world. The Baikal seal is one of only three entirely freshwater seal populations in the world. Information from Wikipedia.

Then on Sunday they would visit ‘The Dacha’. (A dacha is a Russian summer house or more likely a plot of land for gardening and a shack for storage of equipment and overnight stays.) When Maxim moved in with Franz and Ilya at the age of fourteen following the beating resulting from his father’s discovery of his relationship with Grigory he did stay in contact with his parents, primarily his mother. His mother was from a tiny village about an hour by train southeast of Irkutsk. His elderly mother now owned the peasant house of her parents and surrounding land. Although she had a small apartment in the city of Irkutsk, she preferred to live at the dacha in the summer and work in the garden. Except for the addition of electricity no major changes had been made to the house in over one hundred years. Water was available from a hand pump in the yard and the outhouse (toilet) was a small building behind the house. (Just as the mother of my friend in St Petersburg who by choice spends the summer in her dacha that lacks indoor plumbing.)

Franz’s other sons, Pavel and Piotr, and their wives had gardens at the dacha. The sons, wives and some of their children and grandchildren would visit the dacha Sunday. While the conditions would be considered primitive by today’s standards it would not overshadow the happiness and abundance of food at the celebration.

After returning to the apartment Vladek and Franz undressed and crawled into the double bed, exhausted. This was the first time Franz had shared his bed since the loss of his love, Ilya. Within minutes the two were asleep, naked body against naked body.

As the six rode in the crowded automobile on their way to Lake Baikal, Vladek asked why this car and many others he had seen in Irkutsk had the driver on the right side as in England while most cars in Russia were left hand drive as in Western Europe and the USA. As he drove his recently purchased ten year old Toyota sedan Maxim explained that many automobiles in Eastern Russia were used cars imported from Japan. Since in Japan one drives on the left side as in England the cars have the driver’s seat on the right. Grigory joked, “Thanks to Russian ingenuity keeping these old cars repaired they last many years here in Siberia. This pile of metal has almost 300,000 km (180,000 miles). We plan to keep it for a few more years. Hopefully more cars will be available as our economy shifts from communism to capitalism.”

When Vladek commented that he did not expect such a smooth straight road from Irkutsk to the shore of Lake Baikal at Listvyanka Grigory gave the history of the road. “In 1960, at the height of the cold war the road from Irkutsk to the shore of Baikal was built in just two months. President Eisenhower planned what would have been a historic visit to the Soviet Union. His itinerary from Washington to Moscow would include a stop at the impressive city of Irkutsk and a visit to beautiful Lake Baikal. Unfortunately before the visit took place the Soviet’s shot down an American U-2 spy plane and President Eisenhower did not visit. The road that would have been the route of the President had been built to impress the Americans.” (The movie ‘Bridge of Spies’ starring Tom Hanks tells the story of the exchange of the pilot of that U-2 pilot, Gary Powers, for a Soviet spy held by the Americans two years after being shot down.)

Following their tour boat excursion on the lake the six drove north along the shore. At the edge of the village the paved road ended and became a gravel road which within about five km (3 miles) became a one lane dirt road that kept getting narrower. Where this road became a footpath Maxim stopped the car and told the group they would walk about a kilometer (just over a half mile) to a scenic area on the shore. As the approached their destination Vladek heard talking and laughing. Rounding a bend on the footpath he saw a group of men. He was not surprised as Maxim had told him friends from Irkutsk would join them. What did surprise him was that all the men were naked. The group was a mixture of ages and body shapes. As they approached the men welcomed them hugging each. It was a strange feeling for the clothed Vladek to hug so many naked men. Then Maxim announced, “We are not dressed properly for this party.” Soon the six newcomers were as naked as their friends all wearing only shoes. A bonfire had been started. All had brought the food and drink for the day including beer, sausages, bread and apples. While sausages cooked on a grill placed directly over the fire Vladek checked out the man sausages.

The youngest were two students in their third year at university and therefor around 21 years of age. One of them, Sergi (a very common name in Russia), was an absolute delight to the eyes. He was about 180 cm (5’ 10”) tall, muscular, short blond hair with only a tuft of light hair over the cock and almost no visible armpit hair, blue eyes, long full cock with just the piss hole peeking out of the skin covered head, balls swinging low and an incredible bubble ass. He did not mind being the center of attention as the others made no attempt to hide their interest in his body. Sergi was there with a fellow student, Oleg, who was also an enjoyable sight. When Sergi and his friend discovered Vladek was an American professor the three sat on his blanket while eating sausage and drinking beer. Both were studying English and wanted to practice their language skills and discuss American universities. A folding chair had been brought for Franz and Vladek had placed his blanket next to his friend. During his conversation with the students Franz had the pleasure of observing the two young men close up. He later told Vladek that if his dick had been ten years younger it would have been hard just from sitting near handsome Sergi.

After their lunch three of the older men invited Vladek to join them in a swim in Lake Baikal. Vladek followed them to the shore. As the three plunged in Vladek warily stepped into the water. Immediately his feet went numb from the frigid water. Meanwhile the other three after diving under the water quickly retreated and ran back to the fire. As they wrapped blankets around themselves everyone pointed to and laughed at their tiny dicks and balls that had shriveled from the cold water. Later Vladek learned the lake had only been ice free for a couple of weeks prior to their visit.

When Vladek returned from his brief wading in the lake he sat on his blanket. Sergi kneeled at his feet and began massaging warmth back into the frozen toes. Naturally Vladek’s dick responded to the touch of the beautiful young man. To Vladek’s embarrassment as well as erotic thrill the others watched and commented on his situation. Eventually Vladek thanked Sergi for warming his frozen feet. The young man just smiled and winked at him. For the next hour Vladek was the center of attention as everyone asked him questions about life in the USA. In the past all that they knew about America they heard and read on Soviet government controlled TV and newspapers. They were amazed that two men living together would have a large apartment, own two cars, and as professors each have a private office at the university.

Following their long discussion the men either sun bathed, napped or read. One couple wandered off into the forest to explore – probably each other. Sergi asked Vladek if he would like to hike up to a place where they would have a spectacular view of the lake. When he told Franz he would take a hike with the two students the old man motioned for him to lean in. He then whispered in Vladek’s ear, “I think one of those two wants to be fucked by a handsome American professor. I hope it happens and if it does I want all the details.”

The three hiked along a path that went up the lake side mountain. Sergi led followed by Vladek and then Oleg. They were all naked except for shoes. Sergi carried a small man purse. Finally they reached a rock ledge that produced a truly spectacular view of the lake. They could see snow covered mountains on the other side of the lake. The absolute silence made the feeling totally surreal.

Then Sergi turned to Vladek, “You are a beautiful man. I hope when I am your age I am as handsome and manly as you. Your response to the foot massage showed just how virile you are.” Sergi then just gazed into Vladek’s eyes. He then felt the warmth of a body moving in close behind. Oleg then began massaging his shoulders. Sergi smiled as he gently touched Vladek’s chest. Naturally the older man, about fifty years older than the two college students responded. Sergi then kneeled and swallowed the mature pulsating dick. Olrg wrapped his arms around Vladek and pressed against his back. The younger man’s now hard dick pressed against Vladek’s ass who wondered ‘Is this young man hoping to fuck me?’ Sergi stood and smiled as he told Vladek, “My friend wants you to fuck him. As soon as you arrived and before we learned you were an American and a professor Oleg told me that you were an incredibly handsome man. He asked me to arrange the situation that would permit it to happen. He has a passion for mature men, actually only handsome mature men.”

Vladek replied, “How could I say no to such an offer. But I cannot. I will not fuck without a preservative (condom).”

Sergi replied, “That is not a problem. We are prepared.” He opened his man purse and took out a pack of preservatives and a small bottle. Then kneeling he rolled the preservative on Vladek’s ready shaft. Meanwhile Oleg had laid on his back on the grass. With his legs spread and dick pointing straight up he smiled at the professor. Sergi then rubbed a liquid from the bottle on Vladek and the waiting ass. Now Vladek’s only concern was holding back and not immediately shooting his load. He kneeled between Oleg’s legs, placed them on his shoulder and planted his dick head at the waiting hole. Then he gently pushed in his average sized piece (a little less than six inches / 15 cm). Sergi stood at Oleg’s head and stroked himself. As Vladek fucked he raised his head and without asking Sergi knew what to do as he placed his dick at Vladek’s lips. Soon Vladek could hold back no longer and shot into the ass as Sergi poured his young cream down Vladek’s throat. With Vladek still implanted Sergi reached down and jerked Oleg to completion. The three then sat on the grass admiring the view of the lake and mountains. About fifteen minutes later they heard voices and soon two of their friends arrived at the lookout point.

As soon as they returned to the campfire site Franz asked Vladek to walk to the lake shore. Vladek helped his elder friend out of the chair and they strolled down to the lake. They stopped at a tree to piss. Vladek asked, “Do you remember the first time we pissed together?”

“Of course. Actually I lied to you when I told you the bathroom would be occupied for a long time and that we would have to do our morning piss in the piss pot. You reaction confirmed my suspicion that you enjoyed being with a man. Most men pissing together would attempt to ignore the other. You carefully checked me out as we stood shoulder to shoulder pissing. It was not until at least a month later when you crawled into my bed the extremely cold night when you were sleeping on the floor that I learned how interested in men you were. Actually I could have given you a spare blanket but instead invited you to my bed. You willingly accepted and neither of us moved away when our bodies accidentally touched. Actually my touching you was no accident but a well planned event. That was the last time you slept on the floor in the room we shared at the school.”

As they stood at the edge of the lake he continued, “So much for history. What happened on your hike?” To no surprise to his friend Vladek explained in detail the happy event at the lookout point.

As soon as they returned to Franz’s room after their day on the lake the two exhausted friends crawled into the bed. With naked body against naked body they fell blissfully asleep. The next morning, at Franz’s request, Vladek willingly put on a show while taking care of his morning woodie.

Later Sunday morning Maxim and Grigory arrived to drive Vladek and Franz to the dacha of Maxim’s mother. Franz’s sons, Pavel and Piotr along with their wives and some of their children and grandchildren were taking the train to the village of the dacha. Maxim was the only one in the extended family that owned a car.

Upon arrival at the dacha an elderly short woman stood in the doorway. As Maxim approached she hugged him as a mother would hug her son. Then to Vladek’s surprise she gave Grigory a similar greeting. This was the mother who years earlier when Maxim was fourteen had witnessed her husband beating the boy because of the unspeakable act he performed with his friend Grigory. To the mother’s sadness the father banished their son from the house. He was offered a home by his teacher Franz and his friend Ilya. With Pavel and Piotr, the war orphans, already living there the one room home was crowded but happy.

Within an hour Pavel’s and Piotr’s families arrived. The abundance of food included: Borscht (beet based hearty vegetable soup), sulyanka (hearty soup) blini (pancakes), pelmeni (small meat filled ravioli / perogi), kasha (boiled buckwheat), numerous cakes and of course an abundance of pivo (beer) vodka and kvass (a fermented drink made from rye bread). Vladek being the first American any of them had met or even seen was the center of attention when again numerous questions were asked about his adopted country.

For years Vladek had worried about the fate of his first love, Franz, who had escaped from Berlin to Moscow and then later was hauled away by Stalin’s police at the beginning of the war when all Germans in Russia were taken to places unknown as the Nazi German army invaded Poland on its way to Russia. Now with great satisfaction he observed his friend, Franz, who was the adopted father head of this four generation family of more than twenty. Siberia certainly did contain surprises.

The following morning Sergi, driving Maxim’s car, took Vladek and Franz to the airport. As they said their tearful goodbyes Vladek told his old friend he would return.

…………………………………….

The Thursday afternoon of Vladek’s departure for Siberia Aiden visited Kostya, the Linguistic Professor. Thanks to instruction by Vladek and familiarity with the Russian Cyrillic alphabet he felt comfortable taking the metro. As prearranged Kostra was waiting at the entrance of the metro station near the university. Although school was not in session, when professor colleagues and some students heard that an American would visit they arranged to be at Kostya’s office. As the eight professors and students, all with some fluency in English, discussed American life and education there was a knock on the door and the Dean entered. He invited them all to his office where they continued their discussion in a small conference room. Soon after taking seats the Dean’s secretary brought in tea, coffee, cookies and vodka. During their discussion the Dean asked Aiden to return in the fall or winter while classes were in session. While Aiden could not make any commitments as he had classes in Cleveland at that time he did say the offer sounded very promising. While the Dean could not provide any payments for flights or lectures he could arrange the use of a guest room in a university building. Aiden told them that while he might not be able to return when classes were in session, his friend Vladek , a professor emeritus (retired), did plan to return to Russia in the fall.

Following their meeting Kostya invited Aiden to his flat for dinner and more conversation. His partner, Miron, would enjoy practicing English. As a professor of Economics he and Aiden, a professor of finance, would have common interests.

Aiden totally enjoyed the meal cooked by Miron and the conversation that continued until 23:00 (11pm). Miron and Kostya walked him to the nearest metro station. Aiden was both disappointed and relieved that there had not been a threesome. While he found both men attractive and would have enjoyed a romp he wanted to keep their relationship professional, not sexual. He did look forward to a visit with his fist back in the hotel as he checked out some of the passengers on the metro. One sitting across from Aiden smiled as he scratched his Russian bulge.

Friday Aiden walked in areas suggested by Kostya. A visit to Gorky Park, a somewhat rundown amusement park with rusting rides, was interesting. He was surprised at the number of flower beds, all carefully tended. There were mini parks and flowers not just in Gorkey Park but in ordinary residential neighborhoods. Never had he seen so many colorful flowers and small parks with trees and shrubs.

Friday evening he met Dimitri at a metro station near his place of work. They walked, talked and finally ended up at Dimitri’s apartment. Aiden assumed they would have more than a light supper and he was not disappointed. With Dimitri on his back Aiden made use of some of the condoms brought to Russia, a gift from Dimitri’s lover, Fedor at the Russian Embassy in Washington. While Aiden had not planned to stay the night it just seemed the natural thing to do. Following a night of cuddling and a vigorous morning fuck the two walked to the metro. Dimitri took a train to his office where he was expected to work half a day on Saturday and Aiden took a train back to his hotel for rest after a somewhat sleepless yet enjoyable night. Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday Dimitri and Aiden visited various sights in Moscow, both tourist and nontourist. Saturday’s activities included a visit to the banya. Dimitri explained that this was the best time for checking out handsome young men as they prepared to be clean for Saturday night dates. Aiden did enjoy the sight of young Russian men primping themselves for their dates. Sunday afternoon they attended a performance of the ballet Giselle at a small theater.

Aiden eagerly anticipated Vladek’s return from Siberia. He would arrive at 11:00 Monday morning (Moscow time) having departed Irkutsk at 10:00 in the morning. With a five hour time difference the six hour flight arrived just an hour after takeoff by local time. That afternoon they shared stories of their weekend adventures in detail as well as each other. That evening the two visited Vladek’s father and Katrina.

Tuesday was another day of father and son bonding along with Aiden and Katrina. At tearful goodbyes that evening Vladek promised his father that he would return before the end of the year.

Wednesday morning there were no complications at the airport. To Vladek’s relief as the stern faced passport control officer examined his paperwork the police did not arrive to arrest him for deserting the Soviet army back in the 1940s. They arrived home in Cleveland Wednesday evening.

Note: The dacha of Maxim’s mother was a compilation of friend’s dachas I visited on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia and Kiev, Ukraine.