Angry Black Girl from Yale and Russian Drive to Destroy America with Memes Pt. 1

I’ve spent more time in Russia than the average negro. I started back in 2009 in a summer program with Brown, Yale, Harvard, and Stanford students. We all took classes on Russian language and literature at the Nevsky Institute in St. Petersburg.

That’s when I first saw her.

Nappy red weave twists and a permanent scowl best describe this young lady. She never told anyone her real name. While we were there we were all given Russian names and she stuck with hers like velcro straps on senior shoes.

As we were the only two black students in the program I approached her in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

Me: (jokingly) “So you heard anything about Russian Juneteenth celebrations?”

Her: “Dvaite, govorim po-russkii” Come on, speak in Russian.

Me: “Ya ploxha, znau russkii. Luche na angslicom” My Russian is bad. English is better.

Her: (eye roll) “Then why come here?”

Me: That’s a great question. “I’m researching the history of Blacks in Russia”

Her: (deadpan stare) “Oh.”

Me: (feeling awkward) "I'm James... Zhenya. What’s your name?"

Her: “Sasha”

At that point the bell rang ending our only conversation all summer.

Later that evening I tried to find her on the study abroad Facebook group to no avail. And I didn’t give her much thought for the rest of the summer. There were plenty of women in Russia to keep my mind occupied.

It was like meeting a Condoleezza Rice clone. No spark or inclination of warmth just cold, bitter black woman, hell-bent on destroying the world.

Fast-forward to 2012, I’m finishing up my second stint in Russia and joined an organization of Black Americans interested in Russia. We have a Facebook group, electronic newsletter, and e-mail chain (now evolved into a groupchat) Between us we know practically any and everything that happens as it relates to African Americans in Russia.

Someone writes in the group they met a Black girl named Sasha in Moscow and that “she didn’t seem very friendly”

My response: “Was her face all scowled up?”

GC: “YES! How do you know her?”

Me: “I don’t”

Two things I’ve learned about Russian’s from living with them. They’re incredibly tech savvy and Master’s of emotional manipulation.