Sunday Post

Ringside Seat for a piece of history

As the situation unfolded in Russia last week, no one had a better view of events than Arbroath man Derick [sic] Law. Derick, who lives in London was in Moscow for an international librarians' conference. "With our hotel overlooking the Kremlin and the conference centre next to the Russian White House, we couldn't have had a better view", he says. Far from keeping away from the action, Derick and his colleagues mixed with locals on the streets. They even lent a hand to pull down the statue of the founder of the KGB. "The first sign of something wrong was when we turned on the TV on Monday morning and, instead of the usual news programme, they were broadcasting Swan Lake," he said. Derick and his colleagues continued travelling by foot or bus across Moscow to the conference centre, and were surprised by the calm atmosphere. "We couldn't believe how everything was carrying on as normal. People just got on with their lives. As I wandered through Moscow, I even bumped into John Simpson, the BBC correspondent who was covering the coup. He didn't seem much more enlightened on the situation than we were." On Wednesday, Derick and his colleagues were due to attend a reception at the Kremlin. To show they didn't support the plotters, they decided to boycott the event. "But at three that afternoon, we heard the plot had failed. By 5.30 we were doing the conga in the Kremlin. It was the most amazing party I've ever been to."

The Sunday Post August 25, 1991. p.2