A pair of residents, not finished with unpacking their bags after a trip to Russia, is already making plans to spend two years with the Peace Corps in the Philippines.
Judith Ahrens' and Doug Kramer's three-month trip to Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains was as participants of the Human Rights Training and Litigation Project with an organization called Sutyajnik.
Sutyajnik is a non-governmental human rights organization that serves as a resource center for many non-governmental public interest groups of the Ural region and provides free legal defense of the rights and interests of citizens and their associations.
"Some of the more active civil rights people in Russia are not actually lawyers," said Kramer, 61 and a retired lawyer.
"Many are journalists, ex-mathematicians, scientists and teachers. They come from all walks of life," he said.
Kramer said the activists are educated and concerned about how their government works. Many focus on police abuse and citizenship problems related to the break-up of the former Soviet Union, he said.
Kramer said much of what Sutyajnik does helps people who were asking for their cases to be heard before the European Court in Strasbourg, France.
"Because Russia has joined the European Convention on Human Rights, local jurisdiction is subject to oversight by the court in Strasbourg," said Kramer.
Unfortunately, said Kramer, cases determined in Strasbourg are not subject to precedent, and the court hears complaints on a case-by-case basis, which can take years at a time.
"But we thought it was remarkable that there was such a large amount of human rights activity in Russia," said Ahrens, 60, and retired from business management.
"It's amazing how passionate and selfless many of these human rights activists are. They are documenting many police abuses at some risk to themselves," she said.
Ahrens said, in one day alone, the office in Ekaterinburg received almost 15 complaints about the treatment of soldiers in the Russian Army.
Kramer said the Communist Party once provided much of the structure that Russian society lacks today. He said he found it slightly amusing that the Communists, once known for repression, are actually now fighting for human rights.
Kramer said most of the abuses Sutyajnik documented were related to law enforcement.
"There is no local control of the police," said Kramer. "They're all run out of Moscow."
Kramer said the police impact every aspect of life in Russia.
"But you can buy your way out of anything," he said. "Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the police were respected. Now they can't live on what they get paid and there are constant stories of people being abused while in custody."
"If you get in trouble with the police, you can be quite helpless," added Ahrens.
Kramer said since the collapse, racial tensions have arisen.
"Under Communism, there was an amalgamation of different people," he said. "But as soon as the system broke up, serious problems arose. It appears that toleration was politically mandated and just disappeared."
"Similar to Yugoslavia," said Ahrens.
Kramer said, despite the issues they faced with Sutyajnik, they had a wonderful time in Ekaterinburg.
Ahrens said the day-to-day life of people in Ekaterinburg seemed very normal to her.
"People seemed very well dressed and well fed," said Ahrens. "Shopping in the supermarket was just like here. You can get anything you want."
"They have ballet and opera every night," said Kramer. "And not just older people attend, but younger people as well."
Kramer said the cultural activity in Ekaterinburg is extensive due, in part, because the city was once a center of the Soviet Union's nuclear, biological and chemical warfare research.
"This stuff kept the scientists happy," he said.
Ahrens said they also enjoyed the Russian baths very much.
She said the heated baths were the size of city blocks and were a center of social activity for many residents.
"People make a whole evening of visiting the baths," said Kramer. "They have pot-luck dinners and they drink liquor, spending four or five hours there."
Kramer and Ahrens will be leaving for three months of training in April before going to the Philippines.
Kramer said they spent several years with the Peace Corps in Bulgaria and are looking forward to their work in the tropics.
"At first, it seemed too soon to go after our trip to Russia," said Ahrens. "But now, I'm ready and excited."
"Living somewhere is much more interesting than just sight seeing," said Kramer. "Unless you get to meet people and actually experience their lives, it seems kind of shallow. This is much more fulfilling."
Ahrens said she and Kramer would be members of a group of 80 people who will be helping out with business development, entrepreneurship and basic job skills for their Philippine clients.
"It's about teaching them to plan, implement and manage their livelihoods," said Ahrens. "It might also be focused on micro-lending and small business promotion."
"But like we did in Bulgaria, we will do whatever is asked of us," added Kramer.
Both Kramer and Ahrens said, when they retired, they questioned just what retirement meant to them.
"I had always wanted to join the Peace Corps," said Ahrens. "So we turned a youthful whim into a reality."
Ahrens and Kramer said their families are reconciled with the fact that they want to do this for themselves.
"And we are never any farther away than a computer," said Kramer, who sends monthly journal updates to family and friends.
Ahrens, who plays the cello, and Kramer, who plays the clarinet, will bring their instruments with them.
"Music is a great way to meet people," said Kramer.
Both are concerned about the changes that will occur in Pine Plains while they are gone.
"I expect when we come back, Pine Plains will look different," said Kramer.
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