Russian Delegation Visits To Exchange Trading Cards Commemoration Of First Transpolar Plane Flight, Which Ended In Vancouver, Also A Key Event

Russia’s deputy prime minister and a trade-and-friendship mission got a warm welcome Friday at the state Capitol, with both Washington and Russian officials pledging a major push to increase two-way trade.

The delegation’s main event was a planned ceremony later Friday in Vancouver, Wash., to celebrate the first transpolar airplane flight 60 years ago. The trade mission also will take part in a business conference Monday in Seattle.

Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bulgak, the highest-ranking Russian visitor to the state since President Boris Yeltsin came to Seattle in 1994, and a delegation of 37 government and business leaders were greeted by Gov. Gary Locke, Secretary of State Ralph Munro, legislators, Port of Olympia officials and others.

Bulgak, speaking through an interpreter, said trade missons and personal exchange visits by key leaders and business executives should help open new markets.

“There is a long way to go to build and develop a business relationship,” but Russia is eager to explore new opportunities, he said.

Gen. Mikhail Soroka, deputy commander in chief of the Russian Air Force, several times used one of President Clinton’s favorite metaphors, the bridge, to describe budding relations between the two nations.

“We are looking to build a stronger bridge of friendship,” he said. Referring to the first transpolar flight, he said, “On the wings of their plane, they tried to bridge our two countries with friendship.”

Locke noted the state’s long connections with Russia, including considerable immigration, and indicated he’ll include the former superpower on his list of important trading partners. He didn’t give an immediate response when the Russians invited him to visit.

Munro, who has led a number of humanitarian and trade missions to the Russian Far East, said Russian officials and business leaders are “getting to be on a first-name basis” with counterparts on the U.S. West Coast. “A trust level is developing,” he said.

After gift exchanges and more speeches, the group left for Vancouver for ceremonies commemorating the June 20, 1937, flight of three Russian aviators, led by pilot Valeri Chkalov, from Moscow to Vancouver, Wash., over the North Pole.

The plane had been headed for San Francisco, but ran low on fuel and touched down at Pearson Field. Local citizens have erected a monument near Washington 14 in Vancouver. Today, an air museum will open at the field.

On Monday, the trade mission will attend a one-day conference in Seattle aimed at improving business in Russia. Boeing, U.S. Sens. Slade Gorton and Patty Murray, the state, the Russian consulate and a number of trade groups are co-sponsoring the event.