The Americanism of Russian-American Master Artist Alexei Antonov

I met and became friends with Alexei Antonov soon after he moved his family into our apartment complex in Peter's Creek, Alaska back in the early 1990s when I was a young Airman stationed at Elmendorf AFB, and my wife and I worked in a semi-managerial capacity on the property (We took care of new applications, some maintenance, problems with problem-tenants, etc...).

Actually, Alexei and I became friends through our wives, as Alexei's wife spoke English very well. Our boys were close to the same age and played together, and so forth and so on, and our families, despite our cultural differences, had quite a bit in common at the time. For example, we were just poor folk and young family men trying to make our way in world. Alexei and I also shared another commonality, we both believed strongly in hard work and self-discipline, self-reliance, delayed gratification and all that. And neither of us could abide the thought of taking a handout, particularly from the government.

I thought about Alexei and his family today as I was reading Mark Presco's entry at his blog, The Politically Incorrect Iconoclast. You see, Alexei and his family did not immigrate to America alone. He and his family came to America with another Russian family, with the aid of the Russian Orthodox Church which both families were members of. The differences in these two families, and the two men, were, however, striking. I personally had absolutely nothing in common with the other family. But other than their common nationality, neither did Alexei and his family.

The other man was supposed to be some kind of an artist too, and though his artwork wasn't that bad, it was (and is, I'm sure), trust me, much, much, much inferior to the work of Alexei Antonov. This man was simply not gifted with Alexei's talent, nor with Alexei's work ethic, but this didn't stop him from demanding from Alexei more and more and more of the proceeds derived from Alexei's work as art enthusiasts became aware of the work of Antonov, and the proceeds naturally followed. I could tell you some stories. And Alexei and I engaged, through his interpreter-wife, in several conversations on the subject. I said to Alexei more than a few times during these conversations, "This is America, not Communist Russia. Part of the American Dream is for a person to be able to use his talents and giftings to create wealth and make his own way in the world, not for someone else to do it for us as we complain, no matter how much they're giving us, that they're not doing enough for us."

Anyway, I've checked on Alexei and his family from time to time since we left Alaska in October of 1992, just to see how they were getting along. And it's good to see, though in no way surprising, that they're doing so well. If you're an art enthusiast, particularly of Classical Painting and the works of Masters of Classical Painting techniques, and if you have ten or fifteen thousand dollars to spend, then maybe you can own your own Antonov.