M.G. Crisci wins Russian Cultural Award

WASHINGTON D.C. Manhattan business executive, turned California author, M.G. Crisci, a man with no Russian
Ancestry, will be honored for Russian-American cultural contributions, along with three Russian dignitaries, at the annual
Friends of Russia Board of Governors dinner on July 31 on Gibson Island.

Crisci’s journey started simply enough. He meet a Russian cabdriver with a PhD in computer science while on business
in Miami Beach. According to Crisci, the man seemed happy despite that fact that his lack of English fluency had limited his
ability to obtain a more skilled job. “For some inexplicable reason, I asked, ‘what is the most surprising thing you have
learned about America?’ His response changed my life forever. ‘Thirty million dead and nobody remembers.’ As we talked,
he explained how every man, woman and child in Russia defended Rodina (The Motherland) during World War II, yet
nobody in America seemed to know or care.”

“I spent some time reading and researching, when suddenly a little known exhibition arrived in San Diego, California,
entitled ‘World War II through Russian Eyes.’ After crying for the better part of two hours, I decided to do something.”That
“something” became a book entitled Call Sign, White Lily about a beautiful young girl from Moscow, Lilia Litvyak, who loved
fireflies, wildflowers, boys and planes. She was also Hitler’s worst nightmare, a deadly, fierce female fighter pilot who
completed 268 missions and recording15 solo kills before her plane and remains disappeared over the Eastern Ukraine on
August 11943, 17 days before her 22nd birthday.

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