Having a wonderful time reminiscing about all my past travel (and other) adventures. Hope you’ll share them with me in my blog, “All Roads Led to Russia.”
I thought I had caught up with the Feenstra family on their driving tour of the southeastern United States last week, but I was mistaken. It turns out that recent posts by Arend Feenstra had actually been filmed a couple of weeks earlier, as revealed in a surprise YouTube “Short” video featuring wife Anneesa yesterday.
Anneesa Feenstra
Facing the camera, she tells us that she realizes they haven’t kept their viewers updated as regularly as usual, and that some of their videos have been delayed. She then explained — well, perhaps “explained” is overstating it — that Arend is not presently with them, and hasn’t been for two weeks.
Happily, my initial concern that he might have been taken ill or injured was proven wrong. Anneesa said that he has been “working hard,” and that she is with the younger children at a campground — though she wouldn’t disclose exactly where.
On a Hike
At the time of filming, they were on a nature hike. From the looks of this little guy (below), encountered along their stroll, my guess would be somewhere in Florida.
A Little Friend
Anneesa offered one final statement, that they were looking forward to being back on their farm in Russia “very, very soon,” and that was it.
As I’ve said before, this whole trip has been somewhat mysterious. Not that the family are required to share every detail of their lives with their viewers — it would be intrusive to expect them to do so. But from the beginning, when they arrived in Russia two years ago, they have been very open, sharing their happy events and their difficulties as though they were chatting with their closest friends. And suddenly — although they have brought us along with them on this journey — there has been an obvious reluctance to discuss the how and why of it, other than the initial visit to family in Ontario.
At any rate, as I’ve said before, I’ve grown very fond of the Feenstra clan and look forward to following the next chapters in their lives. Keep those videos coming, guys.
You know the old saying: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
Listening to the recent Congressional testimony of various members of the Trump administration, that much-repeated truism has become even more relevant. Shame on all of us for continuing to allow ourselves to be ruled by a band of charlatans the likes of which even Shakespeare never imagined!
Some 400 years ago, French mathematician, philosopher, scientist and logician Rene Descartes said it far more eloquently:
“It is only prudent never to place complete confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived.”
– Rene Descartes, “Meditations on First Philosophy”
Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650)
Once again, the wisdom of the ancients has proven prescient. When will we begin to pay attention?
As I wrote earlier today about the recent death of a Russian man revealed to have been named in the Epstein files, I thought about how little we humans truly know each other, and how easily we are deceived . . . especially by those in positions of prominence and power.
And this quote from the ancient Greek scholar and author of nearly 100 tragedies, Euripides, seems particularly relevant:
“When one with honeyed words but evil mind / Persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.”
– Euripides, “Orestes”
Euripides (c. 480 B.C. – c. 406 B.C.)
And now, two and a half millennia later, his words have lost none of their meaning.
His name was Umar Dzhabrailov. A 67-year-old Chechen/Russian legislator and businessman, he was found dead on March 3rd with a gunshot wound to the head, a Luger pistol lying beside his body, in a luxury apartment in central Moscow.
And he had a “thing” for Ghislaine Maxwell.
Umar Dzhabrailov(1958-2026)
Though there was no suicide note, police initially called it a “suspected” suicide. Nevertheless, an investigation was launched.
According to reports, Dzhabrailov’s name had surfaced a few weeks earlier in the stack of Epstein files released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January. There were emails written by him to Jeffrey Epstein’s paramour and fellow trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell, whom he had been known to refer to as his “soulmate.” One such email from 2001 read:
“Dear Ghislaine, I’m back from London, planing [sic] 2 B in Moscow. Really want 2 C U, but I need 2 know exactly when U arive [sic], cause I want 2 take care of U and arrange welcoming things. Wishing U all the best! Umar.” [Safia Samee Ali, News Nation, March 3, 2026.]
There is also a reply from Maxwell reading:
“Umar Sorry that we did not come last week. Got side tracked and ended up in France. However we Jeffrey Tom and I are coming next week arriving Fri. Will you be around and can we get together? Let me know Hope you are wel [sic].” [Id.]
Dzhabrailov’s daughter has rejected the suggestion of suicide, posting on Instagram:
“He got silenced because of his implication with Jeffrey Epstein and Trump.” [Post by “Sci-Fun Fiction, Facebook, March 3, 2026.]
Found in the Files: Earlier Days
*. *. *
It was also reported that Dzhabrailov had earlier attempted suicide in 2020. So — assuming the above information is accurate — here are my questions:
> First and foremost: Was it indeed suicide, or was it murder?
> Second: If suicide, was it the revelation in the Epstein files that pushed him over the edge?
> Third: If he was murdered, was it because of something he may have known about others connected with Epstein and/or Maxwell?
> Fourth: How deeply involved with the Maxwell gang was he? Was he just a facilitator — a pimp — for higher-ups in the Moscow elite? (If so, and if his elimination was ordered by a member of the Russian inner circle, we will likely never know who was responsible.)
Lots of Questions; No Answers
Whatever the answers, this is yet another indication of the long reach of the late Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators. Their slimy tentacles have now been seen to stretch across borders and oceans, revealing a truly incomprehensible level of degradation among some of the world’s most wealthy and influential citizens, and cover-ups at the highest reaches of government.
It is so deeply embedded that wars are now being started in order to distract attention from it; people’s lives are being upended by mere association with anyone connected to it; and — if Umar Dzhabrailov’s death did result from it — more lives may be in jeopardy as the revelations keep coming.
*. *. *
Thomas Payne famously wrote in 1776: “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
It is known as the February Revolution, because of Russia’s use of the old Julian calendar at that time. But according to the modern Gregorian calendar, it began on March 8, 1917, in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), Russia.
The Beginning of the End– March 8, 1917
The people were fed up with the excesses and corruption of the Tsarist regime, the rampant poverty and starvation of the masses, and most of all, Russia’s involvement in World War I. Workers — some 90,000 of them — had been on strike, and were joined by other demonstrators in clashing with Petrograd’s police and the local army garrison. After several days, the troops began to defect en masse to the side of the demonstrators, and what became known as the Petrograd Soviet was formed.
In the face of overwhelming opposition, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Mikhail. But when Mikhail said “thanks but no thanks,” centuries of tsarist rule in Russia came to an end, and a provisional government was established.
Meanwhile, a man known as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin — leader of the Bolshevik Revolutionary Party living in exile in Switzerland — saw his golden opportunity. Traveling secretly across enemy lines in Germany as the war raged around him, he returned to Petrograd and began his campaign to establish his party as the ruling party of Russia. By November 7th (October 23rd on the Julian calendar) of that year, he had succeeded in overthrowing the Provisional Government in a nearly bloodless coup — now known as Russia’s October Revolution — and creating the world’s first communist-style government. [“This Day In History,” History.com, March 8, 2026.]
Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924)
On March 8, 1918 — exactly one year after the workers’ march on Petrograd — the Bolshevik Party formally changed its name to the All-Russian Communist Party. It would rule the country — soon to be known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) — for another 73 years, until its final dissolution on the day after Christmas, December 26, 1991. [Id.]
*. *. *
For those who pay attention to history, there is an obvious lesson to be learned here . . . not only in Russia, but in other autocratic countries as well: That the people of any nation can only be pushed so far. Eventually, unable and unwilling to accept any more of tyranny and deprivation, they will begin to push back. Whether by revolution or by a majority vote is dependent upon the existing laws and traditions of the particular country. But, one way or another, they will dethrone their oppressors and reclaim their lives.
So as not to be accused of partiality, I offer two quotes today — one from a woman, and one from a man — on this day of recognition of the so-called “fairer sex,” “weaker sex,” or “little women,” as we have so disparagingly been labeled by the misogynistic men of yesteryear.
First, from a great lady:
“A woman is like a tea bag — you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
And from a self-confident man:
“In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Thanks to both of them: Mrs. Roosevelt for setting the example, and Arnold for being man enough to say it out loud.
While technically prisoners of war, reports of Russia’s inhumane treatment of Ukrainian POWs — in violation of the Geneva Conventions and all international rules of war — clearly classify them as hostages.
And this week, 500 more — along with two Ukrainian civilians —have been returned home. In exchange, Ukraine released the same number of Russian POWs in a two-day swap near the front lines of the war.
Home At Last
One Ukrainian soldier, speaking to his mother on the phone as he stepped out of a bus onto Ukrainian soil, was heard to say simply: “I am at home. That’s it, I am home.” [Al Jazeera and Reuters, March 6, 2026.]
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said that the exchange was the result of recent negotiations held at Geneva, and that:
“Discussions remain ongoing, with additional progress anticipated in the weeks ahead.” [Id.]
Something to look forward to, indeed.
*. *. *
But it is yet another Sunday with no further news concerning those on our list of political prisoners. So once again, we send them greetings and assurances that they are not being overlooked during this time of crisis, not only in Ukraine, but now also in Iran and the surrounding regions. They include, among many others:
Prisoners of War:
The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children The People of Ukraine
Immigrant Detainees in Russia:
Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Endangered Exiles:
Mikita Losik Yulia Navalnaya Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents
Andrei Chapiuk Uladzimir Labkovich Andrzej Poczobut Marfa Rabkova Valiantsin Stafanovic Yuras Zyankovich
In Georgia:
Mzia Amaglobeli
In Russia:
The “Crimea 8”: — Oleg Antipov — Artyom Azatyan — Georgy Azatyan — Aleksandr Bylin — Roman Solomko — Artur Terchanyan — Dmitry Tyazhelykh — Vladimir Zloba
James Scott Rhys Anderson (British) David Barnes (American) Gordon Black (American) Hayden Davies (British) Anastasia Dyudyaeva Antonina Favorskaya Konstantin Gabov Robert Gilman (American) Stephen James Hubbard (American) Sergey Karelin Timur Kishukov Vadim Kobzev Darya Kozyreva Artyom Kriger Michael Travis Leake (American) Aleksei Liptser Grigory Melkonyants Nika Novak Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea) Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler) Sofiane Sehili (French) Igor Sergunin Dmitry Shatresov Robert Shonov Grigory Skvortsov Eugene Spector (American) Joseph Tater (American, disappeared) Laurent Vinatier Robert Romanov Woodland (American)
With all of the world’s accelerating problems hogging the headlines in recent weeks, I realize that I have been neglecting the lighter side of life . . . including the travels of my favorite Canadian/Russian family, the Feenstras.
Strolling Toward the Atlantic in Florida – February 2026
When last viewed, they — parents Arend and Anneesa and six of their nine children — were traveling by RV through the southeastern United States, on a side trip of their months-long visit to their homeland of Canada.
Why and how they were able to leave their new home in Russia for such a prolonged, indefinite period remains a mystery, as does the reason for this detour into the U.S. But, as he does when broadcasting from the farm in Nizhny Novgorod, Arend has been narrating their travel videos as well.
While he occasionally mentions doing some “work” for unnamed “friends” along the way, there are no specifics; instead, the focus is on the rather boring scenery of what, to me, is the least fascinating corner of the U.S. — and I’ve been through most of it (excluding Hawaii, unfortunately).
On the Highway
Passing Through Town
Don’t get me wrong; there is much to see in the region: Civil War sites in Atlanta, Savannah, Richmond and Charleston; Mardi Gras in New Orleans in February; the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville; Elvis Presley’s “Graceland” home in Memphis; Disney World in Orlando.
Some of those, like Mardi Gras, would probably have been too “woke” for their tastes; others such as Disney World, are very expensive. I get that. But their entire journey seems to have been limited to visiting a few small museums, nature preserves, beaches, and a whole lot of hardware stores and farm equipment dealers . . . keeping to themselves or visiting with like-minded friends and online viewers, rather than becoming acquainted with a broader spectrum of America and Americans.
Communing With Nature
They don’t seem to have tried expanding their travel experience into new realms, which — back in the time of my world travels — was the whole idea of going somewhere different. Since they’re traveling on a budget, and preparing their meals in the RV or at campsites, I wonder whether they’ve even treated themselves to some good ol’ Southern cooking. (My personal favorite: fried green tomatoes. Yum!)
To each his own, of course. If this is what they truly enjoy, fine; but it seems a shame to have come so far and missed the opportunity to show their children something new and unusual besides palm trees . . . and palmetto bugs the size of mice.
A Native Floridian: Giant Palmetto Bug
What, then, was the purpose of the trip? Simply to say they had seen X number of U.S. states? That doesn’t seem logical. Arend has talked about meeting with some of their viewers along the way; perhaps they’ve been proselytizing, encouraging other conservative families to make the move to Russia. What great public relations that would be for their benefactor Vladimir Putin, on whose good nature their very survival in Russia depends.
And then there are the commercials. In each video I watched today, there was an overt ad for one company or another. There was one for an app called “PlantMe,” which allows you to identify plants, trees and flowers on your smartphone. Another was half of a video devoted to a detailed tour of the Tractor Supply Company, with an obvious plug for their wide range of John Deere equipment and merchandise.
Starring in a Commercial
But the most mystifying ad was for something called “Gentlebands.com” — wedding bands that, in addition to being “bold and unique,” also “symbolize your love with a band as extraordinary as your journey.”
Arend’s words (or the sponsor’s) . . . not mine.
Reenacting the Wedding?
So the social media fame the Feenstras have gained since moving to Russia has apparently proved profitable. And there’s nothing wrong with that . . . many TV and movie celebrities are seen in all sorts of commercials. It must surely help to pay the bills while they build their farm in Nizhny Novgorod into a profit-making enterprise.
I’m now looking forward to their return to Ontario to reunite with their older children, and eventually to fly back to Russia in time for the spring planting season — assuming all of that winter snow their tenants, the Pulleys, have been dealing with has melted.
In a world overwhelmed with daily reports of wars, natural disasters, and political corruption, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep from descending into despair, or to visualize a future with any prospect of improvement.
But young Anne Frank managed to hold on to a sliver of hope while hiding out from the Nazis during World War II, knowing that at any moment they might find her and her family in their secret room (which they ultimately did). She kept her sanity and spirit by writing her deepest thoughts and feelings in a diary, which was posthumously published after the war and remains a source of inspiration to this day.
One of her entries expressed her own difficulty in retaining a measure of hope:
“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
– Anne Frank, “The Diary of a Young Girl”
Anne Frank (1929-1945)
Anne was barely into her teens when she began her diary, and it is easy to dismiss her optimism as youthful inexperience and naiveté. But her writing exhibits an intelligence and a maturity far beyond her years; so maybe she sensed something that we don’t, or that we have forgotten.
Maybe, after all, the vast majority of individuals are inherently decent, and the evils now being perpetrated by a relative handful of tyrants will — like Anne’s war, and all of the world’s previous “times of trouble” — pass into history, to be replaced by an era of peace and prosperity.
But it is up to us — the peaceable majority — to bring that about. And, if and when it does happen, it will also be up to us to keep it that way.
The Blog About Everything … and Sometimes Nothing 