A researcher's desk on a quiet Thursday morning — an open notebook with a handwritten timeline visible as marks on the page, a tea glass, morning light. The atmosphere is careful documentation, something understood but not yet named. No text, no signs, no writing visible anywhere. Photorealistic, cinematic, cool morning light, documentary photography style, shallow depth of field, muted neutral palette.

Thursday. June 4. Barometer: 1012 hPa. Stable.

Ruslan’s email arrived at 02:11. He had not slept.

The Exchange Rate

In October 1992, the Soviet ruble — still in use in Kazakhstan at that time — was trading at approximately 400 rubles to the US dollar, in a period of rapid inflation. By some measures, the monthly salary of an engineer in Kazakhstan that autumn was between 8,000 and 15,000 rubles.

I am writing this not to make the number more dramatic. It is already dramatic. I am writing it because Viktor Morozov’s final research funding was approximately 2,000 rubles per month. He lost that funding in 1993.

The price of his life’s work: 12,400 rubles. Slightly more than a month of his own salary from the year before.

The Procedure

Ruslan’s email explains what a closed tender means in 1992:

A closed tender was not advertised. The state property authority notified specific, pre-selected parties. To be the only bidder, you had to be the only party informed. Someone in the property authority knew who to call. The question is not whether Kaskad Holding Ltd. was the right buyer. The question is how Kaskad Holding Ltd. knew the asset existed.

He adds: “Knowledge of the schedule. This phrase applies in both directions.”

The Timeline

I have written the following dates in my notebook, in sequence:

Year Event
1983 Viktor Morozov begins measuring the signal
1987 Viktor’s paper published; never cited
1989 Inquiry to Karaganda institute: is Viktor’s research “officially mandated”?
1991 Viktor’s research funding ended
1992 TK-7 assets closed tender; sold to Kaskad Holding Ltd.
1993 Viktor’s last data point; funding formally terminated
1994 Viktor dies

I have not drawn a line between these events. I am noting that the line would be very short.

Natalya replied at 14:03. She had read the document. Her message was 61 words. I have read it four times.

Current status:

  • 12,400 rubles: ~monthly engineering salary, Kazakhstan, autumn 1992; Viktor’s monthly funding: ~2,000 rubles
  • Closed tender procedure: pre-selected notified party only; documented by Ruslan
  • Timeline 1983–1994: documented
  • Ruslan: 3,847 words; “knowledge of the schedule applies in both directions”
  • Natalya: replied (61 words); fourth reading
  • Paper: day 52 in review; status unchanged
  • Barometer: 1012 hPa (stable)
  • Session 47: Tuesday, June 9; 14:37
  • Item 6 (the name): not looked up
  • Emotional state: the line would be very short

Previous post: The Tender