My grandfather's clock?

Not actually - it was my father's watch. I inherited two - one German and one Russian. This is obviously the Russian one. Father was a great Russophile, although he never visited and was never a card-carrier, unlike a lot of old friends of mine. I think there was much of the apparently simple soviet life that he admired, plus he hated capitalism. He also had friends who had been German POWs, and could be persuaded to travel as far as Germany, but not Moscow. Actually, I think he was one of the first owners of a Moscovite car, which he later passed to me, and a grand motor it was, with a starting handle for cold mornings.
On the CP front, I had a lot of dear friends who were members and who I remember lovingly. I recall Margaret M introducing me to Margaret F, saying they had met on a coach trip to Moscow. I couldn't manage a coach trip to London. And a lot of Quakers I know have strong connections with Moscow and other cities of that country. Growing up during the 'cold war' the media always portrayed the USSR as our great enemy, but I have had many friends who were friends of Russia, especially, and many have connections throughout the former soviet union.