Johan and Judy
Maurer moved to Elektrostal, Russia, in July 2008, to begin teaching
conversational English and serving as "citizen diplomats" in Russia's
Moscow region.
Johan's first visit to Russia was
in 1975, near the end of his studies of Russian language and literature
at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Around 1991 he first heard
about Elektrostal through members of the Quaker US-USSR Committee. In
1994 he made the first of many visits. Johan spent the fall of
2007 in Elektrostal to begin consulting and teaching at the New
Humanities Institute and
putting down roots in the community.
Johan and Judy moved into their apartment in Elektrostal
in the summer of 2008. They taught together at the Institute until their retirement in the fall of 2017.
