Soloing in Russia, First Lady Speaks Little, and Yet Volumes

Michelle Obama's appearances in Moscow included a visit with nurses who heard her speak of her hospital-administration experience. (By Epsilon Via Getty Images)

Then everyone gathered around for a group portrait and Obama did a bit of rearranging so all the little faces would be visible in the picture and then she joked that with so many cameras flashing, "we don't know who's taking the picture."

And that was really all it took, just those few words, to transform a formal primary-school ceremony into something more informal in which children seemed a bit more like kids and less as if they had been coached to within an inch of their lives on how to behave. And an American first lady abroad avoided policy, avoided being defined as a vacant smile, but still managed to have a "moment."

After her visit with the children, Obama walked up a narrow flight of steps and into the cathedral on the second floor with its monumental dome that makes the head spin as the focal point seems to recede into the sky. On the third floor, she emerged into a classroom with a giant "Welcome, Mrs. Obama!" scrawled on the chalkboard and young nurses standing at attention and awaiting her arrival. In her brief comments to them, Obama repeated the lessons she learned as a hospital executive in Chicago and offered one of her signature pep talks. She was warmed up now.

"Before I became first lady, I worked in a hospital and one of my jobs was to work to develop volunteerism in the hospital and bring it out to communities," she said. "One of the most important things I learned while working in the hospital is nurses are critical to the health-care system in the United States."

"We've been trying to encourage young people to go into nursing," she said of her husband's administration.

She talked to the nurses about how important she considers volunteerism, and the founder of the school, Father Shatov Arkady, took off on a tear -- in Russian -- about community service and what it means and how important it is. "No need to worry," she reassured him. "Volunteerism is one of my signature projects," she said, and then she slid into a brief soliloquy on how the U.S. government is working to expand community service programs, although she stopped short of mentioning that her former chief of staff had been dispatched to head up that effort. The first lady put on the brakes before going full-on wonk. "Even though the U.S. is doing well in volunteerism, we're trying to do even more."

Arkady could have gone on, but one of the first lady's aides was gesturing that it was time for her to go -- they were already about 45 minutes behind schedule. Obama thanked the group by offering them her prayers and asking that they pray for her and her family in return. And again it was a "moment," an instance of common ground. "We want to stay you forever," said Arkady, his good-natured attempt at English placing some words out of order. But the message still translated.

Obama ended her day at the Stanislav and Donchenko Theater, where a folkloric dance recital had been arranged for her and Russian first lady Svetlana Medvedev. The two also invited about 500 disadvantaged children from Moscow and the surrounding area to attend. And Obama had extended a surprise invitation to the children she'd met earlier at St. Dimitriy Orphanage. Sasha and Malia came along as well, with their grandmother Marian Robinson and their godmother Kaye Wilson in tow.

The dancers mostly performed in traditional dress and showcased Russian folk styles, but the finale was titled "American Spirit." It was a homage to all-American musicals. The men onstage, dressed in sleek naval uniforms, high-stepped in a performance that was a cross between "South Pacific" and "A Chorus Line" with a little extra testosterone thrown in for good measure. Then they twirled their partners who wore brightly colored Russian peasant dresses. The first lady uttered not a word at this stop. But with the odd, yet joyful cultural high jinks onstage -- a lively dialogue based on body language -- there really wasn't much to say.