Did Gypsies bring down the "Evil Empire" of the Soviet Union? Most people attribute the fact that the West was able to outspend the Communist leader for the downfall which lasted from the late 1980's and lasted throughout the early 1990's.

Burning Down The House: Arturo and Catherine Lay Low on a Roof

Most Roma Gypsies, a culture brought to Europe from India, have assimilated into Eastern European society where they work peaceably. It is a small minority of Gypsies (so named because Europeans once believed they came from Egypt), who continue the traditions of some of their ancestors (once again, a small minority): Thievery, vagrancy, and the casting of "spells" and curses.

"My Grandfather cursed Hitler for killing our families in the concentration camps," claim these practitioners of the faith "Arturo" and "Catherine" (real names not given).

"We are nomads and we live by our wits," claimed Arturo. "What the founders of the Soviet Union were doing was oppressive to our culture and our livelihood. We had to bring them down if it was in our power. We have powerful curses that we only use if we think the people we curse truly deserve our wrath."

Catherine claims that Mikhail Gorbachev was a "Blight on the world. His regime had to be stopped."

"They were bad for business, too. There was no way for us to make any money when most people were had none." Says Arturo, "we had to bring them down."

In 1989, the pair said that they and some of their colleagues helped put the first nail in the coffin of the Eastern Block -- They claimed their magic brought down the Berlin Wall. "That was a test," says Arturo. "It was then that we knew that we had the formula to bring down the empire."

Looking back, Arturo and Catherine believe that they did the right thing. "Our country is on the road to recovery, and we have never made more money. Budapest is a rose ready for the picking!"

sources

Budapest Free Press

Phone Interview with Arturo and Catherine, October 14th, 1999

Photo Courtesy of Mark Davies