September 15, 2015
Russia ~
Intimidating & Fascinating
Russia was not high on my travel “bucket list” but John as
always was eager to go and chomping at the bit to explore. While US news is not
particularly positive about Putin and Russian politics and friends ask why we
want to go there I have had some experience reviewing translated videos of
Russian parents using the Russian translated version of my Incredible Years parent
programs. The Russian parents seemed like delightful people with goals similar
to parents’ goals in Western countries.
Moreover, one of our IY mentors and group leaders is a Russian
psychiatrist and an absolutely delightful person who exudes emotional warmth.
Every time I see her she brings gifts of something she has made herself and
showers me with affection. She
contradicts the commonly held stereotype of Russians as stern, glum and formal.
John wanted to do this trip without an organized tour group
but right away I got the sense this wasn’t going to be simple as an independent
traveler. In order to get a visa we had to have someone invite us or sponsor us
for this trip. Because we weren’t going to my Russian friend’s hometown we had
to have a letter from someone who would verify every day of our entire trip
agenda. Eventually John found a hotel in St. Petersburg allied with another
company who for a fee would verify both our Moscow and our St. Petersburg
stays. Our Moscow hotel would not verify our St. Petersburg dates. Getting the
visa itself was somewhat daunting. John
completed an extensive application that asked for the addresses and names of
everyplace we have ever worked and the dates for every place we have traveled
to for the last 10 years. You can imagine our travel list was lengthy. Once
completing this application and having it stamped for authenticity by our bank,
we had an appointment for an interview to apply for the visa. A young woman who looked the Russian part by
being stern and without emotion did this interview. When I asked her how long
she had lived in Seattle she replied, “we are not allowed to discuss those
things.” She did not like the way John
had completed the application, threw away the bank stamped document and redid
the application ~ for a price of course.
Already this trip seemed somewhat intimidating which
enhanced John’s fascination.
Our 9-hour flight on Delta from Seattle to Amsterdam was without problems. After a 5-6 hour flight layover we take a 3.5-hour flight via Aeroflot arriving at International airport, located about an hour’s drive from Moscow. Driving in we feel we could be in any city in the world, except for the billboards with their different alphabet and language. At midnight we are at the beautiful St. Regis Hotel located in the heart of the city and with views of the Kremlin and Red Square. In fact we can actually see the KGB headquarters from our bedroom window.
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| KGB Headquarters |
I think
of all the movies I have seen about KGB while John worries about where he can
get a SIM card for his I-pad and I-phone. John tells me the tour book says to
drink only bottled water. It is hard to believe that in this elegant hotel,
water would be a problem.
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| One Side of Red Square |
Post-Communist Moscow
Moscow once again became the capital of Russia in 1918 after
more than two centuries in St Petersburg. This time Moscow would govern the
world’s first socialist state ~ the Soviet Union. With the formation of the
Commonwealth of Independent States and the collapse of a troubling communist past,
it is now clearly the hub of the country’s industry, politics, finance and
culture. It has 46 provinces (similar to the US states) and has a population of
140 million people. Over the past 2 decades Moscow has become a burgeoning
world capital, which is vibrant and modern. (although President Medvedev fired
the mayor in 2010 for this glamorous face-lift and asserted both his and
Putin’s indispensible power). The eleven million people living here are known
as Muscovites, just as people from New York are known as New Yorkers. Putin is now President again as he has traded
place with Medvedeve who is now Prime Minister. Next election is 2018, perhaps
they will trade again.
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Walking out of our hotel in the morning towards Red Square I
am astonished by the grandeur of the wide pedestrian walkway lined with high
end department stores, boutiques, internet coffee cafes, elegant restaurants,
museums and galleries. The economy appears to be booming with everything
available both Russian and Western.
It seems strange for us to walk by Brooks
Brothers and see George Clooney flags advertising a watch while other stores are
selling matryoskha dolls in Russian dress.
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| Brooks Brother Window |
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| Post communist consumerism on steroids |
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| GUM Department Store |
The GUM department store is the most amazing store I have ever seen.
Stretching across the entire northeastern side of Red Square, 1.5 miles in
length, it is a 3-story state universal store, the largest in Russia. The place
is a showcase for international goods and built of steel and concrete with
ornate glass roofing and lined with cafes.
We find the Megaphon cellular store and John updates his technology with
Russian Sim cards.
Then we pay 250 rubles
to enter the most expensive bathroom in Moscow that is done in elegant marble. John
decides to stay in the bathroom so long that I panic searching the store for
where I might have lost him.
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| Watermelon Fountain |
I think about my psychiatrist friend living in a small one bedroom
apartment and earning a tiny salary and wonder at the extremes of
multi-millionaires and the homeless and destitute in this country. My guidebook
tells me that there are 70 billionaires in Moscow and the large number of
luxury cars in central Moscow attest to the wealth of at least a few of the
locals. There is a sense here of frenzied consumerism and I think that Lenin must
be quaking in his tomb. Is this what communism leads to? Unfortunately we missed seeing Lenin lying in
his tomb as it was closed but we are told that people still queue up in front
of his Mausoleum to view the Father of the Great October Revolution. The next day our guide tells us that when
Macdonald’s opened (the first fast food restaurant to open) there was a line up
equally as long as for Lenin ~ four hours to get a hamburg!
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3
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