At midnight, August 12 we made our way to St. Petersburg’s train station and boarded the Red Arrow (Krasnaya Strela). One of the more iconic trains in Russia, it seemed we stepped back to when travel was timeless and charming. Attendants were dressed the part, the train was painted a deep red with gold lettering and our berth was complete with matching curtains, table cloth and embossed tin tea mugs. As we left the station, the “Hymn to the Great City” (St. Petersburg) played on the speakers, ushering us onward to Moscow.
We arrived as scheduled, at exactly 7:55 am the next day, to be met by our AirBnB host Leighton (just another example of why we are thrilled with AirBnB). Leighton’s apartment is a 10 minute walk from the Kremlin (you can see it from the entrance) and we paid a whopping $100/night, quite reasonable compared to the Ritz-Carlton, half a block down the street, with a minimum rate of $550/night. After a nap, grocery shopping and chatting with Leighton, we visited Red Square (sadly under construction for a show), St. Basil’s Cathedral and the huge, premier upscale shopping center ГУМ (pronounced Goom). Interestingly very few people actually shopped in the brand name stores; instead, people strolled through the building with ice cream or sat in the cafés to socialize.
The next day we played tourists with a stroll in the Kremlin and visits to the Kremlin Armory and former Romanov family estate. The Kremlin is where the president resides, similar to the US White House. It also includes several churches and administrative buildings within its walls. The fact that we were inside felt strange to Lee, given how Russia has always been portrayed in the US (i.e. communist propaganda, state secrets, spies, etc.), but for Jazz it was just interesting since she grew up with different associations with Russia. All the tourists had to walk a “path” and even straying one foot from it got you a shrill whistled reprimand from the ever-present guards (there are plenty of rumored “secret” parts - up to 65 meters below ground - that of course we didn't get close to seeing).
Before leaving the Kremlin we toured the Armory, which includes the majority of Russia's state and church treasures, such as seven Fauberge Eggs, a huge collection of church ornaments (e.g., gold jeweled bedecked bible covers, chalises, crosses, etc. - those historic churches really liked their gold J) and the Tzars’ coronation / wedding dresses and suits (Catherine the Great was a tiny lady compared to the power she wielded – her 47 cm waist was even squeezed by corset down to 22 cm for her wedding dress!). Other treasures included huge thrones and fuzzy crowns dripping with jewels and diamonds. Sadly no pictures were allowed so we have nothing to show from this excursion, so feel free to use your imagination.
Another interesting place was the Romanov family estate. This is actually one of the first museums in Moscow set up by Peter the Great in 1856, and was mostly tourist free. It shows how the Romanov family lived as merchants before being elected (by the elite) as the ruling family of Russia. It showed how the merchant / upper class homes were arranged and how “normal” people, although still well-to-do, lived. Their house include the men’s quarters on the first story (set up for business transactions), separated from the women’s rooms (set up for child raising and handicrafts) above. The friendly babushkas (i.e., older women employed by the state to keep museum visitors in line, they are ever present in all state museums) sat in each room and explained things with “hands and feet” that weren’t on the English write-ups. We also strolled through the park just next to the Kremlin, where families and couples were enjoying the sun and kids (young and old) played in the fountains.
That evening we joined Leighton to a traditional meal of Beef Stroganof, Borscht (traditional red beet soup) and vodka. He considers Russia to be a new frontier or simply put - the “wild wild east." Having lived in such a unique environment for six years, he feels it would be hard to adjust back to Western Europe, the US or Canada. In essence, Russia is a lot like the rest of the non-western world, where daily tasks aren’t “organized and cookie-cutter.” Simple things like signing a business agreement could take several weeks to navigate government bureaucracy. Due to the adversity experienced in everyday life, people are less concerned about “big picture” issues and more concerned about the issues affecting them daily. Hence, while in the US Putin is perceived as a tough-line leader with an aim to consolidate industry and media, average Russians accept it since he’s brought new jobs (e.g. museum babushkas, street cleaners, Metro escalator watchers, etc.) and solidified/stabilized the country (and either way they can't do much about it). Also interesting to note – the Russian government does not have a traditional budget, since their income is primarily from oil exports, so any time the price of crude shoots above $75 per barrel it is a direct bottom line profit for the state. Furthermore, taxes may or may not be paid by individuals and corporations, with many of the rich not paying anything (similar to India and China).
Another interesting difference between Russia and Europe/North America is that women are very much on exhibit here; most wearing killer high heels and small mini-dresses or see-through blouses. The attitude of what is feminine and beautiful is just more extreme. Also, the negative-stereotype of an older man (35-40) dating a 25 year old woman does not exist. Men are apparently on short supply in Moscow, so much so that the average man is rather plain looking and not at all dressed up. It’s common to see a beautiful woman walking arm in arm with the sorriest looking guy, simply because the women have no other options (a lot of country men are jobless and subsequently drunk most of the time, while successful men in the city are rarer). Clubs will even pay the most beautiful women to show up and drink at the club. Everything revolves around money in Moscow, and sadly most of the money is “earned” through relationships with the government (which is why many talent Russian youth choose to work for the government rather than trying to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit).
Next Up: The center of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Moscow Metro and a day at the park.
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