Guest post number two from my main man and everyone’s favorite inappropriate uncle: Josh. This is for MOTHER RUSSIA…a picturebook
I recently returned from a week-long odyssey that took me to the largest and
probably craziest country in the world, Russia. I consider myself a well
traveled soul and in all my vagabond exploits, I have never experienced such
a wacky country. I will do my best to describe what I saw, although I will
require the aid of photos, as some things just cannot be described.
A generation ago, a tourist vacation to Russia for a Westerner would be
inconceivable. Then the Cold War ended, they opened up their doors to the
world and the country got flooded with Western-style commercialism.
While this was going on, a few, well-connected individuals (mainly former
KGB members), robbed the country of its resources and got very rich.
However, the majority of Russians are still very poor.
That was the one thing that I noticed more than anything in Russia. The
overriding contrast between rich and poor, old and new, communist and
capitalist. The constant juxtaposition of old drab Communist buildings,
next to beautiful new modern buildings and them next to old Eastern Orthodox
style domed churches was simply astounding.
In both Moscow and St Petersburg, you are bombarded with Lenin’s likeness
everywhere you go.
However, if old Vlad saw what the country had become, he would be rolling in
his grave (however, he is in a mausoleum and a bona fide tourist attraction
in and of himself and is not even buried). Here he is, being sold in
chocolate form:
I could go on and on about the strangeness of Russia. I have never been to
a country where the people you fear most are the police/security forces, yet
that is the case there and at any moment you can be asked to produce your
passport and once the authority figure has it, you must bribe them to get it
back (I avoided such pratfalls by pure luck). More than that though, you
see things in Russia you wouldn’t see anywhere else.
If you have patience for people that don’t speak much English and will
ignore you as if you don’t exist but have an interest in history as well as
seeing crazy things, you must visit Russia. And if that isn’t enough, the
vodka his crazy cheap and plentiful too.
[...] by the illustrious editor that I should be less photo-heavy and more insightful than my previous Russia-based post. I will do my [...]