Russia, Museum: Art. The New Tretyakov & Fallen Monuments

It seemed like I had already done the post on Russian art museums. Frankly, after the Hermitage, any other museum pales in comparison - and that includes not only Russian art museums, but nearly any museum on the planet. Could there be a second museum in Russia worthy of mention?

Maybe.  The thing about the Hermitage is that its collection - as great as it is - is somewhat frozen in time. For some reason, the Czars quit collecting early in the 20th Century - and so the next period of Russian art is not represented. If that's what you wanted to see - you need another museum.

There's better 'SR' art in the Metro

The New Tretyakov in Moscow houses what is called ‘contemporary art’. Located in a large 60’s style Soviet building across the river from Kremlin, the New Tretyakov traces Russian art through the 20th Century. In doing so, it captures what for me was the most interesting of Russian art, Socialist Realism.

I'm guessing Russians are not as impressed.  Maybe they had enough of it. I was hoping for dozens of canvases. There was really just one room, sandwiched between pre-and post-Soviet expressions. It may be too soon for them to appreciate Socialist Realism as an art form.  it is hard to see past the politics.  It seems like unloved art.

Kind of like the collection of now useless statues of Soviet heroes kept in the park adjacent to the museum. Once produced with great pride and at great expense, they are now a curiosity for tourists. How the mighty have fallen. Stalin without his nose says it all.

Who is that? #3 - Solved!

So, we have a winner.  Alexander got the man referred to by his
troops affectionately (?) as Old Nosey.   We already have next week's ready to go.  He will be instantly recognizable to many of you so the winner will doubtless be the person who checks in first.  Between now and then some Belgian posts..

Ok, so the first one was too hard.  And the second one was too easy.  We are hoping this one is - just right. Good luck. Clues tomorrow if you need them.


Clue: No guesses?  C'mon people.  Take a shot.  This guy was as big as his nose. Look at his nose.  It's huge.  No, not Magritte.  He's not Belgian... 

So let's recap what you know: 1st, they don't put up statues to just anyone.  2nd and perhaps most important.  I have heard of this guy.  He's not Belgian, but there is a stautue of him in Belgium.  He is huge.  Involved in what may have been the biggest thing ever to happen in Belgium - and no, he did not invent the "Frite".

До свидания Россия!

So this is the last of our Russian posts.  We should get caught up with Belgium next week.

Good bye, Russia.

From Russia - with Love

I will say that probably the most exciting thing I saw in Russia was all the wedding hoopla!  Apparently, they have a tradition to have their photos taken in front of very famous and or scenic sites around the city.  We first 
encountered this in St Petersburg and saw photo sessions, sometimes with the whole wedding party, every day we were there. Russians like to go all out!




They rent ridiculously long limousines, which are decorated for the event with fake flowers and large wedding bands.  In St Petersburg we even saw some boats rented for the occasion.  Often the maid of honor wears a red sash and the best man a blue one.  Sometimes,  passerbys will sing to the happy couple and the groom must give them some coins to make them stop. What are they saying?  Ask somebody who speaks Russian...


 We saw brides posing in front of the Winter Palace, Red Square, GUM (a very high end shopping complex in Moscow) and I do mean posing!  It was like a Vogue cover shoot.

Another custom is to have a special lock with the bride and groom's initials and the date of the happy event.  These tokens of their eternal love are then locked onto the railing of beautiful bridge in St Petersburg or a bridge with metal trees put there for this very purpose in Moscow. To make room for new ones theses are periodically cut off and disposed of to make room for new ones!

And then there are the dresses!  Wow! the bigger the better. A little bit over the top, but I think Russian brides like that. We were told that many of these customs are old ones that have been revived since the fall of communism. And sadly, despite their love of wedding pomp,  the divorce rate in Russia is very high.

Russia; Medical

A Russian Clinic

When considering the Russian healthcare system as it is today one cannot help but make comparisons. Comparisons to what it was under the Soviets and comparisons to how it is in the US. If you look at statistics, what they tell you is that Russia saw a drastic decline in its healthcare system with the demise of the Soviet Union. At that time, of course, the government was entirely responsible for the provision of services. Those services were certainly not spectacular but at least they were well organized. Then, of course, the government collapsed and with it a good part of the health care system.

Since that time Russia has been rebuilding.  What has been rebuilt is a system, outwardly at least,  not all that different from our own. There is still a public component. The government is still responsible for providing services to the bulk of the Russian populace. What they provide, it seems, is a lot like what our government provides at our county hospitals. Basic, passable, immediate care. Nowhere near world-class standard.

The world-class care does exist. It is available - but of course you have to pay for it. Our host Zhanna recounted for us her recent experiences recovering from the horrific air quality which resulted from this summer's fires around Moscow. She went to her doctor, who by her account is excellent. He was quite concerned about her. She is 75 years old and was having trouble breathing. She has developed a serious cough. He prescribed treatment. She went to the pharmacy to pick it up - for what would have been a small co-pay. Only the government pharmacy did not have the medicine. No idea when it would be available. That drug is available at another pharmacy - right now - but at several times the price. Do you pay or do you suffer? Typical Government Health care. Oh wait, I have had that same experience with my private health insurance. The Doctor prescribes something that the insurance does not cover. Do you pay or do you suffer? Is it any different?

Russia; Youth

A school playground - the sidewalk...

One of the things that has struck me since arriving at Belgium is that there are kids here. You wander around town, you bump into them everywhere. It's not that unusual - until I started to reflect on Russia. Sometimes you don't notice what's missing until it appears. Now that I see kids everywhere, it strikes me how few we saw on the streets in Russia.

It wasn't that we never saw children. We did.  In the parks, at the play equipment and at schools. The places that belong to kids, they were there. But it is remarkable now, on reflection, how absent they were from the parts of Moscow we visited. It made me wonder, are there no kids in Russia?  So I checked.  Not really, as it turns out.  Of the 200 countries for which statistics were reported, Russia's birth rate was 174!  Lower than the People's Republic of China with their famous "One Child" policy.  In fact, there just aren't that many kids in Russia.

A park - Old School

The statistic makes sense in the context of the anecdotal information we encountered talking to Russians during our stay. Having kids in Russia is not easy. They are expensive, it seems and many Russians worry about having the resources to care for them as they should. Will the apartment be big enough?  After they leave public school will there be the money to pay for a trade school or university?

Moscow Park - New School

Parents everywhere deal with these questions, but for Russians they are somewhat new. Under communism there were other worries, how to pay for the kids wasn't one of them. Then there was the collapse and the uncertainty.  Kids represent a commitment of decades. None of us can see into the future.  You have to guess. My sense is that for most Russians the guess has been that it does not look good enough to risk having kids.  When will we have a hint that Russia has turned the corner? Maybe watching the birth rate statistics will give you an indicator.

Russia; Academic

The purpose of reading an academic treatment of the subject was twofold: First, to give me an alternative view of the book that I'm currently using and; Second, to give me a clinical perspective to compare with personal and anecdotal perspective I was experiencing at street level.

The book I have chosen is Charles Hauss' text on Comparative Politics. It was the first text I used when I began teaching comparative politics several years ago. It is still very good.  I moved away from it because of the subset of countries he examined at the time - I preferred Roskin's Mexico and Nigeria for Hauss' Brazil and South Africa.

Reading Hauss' chapters on Russia reminded me of why I used it before.  It does a great job setting the stage for current Russian politics by putting it into its historical context. He traces the strains of today's authoritarian regime back to the history of the Czars and the Soviets. While we in the west are wondering if Russia will move towards democracy Hauss reminds us that democracy is quite alien to Russia - yesterday or today. Tomorrow does not look all that promising either.

Hauss' descriptions of Russia's recent transitional past and the institutions and practices that it has produced fit well with my observations and experiences. Russia is not now democratic. It does not appear to be on the precipice of becoming so. It is not impossible. Hauss points out that politics since the late 80's has been largely shaped by personalities. Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Putin.  The future is likely to be the same. Is there a "Washington"** in Russia's future? Or another Stalin? Russia's future may hinge on which one Putin wants to be.

** Apparently, as Napoleon lay on his deathbed, defeated and forlorn, among his last words were, “They expected me to be another Washington.”  What he meant was, they expected him to serve, then leave power peacefully and voluntarily.  Right.  Like that's gonna happen.

Russia; Police

The guidebook I have been using to get around Moscow is called Top 10.  Its organizing principle is to break the city down into its parts and then give you a top 10 list for each of those elements. It's got the top 10 museums and restaurants and top 10 ‘things to avoid’. It makes you a little nervous when number one on the list of things to avoid is the police.

Why avoid the police? Aren't they there to ‘Protect and Serve’? It seems most people don't really trust them to do that.

When I first read the warning in the book, I thought it was probably just isolated problems blown out of proportion. Sure, pass the warning along, but seriously…  I don't need to worry, do I? Well, the Russians I have met are convinced the concerns are real. They are sure their system is corrupt, from top to bottom.

For tourists, the way the scam works is like this: the police are allowed to demand your papers at anytime.  So they stop you on the street and ask for your passport and once they have it, they keep it until you ‘buy it back”. At our hotel they took pains to make copies of our papers and advised us to carry those - never the originals. Once in Moscow we got the same warning.  But no offense to foreigners.  “The same thing happens to us”, our host said.

Is the system corrupt top to bottom? Dominating the local news this week is a report that the mayor of Moscow is being investigated for corruption. He's been there since 1992 and in that time his wife's business ventures have been extraordinarily successful. She is apparently one of the richest women in the world. A billionaire. How did she do it? Her husband’s explanation is that she's really smart. Must be. So will anything come of it? The fact that it is on the news is a bad sign for him. If Putin decides he wants to fight corruption before the election, he’s toast.  Postscript: 9/28/10 – he’s toast.

Russia; Cinema

‘12’ is a Russian film from 2007 directed by Nikita Mikhailkov. It is a remake of the American film, ‘Twelve Angry Men’.


The story is that of a group of Russian men, drawn from all walks of life and brought together to decide the fate of a young Chechen man accused of murdering his adoptive father a Russian officer and veteran of that conflict.


It begins with the consensus of guilt, disrupted by a lone juror and proceeds through their deliberations as they reflect on the
case and how it
relates to their experiences.  One by one they turn until they deliver unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdict.


The film offers interesting insight into what is presented as the lives of average Russians of different strata of society. Their experiences, prejudices and their values are presented as they struggle with the decision about the young man's fate.

Comedy: Irony of Fate. It seems Russian cinema is not all that different from Hollywood. Of the films I saw, both of them were remakes. It seems nobody has fresh ideas. The first was, of course, ‘12’ a Russian remake of the American ‘12 Angry Men’. The comedy, Irony of Fate, was a post communist remake of the 1975 film of the same title. I chose it because it was at the time the highest grossing Russian film ever. A sign that it has some resonance with Russian audiences.

The 2007 remake is actually sort of a sequel that uses a clever plot device to retell the same story - only the protagonists are the children of the original characters. In a stroke of marketing genius those original actors return to play their characters, now the parents of the protagonists, some 30 years later.

It was interesting to compare the two films. The plot is two men vying for the affections of a woman. In 1975 the loser was nondescript. In 2007 he is an overly connected money-first businessman. The sensitive doctor/poet wins both times. An interesting note about 2007 the level of drunkenness goes through the roof. Most of the supporting characters are drunk. What does that say?

Back to Russia

Still catching up on the backlog.  There will be one more dump to come next week.  Then we are caught up.  Enjoy.  Or not.

Russia; Novel - 2017 by Olga Slavnikova

“Winner of the Russian Booker prize, a sensational novel of Russia set exactly 100 years after the revolution.”

Well that's what the book jacket says anyway. 400 pages of pointlessness is how I would describe it. 2017 is a dystopian tale of a Russian everyman Krylov who finds purpose in his life through a relationship with a chance encounter. His happiness is not meant to last, however, it seems. I say it seems because at the end of the book I was looking for the missing chapter. You know the one where they bring the story to some conclusion, where after reading it you put the book down with a sense that you know what happened. I don't think that chapter exists. I think the author thinks the book was done.

The book is the story of a gem cutter, Krylov, who cuts illegally mined stones. He meets Tanya (who turns out to be the wife of his stone connection). They have an affair premised on the principle that they never learn anything substantial about each other including real names, phone or address. Each day they make a new appointment. If they ever miss one, the chain is broken and they are lost to each other. Of course, they miss one.

At the end of the writing (not the end of the story because that has no conclusion) every character is left a loose end. Krylov may or may not be about to strike it rich, Tania may or may not reconnect with him and the background theme, Russia, may or may not be on the verge of a new revolution.  

The point of reading Russian literature was to get an alternative sense of a Russian mood. I may actually have gotten that. Politically the big question today is about where Russia is headed. Democracy or dictatorship? It could go either way. The Russian people sometimes seem to be helpless observers with no control over their destiny. There is potential for real improvement and there is potential for disaster. It is by no means clear which outcome will manifest. In that sense 2017 is a good metaphor. Krylov is in the same place. Okay I get that. Just one thing, did it really need to take 400 pages to get to that conclusion?

Russia; History - Lenin by Dimitri Volkoganov

Glorious Future?  That way...

Lenin is the third in Volkoganov’s trio of biographies of early leaders of the Soviet Union Stalin, Trotsky and finally Lenin.  What makes Volkoganov’s work notable is primarily the extraordinary access the author had to the archives of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Volkoganov was a military historian who taught at the Lenin Military Academy and eventually rose to serve as the chief assistant to Russia's first post Soviet leader, Boris Yeltsin. Among Volkoganov’s responsibilities for Yeltsin was the supervision of the declassification of the CPSU archives. Volkoganov had first crack at what few historians had ever seen – Lenins’ original documents.

A Young Lenin - with Hair!

Volkoganov uses that access to craft a portrait of the unquestioned leader of Russia’s October Revolution. There is considerable controversy surrounding his portrait and the man who paints it. Volkoganov, despite his long tenure as part of the Soviet system, is a well-known critic of that system. This book addresses directly one of the central questions of Soviet history - is Stalinism a logical consequence of Leninism, or terrible aberration?

Lenin Today

Volkoganov comes down squarely on the side of logical consequence. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union saw the creation of a system of pervasive violence and terror. Volkoganov uses the archives to document Lenin’s own use of terror for the promotion of his seizure of power.  Volkoganov presents the case Lenin knew that there was no way to accomplish the total control he aspired to, without the excuse of crisis. Volkoganov argues that the Civil War was unnecessary except as the excuse for the violence needed to shock Russian society into cowering obedience. That,  was always Lenin’s goal, and naturally became Stalin’s. The Apple did not fall far from the tree…

Russia; St. Petersburg - The Church of Spilled Blood.

When one thinks of iconic Russian churches with the classic, brightly colored onion domes, one tends to think of St. Basil's on Red Square in Moscow. St. Petersburg is not to be outdone, however. They have a church which is every bit as spectacular as St. Basil's. In fact it may be more beautiful. It is called the Church of Spilled Blood.

It has a real name, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, but its existence is owed to the fact of spilled blood. It's not really a church it seems. The guidebook says it has never been used for services. It was built as a shrine to the memory of Alexander II.  The Czar was assassinated in 1881.  The spot on which he was killed is preserved as it was when he was killed. The streets cobble stones are there, over which a small shrine was built, then surrounded by the massive shine which is the church. The church itself is an intricate work of art.

Inside the decoration is mainly mosaics. As is typical of churches of this period, the mosaics depict the saints and the gospel. These mosaics climb the walls and in the dome is a massive Christ looking down on you. The alter is another typical yet exquisite example of Russian orthodox iconography. It is a fantastic setting. It is astonishing that it would be built with such care and expense and then not used. In fact it may have had more use during the Soviet era when it was a museum of atheism or during the siege of Leningrad, when it was used to store potatoes. Today it sees a steady stream of tourists and brides. Wedding parties use its exteriors for photo shoots. Another interesting note, surrounding the exterior of the church are a series of plaques commemorating Alexander II’s rule and his many accomplishments. They are notable. He was a progressive ruler by Russian standards. It is ironic that his attempt at progress were not enough for his enemies to choose to spare him.

Russia; Museums of History

St. Petersburg is the cradle of the Bolshevik Revolution and as a result was the political

Czar's Portrait, complete w/ bayonet slashes

center of communism and the beginnings of the Soviet Union. That legacy has not been forgotten. Moscow has a historical museum that showcases the totality of Russian history. St. Petersburg concentrates on the revolutionary aspect.

We visited two museums in St. Petersburg, the Kirov and the Museum of Russian Political History. The Kirov is located in the former apartment of a leading figure of the 1930s USSR, Sergei Kirov. He was a close comrade of Joseph Stalin during Stalin’s rise to power and it was Kirov’s murder that served as the catalyst (excuse?) for the purges of the 1930s.


Kirov was a popular figure within the party and some suspect jealousy led Stalin to order his assassination and then blame Stalin’s own enemies, providing the opportunity to liquidate them. The apartment set up

The Famous Mr. Kirov

the way it would have looked in 1934 when Kirov died.  It is an interesting frozen moment in time and window into the world of an important Soviet leader. The museum dodges the question of who killed him.

The Museum of Russian Political History is more comprehensive. Located in a mansion, commandeered by the Bolsheviks in 1917 it houses Lenin’s office and was the scene of an important moment in the events of that time - a speech Lenin gave from its balcony exhorting the proletariat to revolution.

The museum is pretty neutral about Lenin, but pulls no punches in its largest exhibit on Stalinism. It follows his rise to power and displays pictures and artifacts of his victims. The show trials, the Kulaks digging their own graves as a firing squad watches, the Gulag. It also documents the rapid and impressive development of Soviet industry and agriculture, not hiding the coercive of nature of that process.

The rest of Soviet history is again like the section on Lenin - it happened. Exhibits take no stand on whether it is good or bad, carrying this note all the way to the present, pointing out with some local pride that the current president (Medvedev) and his predecessor and current Prime Minister (Putin) are both from St. Petersburg. It is still the center of Russia's political universe. We'll see what Moscow has to say about that.

Lenin's Office

Moscow: we visited the Museum of Contemporary History. They have a large collection of artifacts spanning the period from the last half of the 19th century to the present.  Interestingly the museum begins with the present and then jumps back. And what does the official State history museum have to say about the present? Actually not much. The only subject that they think merits attention is the process for the selection of the new post Soviet state symbols to replace the hammer and sickle and the red flag. It's often said that history is written by the winners and that is quite apparent in the post Soviet exhibit. In every element of the exhibit is a picture of Putin doing something. No pictures of Yeltsin, who if memory serves proceeded ‘Vlad’ and only one official Post Office style picture of Medvedev who is now President. No ambiguity about who is calling the shots

The rest of the museum all is pretty close to the model observed in St. Petersburg. In this one

Stalin, after the fall...

they spend some time developing the pre-revolutionary circumstances. They recognize
Russia's backwardness made apparent by its defeat by Japan in 1905. Alexander II’s attempts at reform only create chaos, his assassination and then retrenchment. Again after 1905 it seems they try to change without any real understanding of how to accomplish reform or support from the ruling class. No one is happy and the revolution is the result.
The take on Soviet history again singles Stalin out for blame. Lenin and NEP (new economic program) seemed to be improving things but then, Stalin…  WWII and the space program are points of pride for Russians.  Soviet times were not all bad.  One wonders if they think “if only there had been no Stalin.”  It is convenient to have a dead fall guy.

человек сдерживает собаку (Man Bites Dog!)

Or at least I think that is what it says.  That's what my handy, dandy translator tool tells me.  My Russian skills are not all that strong.  The one phrase I made sure I know is: Excuse me, I don't understand Russian.  After that its pretty dicey.

So this week I have been reading the daily news from Russia and mostly it has ben a bunch of "Dog Bites Man" stories.  Rich Russian robbed by unknown men in police uniforms...  Beer distributor murdered, assailants unknown...  A bunch of things you know happen on a regular basis, but that you don't really want to hear about on the eve of a trip to Moscow.

One of the benefits of our lodging here in Moscow is the opportunity to watch the Russian evening news with Zhanna, our host. We watch and she gives us a running translation, laced with her own commentary.  This week the big story has been the official government medias reports on suspicion of corruption on the part of the mayor of Moscow.

Russian government PR campaign in a park

Nothing gets on the official Russian television channels (and there aren't really any other channels) without government approval. The decision to report now on the possibility that Moscow’s mayor of 18 years may be corrupt is an indicator that the government has decided to go after him. It seems the purpose of the report is to get the public ready for his departure. He is not an entirely unpopular figure. A year ago polls showed he had an approval rating in 60% range. A more recent poll has him the high 30s. Pensioners like him because of the pension supplements he has arranged, but the Russian Constitution gives the president authority to fire him.  Yes, the system allows the firing of a popularly elected official by presidential fiat - some democracy, eh? From here it looks like the mayor's days are numbered. (Post script from two weeks later.  The Mayor was fired today)

Moscow, 1st Site: The Metro

The Moscow Metro may not be a site, per se, but it is collectively an extraordinary element of Moscow life and Soviet history rolled into one.

Moscow, the city, is massive and as a result requires a massive system of public transport.  This was particularly true during the Soviet era when private ownership of

Air vent cover

automobiles was rare. Today owning a car is not all that rare. Some families like Zhanna's even have two. That may not sound like a big deal to Californians, but for city folk and especially city folk in a cold climate, owning the car is sometimes more trouble than it is worth. Especially if public transit is good. Downtown traffic and parking pushes people to the metro.

And in Moscow, the Metro responds. Between the nine different metro lines there did not seem there was any where we wanted to go that was far from the metro station. Once at the station the trains came in rapid succession, never more than a minute or two between trains. When the cars arrived it was often packed with passengers. The system is efficient and well used if perhaps, a bit well worn. On one of the lines we encountered the new cars (though never the newest cars pictured on the metro map).  The new cars are a major upgrade over the 90% of the fleet that I suspect dates back to Soviet times. The older cars are functional, but seem to have given little thought to passenger safety or comfort. There's no ventilation and when crowded you're likely to be stuck in the middle with no place to hang on. Muscovites seem to manage. It must be years of practice - they can even do it on 5 inch heels!

A shrine to Lenin

For the Soviets,, the metro was much more than a transit system however, and many of the stations reflect a ceremonial purpose. Those stations are literally works of art. It has been said that because the Soviets had no churches, the Metro filled the need for a place to publicly celebrate society’s deeds.

Moscow’s metro stations rival churches with their mosaic ceilings and marble clad porticos. Though Soviet statuary is not absent from Moscow above ground, below ground the Metro's halls are full of statues of Lenin, larger than life bronze of the victorious proletariat and murals depicting the budding Utopia. If you're not put off by the tragic history of Russian communism, the stations might be Moscow’s most beautiful space.

Moscow, 2nd Site: Red square and the Kremlin.

The first time we saw Red Square we were not allowed to enter it. We had to look on it from afar. The government was using it. No visitors allowed. Red Square has always been used by the government of the day. My dominant image of the Square is the way it was used by the Soviets. They would use it to stage their parades and funerals. Party officials together on Lenin’s tomb with Sovietologists trying to figure out who's up and who's down based on where they stood on the podium.

The Square doesn't see events like that anymore. On this date it was being used as the starting place for the Moscow marathon being run across the city. It is not the solemn place once was.  Today it is jammed with tourists, jostling for angles for their pictures of themselves in front of the squares many iconic façades. If that is not enough for you, you can add a ‘Boyar’, or Lenin, Brezhnev, Sponge Bob, Shreck - your choice, to any snapshot for just a few hundred rubles.

The centerpiece of the square is Lenin’s mausoleum. When Lenin died in 1924 he was displayed in Red Square for what was supposed to be a limited time. Stalin recognize the value of Lenin as a symbol, however, as a result he could never bear to remove him from the people’s sight.
So there he is, surviving even the fall of the Soviet union.

Visiting his crypt is an involved process. There is the first line, which acts as the meter for the security check which rivals any thing I ever experienced at an airport. It seems geared to be sure that no one has a camera. They really don't want you taking pictures, so all phones get checked as well. Once you pass security you file past the luminaries of the Soviet era marked with statues and buried behind Lenin. All of the leaders (except Khrushchev) are there, in their glory, as if nothing had changed. All of the graves are decorated with red plastic carnations. On this day only three of the graves had fresh flowers; Dzerzhinski, founder of the Cheka, killer of thousands; Sverdlov, an old Bolshevik; Stalin, ‘nough said. It is kind of a surprise any of them have flowers but I would have never guessed those three. I have read Stalin does have a following, folks who missed the stability and order. It was like a walk back in time.

After you pass the Soviet leaders you enter the mausoleum itself. Along to walk you are monitored by special Kremlin security police, a different uniform than the Moscow city police. Now their presence becomes more intense. At the entrance you are greeted by an officer with his finger to his mouth, shhh! The hall is polished black marble, not particularly well lit, you descend. At every turn there is another guard. Finally you turn and enter the crypt itself. Lenin is there in a crystal case, bathed in white light, a setting more fitting for sleeping beauty it seems.

But there he was, perfectly preserved looking as good as the day he died - a miracle of Soviet science. You walk 270° around his coffin and his guards and then back into the daylight of Red Square. If you're like me, you wonder why.  Why he's still there and why anybody, including me, still cares. But there, I have done it. I have seen one of the world's great curiosities - now where's that bearded lady?

Russia; Cultural

In the ‘best laid plans’ category falls our experience of the cultural life of Russia.  Russia, like any great country, has many cultural treasures.  In St. Petersburg it has one of the

The Bolshoi, with cranes

world’s great ballet companies.  It used to be known as the Kirov. Since the fall of the Soviet Union it has reverted it to its original name Mariniiski. When we were there, we were tempted.  We visited the theater and enjoyed its grounds, but decided to save ourselves for the Bolshoi in Moscow. Two ballets, in two weeks?  After successfully avoiding the ballet for the last 25 years? I thought, once will be enough. We’ll wait for Moscow.

I should've read that page in the guidebook before we got there. The Bolshoi is closed until 2011. It has been closed since 2005. The building was crumbling from neglect and so they are doing a massive overhaul. Must be great.  The company still exists and still performs. In fact so they could continue to perform, they built (in just six months) a new Bolshoi for them. Only they are not there this week. In their place there is a French company  doing experimental stuff.  We saw it on TV.  Just plain weird.  I'll pass,

Instead we went to an amateur singing contest.  Sort of like ‘Russia’s Got Talent’, only not at all like what we see on TV. Staged downtown at Rachmaninov Hall, a succession of youngish (late twenties to early 40s) singers took to the stage. It was very serious.  The men wore tuxedos, the women gowns. All of them performed opera accompanied by a pianist.  As they were introduced they took the stage to stony silence. No one made a sound.  No welcoming applause. Each singer sang four numbers of their choice, between those songs, silence. Only when they had finished their set did the audience respond. Not exactly the atmosphere of American Idol.  The performances were impressive. Okay I have not been to the opera in 20 years but these singers were every bit as good as the ones who put me to sleep 20 years ago!

Russia; Religion - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior

It turns out there probably was not more fitting choice of sanctuaries we could've chosen for a visit to a Russian place of worship. We chose the Cathedral of Christ the Savior mostly just because it was the cathedral. Cathedrals are special places. They are show pieces of the church. It is where the church hierarchy is in residence, where special services are held and frankly, kind of the place where the church shows off its power and majesty.

Cathedrals often seem kind of empty on Sunday mornings. Part of that is an impression created by the building’s massive size. 200 people in a small church seems packed. In the cathedral the same number seems empty. In 2006 while in London we went to Westminster for servives. It was empty. On this Sunday I was expecting the same thing.

I was surprised to find the sanctuary mostly filled. We got there about 10:15 and the service had already started. The crowd was gathered around the altar party, standing in front of the iconostasis. The priest was chanting and the worshipers were clearly involved in  ritual chants, bows, and crossing themselves again and again.  They were accompanied by a choir, unseen in the loft, making a sound that entirely filled the large space.

Congregation was a mix of age and gender, though older women were the largest single group. Lots a single men, on the younger side of 40, seemed to be there by themselves. The service lasted for more than two hours, the crowd standing for the entire time. There are no pews in the Orthodox Church. Humanity stands before God.

Throughout the service, worshipers would visit small shrines scattered throughout the cathedral, pray, cross themselves and light candles . The candles were sold at a kiosk open throughout the service, except during communion when they shut their windows. At the alter the priests
disappeared behind the iconostasis for several minutes. The holy sacrament is not observed by the congregation and is not to be disturbed by commerce. After communion, about an hour into the service, the sermon began.  The priest spoke for 45 min. without notes.  By good fortune we saw some folks we met on the train to Moscow at the service. One of them,  Irina, is a Russian ex-pat now living in Sacramento. She filled in the gaping holes in our understanding of the service and rituals. It turns out the service length was not all that extraordinary. I was amazed at the ability of older people to stand so long. It was a challenge for me.

the Cathedral of Christ the Savior

All in all it was an extraordinary service - perhaps most extraordinary was that it was even being held. We learned later that the Cathedral had only recently been rebuilt. We were in a replica of the building that was built before the revolution, but that had been completely dismantled by Stalin in the 1930s. Stalin’s plan had been to build a massive Lenin Tower on the site. There was no use for churches, and so down it came. The tower never worked out. Its scale was too large to be supported by the soil at the river's edge and a smaller scale just would not do - a swimming pool was built in its place.

With the fall of communism and the revival of religion in Russia a campaign was begun to rebuild the cathedral. Indeed it has been rebuilt. Churches in Russia seem to be on the rebound. Younger people reared on communism seem to be exploring the faith. It's not unusual to see crosses sold and worn. Russia maybe more religious than western Europe. Not what Stalin was hoping for.

Russia; Commerce

GUM

In Russian commercial life there is a top, there is a bottom and there is a middle.  Between the top and bottom there's a wide gulf that separates them, even if geographically they exist only a few miles from each other. This may not be unusual for a capitalist society. One thinks of Hunters Point and Union Square in San Francisco, short distance but a big difference.

For Moscow this is relatively new however. Communism was a great equalizer. Our host, Zhanna tells us about cheese in those days. Cheese was cheese. Today at the stores have dozens of varieties, for those who can afford them.

Kievskaya

At the top of the spectrum is GUM, the iconic shopping mall across from Red Square. It is a three-story arcade filled with designer brands of the highest reputation and cost. But notably not filled with people. In fact, on a Sunday afternoon when Red Square was busy there was hardly a soul in the mall.

The bottom we found just a few steps from where we are staying, in a working-class apartment complex three metro stops from GUM.  There shops are plywood and plaster selling cheap Chinese generic products. The stalls are no more than 10 x 10 limited to one type of product. Shoes, luggage, fruit.  Is this where Moscow shops?

The Stalls

Maybe, but there is also the middle and judging by the 5 PM crowd we encountered at the Kievskaya mall, the middle may be where most Muskovites find themselves. The Kievskaya mall is new, only a couple years old, it seems. If you were dropped into it blindfolded, you would be hard pressed to know where you were. It looks very much like any suburban mall I have encountered. In fact, many of the same stores are there.

Judging from our wanderings, it seems Russians are joining global consumerism. They don't seem to be at the rampant stage at which America exists, but give them time. They seem to be trying to catch up.

Who is that? #2 Winner!

Ok, first too hard, now apparently too easy?  Or maybe Scott P is just too smart.   

 It is Mercator!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerardus_Mercator

Next one will be harder. 

Standings to date:  Scott P 15 pts (first day bonus!)  Alexander M. got Kirov and 10 pts.

Who is that? #2

Ok, so maybe the last one was too hard...  Maybe you had never heard of Kirov... 

It took a while to find a subject here in Belgium.  Royalty would be too easy.  And the rule is it has to be someone I have heard of.  I've seen lot's of statues here, but never heard of any of the subjects depicted.  Until now.

This one I dare say you all should know. 

At home in Brussels

So we have been here in Belgium two weeks now.  You would think there would be a blog post or two.  No excuses, but we’ve been a bit distracted. 
First there was the matter of finding a place to live.  That was much more of a challenge than I had hoped.  One of the things that is not apparent from the real estate web sites are the legal requirements imposed by Belgian law.  I suppose it should not be surprising but there are a lot of laws which create the environment in which the tenant landlord relationship takes place.  These laws are geared to protect both parties but they also create a bunch of hoops for the landlord to jump through.  Almost none of the dozens we contacted were interested in doing all that jumping for the short time we will be here. 

Even so we did turn up 4 or 5 options.  The first one we looked at almost had MC on a plane home.  It was kind of a dump, but it was available.  The second place was a bit out of the way in a neighborhood that kind of looked a bit rough, and then we saw the third one at Place Flagey.  We wrapped it up on the spot. 

It’s not the Taj Mahal, but it is in a really cool neighborhood – sort of walking distance from school.  With the bus it takes about seven minutes.  By foot about 20 minutes on the way home (downhill), and takes you past the very scenic ‘Etangs d’Ixelles’, our neighborhood park.  Across the street is a bakery.  MC and I take turns in the morning walking over to pick up something for breakfast.  Very European, very nice.  Flagey is also well located relative the center of Brussels.  Trams and busses run from the ‘place’ straight past the palaces, museums and parliaments.  In 15 minutes we can be standing in the Grand Place eating a waffle.  Something we have done more than once.

The ‘place’ itself is also a happening place.  There is something happening there every weekend.  They have markets Saturday and Sunday and the ‘place’ also hosts special events.  The first weekend an alternative transit expo, this week a pet fair.  It is also home to one of the most celebrated Frites stands in the city.  We have just tried it once.  I’ll voice a sacrilege here: they just seemed like fries to me.  Maybe we had the wrong sauce?  There were 20 choices.  Or, was it the 20 minute wait in line?

All in all we have settled in and started to get a feel for school and life in Belgium.  We’ll save that for the next post.