Ten observations on Russia. 1. Whenever someone tells me that such and such a nation is known for being rude, I take the statement with a grain of salt—individual character is no less diverse abroad than at home. With that being said, broad cultural habits toward strangers are indeed more or less generous in different parts of the world as a general rule. Anonymous crowds in Russia tend to be quite impersonal and pushy—imagine ubiquitous jostling to the front of queues, slamming doors in people’s faces when entering buildings, etc. However, individual Russians often go out of their way to be hospitable and helpful—for example, an old man named Oleg at the Novodevichy Cemetery took it on himself to give me a tour around the place despite an inability to speak a word of English, pointing out the graves of Russian greats and pantomiming their contributions to world culture. His performance explicating Stalins first wife and her death was quite memorable. 2. It’s true what they say: the subway stations in Moscow and St. Petersburg were opulent works of neoclassical architecture. I guess that they were meant to be temples to proletariats on the move. With that being said, many of the stops were moldering with antiquity and in need of a good paint job. The subways themselves were rickety and out of date compared to, say, Korea, with no English explanation to mark the various stops. They were in better shape than many lines in NYC, though. 3. Knowledge of English was surprisingly low, but then again, I suppose it wasn’t a favorite subject in school during the Cold War. Young people tended to be better at it. The idea prevalent among some older citizens that everyone should learn Russian and that English had few uses seems misguided to me—English is the international language of tourism and business, and everyone should learn to speak it. 4. Among many Russians, Khrushchev seemed less admired than Stalin for some reason; he is the only premier of the high USSR relegated from a tomb at the Kremlin, despite being, in my mind, the most humane and populist leader of the empire. I take it that his enforced political exile under Brezhnev allowed him to be scapegoated for the nation’s problems at large. His tomb is black and white, supposedly to represent his good and bad sides. But there are people in Soviet history much more deserving of such a grave marker than him. What did he do that was so bad? De-Stalinization was a great achievement. 5. In terms of Moscow, Red Square is beautiful and Arbat street alive with art and music. But the Kremlin is somewhat overrated, with large parts of it are off-limits. And the inside of St. Basil’s is a big disappointment. The must-see sights in the capital are rather sparse, but its general atmosphere is very pleasant. It reminded me of a cross between Beijing and a Western European capital, in some ways. 6. By contrast, St. Petersburg is overflowing with must-see tourist destinations. But the Hermitage, for all its fame, has very few examples of really first-rate masterpieces of major art historical import; it’s a very complete and large collection in terms of being representative of the history of Western art, but it contains precious few star attractions that you’d recognize from art history textbooks--in fact, compared to the Louvre, British Museum, or Metropolitan Museum, it is really a B-list assortment of art. With that being said, the Winter Palace itself is sinfully opulent. Its facade is rather asymmetrical and pretentious rather than beautiful in my eyes, though. 7. I met a lot of refugees from the Ukraine, who spoke about their lives being in danger from anti-Russian groups. Of course, the situation is complicated, but my trip reminded me there are two sides to every story. 8. The trains were cleaner, more speedy, and altogether more modern than their American counterparts, comparable to the best examples I encountered in East Asia. The overnight train to St. Petersburg was a pleasure to ride. 9. The country is more racially and ethnically diverse than I imagined, with lots of individuals of Central and East Asian descent. Many of them seemed relegated to menial labor, though. 10. The popularity of Czar Nicolas and the Russian Orthodox Church stands in stark contrast to political emphases during the Soviet era. More than one person I encountered insisted that the period right before WW1 was the nation’s golden age.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 13:04:27 +0000
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