Leavin' on a jet plane..

Now might be a good time to mention that I made it home for the holidays. My last week in Moscow was a busy one, full of visiting new friends, getting Christmas gifts, taking copious photographs of Moscow in the snow (n.b. Moscow is SO beautiful in the snow), having snowball fights at 1am at the dorm....lots of different things. The only 2 negatives were my cold and having to leave Moscow. 


Since I've been back in the UK I've actually really missed Moscow. I got really comfortable there and was enjoying the way of life. Obviously things were more difficult than life here in the UK, but I enjoyed it. The trains & subway ran on time, there was plenty of space, no annoying tourists who stop in the middle of the street to point at things, cheap transport, cheap food & drink.....I mean Russia vastly exceeded my expectations. I cannot wait to go back! 

Christmas in Russia..

"Winter in the park"

Russia's an Orthodox country so they celebrate Christmas on January 7th, not on December 25th like us. Hence why my university fall semester lasts until January 1st! Luckily I've been given special permission to go home for Christmas!

Christmas is a religious affair here and there are tons of long church services which are attended by the whole family. During the era of the Soviet Union religious celebrations & especially Christmas were discouraged & suppressed by the Communist & atheist government. Since 1992 Christmas has been re-instated as a national holiday here. Due to the lack of Christmas celebrations in Russia for decades Russians & the Soviets put more emphasis on New Year. Hence why all the posters & decorations have С Новый Годом - "Happy New Year" predominantly on them rather than "Merry Christmas". 

But the Russians do take part in some more normal Christmas activities, they decorate a ёлка - tree, have large family gatherings, and are visited by Дед Мороз - Grandfather Frost AKA Santa, and his granddaughter, Снегурочка - The Snow Maiden

More beautiful Metro stations..

Every single Metro station in Moscow that I enter is a work of art. They are a tourist attraction of their own. Each one is intricate with vast amounts of marble & metal work. They all have high ceilings and large halls. They're incredibly impressive.

This is партизанская (Partivanskaya) and it's about 15mins outside of the centre of Moscow (the Kremlin), so technically it's in the 'burbs. But it's huge! Large metal statues, vast amounts of marble & gigantic staircases. It's a sight to see. 

  

Ice Skating!

Last night, Solene, Edith, Jason, Paul & I went to Gorky Park to ice skate. The rink there is the biggest in Europe!! The ice is obviously man-made, but it's made to imitate ice that you'd find on a lake or a river, so it's not properly smooth & is left for longer periods of time before cleaning. 

I'm not a good skater as I haven't been since a school trip a number of years ago, but once I got back into the swing of things it was easier. Solene & I were helped by two Russian gentlemen who were extremely fascinated with the fact that we were foreigners! By the end of the evening I was managing to skate pretty fast on my own - though I won't be entering any contests yet!

10 дек - митинг

"We want fair elections"

Last Saturday a group of us went, against the advice of our administration & various Embassies, to the protest/rally being held at  Болотная площадь (Bolotnaya Ploshad'). It was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. A large amount of Russians, young & old, were thronging in the streets, cars were honking in support, flags & ribbons were being shared round and we were amazed at the peace & calm. 

The Omon - омон 

There was obviously a hideously large police & military presence, including the Omon, the famous cold blooded murdering controllers of the Soviet Republics. The police were however relatively sedate and also happy to have pictures taken - unheard of in Russia. There was an obvious air of tension but we had a perfectly peaceful experience. We were given leaflets, ribbons, balloons by passersby, all white of course. Following in the wake of Ukraine, Russia has chosen white as their color. 

Military Riot Police - packed into trucks

Trucks of military riot police lined up on approach to the park

These trucks were the first thing that we saw as we walked over the bridge to the rally. A slightly scary feeling came over all of us. We'd been smart and brought copies of our passports & visas, exchanged numbers, left emergency contacts in our dorm for friends and brought cash with us to bribe ourselves out of prison - IF it came to that. Nothing that we were expecting happened and we were pleasantly surprised. It was a fun experience and I'm so glad I went. 

Military Riot Police lining up.

Back up military riot police & regular police who eventually cut off all the traffic & controlled the crowds

We saw these riot police walking down from the hill as we were leaving. There were actually all such young boys and I thought a couple looked like girls but they were just young boys! We all realized that we'd probably picked the best time to leave! They all formed up and stood in formation for about 10 minutes. They then walked across the bridge and blocked off the traffic. There were also lots of trucks, tractors & gritting trucks all strategically parked and we noticed that they were all slowly moving so as to cut off the entrance & exit to the park. Effectively there was only one entrance & exit and you were trapped. Control was the word of the day. 

View of the stage & rally from the otherside of the river. Plenty of variety of flags - Communists, Yabloko, Anti-United Russia.

  

Rocky Road in Russia.

So I think you'd have to be living under a rock not to know the political situation in Russia right now. Safe to say the revolutionary lava is bubbling with gusto here. All of the Muscovite's I've spoken to are outraged with the election results and they're using social media and following in the wake of the Arab Spring. The Kremlin's biggest fear is revolution. There have been protests ongoing since Monday and there's a massive demonstration planned for Saturday. The Russian people, mostly the younger generation who've benefited from the criminality of the 1990's and increasing Westernization, are finding their voices. 
I had a walk around Red Square and other central locations in Moscow. There's an incredible sense of tension everywhere you go. It's almost like a return to the Soviet times. Police have put up barriers blocking access to Red Square meaning you have to go through one small entrance. There is a visibly beefed police presence, and on the way to class today I saw a whole platoon of Russian 'special police' sat in buses at the side of the road. 
It seems that the Kremlin's response to an irritated and restless population is to crack down and lash out. They've apparently just shut down the blackberry servers here. They don't understand freedom of expression and democracy like we do. Speaking out against the government or political practices is considered a crime. There is something inherently wrong with the Russian political mentality and has been for decades. It's a shame that all these people who desperately want and deserve change in their country are just being blocked by corruption, bureaucracy and force. But then I cannot judge them entirely due to the political faults in both my countries, they are not the angels in this situation. At least in the UK or US if you don't like something you have the right to protest and make your voice heard without fear of repression. Here in Russia demonstrating and protesting is considered a terrorist act and is illegal. Protests have to have official permission to occur and most of the time that permission is denied.  

These were plastered on top of the State election posters, they say "elections without an opposition are a crime" and "put x for criminal power - vote against all"

Elections!

The State Duma - what they're all fighting for power over

Elections are tomorrow in Russia for the Lower House, the Duma. Democracy in action! Putin's party, United Russia are hotly tipped to win these elections - well hotly tipped by state run media outlets. Independent media outlets have other ideas. What will happen I wonder? I've been advised not to venture out because of potential violence, protests & also an increased police presence - and police who are all geared up to beat someone up.

There's been plenty of propaganda all over the city. Posters have been up for over a month now reminding people of the reasons why they should vote. About 3 weeks ago they were all pasted over with logos of United Russia, just to encourage people to vote for the "right party".

My Russian friends are excited that they get to vote and are looking forward to it, although they all freely admit that they know who will win and admit there's no point in voting, but they enjoy the participation nevertheless. I think one of the great things about the Russian system is that they have elections on a Sunday so no-one has work. This means that electoral participation can be higher. Something England should definitely look at! The propaganda we can leave out, I don't think the British public would stand for an hour speech on BBC 1 by Cameron, like Medvedev did the other day. 

Romantic Traditions in Russia

Weddings
Weddings are of great importance in Russia. The bigger, the better. If it's not an extremely lavish affair then the families are likely to think the couple is unlikely to be happy together. Your future happiness depends on the size & splendor of your wedding. Once the wedding ceremony is over, the happy couple & their wedding party drive around the city in huge stretch limos with flowers & flags on the bonnets honking their horns. They stop at places of importance, the Kremlin, the bridges over the Moskva, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and take pictures. They do all this picture taking whilst taking classy swigs of Soviet champagne, straight from the bottle. The poor Bride has to traipse around in her dress & heels, in the freezing cold of winter Moscow and take pictures. Plus the entire wedding party dresses up to the nines, or for Russian fashion sense it means looking like girls out on a regular night out in Liverpool or Manchester. 

One such couple posing for pictures in Red Square

Flowers
Flowers are frequently bought in Russia. Not only between lovers, but also from friend to friend, mother to daughter, and vice versa. Everyone buys flowers for everyone and as such being a flower shop owner is a lucrative business. Flowers are an everyday part of life and I haven't been out in Russia and not seen someone carrying a bouquet of flowers.
However, flowers must be given in odd numbers - 3, 5, 7, 9 etc. Odd numbers are lucky. Even numbers are unlucky and only used at funerals. 

Men
The Russian men are incredible gentlemen. They hold doors open for girls. They buy flowers and gifts for their girlfriends/wives/partners . They always pay for dinner, to the extent that a Russian girl won't bring her bag or wallet with her on a date because the man will always pay. They're quick to offer assistance to a woman who needs help with her bags or help down the stairs. They jump out of their seats for elderly women or women with children.


It seems a shame to put a cynical spin on these romantic gestures. But perhaps it would surprise you to learn that domestic violence is highly prevalent and a societal norm in Russia and one in four families experience domestic violence in Russia. It's exacerbated by the fact that the offices of law & order don't view such violence as a crime, but rather as a "private matter between a couple". So you can't prosecute your husband for spousal abuse as you can in the West. Domestic violence does not have the same social stigma that it does in the West and not even the authorities are willing to prove or support that it exists. 


This is the sad fact of life in Russia. Russian women are treated as inferior to men and such are viewed as 'property' by men. You are expected to do what your man says and give him what he wants. If not. Well. This is why I have the theory that Russian girls all dress up so beautifully and wouldn't be caught dead without make-up & all the works. They do this to make up the facade of perfection, when actually under all that make-up you'd probably find a whole lot of bruises. And you wonder why all Russian girls are desperate to be a mail order bride and marry an American? 

The Soviets believed in gender equality. Well they got one thing right. 

This sure is a quirky country!

As previously noted, there are a large number of quirks here in Russia. I'm complied another little list for you to look over.

• On the tube Russians aren't plugged into iPods like we are in London, Russians actually read, albeit through different mediums - Kindles, cheap knock-off Kindles, Newspapers, Books. But they actually read, and a lot more than us Westerners do!
• They park their cars at the side of the road, or on the pavement. Leave the engine running, and sit inside their cars. Whilst seemingly serving no actual purpose. They just sit there. 
• They blast the heating in all the buildings, but it's too cold outside to open the windows and thus stabilize the temperature. This means that in class you just boil and get super drowsy. I'll admit I fell asleep in class today (shush don't tell my parents!). 
• These two previous points form the basis for my theory that the Russians have an energy superiority complex, such that they like to show off the prowess of their natural resources by heating their buildings to over body temperature and running their cars & wasting gas. They're just peacocking really. 
• There is no real Apple store in Russia. They have RE: Store in which they sell refurbished Apple products, but no way of buying legit products. You have to import them from abroad. 
• Then there's the "Rostest". Every product sold in Russia has to be certified, especially if it's an import. In order to have authorization to import something & get a clearance certificate, be it a single iPhone or a whole shipment of childrens toys, you need to pass the Rostest. 
• Russians don't do organic meat, vegetables or milk. Haven't seen anything organic. I mean they are a farming heavy nation, but you never know what's made it into the ground where the veggies are grown. 
• There is also no origin or description on the meat here. It's just chicken, beef, lamb or pork. No hand reared Scottish Aberdeen Angus Sirloin Steak here. 
• Russians also don't understand the concept of the simple sandwich. Not only is it difficult to find regular sliced bread. They don't have sandwiches, not even Starbucks does! How I have longed for a Pret BLT. 
• Russians don't believe in personal space. They will walk right up behind you, even on the escalator. It's pretty unnerving, especially as everytime they invade my space I think I'm being robbed. It's pretty normal to have someone breathing down your neck as you're in a queue. 
• Russian women mostly, some men, don't hold doors open. I must be one of the few women in Russia who actually know how to hold a door open. The number of times I've had doors whacked back in my face and nearly broken my wrist is unreal. It's not that hard to hold a door open for someone behind you. 
• Manners! There are no manners here in Russia. If I do hold a door open for someone. No-one says Thank You. No-one says Excuse Me for squishing you on the tube. Sometimes I just long for manners!
• The crisp flavors are warped. They love sour cream and spring onion, as well as crab and blue cheese. It's creepy. 
• Oh and they still have mandatory military conscription here. 

Lenin's Library - or the State Library as it now is, and a statue of Dostoyevsky (added apres USSR. They weren't fans.) 

Apologies..

I've had a busy and boring week. All my deadlines seem to be the exact same day. Someone obviously has it out for me! I've even got my first exam next week, shock horror. I'm slightly nervous because I have to do an actual valuation of a company for a pretend merger.....I thought they'd have computer programmes for this.....not that it's done by hand..! I've had numerous papers to write, and all of a longer length than I'm used to. Apparently the rest of the world writes papers of length 4000 words, but UCL the usual maximum is 1500-2000, or at least in my department. Strange. 

I've decided that Russia is basically like marmite. I either hate it or love it, depending on the day, depending on the experience. So today being squished into the door of the tube train by the male dominant tube carriage was a negative experience. But doing homework in Starbucks with Liann and being treated as we deserve is a positive experience. You win some, you lose some. 


I got my updated visa. Yay! *fist pump* I had a mild panic during the middle of the night last week realizing that it was coming up to November 25th (when my visa expired) and I hadn't heard anything about it. In due course an email was sent round and I picked up my shiny new visa. It's pretty neat and it lasts until June 2012 so I'm definitely coming back to visit & travel around Russia when the weather's a tad nicer. 

Strange smile eh? I look weird without glasses.

Oh and I'm real disappointed in the Russian weather. I was promised a white winter from mid October. All I've experienced so far has been dangerous slush or dangerous sheet ice on the pavement. Apparently Russians don't quite grit the streets like we do in the UK. Ironic that the streets are gritted better in blooming High Wycombe than Moscow. Basically the snow has been pathetic. We did get about a cm of snow over night, but by the afternoon it had melted. Walking home from class today I experienced a sort of experience like someone was shaking a salt shaker in my face, but one filled with bits of freezing cold ice. I think it was probably a nice micro dermobrasion scrub for my face. IT WAS COLD. This weather is horrendous for my hair. I might as well just not bother washing it. One step outside and the wind has whipped my bangs up in the air and made them go all squ-iff (I don't think that's in the English Dictionary. Oh well.). Point made. The weather is a disappointment. Get it together Moscow!!

Tourist Shot *cringe* and as my mother stated, "What? I AM a tourist!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Russia. My teacher, who's Russian, cancelled our class today in order that we could celebrate Thanksgiving, even if people aren't American. As an American I thought it was an interesting proposal, given that a lot of people now celebrate Thanksgiving on the Continent because it's "cool" without understanding the true meaning & history of Thanksgiving. 

But it was a lovely sunny day here in Moscow, with highs of minus 2 (which is practically tropical for here!). I spent my Thanksgiving in Starbucks with my friend, both of us busy working and getting increasingly homesick thanks to the lovely Starbucks Christmas music & holiday lattes. We then went to TGI Fridays to have a thanksgiving dinner. Basically we had an American Capitalist Thanksgiving. Nothing wrong with that though!

Another beautiful Metro station

Discovered this Metro station on Saturday night. It's called чеховская (Chehovskaya). 

Victory Park.

парк Победы

Impression as you walk from the Metro

Interesting fact about Russia. They consider their actions in World War II as being victorious, and refer to WWII as the "Great Patriotic War". They did lose a LOT of people during war & suffered greatly, over 26 million Soviet dead (that we know about). Mainly because Stalin was an idiot and decided to kill everyone 3 years before war broke out. I mean illogical or what?

Victory Park is a large memorial park to the losses in the Patriotic War. It's a massive set up & has a number of different statues & aspects. There is also an eternal flame which is in the shape of a 5 point star. It contains a museum to the Patriotic War which has a book of remembrance of names of all the Soviets who were killed, as well as examples of tanks & such. There is also a Square of Victors with various memorials to certain efforts of different Soviet regions. 

Eternal Flame

Empty....

The most dominating part of Victory Park is the giant statue of St George slaying the dragon and an Obelisk. The obelisk's height is exactly 141,8 meters, which is 10 cm for every day of the War. Though as previously mused upon, the Russian's consider their "official" involvement in World War II as being 1941-1945. Officially. 

Dizzying Heights..

Go St George!

Tut tut.

Spotted. Graffiti on one of Putin's lovely election propaganda. Well I spotted it on 2 posters. The cyrillic at the top reads фарс (Farce) - as in the elections are a farce. As well as containing a link to the leftfront website, which I'm guessing is a pro-Socialist or Communist party. 

Very interesting.

A Stowaway!!

Please excuse my brief absence from my blog but I had a funny experience last week, a British person stowed away on a plane and I had to look after them for their visit! 

More like that I had the pleasure of welcoming & introducing my Mother to Moscow last week. She came from the 10th to the 15th and stayed in a lovely hotel right in the centre of Moscow opposite the Bolshoi theatre! Mummy had a chandelier in her bedroom & a great view of  площадь революции (Revolution Square). 

We had a cultural overload during the 5 days of her visit and I showed off all the more glorious aspects of Moscow including the Kremlin, Alexandrovski Gardens, The Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Bolshoi Theatre, Victory Park, Cafe Pushkin and the Russian History Museum. We also took a moment to remember all those who have fallen in battle at a Remembrance Service held at the Anglican Church in Moscow. There were a number of diplomats & various other important military people there too. It was lovely service and was truly an honor to be able to remember the fallen among such welcoming people, as well as a bunch of charming Brits! Sometimes a brief respite from the stress of Moscow & the bustle of life in Russia is needed, and a little piece & quiet with some fellow Brits was just what I needed!

My mom's hotel even had a fountain in the middle of the main restaurant! This made for an interesting dinner. We were just flabbergasted by the decor of the room. The hotel was MASSIVE, had long corridors, glorious chandeliers & mirrors, fabulous ornate furniture, but still seemed intensely empty.

There was a photo gallery on the 3rd (or 2nd floor for us Brits) floor of all the famous people who have visited & stayed at the hotel. There was also "rogues corner" as Mummy so delicately put it, with pictures of Lenin, Stalin & other Communist Party members. The hotel was used as a headquarters for the Soviets from 1917 onwards and was only returned to being a hotel later on when Stalin wanted to show off Moscow to foreigners. 

Snow?!?

Sunday & Monday were both freezing here in Moscow! The temperature hovered at a lovely minus 8 or so (17F) but the sky was clear and filled with bright sunshine. Yesterday the weather shifted slightly, it got a tad warmer and.........it started SNOWING! Albeit wet snow which didn't stick very long on the ground. The fact of the matter is that it has officially already snowed in Moscow. It wasn't pretty enough to take pictures but I'm sure once we get some legitimate snow there will be plenty of opportunities for photos. There's been a chilly and icy wind though all week. Apparently it's supposed to snow everyday this week. I'm not totally convinced, but we'll see. All of the foreign kids in my dorm are looking forward to the snow, anticipating snowball fights, snowmen building competitions and sledging, but I'm not sure if we'll have and opportunity for this in Moscow, or if it's even allowed!


But here's a picture from last night. I joined a bunch of the other foreign kids for "stammtisch", a weekly event in which we visit a German themed brewery and have cheap beer & chat. It was a fun night and we all sat at a huge long table just like Oktoberfest! This is a picture from Red Square at 10.30pm. It was practically empty and the entire thing was lit up beautifully! It was even emptier when we left for the Metro at midnight. There's something beautifully haunting about an empty Red Square at night. 

Election Propaganda.

Here in Russia the State дума (Duma) elections on the 4th December. The dominant party here in Russia is the Kremlin & Putin backed 'Единая Россия' - United Russia

I quite like their emblem, but then again I could never support them..

There is no real opposition in the Russian political system and these Duma elections are the only democratic elections that actually occur. I saw яблоко (Yabloko) posters on the entrance to the subway, but they were promptly taken down before I could get a photo. They were quite funny as the word яблоко means apple in Russian, but sad to see them removed. Yabloko being the main opposition & liberal party, but who are constantly being harassed and attacked by United Russia.

All over Moscow are these posters which are imploring the Russian people to vote. They have a range of slogans on them, all emphasizing the date & day of the elections. The one below says "Vote for Russia, Vote for Yourself". They're all the same design, but have different slogans on them.  

Obviously the people in navy are representations of all Russians..

I can't tell if the presence of these posters is a good or a bad thing. The good thing is whilst there are a lot of these posters up, I've also seen the same number of posters advertising the newest Twilight movie, so can't be all that bad!