Many words and sentences have been used
to describe Russia and I can tell you that the majority of them are
wrong, out of context, generalization or simply blind stereotyping
and ignorance.
Russia is a country which is blighted
by a negative historical reputation, especially in regards to Western
countries like the USA & the UK. Whenever I told people I was
intending on traveling to and studying in Russia the number of deep
breaths, puzzled looks and questioning that ensued was surprising.
Why did I want to go there, what was possessing me, did I know what
they'd heard about it, was I sure, would I be safe, and many others.
Even family members were dubious of my traveling to Russia. I am so
glad that I can say they were all wrong and these people have no idea
what the real Moscow & Russia is like. Obviously I cannot tell
you about Russia in general as a country because I didn't venture far
from Moscow itself, but the generalization is fine due to the vast
differences between Russia & the United Kingdom. Russia is a gem
which has many spectacular things to off to the eager tourist, as
well as students.
Nothing I had read or heard about
Moscow turned out to be true. I'm not going to tell you that Russia
is a country with an angelic record, but you'd be surprised at quite
how amazing this country is. My first weeks were spent in utter
amazement, I had expected a 2nd or 3rd world
country experience with a bunch of backwards peasants and criminals.
What I saw was a beautiful country with infrastructure to rival even
Great Britain. The subway in Moscow is far superior to that of
London. The subway stations are ginormous with high ceilings, marble
floors & walls, divine murals and artwork on the walls (mostly of
a Communist or Leninist nature, but the Metro was dedicated to Lenin
so.....what can you expect) and the trains are spacious and don't
rattle & squeak like the Bakerloo Line! You don't see a lot of
older men in Moscow, by older I mean over 70 or 80, but you do see a
lot of women that age. If I did see an older couple together I
immediately became inquisitive. So many Russian men were killed from
the 1930s onwards that the population is ridiculously unbalanced in
terms of gender. This could explain the lagging birth rates &
aging population.
The people I met during my time in
Moscow surprised me the most. Whilst I didn't interact that much with
the older generation, I spent a lot of time with younger Russians,
many of whom were born in the latest stages of the Soviet Union &
some after its collapse. There is a vast difference between those who
experienced Soviet oppression and those who have known only
development, modernization & Westernization. The young people I
met were all perfect ambassadors for modern Russia, they were polite,
kind and very curious. I was always blasted with numerous questions
about my life, my country, countries I'd visited, and other things
that they found fascinating, including the differences between our
two countries.
The Russian youth were fiercely
protective of their country & Moscow too, if I complained about
something they always had some sort of excuse to explain it or
changed the subject. These young Russians are intrigued by America
and a number who I talked to expressed a wish to live in the US when
they grew up. They all viewed America as the 'land of the free and
home of the brave', just as the Star Spangled Banner precludes to.
None of them seemed to care about the economic or political
conditions in America, just that they knew life seemed better there
to them. Personally I think they all watched a little too much TV &
films in which the view of America is about as distorted as it could
be. But I would not want to stand in the way of someone with such
determination & drive as these Russians. They valued education
and knew the importance of going to university, one friend having
turned down several modeling jobs in order to concentrate on her
academic work. These young people were really impressive and the
youth of Great Britain are an embarrassment in comparison.
Another
interesting thing about this Russian youth is the usage of modern
social media, as well as a variety of technology. It seemed almost
every other person I saw had an iPad or Kindle type device. Given
that poverty is extreme in Russia & devices such as these have to
be imported I was always surprised to see so many of them. Though I
think that the iPad has become the fashion accessory of the Muscovite
youth, whilst in London clothing, shoes & handbags are how you
tell people apart, in Russia it's whether you've got an iPad, iPhone
or not and the size & model of your car. Cars are a massive
status symbol in the new capitalist Russia. They don't pander to
health & safety like the UK, nor do they have laws governing the
percentage that windows can be tinted – as a result everyone has
very tinted windows. In Russia you have the biggest & brashest
car you can, with tinted windows, expensive detailing & “extras
packages”, as well as made to order cars. All of the cars are 4X4s
and gas guzzlers, but when gas is only 45-50 pence a litre you'd be
stupid not to have one. Might as well make good use of the cheap
fuel.
Moscow is an incredibly clean and
smooth running city. You see the streets being sweeped, and no litter
on the floor – which I can't decide is because there are so many
cleaners or the population are so petrified of the retributions if
they litter.
The Soviet past will always have a
place in the hearts of Russians. Though the meaning of the past
becomes distorted with each new generation. I met those who told me
of the genius of Lenin and how life was better in the Soviet Union,
then I've met those who are so happy to be freed from communism and
rejoice in capitalism. Though Russian capitalism is distorted in
itself, it is mismanaged and was an attempt to copy the USA without
having the necessary structures, processes and society. Everywhere
you turn in Moscow you see a hammer & sickle, Lenin's name or
CCCP written somewhere. It is interesting to note that the Russians
don't seem to notice this fully. The subway stations are filled with
murals and statues of Soviets carrying guns, wearing Red stars and
emblazoned with the hammer & sickle. As a foreigner I would stare
at all of them, fascinated with the architecture and art, but also
the pervasive nature of the Soviet system. The Russians meanwhile
would carry on their daily life and stare at me because I was staring
at something they weren't.
The one word I would however use to
describe Russia is control.
Everything in people's daily life
in Moscow is controlled. Moscow is an incredibly controlled city, and
Russia is a controlled country. This is control from the highest of
the high to keep the population in line.The ways doors open & the
number of escalators in operation are all methods of control. You can
see control from above in the smallest & least expected places,
and also in the largest. This is why you are only now seeing the
Russians rising up to protest, albeit in a manner that was hardly far
reaching. Their lives are so controlled and they all live in fear of
retribution from above and this has been part of life in Russia since
the times of Ivan the Terrible.
The Russians are not a people who would
come up with solutions for problems, they would just soldier on
because they don't want to change the system, nor do they want to get
into trouble for speaking out of turn. There are many examples of
this throughout history, and this is one of the reasons that the
vicious cycle of political dictatorship in Russia keeps on spinning.
The Russians have not found a solution to their misguided &
mis-developed country and so will keep ploughing on through and
letting Putin & his cronies get away with whatever they like. The
solution won't come from inside the Kremlin and it won't come from
the grass roots of the country either. There is no such thing as a
flourishing civil society in Russia, all due of course to control.
Civil Society in the Soviet Union was controlled, you could be part
of organizations, but only officially mandated ones and only if you
fitted the specific characteristics. You couldn't simply come up with
your own organization or group.
This is perhaps the one thing which
will block change and development in Russia. It also explains why the
Russian youth are so envious of the American dream.
I don't want to bleat on deriding the
country because that is unfair. Russia suffers greatly from its
preconceptions, which are antagonized by the West. I didn't think
that I would discover such a wonderful country and I prepared myself
for 5 months of suffering. I can remember crying as my plane was
landing at Domodedovo! I was constantly impressed with Moscow, and if
there was something wrong there, it was never a serious matter and it
could be laughed off as an 'only in Russia' joke. I think most people
would be positively surprised with modern Moscow and I would urge
anyone with preconceptions of this beautiful country to go there and
have them be quashed. Obviously it is not without its problems, but
these can be ignored for the purposes of tourism, do not let these
problems put you off discovering what has become my favorite country.
Life was easy, cheap, calm and enjoyable out there, I did hanker for
Walkers crisps & non-sour milk a lot, but I enjoyed myself more
than I would have ever imagined. I cannot wait to go back and
discover more of this wild and wonderful country. Those 5 months were
the best of my life and I am so glad that Russia managed to
facilitate this for me. I hope that Russians can be proud they have
made such an fantastic and positive impression on a skeptical
foreigner.
