On Wednesday, it was time for a trip to Novgorod, the medieval capital of Russia. A three hour bus ride took us out of pretty Saint Petersburg and into real Russia. I woke up literally in a different world. Out the window were not the posh, urban streets of a European city but instead the wooden, dilapidated shacks from the third world. I tried to take some pictures of these surprises, but the real sight can't nearly be caught on film. Upon arriving in Novgorod, we started a tour of the medieval kremlin, which is Russian for fortress, of the city. We learned that Novgorod actually introduced a certain form of democracy in its medieval city-state years. It served as a large hub for a substantial north-western section of Russia. It was a commercial centre as
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