Farewell to Mother Russia

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Well, it is my final day in Moscow, and in fact, my final day in Russia after fifteen and a half days. Today I did the last thing on my list of musts for Moscow - visit Lenin. And, like many things in Russia, it wasn't without it's harrowing moments.

It turns out that Lenin's Masoleum is only open a limited number of days/hours each week. The last times I was in the area I either just missed it or it was the wrong day. Today it was open from 10:00 until 1:00. I arrived about 11:15 and got in the long line of tourists waiting for free admission. As we waited, badge wearing "guides" would come up and down the line promising to get you in without waiting if you bought their services - to the tune of $20 to $40 per person. No thanks, I will wait.

About 12:30 I was getting pretty close to the front of the line, when suddenly a policeman came along the line shouting out a message. Of course I didn't know what he was saying, but it was clear that many around me were frustrated or disappointed. One of the guys behind me spoke English and asked someone if they would translate. The broken English response was "there is a 'Problem' and it is likely that you won't get in. Bit by bit groups started to leave the line. However, I figured that a few more mintues didn't hurt and I would wait it out (as were many of the Russian speakers in front of me so I felt I had a chance). At 12:45 a policeman came to about my spot in the line and simply drew a line in the sand. Those in front of him would get in NOW. Those behind him were out of luck. I was about 10 places in luck (thank goodness that school group of 20 had left not two minutes prior to this!).

So after an hour and a half in line, and another 15 minutes going through security and learning the rules, I had a 30 second viewing of the emballmed (wax??) body of Lenin.

Since I have been by myself the last two days, I have had a lot of time to reflect on what this whole experience has been like. Was the trip worth it? Am I glad I came? Did I learn anything about Russian culture? Would I ever come back here? I wish I had definitive answers to all of these questions, but I am not sure I do.

First off, the one definitive answer I have. I have no regrets for coming. None at all. Despite missing my family terribly during my time here, I had to come here. Both St. Petersburg and Moscow are unbelievable cities with a rich history and varying levels of both obvious and hidden beauty. On so many occasions I would find myself thinking “I can’t believe I am standing here.” It certainly happened when standing in Red Square and the Kremlin, but it also happened in Gorky Park, when standing on various bridges over canals in St. Petersburg, and when cruising on a boat up the Neva in front of the Hermitage. On so many other occasions I would find myself thinking “I am so VERY fortunate.” It would happen in churches when soaking in the “holy space” and when looking at the beauty of nature or the space that man has built for itself in nature. On the flip side, I would also think this thought when confronted with a beautiful city marred with the liter of beer bottles or little old grandma’s begging for spare change. It has not escape me that I am INCREDIBLY fortunate to live the life I do in the society that I do and to even have the opportunity to be able to afford financially and socially to travel like this.

But now the less definitive answers.

I wish that I could say that my experiences here have left me with a better understanding of the Russian people. One of the reasons to travel is to better understand a culture. In this case, perhaps to break down the “vodka drinking, fur hat wearing” stereotype that many Americans have built up over the years. Don’t get me wrong, my understanding has shifted. I met some fantastic people, if only briefly and certainly not very deeply. I have begun to understand that there is much to this culture to appreciate, both in their history and their love of culture and the arts.

Yet, sadly, I will leave this country with an image of Russia that still sees it as, at times, as a dirty, depressing, incredibly economically diverse country where the rich are RICH, and the poor are POOR. That stereotypical “vodka drinking” Russian has been replaced in my mind only be a stereotypical “beer drinking, heavy smoking” Russian. As I wrote several times in this blog, alcohol is a huge contributing factor in the daily life of these people. I don’t know if it is the cause or the effect, but it certainly is a factor. And again, it isn’t everyone - in two long days of site seeing with Dimitry and Igor in St. Petersburg neither ever drank a drop of alcohol. However, was happening all around us.

In every European country I have visited prior to this trip, I have had the thought to myself, I would love to come back here again some day. In fact, in almost all cases I have thought about what it would be like moving there and living for a while - perhaps a guest faculty member for a semester. Sadly, I have very mixed feelings regarding these issues and Russia. I have loved so many aspects of my trip here and the people I have met. Part of me really hopes to come back again some day, in particular to share my experiences with my favorite travel partner, my wife Amy. But other parts of me aren’t sure I would spend my vacation money here let alone several weeks as a visiting faculty member with an adopted culture.

I have to say, as I have been writing this blog, I have wondered several times if I should hit delete and keep these views to myself. While this is being read mostly by my family and friends who know me well enough to understand that this is simply my observations and opinions, what damage am I doing to someone who doesn’t know me and stumbles upon this blog? Even among those who know me well, do I do the world a disservice by perpetuating perhaps unfair and inaccurate stereotypes? As I wrote in an earlier post, what “wrong” image of the United States would a traveler from Russia make while traveling much the way I have been doing?

Rick Steves (an American writer and public television producer regarding travel in Europe) wrote in one of his books “Moscow lacks the inherent beauty of St. Petersburg, but visitors here will feel as though they are in a place where things are happening furiously. Some days Moscow will leave you mentally and physically exhausted, wondering … when the plane is leaving. Other days, though, you almost like it.”

That pretty well sums it up for me. I think I am happy that my plane leaves tomorrow. But I also think that someday I will actually miss it here and think about coming back.

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Comments

[Egor]

Thanks
Nice blog. Yours opinion was very interesting for me. Thanks.

[kristen]

reality is reality - truth is subjective
Ben, as a student of Russian language and culture 20 years ago I travelled to Russia with the intellectual/academic intent to find out the "truth" about Russia and its people and to teach my people that Reagan and all our stereotypes were wrong. It is so important to reflect on the context as a whole (like you do) and on the condition that our perception (stereotyping) is shaped by our own culture, i.e. our own values. What I learned are a few valuable lessons in ethics: ideology, like power, is ethically neutral - how you use them is either evil or benevolent. Life is Russia has been marked by self-serving leadership for nearly a century. People who become the victims of evil have three choices: stay a victim, become a perpetrator, or change their attitudes. When in Moscow, I was often approached by "simple folk" with the question: "What do you want here? You have everything and we have nothing. Why don't you go home?" It made me feel like a perpetrator - as if I was responsible for their suffering. Anyway, no need to apologize for your observations. Few would want to live somewhere where the majority has not internalized the same values that one holds. To be sure, there are many many simple Russian folk who have learned to lead their lives according to certain (universal) values. You find them more easily outside of St. Petersburg and Moscow. These Russians place great value on treating guests with overwhelming hospitality.