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Travel notes from Russia
Surprise as one discovers that numerous palaces dating back to the czars have been perfectly kept up by the Soviets and even restored as is the case of the Peterhof palace, located near St Petersburg in a zone occupied by the Germans and totally destroyed by the later; this holds true for churches and monasteries, numerous in Russia.
Difficult to get around by oneself: signs are only in Cyrillic (hard to read the name of a metro station); no indications in Latin characters; people speak little English. Conversely, one sees no poverty on the streets: beggars, homeless…. Are they hidden or taken care of? Complete freedom of movement; very little police presence.
Metro: originality of the Moscow metro, a real work of art: numerous frescos to the glory of the Soviet workers or soldiers during the last war rather fast, the metro stops are far apart (somewhat like the Parisian RER).
Arbatskaia: main street of the old town (pedestrian), in the end rather a deception as it has become trendy and touristy all in all a street that has nothing very Russian about it! (there’s even a Hard Rock Café). More information on Moscow, in particular on the Kremlin:
St Petersburg
The museums of St Petersburg, with firstly the Ermitage are of major interest for their presentation of Russian art as well as for the presence of major art work from the world over and in particular from France. President Poutine’s "favourable inclinations" towards St Petersburg as he is originally from the city, are to St Petersburg’s advantage; what’s more, the city benefited from huge budgets lavished on it for the organisation of the last G8 (July 2006).
The population is declining: a population of 145 million: each year Russia loses 700.000 inhabitants…!! Limited life expectancy for men: 57 years; it has declined by 10 years since the perestroika. Difficult to explain why: the stress in their professional activity resulting from a more precarious way of life (new for the Russians) generated by the economic revolution, has been invoked as an explanation; However, alcohol is not a new phenomena: one can see young people and even couples strolling with a bottle of beer in their hands. Disparity in men/women; one sees numerous, often very elegant and even sexy young women in the streets (mini-skirts, high heels); in western Europe, we’re no longer used to seeing this; Russian men, however, don’t even seem to notice… one gets used to everything! Is it simply a time lag in development with western Europe or is it another way of living found also in other Eastern European countries (Hungary, the Czech Republic)? Collective housing is still in existence: each family has a personal room at its disposal, but the kitchen, bathroom and toilet are shared by several families. The system has continued, in particular for retired people who don’t have the means to rent an apartment… real-estate being now very expensive in city centres. Russia is now a country with a strong economic growth-rate: close to 7% (China 9.5%) Moscow in particular: the strongest growth rate in the world (after Shanghai’s). Little unemployment, but low salaries and important black market labour: strong immigration of workers seeking day to day labour. Strong disparity between the big cities (Moscow, St Petersburg) on the one hand and smaller cities and the countryside where things have not changed much; investments are concentrated on the bigger cities, the real showcases of Russia. The G8 was the occasion for huge efforts for St Petersburg; some 400 million dollars were spent around the organisation of the event. At first sight, presence of a middle class of relative importance (numerous small cars in Moscow, hypermarkets ) Ultra liberal country: money permits everything; one has the feeling that the country is almost without ‘rule of law’ with strong corruption prevailing.
A sizeable amount of these enormous sums of money have left Russia, seeking refuge in fiscal havens or, simply, they have been invested in Wall Street to avoid being seized for money acquired by doubtful means to say the least. What’s more, some of these oligarchs, having huge sums of money, have tried to play a determining role in the political game so as to impose their own political candidates. Poutine has managed to free himself from the influence of the oligarchs; there is now a violent stand-off between these men and the President; it started with the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, president of Youkos, the petroleum conglomerate; for all the others, the escalade in violence should continue… Russia, needing enormous capital to finance its development, cannot let itself be deprived with impunity of such sums of money! Thus, after wild privatisations during Eltsines’ time, we are seeing a progressive re-nationalisation of big groups. Meanwhile, these oligarchs are living high in the most expensive and chic places of the world (Monaco, Courchevel). For more info on the subject:
Parallel to this, one notes the new fad of religious marriages (very trendy), even if the ritual is not understood (no catechism): but then marriage is also one of the keys to obtaining an apartment at a reasonable price.
The vast cultural past of this country is well presented by exceptional museums:
Also in Moscow, the Palace of the Armours presents original pieces the likes of coaches, thrones, diamond studded evangels and of course the famous Fabergé eggs as well as all the gifts given to the czars by different ambassadors… it truly really deserves your visit.
However, beware: make sure you have enough time to visit this museum without having to whisk through it and come back frustrated for having missed the essential!! Yes, it’s true, this museum in itself fully justifies a visit to St Petersburg… and then there are all the others !! For more:
With some imagination, the atmosphere of the "Orient Express" comes to mind: comfortable but old coaches: 4 berths in each car and all you need for breakfast (especially pork meat!); for making coffee or tea, hot water is available in the samovar installed at the end of the car and watched by a railway employee very “50s” in style. For more general information on Russia, 3 sites in French: |
Arriving either in Moscow or St Petersburg, one is somewhat surprised to discover perfectly modern cities: large highways, construction sites everywhere (numerous constructions underway). Intense car traffic: numerous traffic jams. Weekend phenomena: the cities empty out on Fridays: everyone’s off to the countryside (visiting family or to ones’ datcha/isba).
One of the biggest cities in the world: nearly 15 million inhabitants Very spread out city: large avenues, numerous gardens and parks Numerous means of transport (metro, tram, bus) Strong increase in the number of automobiles: in the last 8 years, the number of cars in Moscow has risen from 320.000 to 3.500.000…!
7 sky-scrappers were built during Staline’s time: the famous ‘Stalinian Gothic’of the 50’s; these enormous buildings, typical of Moscow, continue to dominate the city, housing state ministries, simple private apartments, or very big hotels (Ukraine: 1600 rooms). 
2nd city of Russia (formerly Leningrad) and capital of Russia during the czarist era. Justifiably called the Venice of the North It is a magnificent city with an astounding density
of palaces and churches each more beautiful than the other. 
A proud and courageous people who assume all of their history, that of the czar era as well as of the Soviet. 
Young Russians, often having the advantage of coming from families of the former Soviet "nomenklatura", who succeeded, after the collapse of the Soviet system, in acquiring huge public properties for ridiculously small sums of money thanks to their total domination of political power during that period (Eltsine); they thus built colossal fortunes thanks to the climate of extreme violence and corruption then reigning and most often pressured by major Western nations who wished to encourage Elstine towards quick privatisation! 
New and general infatuation for religion (Orthodox). The phenomena is general and includes former "apparatchiks" of the communist party despite their complete atheism during the soviet era: chapels have even been installed close to each ministry in order to facilitate the religious devotion of state servants… Pilgrimages to monasteries are in strong demand.
This trend has ignited a new debate on the "opportunity" of reinstating religious classes in school: should the state remain non-religious or should it have a role in teaching religion or only the Orthodox faith ? 
On the day of the wedding, it is a ritual in Russia:
the newly weds and their families must go to the most frequented places in their city with flowers, balloons… and a Russian champagne to celebrate the event; ideally, one should be in a huge limousine, American style! 
Generally, Russians are cultivated and particularly interested in the arts as a whole The opportunity of attending a concert of polyphonic music is very frequent: generally these concerts are of an exceptional quality and offer moments of great emotion: not to be missed!
There are also numerous spectacles, in particular those based on Russian folklore involving both dancing and singing: these are also of great quality. 
In
Moscow, the Tretiakov gallery is an obligatory passage towards the discovery of Russian painting; it holds in fact the most important collection of Russian art in the world. 
St Petersburg is pure wonder: not only are there numerous museums presenting exceptional collections, but these are installed in architecturally magnificent palaces, often constituting in themselves a page of Czarist Russian history.
In the end, the Moscow/St Petersburg train connection is an excellent solution. Night train: 600 km and 8 hrs of travel. No time lost, comfortable and interesting experience (another aspect of the Russia of today).