Welcome back to Part Two of the Yellow River Chronicles' visit to seven-time zones: Moscow, the Trans-Siberian Express and Beijing!
A Staff Historical Anecdote: We at YRC recently visited the western bookend of the Communist Nation's Capitals, Moscow. We did this for three particular reasons:
Reason the First: You may not know, but as a young YRC staff members in training we had frequent contact with Russians.
Well, Soviets, really.
Truth! In September of 1962, part of the staff moved to West Berlin. The Russians, anxious about our arrival, built the Berlin Wall between East and West Germany in August of 1962.
This meant we had to share Berlin with the French, the British, the West Berliners, the East Berliners and of course, the Russians. At the time, they weren't known as the Russians, they were known as the Soviets. The Soviets would cross the Wall into West Germany at Checkpoint Charlie, eat in the restaurants, go to the shows and stop to check if it was a good time to invade West Berlin and start WW3. Luckily, they said, "Nah....maybe later" or the Russian equivalent.
Reason the Second: We were delighted to get to the musty Sheremetye airport in Moscow because it meant we could hurl ourselves OFF of the Aeroflot Flight 528 from Shanghai.
In our haste to leave that accursed plane and its accursed staff and accursed seats, we accursed Aeroflot with energy and rage. We ran down the exit ramp, shaking our fists and hurling curses of "May Rabid Dogs Drag Your Rotten Bones Through the Trailer parks of Hell" or "May Lenin Rise from the Dead to Haunt You with Proletariat Feriocity".
It was also at the Moscow airport that we encountered the first of the Moscow Zombie cab drivers. We do not mean to offend, but we actually did encounter many Zombies during our visit. Zombie subway riders, Zombie ticket sellers, Zombie restaurant staff and Zombie store attendants. Either that, or facial expressions are banned in Moscow. We tended to go with the Zombie idea...it made more sense.
(Background: Here's the link to the World's Rudest Cities article where Moscow came in number two. They are very close to edging out Mumbai : Moscow Second Rudest City in World )
Reason the Third: Yes, Moscow is ancient with a long and important history. Yes, it is the largest northern city with nearly 11MM residents. Yes, it features artists, poets, philosophers, literary geniuses and the rise and fall of empires. But in the highly impressionable minds of the YRC staff, Moscow was always the coolest city in the world.
Why? You had Bond. You had the KGB. You had mystery....adventure and the only way you were going to get there was with a M-16 in your hand.
Or, you could take the subway! Moscow has
So put that in your samovar and smoke it! While the YRC would not classify Moscow as "tourist friendly" or even "tourist indifferent", there is and area of town where you can stock up on matryoska dolls and literary history. It is called the Arbat.
As Moscow's oldest street, the Arbat has been settled by the aristocracy, invaded by Napoleon, resettled in succession by the intelligensia, the artist community, and then USSR high-ranking officials. It is now is a pleasant pedestrian area with some excellent architectural details.
Unfortunately, similar to the destruction of temples during the Cultural Revolution in Beijing, Stalin used cultural change as a way to erase many churches and other "unsuitable for the proletariat" buildings but the Arbat retains its "old city" flavor. And, you will be interested to know that the Orthodox faith is seeing a strong resurgence in Moscow as many churches are now being rebuilt and returned to religious use.
No trip to Moscow would be complete without a run to Red Square, the center of the city since the 13th century. Red Square seems to stretch to the horizon line when you first enter and one can sense the history as you enter. And it is this sense of history that seems to permeate the Russian culture.
The average Russian citizen has many reasons to be glum. History has not served Mother Russia well. In fact, the 20th century was disastrous for Russia. First, there was World War I which cost 2 million lives. Then, the overthrowing of the Tzars in the 1917 Revolution and the following Russian Civil War which cost 7 million lives. Right after that was World War II which cost 26 million lives. Then Stalin purged 20 million of his own people. Then the rise and fall of communism and the sudden shift from Socialist Republic to despotic kleptocracy under the Putin KGB-derived regime. And, they have to fly Aeroflot all the time. Hand me the vodka, dorogaya!
Thanks for tuning in for the second of the Tale of Two Squares or Throw Lenin from the Train. Next week....Life on the Train! What do you actually do on a train for seven days? Come back next week and find out, here at the Yellow River Chronicles, your friends on the Other Side of the World.
Any idiot can face a crisis, it is this day-to-day living that wears you out.
Anton Chekhov
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| Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
Reason the First: You may not know, but as a young YRC staff members in training we had frequent contact with Russians.
Well, Soviets, really.
Truth! In September of 1962, part of the staff moved to West Berlin. The Russians, anxious about our arrival, built the Berlin Wall between East and West Germany in August of 1962.
This meant we had to share Berlin with the French, the British, the West Berliners, the East Berliners and of course, the Russians. At the time, they weren't known as the Russians, they were known as the Soviets. The Soviets would cross the Wall into West Germany at Checkpoint Charlie, eat in the restaurants, go to the shows and stop to check if it was a good time to invade West Berlin and start WW3. Luckily, they said, "Nah....maybe later" or the Russian equivalent.
 |
| Red Square, Kremlin, and Lenin's Refrigerator |
In our haste to leave that accursed plane and its accursed staff and accursed seats, we accursed Aeroflot with energy and rage. We ran down the exit ramp, shaking our fists and hurling curses of "May Rabid Dogs Drag Your Rotten Bones Through the Trailer parks of Hell" or "May Lenin Rise from the Dead to Haunt You with Proletariat Feriocity".
It was also at the Moscow airport that we encountered the first of the Moscow Zombie cab drivers. We do not mean to offend, but we actually did encounter many Zombies during our visit. Zombie subway riders, Zombie ticket sellers, Zombie restaurant staff and Zombie store attendants. Either that, or facial expressions are banned in Moscow. We tended to go with the Zombie idea...it made more sense.
(Background: Here's the link to the World's Rudest Cities article where Moscow came in number two. They are very close to edging out Mumbai : Moscow Second Rudest City in World )
Reason the Third: Yes, Moscow is ancient with a long and important history. Yes, it is the largest northern city with nearly 11MM residents. Yes, it features artists, poets, philosophers, literary geniuses and the rise and fall of empires. But in the highly impressionable minds of the YRC staff, Moscow was always the coolest city in the world.Why? You had Bond. You had the KGB. You had mystery....adventure and the only way you were going to get there was with a M-16 in your hand.
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| Busy but elegant, the Moscow subway station |
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| Yes, Comrade, there are chandeliers |
an extensive and ornate subway system that is the second busiest in the world (after Tokyo).
According to Wikipedia: The Moscow Metro was one of the USSR’s most extravagant productions. Stalin directly ordered the metro’s artists and architects to design a structure that embodied svet (radiance or brilliance) and svetloe budushchee (radiant future).[15] With the use of reflective marble walls, high ceilings, and grandiose chandeliers many of the Moscow Metro stations are so resplendent that they are reminiscent of an “artificial underground sun”.[16] This underground communist paradise.[17] served as a constant reminder to passengers that Stalin and his party had delivered something awesome to the people in return for their sacrifices. Most importantly proletariat labor produced this svetloe budushchee.
So put that in your samovar and smoke it! While the YRC would not classify Moscow as "tourist friendly" or even "tourist indifferent", there is and area of town where you can stock up on matryoska dolls and literary history. It is called the Arbat.
 |
| We're BAAAACCCKKKK!!! |
Unfortunately, similar to the destruction of temples during the Cultural Revolution in Beijing, Stalin used cultural change as a way to erase many churches and other "unsuitable for the proletariat" buildings but the Arbat retains its "old city" flavor. And, you will be interested to know that the Orthodox faith is seeing a strong resurgence in Moscow as many churches are now being rebuilt and returned to religious use.
No trip to Moscow would be complete without a run to Red Square, the center of the city since the 13th century. Red Square seems to stretch to the horizon line when you first enter and one can sense the history as you enter. And it is this sense of history that seems to permeate the Russian culture.
The average Russian citizen has many reasons to be glum. History has not served Mother Russia well. In fact, the 20th century was disastrous for Russia. First, there was World War I which cost 2 million lives. Then, the overthrowing of the Tzars in the 1917 Revolution and the following Russian Civil War which cost 7 million lives. Right after that was World War II which cost 26 million lives. Then Stalin purged 20 million of his own people. Then the rise and fall of communism and the sudden shift from Socialist Republic to despotic kleptocracy under the Putin KGB-derived regime. And, they have to fly Aeroflot all the time. Hand me the vodka, dorogaya!
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| Captain Ivan Danko on duty at Red Square |
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