Parades, Parades and Parades

It has been exactly one month since I last posted an update. I apologize to all of you that were trying to avoid finals. These past four weeks have been nothing short of amazing yet hectic. At this point I'm not even sure where to begin describing what has happened.

Things have definitely become quieter in the past week since all my friends from the KEI program departed and arrived safely at their homes. So right now its only Bernadette and I left here in Moscow along with some non KEI students and more friends who keep arriving daily. But while things are now quieter, I think I'm still just as busy doing things. I've started trying to attend more concerts, ballets, operas, plays etc. I'm only in Moscow for a few more months and I want to be absolutely sure that I take complete advantage of having some of the worlds best cultural institutions while using my fantastic student discount. I recently saw 2 performances. One of which was a performance of Shostakovich's "Leningrad" Symphony which was written about and during the time of the Siege on Leningrad. If you don't know much about this tragedy it is definitely worth a google search. The performance was done by the Moscow Conservatory, which is one of the top music schools in the world, in honor of the Den Pobedy of Victory Day celebrations which took Moscow by storm.


Happy Victory Day!!


They covered the Mausoleum with this strange thing.

The next notable event would have to be May 1st. Never in my life had I felt like such a big part of history. There was an old style Communist Party rally/ parade that stretched from Oktyaberskaya to Ploschad Revolutsii (Metro stations "October and Revolution Square" which are about 2 miles apart if not more.) There were elderly men and women there holding up signs of their beloved Lenin and Stalin. It was such an experience to actually see these people in action but at the same time terrifying to realize what they were actually arguing for. The funny thing is, I thought this would be the first and last time I would ever witness a true Communist Rally in Russia...but like so many other times this year, I was wrong.


It's in situations like this that you suddenly realize that you're on the wrong side of the barrier.


Lenin in front of the Lenin Library


Stalin!


And you can't have a Communist Rally without your large banners!

The next more impressive parade was the famous May 9th Victory Day Parade which is done annually to commemorate the "Soviet Victory over the Fascist Germans". This city was decked out in new banners, signs, flowers, pictures with propoganda I have never seen in my life. It might be because I've never lived inside a huge city or national capital before, but this was incredible. They have signs here which are 5 stories high and say "Everything will be ok!" and show pictures of people in the military. Plus they started playing old Soviet war songs in the metro.

Well I did attend the parade, but I don't think words can do justice to how amazing it was, so here are some pictures.


The most impressive part in my opinion was the air force. Look at how they formed the numbers 65 in honor of 65 years of victory.


The last planes to go over shot out white, blue and red smoke which are the colors of the Russian flag.





And of course, excessively large missiles.

This was a truly spectacular day and I'm so happy that I was able to spend it in Russia with the Russian people.

Well I need to get some homework done, but since I have internet again in my room, I'll finish posting soon about the rest of May 9th!

All Russian Exhibition Center

So I've been wanting to blog about this place I went to a few weeks ago but just kept putting it off for various reasons like bombings, Petersburg, school. So I'm making myself do it now at 1am!

Built in the late 1930's, the purpose of the now called All Russian Exhibition Center was to be a permanent exhibition center in Moscow and that's exactly what it is. So that doesn't sound so exciting, but it really is just one huge collection of Soviet Propaganda. The complex consists of a few hundred buildings representing the various regions and industries of the Soviet Union. Also, this was a great chance for the Soviets to show off their architectural skills which is the best part.

I have affectionately nicknamed this the "Soviet Epcot" (like in Disney World where they have all the different countries).

First is the main gate leading into the park. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the collectivized farmers holding up their prized wheat! There is nothing like wholesome wheat to get the Soviets excited which is a common theme through out the former USSR states.





Next is the Pavilion to the Russian people.
It was nicely topped with a star and located behind a statue of our dear Lenin! It's a big building and represents the Soviet constructions at the time. Notice the similarities between it and my university (tower, statues, star...wheat).





Moving along, we find a large fountain (turned off of course) and some buildings representing Kyrgyzstan, Science and a camel...







Farther along we see my favorite of all the buildings. This is the pavilion to Ukraine. These pictures do not do justice to the intricate detail that was put into it. Nor does it show how much neglect there has been. But the tile work is amazing, if you zoom into the picture of the hammer and sickle on the Soviet emblem you can see just how amazing these tiles are. The whole building is like that. I hope that they decide to restore it before more damage is done!







Next are buildings that represent not only places but the industries that were so important and vital to the Soviet economy. For example, Space, Electricity and Beef.







Finally here are some pictures of some more impressive pavilions.






This is only a small sample of the buildings on the complex. Every one of them has something inside of it. Most of them are exhibitions where people are selling various products like honey or old military supplies. As you can tell, each building has its own feel and it is obvious that a lot of time and energy was put into this project. It's really sad to see so much of it falling apart though. It was walking through this park that I felt like I was transported to another place and time. It's very weird walking around an area that you know has barely changed in decades.

The last pavilion is new...kind of. As I posted about a few month back, there was a pavilion in the 1937 Expo in Paris where the Soviets won first place for their outstanding pavilion and statue. Well some 70 years later, the pavilion is being reconstructed. It's not quite finished yet but here it is so far!







Along with the center is a great park and a museum to space. Although I haven't been in the museum yet, the park causes me to have very high expectations. I think it's a Moscow tradition to do things big or not at all.





Other than the park from about 3 weeks ago, things here have been great. We went to two cities outside of Moscow called Suzdal and Vladimir. Both cities were small and had very rich histories. It was nice seeing some small cities and observing how other Russians live.
To answer Megan's question she left on my comments from last week, I'll be staying here to do language classes for 3-4 hours a day. Although it would be a blast just to live here and travel, I don't think I could convince anyone to let me do it!
Well that's all for this update. I think I have left enough pictures for everyone to go through for a few days.

-Justin

Petersburg and More!

Spring has sprung and Russia has awoken from a long winter slumber. As my friend said today "it went from -10 C to +10 C in a week". People are appearing out of no where, it's incredible. I went to a lookout point on top of a hill near the university which was empty on my first night and now it is packed with people, motorcycles, bicycles and roller blades. So much is happening so fast here that it's hard to update this blog in a timely fashion or even include everything that is worth talking about!

So I guess the first big news is that I finally got the permission and approval to stay in Russia and am currently having my visa extended until the 1st of August. People keep asking me at home why I want to stay here. I've only been here 2 months and I feel like I've only scratched the surface of my potential as far as understanding the language and the people. In just 2 months, my ability to read and comprehend what people are saying has increased dramatically, but still my speaking skills are not at the level I want. Second, is that since I'm taking so many classes here other than Russian, it is difficult for me to focus on it like I need. I'm taking 4 other classes in English and that ruins all chances for total immersion. When I stay this summer my focus will be completely language. Another big reason to stay is that I will be able to take the TORFL or Test of Russian as a Foreign Language. I will definitely be ready to pass the first level which would allow me to enroll in any university in Russia or work for any company. Also I will be well on my way to studying and taking the 2nd exam. The higher the level I achieve, the better jobs within our own government will become available to me. Just passing the 1st exam will put me at a great advantage when applying for a job at the State Department.

The last week has been chockablock with activities. Last weekend we took the overnight train to Saint Petersburg, and for those of you who have never taken a sleeper train, its quite an experience that everyone should have at least once. We left Moscow at 1am and arrived in Petersburg at 11am. From there we just grabbed some breakfast and went on our way! Our first stop was the Peterhoff Palace. This Romanov Palace is known for its amazing fountains but because of winter/tradition, they keep them off until the 1st of May. We some more walking around near Nevsky Prospect before I met up with my friend from A&M, Jeff Edwards. Jeff and I are both juniors and are studying International Studies and Russian. He decided to spend his study abroad in Petersburg. So he took myself and others from my group around Petersburg to some of the places he likes to hang out at night.

In and around the complex of Peterhoff.







I think my favorite part of just walking around was observing the differences between the people who live in Petersburg and those who live in Moscow. There was actually a pretty big difference. Moscow is a bigger city but people there are more similar as far as dress and attitude are concerned. Muscovites always wear there black leather shoes with blue jeans and a black leather jacket which is much more conservative than Petersburg where the people are much more western. We saw dread locks for the first time, multi colored clothing and the people just seemed younger.(Edit: I went to a park near the Kremlin and Khram Khrista Spassitelya after writing this and saw for the first time hippies in Moscow, I don't know what's happening but there were people dressed in neon colors, and as cats, pigs, pandas and santa) Also in Petersburg when we took a cab, the driving there was so calm. People actually stay in lanes. That being said, I like Moscow better. It's a bigger city, more to see, more to do. It has a longer history and architecturally it has more variation.



Jeff and I on Vassilyevsky Island looking over the Peter and Paul Fortress.


Church on Spilled Blood (The church was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated)


The Hermitage


The Bronze Horseman Statue of Peter the Great.


A bear I pet on the street!

Here are some pictures of Парк Победы (Park Pobyedy) or Victory Park. It was completed about 15 years ago for the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union taking control of Berlin, ending their part in WWII. At the base of the large column is St. George slaying the dragon. This is on the flag of Moscow and they adapted this symbol to depict Russians (good) destroying the Nazi dragon (bad). It was a pretty park and I expect the flowers to start blooming soon!





I actually laughed out loud when I saw this. There are just so many ironic things about a pipe that says "Russia, Made in China" printed in English. I think it really sums up our world quite well.


I've had the opportunity to attend a few cultural performances. Two weeks ago I went to the Moscow Conservatory and saw a choir performance. The students there put on performances almost daily, most of which are free. Then last Thursday I went to see "Novaya Russia" (New Russia) which is an orchestra conducted by the famous Yuri Bashmet. They played two Russian classical pieces, one new then one old. The first piece was called Violin Concerto No 4 by a composer named Schnittke (Шнитке). It was a very modern composition with much of the emotion that you would experience from Shostakovich. To perform the intense and at times violent violin solo was Latvian born Gidon Kremler. To balance this out and show the orchestras versatility the performed Tchaikovsky's (Чайковский) 5th Symphony. The 4th movement is a piece I played my senior year of high school in full orchestra. It was amazing having the opportunity to hear a professional group play a song that I knew so well. The performance took place in the main room of Moscow State. This room was completed after the building opened and was heavily influenced by Stalin himself. In the Fall of 2009, Hillary Clinton gave a speech to the students of MSU where she stood on this stage right under the hammer and sickle and in between large quotes by both Lenin and Marx. It's kind of surprising that the right wing didn't get a hold of these pictures and try another "see, she's a communist!" campaign. I would really like to thank my History teacher and Fulbright scholar, Professor Goodwin, for inviting me to attend this with her.



Well this week I have a lot of school stuff going on but I will post again soon. I really need to write about two amazing yet hilarious places I've attended. One I have nick named the "Soviet Epcot" and the place I went to today is the "Russian Disney World". I think people will really enjoy this so please check back soon!

-Justin

Finally, here are some final pictures of just random places around Moscow.


Another Bauman statue, this time in Bauman Park!


Good thing no one was around when I found this because I think I actually screamed. Only in Moscow do they think building over and around federally protected 19th century buildings counts as "preservation".


A really cool looking church near Pushkinskaya Square.


The beautiful Church of the Intercession in Fili built in the Moscow Baroque style