Impressions of Kiev while in Kiev.

St. Sophia: A light snow was falling on St. Sophia's in Kiev. It was the kind of snow that slowly drifts to the ground, and immediately melts on hitting. There was an old man sweeping the sidewalk, and a temple worker outside on a smoking break, but besides us three the yard was empty. I sat there staring at the cupolas jutting into the skyline in awe at the historical turmoil of this building. Patterned after Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, it was originally one of the most important cathedrals in all of Ukraine. However, communist leaders later turned the church into a museum, and Nazis raided the building destroying much of its former beauty. After communism fell, several denominations laid claim to the cathedral so no one is allowed to worship there anymore.

Babyn Yar: I left the metro stop, not knowing exactly where to go. I had heard of a ravine in Kiev where over 30,000 Jews were murdered in 2 days, and over 100,000 people over the space of a few years during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, but I had no idea how to find it. It was just getting dark, and just my luck, Babyn Yar is a forest park. I wandered around in this park looking for what might be the ravine for about half an hour with no luck. Finally, I stepped off the beaten path and randomly found a small statue of a menorah with the inscription "голос кровi брата твого волнає до мене з землi" (the voice of the blood of your brother cries out to me from the earth). Beyond the menorah, a ravine opened up, almost out of nowhere. The snow that couldn't stick earlier in the day now was frozen under my feet, and the ground crackled when I shifted my weight. The inscription was appropriate here. Later I found out that the main site for Babyn Yar was farther away, but I liked what I found better.

Different

If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin. - Ivan Turgenev

I'm sure you've all been following the exciting events in Russia. The leading party, United Russia, has been accused of fixing the elections. Scandal, intrigue, violence...ok, not so much violence, but the other two carry it pretty far, right? Truly, this is a great time to be in Moscow. Life isn't simply standing still for very many people here. While this holds true more in Moscow than most places, it's especially true now. Instead of asking about the weather, people talk about politics. Instead of going home, people go to the center of Moscow and demonstrate discontent with the current political regime.

I went to the largest of these demonstrations, and it was pretty interesting (at least for a little while). Most of the time was spent chanting fun little phrases like "Россия без Путина (Russia without Putin)", "Путин вор (Putin's a thief)", "Если мы едины, мы не победимы (If we're united, we're unconquerable)(I thought this one was a terrible one, because the party in question's name is 'United Russia')", and "Громче (louder)(this one was because no one could hear the speakers at all)".

This was a really interesting event because we were all able to see how a nation can make their voice heard despite the fact that people don't listen to the votes. Many of you know that I haven't been the most active voter, but these events have made me further question not only the legitimacy of voting, but also question what citizenship means. What it means to be a part of a whole. I haven't come to any conclusions, but it's fun to start.

And now the interesting part, pictures! Thanks Shine!

We Saved Thanksgiving

This year I wasn't sure what would be of the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving. It's one of those holidays that you really ought to either spend with great people, or people that you're forced to like. Several of the Americans in my group expressed similar concerns about the upcoming holiday, so something had to be done. We decided that if the stars were to align just right, we could find the jade monkey before the next full moon, and possibly even cook a Thanksgiving meal in Russia. I realized that my entire life had led up to this one moment, voices from my past whispered to me, "you know this Bryce, remember your training". . .could Thanksgiving truly be saved?

Weeks passed, and as Thanksgiving neared, we all grew tense. Several key ingredients were yet to be found including a turkey, pumpkin pie filling, cranberries, and various spices. We were all about to give up when the ghosts of Thanksgivings Past, Present, and Future visited each of us. We had to do it, if not for America, then for those poor ghosts.

I woke up at 7.00 that morning, my time had come. I put the turkey in the brine, and headed off for Kerry's to leave it there during class. While on the metro, the bag spilled, and I was covered in turkey juice, looking like a drunk woman I had recently seen on the very same metro. The juice dried, and I smelled super "festive" for the rest of the day. After class, I went to Kerry's to actually cook the turkey, when I realized that I had left all my recipes at home. "Bryce, you've switched off your targeting computer, what's wrong?" That's right, I used the force to remember the recipes, and we cooked like maniacs for 4 straight hours. You know what? it turned out to be an incredible meal, and we pulled it all together. Do you like how I built that story up and then just said it in a few words?

The Whole Gang

You can tell that I just wanted it more

The food turned out incredible. . .we did it!

Homey Kerry?

Yulia, Helen, Gorgeous, Wes

How Bazaar

I have been in Moscow for a little over two months now. I was walking around an outdoor bazaar a few days ago looking for a warmer hat. As I walked through the rows of vendors, it hit me that this used to amaze me. The bazaar suddenly took on a new light as I remembered the things that were once so foreign to me--the coats that look like carpets, the haggling vendors, the rows upon rows of underwear (why the Russians need so much underwear, I'll never know), the stands filled with every food you can think of in pickled form . . . something that I see every day here suddenly became fun again. I just walked around the bazaar for about half an hour, even though they didn't have the hat I wanted. After that, I had to go home and thaw my face for a while (that's why I needed a warmer hat), but it was still worth the trip.

I think it will be important for me to keep in mind that things like this can be interesting, and I came here to experience them. It would be incredibly easy to just sit in my apartment all day, and not go out to experience the Russian way of life. My program has been constructed to allow that.

I think I'm growing accustomed to life here. After only a short time, I am seeing changes in my mannerisms, the way I communicate, and the items that appeal to me at a store. Who knows, maybe soon I'll even go so far as to get a mullet like my friend Dima Bilan.

Kazan, Ulyanovsk, and company

Well, as promised, I have uploaded some photos of the trip.

This is the pension building in Kazan. Ironically, it's one of the nicest buildings in town...I wonder why Russia is having serious issues with pension funds?

Kazan has lots of really interesting architecture...this one is an example of a home with only one wall.

This is the main tower of the Kremlin in Kazan, and a cool statue of a man whose name escapes me.

A beautiful view of Kazan from the Kremlin hill. I'm pointing at what became the next picture.

This is the Kul-Sharif Mosque in Kazan, interestingly situated on the grounds of the Kremlin with several Russian Orthodox temples immediately next to it.

Wes and I on a bus...we have fun, but we also get serious sometimes.

The house Lenin grew up in (Ulyanovsk).

Lenin's museum.

Again, Lenin's museum.

Men playing chess in the freezing weather...I think one of the strategies was to take a long turn so the other person freezes to death in the process.

The beautiful sunset in Ulyanovsk.

It was really, really cold.

SHINE!

Snakes on a Train

I just returned from a trip to Kazan' and Ulyanovsk, two cities on the Volga River in central Russia. They contain high levels of the Tatar people, which gives the area an interesting twist. Photos and further reports about the trip will be given in later posts...

Kazan' is about a 15 hour train ride from Moscow, but a few friends and I decided to take a weekend to explore the area despite the long ride. We rode on the плацкарт (platzkart), which is a train car consisting of beds set up that you sit/sleep in. Trains offer a surprisingly high level of comfort-with beds instead of seats, available snacks, and some really sweet toilets (don't ask). I was on the top bunk for this trip, and spent most of my time hanging out up there reading, watching movies on my computer, and looking out the window at the landscape of Russia's heartland. I should say that a large reason I took this trip was to get a good view of the real Russia, not just the capital.

As night came on, I found myself looking up to the sky as we slowly crept along the steppe. The Moscow sky constantly hides the stars from the Muscovites (in answer to Ryan's question on a previous post, no I never see the stars). This night was cloudy as well, but just as the train was rocking me to sleep, I saw a single star poking through the clouds. The effect of tiny star on my mood shocked me. I snapped wide awake, searching for other stars to fill in the blank spots on the sky. As the train moved forward, more and more stars began to pierce through the clouds until the entire sky was completely filled with a surprising pallet of stars. My face came close to pressing against the frost bitten glass of the train window as I looked at the incredible scene.

Eventually the sky was hidden again by the surrounding trees, and cloud cover-but this one brief moment impressed me in some quite personal ways. I love living in the Moscow megopolis so far, and honestly really I wouldn't mind staying. However, there are definitely things I miss about the impressive natural arena that I grew up around.

Goodbye, My Friend Scene - Harry and the Hendersons Movie (1987) - HD

Postmodernity in a Premodern World

One of my classes here at the Academy (I love calling it that) studies modernity and postmodernity, especially as it applies to Russia. Up until my stay in Moscow, I have taken any notions of modernity and postmodernity as garbage, but lately I've really been into these ideas. So far I've really been intrigued by Giddens' ideas about heightened modernity, and an exacerbation of the forces that shaped the 20th century. For example, we have increased the amount of trust we place in scientific ideas, despite the fact that these ideas are always changing and are built on a sandy foundation. A simple example that I like is that of money. Money has had a simple evolution through modernity--from coinage and bills backed by gold, to the same without a gold background, to numbers in a computer representing those coins and bills, to future expectations of numbers in a computer (debt). This evolution requires that members of society trust that money will be accepted when a good or service is demanded. With the abstraction of money comes a higher level of required trust in that money.

I love thinking of the implications of this on people. In my simple example, I feel that peoples' ideas of spending have really changed quite a bit. It's also interesting to see an application of this idea in Russia--a nation that is really floundering to catch up to the western world. Continuing on money, I can see Russia moving from a cash centered exchange system to digital. They don't really use cards everywhere yet, but ATMs are as frequent as fish in a salmon run. Similarly, crediting agencies are popping up everywhere here. One problem with this is that Russians don't have the traditions of credit instilled yet. For example, no one checks the interest rates before getting a loan, no one checks the terms at all in fact. They just get a loan. How evolved we've become in the US, where we are all so careful with our debt...right?

I have ranted for too long, and so I bid you adieu for now...I leave you the idea to turn over, or throw back as it pleases you. So get out of here...can't you see we don't want you anymore!?

Bureaucracy--Russia's Bread and Butter

After an entire day of travel, what's the one thing that you really want to hear? Well, here's what I heard, "You're not actually going to be studying International Management (the major I signed up for), but actually Change Management (a completely different major)." That was my first introduction to Russian bureaucracy...To get anything done takes leagues of effort, and to undo that act...well forget about it. Everything that really should be automated takes a stamp from ten different individuals on different sides of Moscow. Another example is to get the student discount on a metro pass has taken me probably 6 stops at a completely random station across town, 3 signatures, and a month and counting of waiting time. Keep in mind, this is just for a single discount. We've actually talked about this very problem in some of my classes. Communism began a wonderful tradition of creating jobs just for the sake of creating a job. This leads to the creation of several layers of completely useless bureaucracy.

That being said, my Academy is one of the better ones in all of Russia. It has a great campus, and there's an entire office of people fighting on my side to make this easier. Today I had a meeting to decide on a way to help me learn Russian better. I now get to audit some economics classes that are taught in Russian, and have a personal tutor for an hour a week...all on Mother Russia's tab of course.

Here are a few pictures of my Academy...it's definitely the nicest campus I've ever seen in Russia. The purple sky happens when it's cloudy because there's a giant Gazprom (one of the largest oil companies) sign that lights up the sky.

A stroll with дядя Stalin

I recently took a stroll along the Moskva through Gorky Park (go ahead and sing the Scorpion's song if you need to). Autumn is definitely my favorite season -despite the fact that it's a sign of the impending death of winter- and Moscow has surprisingly not disappointed, since it was a forest 1000 years ago.

My favorite part of the walk (they do that here, just walk) was actually right across the street from Gorky at the Park of the Arts. It is full of Soviet statues that have no other home. I was pretty impressed with some of the arrangements. For example, one display has a large statue of Stalin looking into the distance, but in the background there are a bunch of heads trapped in cages...from a different angle, Lenin is looking on the scene. Another statue has a Russian man pointing the way to the future for an African, and a Chinese man.

I have found myself enjoying art more and more while I've been in Moscow. I went to a museum with my class to discuss modernity as it is expressed in art--in other words, I didn't expect to see anything good. However, I explored the permanent exhibit while I was there, and happened upon a room full of Monet. I really can't describe the feeling I had...I never expected to be completely overwhelmed by a piece of art, but it happened. True life. The museum had paintings from just about every famous artist I've ever heard of, including my favorite artist--Cezanne. Seeing Cezanne's Bridge Over the Marne nearly brought me to tears...but since I'm super tough and manly, naturally it didn't.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the parks:

Special Thanks to Pawel for the pictures...