The Thaw

The new background on my blog is titled Оттепель by Фёдор Васильев (The Thaw by Fyodor Vasilyev). I saw this painting at the Tretyakov Museum on a recent visit, and it looks just like Russia in the spring, and it feels like Russia for me right now. I've posted fun things that I enjoy about the country, and I really do love living here, but Russia is no 24 hour carnival. Russians like to say that spring starts on the first of March, even though it still very much feels like winter. Though, spring is never really attractive at first. It's muddy, ugly, and cold...

Yesterday I went to the ice rink at Gorky Park, the largest ice rink in Europe, and saw something that turned my stomach and my conscience. A man had died somehow at the rink, and had been placed on a bench by the police. At first, this wasn't such a shocking sight...people die, and in big cities, you're bound to see this happen (I have seen it quite a bit in the past). I don't find death repulsive in and of itself, but the reactions of passers-by is disenchanting. The man, who was in his forties, looked fairly well-to-do, and was obviously just out for an evening skate. He was well dressed, salt and pepper hair, and had a bit of scruff on his face that was just graying at the tips. What perplexed me about this sight then? It is that no one, not even one person, stopped to gawk at this scene.

We stayed at the rink for about 2 1/2 hours, and the only progress that was made in moving him from the scene was placing a tarp over his freezing, pale body. And skaters, seemingly unaffected, continued to have a great date night, night with the kids, or whatever else they were initially doing. I've always found it disagreeable for people to stand around an accident scene guessing at what might have happened, but when I see the opposite, it's equally grievous. Call it vanity, but a large part of me would like someone to notice if I were to die. Something inside me wants society to notice when I'm gone, it wants to believe that my existence, or the lack thereof, makes a difference. What, then, is better, people who stop and stare at an accident like it's some kind of entertainment, or for an accident to be completely ignored? Don't take this as a cry for help from me, but more as as a representation of a thaw. When the cold winter starts to warm, it reveals the filth beneath, causing one to reconsider what's really important. Summer does come though, eventually...and I've always loved the more green seasons.

I guess my point is come visit Moscow.

Guest Author: An update on Russian politics and little botoxed men-anonymous Russian voice

This post in no way reflects the views of any organization, just the thoughts of the author.

1. Developments of the past few months:
this section will be called "Civil society on Moscow's streets and in Moscow's bars."

The past few months saw a huge rise in numbers of protesters and frequency of protests. They were all peaceful and hopeful and smiley. People came out with even more nerdy slogans and the city even allowed a march which ended in a rally in downtown Moscow. The turnout of the march and rally was astonishing, especially given it was -20 degrees celsius outside. People were dressed like bears! Everyone was red-nosed and hopping up and down to keep warm. This was a musical rally with lots of dancing and walking and moving, lots of white ribbons (the symbol of the opposition), lots of politeness and friendliness and people chanting to literally make their voices heard in a cold and wintery Moscow. The opposition at all these protests since December marched side by side, acknowledging differences amongst themselves but also peacefully standing together with a mutual understanding that there are universal things we can all fight against, like corruption, lack of transparency, unfair elections, a non-legitimate Duma, and an entirely unfree pre-election campaign which did not allow the registration of many candidates, just like the registration of many parties was blocked preceding the Duma elections in December.

Starving Estonians

hüljes rasv

My trip to Estonia was truly eventful. I came back with a host of new friends, scores of inside jokes that no one now gets (nurrrr, political science is like my failing marriage because x, "you know what this is?" "Jenga?" "You're f@*%ing right it's Jenga, only blown up!" just to name a few), and a whole lot of love (name that vague tv reference). Thanks to all the participants (none of whom read this blog) that I stole photos from.

Outdoor:
I made that hole, then jumped in it several times


The lodge


Skiing



The always lovely Olya and Liza at the top of the tower


CLASS
Group Project


Good friends made in Estonia


Tartu

Tartu: half of a library

Alternate hot and cold...

Estonia left me feeling restored. The bite of the cold mixed with the warm of the sun on my face as I skied through Estonia's forests in Kääriku. I get silly thoughts about how it's good to know that I can still feel both, and how I can feel them at the same time.

I love to muse about this duality expressed in life as well. This is strangely how the entire Estonian school felt to me. I would be sitting in the most enthralling lectures on sovereignty, nation-state, memory, identity, or a host of other topics when I would stop and think to myself, "this is complete garbage." After a few minutes of bitterly thinking about the program, someone would make a comment that sparked my interest again, throwing me into a whirlwind of theoretical political science.

The sauna was a definite highlight of the trip. Eastern Europeans have an absolutely splendid tradition of going to these hot saunas, then dipping in cold water. The sauna at our ski retreat was possibly the most picturesque sight I've ever seen. Picture a quaint cabin on a lake surrounded by forest, with a chimney poring smoke into the clearest sky I've seen in months, with a hole in the lake acting as the cool water part of the ritual. I got to be the lucky participant who hacked a hole in the ice (which, of course, I did almost completely naked). The feeling of an overheated body dipping into a tiny, dark, icy hole is inexplicable. The real rush is when you run back into the sauna and feel your lungs and skin throb as your body fights for equilibrium that doesn't exist.

There will most likely be pictures, and a better explanation of the trip itself to come. I just wanted to get some of my weird ideas down before they weren't here anymore.