Back from the USSR
Apr. 30th, 2006 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sabotabby*waves*
I'm back. I'm still backlogged with life stuff and jetlagged, so I haven't been able to do any Livejournal, but I'm determined to start posting photos and journal entries. I've also started a Flickr account, Sabotabby in Russia, where I'll eventually upload all the photos I took.
[I met up with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
annaotto (Anya) in New York and we flew to Moscow. She brought Ambien with her, so all I remember from the flight was watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and passing out. Anya is awesome. Ambien is awesome.)
Sunday, April 16
Moscow
We met Dima, Anya's father, at the airport, and drove around to get an overview of the city.
Decided that Stalinist architecture gets a bad rap—it's really rather nice. Ate dinner at an insanely good restaurant and decided that I never needed to eat again. Anya's family [this included her sister, Tanya, and Dima's partner, Natasha] seemed somewhat amused at my (in)ability to handle vodka. Note to self: Stop getting excited every time you see a hammer and sickle—they are everywhere.
Note: I didn't write about the two surprises we got upon arriving in Moscow. The first was the existence of Natasha. At first Anya didn't know who she was, and then thought that she was possibly Dima's newest wife, but it turns out they're not married. I'm not sure. It was all a bit confusing.
The second surprise was that we had the apartment to ourselves. They own several properties in the city and were moving from one to another, so we had a ridiculously good living situation for the week.
Monday, April 17
The Mayakovsky Museum is the most amazing thing ever—all of his belongings mashed into a giant Constructivist sculpture that spans several floors.
The front of the museum.
The shopkeeper at the gift store had me pegged right away and tried to sell me Lenin and Stalin books, all of which were in Russian. Did pick up a 1938 edition of Mayakovsky's poetry even though I can't read it, just because it's so damned cool.
Mayakovksy is my long-dead Soviet boyfriend. If you've never read any of his poetry, now's your chance to do something about it.
From there, we went to Red Square and saw Kazan Cathedral, a 1993 reproduction of the 1636 church destroyed by Stalin, and the mindblowing Intercession Cathedral (better known as St. Basil's).
You know what this is.
Up close and personal.
Kazan Cathedral.
This is Lenin's Tomb, but more about that later.
![](https://static.flickr.com/56/137928880_e6ca894eef.jpg?v=0")
One of the Kremlin towers.
Red Square, with a nice view of the GUM. We went into the GUM but it's just a really boring mall with a lot of American stores.
We also went by the former KGB headquarters. It's now in use by the Federal Security Services (FSB) and looks so intimidating that we suspected that it's probably still used for the same sort of nastiness.
This is one of the less-terrifying views. Shortly after taking this, a uniformed gentleman came up to us and suggested that we should move along.
Our final stop of the day was Patriarch's Ponds—unremarkable enough in appearance, but worth seeing because that's where the beginning of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita is set.
Woland did not make an appearance.
I don't have a picture of it, but there's a playground in the park. Creepy.
Overlooking the park is a weird-looking building that seems to have a small replica of the Monument to the Third International mounted on the roof. No idea why.
Now that I'm looking at it, it doesn't exactly look like the Monument to the Third International. But close enough.
We are staying right downtown near Belorusskaya Station. The area itself is kind of strange. The nearest large street could be any major street in North America, with high-end Western chain stores and such. There are billboards everywhere, and people who serve as human billboards. It seems like everyone is trying to sell you something. Near Red Square, we even saw a babushka selling puppies and kittens, which was horribly sad.
It's also the first place I've ever been completely illiterate; I can't figure out Cyrillic for the life of me. It makes everything—even the ads—look much cooler, but I'm hopelessly dependent on Anya's translation skills. I'm envious of the days of Mayakovsky's ROSTA posters when you didn't need to read to figure out what was going on.
Note: I got better at understanding the Cyrillic alphabet the longer I was in Russia. Last night I had a nightmare about it, though.
I'm back. I'm still backlogged with life stuff and jetlagged, so I haven't been able to do any Livejournal, but I'm determined to start posting photos and journal entries. I've also started a Flickr account, Sabotabby in Russia, where I'll eventually upload all the photos I took.
[I met up with
annaotto (Anya) in New York and we flew to Moscow. She brought Ambien with her, so all I remember from the flight was watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and passing out. Anya is awesome. Ambien is awesome.)Sunday, April 16
Moscow
We met Dima, Anya's father, at the airport, and drove around to get an overview of the city.
Decided that Stalinist architecture gets a bad rap—it's really rather nice. Ate dinner at an insanely good restaurant and decided that I never needed to eat again. Anya's family [this included her sister, Tanya, and Dima's partner, Natasha] seemed somewhat amused at my (in)ability to handle vodka. Note to self: Stop getting excited every time you see a hammer and sickle—they are everywhere.
Note: I didn't write about the two surprises we got upon arriving in Moscow. The first was the existence of Natasha. At first Anya didn't know who she was, and then thought that she was possibly Dima's newest wife, but it turns out they're not married. I'm not sure. It was all a bit confusing.
The second surprise was that we had the apartment to ourselves. They own several properties in the city and were moving from one to another, so we had a ridiculously good living situation for the week.
Monday, April 17
The Mayakovsky Museum is the most amazing thing ever—all of his belongings mashed into a giant Constructivist sculpture that spans several floors.
The front of the museum.
The shopkeeper at the gift store had me pegged right away and tried to sell me Lenin and Stalin books, all of which were in Russian. Did pick up a 1938 edition of Mayakovsky's poetry even though I can't read it, just because it's so damned cool.
Mayakovksy is my long-dead Soviet boyfriend. If you've never read any of his poetry, now's your chance to do something about it.
From there, we went to Red Square and saw Kazan Cathedral, a 1993 reproduction of the 1636 church destroyed by Stalin, and the mindblowing Intercession Cathedral (better known as St. Basil's).
You know what this is.
Up close and personal.
Kazan Cathedral.
This is Lenin's Tomb, but more about that later.
One of the Kremlin towers.
Red Square, with a nice view of the GUM. We went into the GUM but it's just a really boring mall with a lot of American stores.
We also went by the former KGB headquarters. It's now in use by the Federal Security Services (FSB) and looks so intimidating that we suspected that it's probably still used for the same sort of nastiness.
This is one of the less-terrifying views. Shortly after taking this, a uniformed gentleman came up to us and suggested that we should move along.
Our final stop of the day was Patriarch's Ponds—unremarkable enough in appearance, but worth seeing because that's where the beginning of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita is set.
Woland did not make an appearance.
I don't have a picture of it, but there's a playground in the park. Creepy.
Overlooking the park is a weird-looking building that seems to have a small replica of the Monument to the Third International mounted on the roof. No idea why.
Now that I'm looking at it, it doesn't exactly look like the Monument to the Third International. But close enough.
We are staying right downtown near Belorusskaya Station. The area itself is kind of strange. The nearest large street could be any major street in North America, with high-end Western chain stores and such. There are billboards everywhere, and people who serve as human billboards. It seems like everyone is trying to sell you something. Near Red Square, we even saw a babushka selling puppies and kittens, which was horribly sad.
It's also the first place I've ever been completely illiterate; I can't figure out Cyrillic for the life of me. It makes everything—even the ads—look much cooler, but I'm hopelessly dependent on Anya's translation skills. I'm envious of the days of Mayakovsky's ROSTA posters when you didn't need to read to figure out what was going on.
Note: I got better at understanding the Cyrillic alphabet the longer I was in Russia. Last night I had a nightmare about it, though.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 03:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 03:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2006-05-01 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 03:32 am (UTC)I think parts of Russia are quite similar to Alberta. Everyone was bitching about the weather in Moscow, and thinking that Anya and I were going to have a really hard time with it, and I was all: "What's wrong? This is just like Canada."
Interesting tidbit: They do not make maple syrup in Russia. Had I known this, I'd have brought maple syrup for my hosts. I thought that they didn't have it because they might not have maple trees, but it turns out that they do but they just haven't figured out the tapping process.
This from the country that put a guy in space first. I've tapped maple syrup.
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Date: 2006-05-01 03:37 am (UTC)I plan on trying to find Makhno's grave while I'm in France. Nuts to Jim Morrison.
Also, judging from the pictures, Russia is not always bleak and overcast like Hollywood movies from the 80s made it seem.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 03:49 am (UTC)Yay, Makhno. I think he makes a brief appearance in my next entry. ;)
It rained twice while we were there and it was cold a few times. Generally, though, the weather was fabulous, especially in St. Petersburg. There were definite elements of bleakness in Moscow and outside of the cities, but it wasn't because of the weather.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 03:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 03:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 03:59 am (UTC)Decided that Stalinist architecture gets a bad rap—it's really rather nice.
I have always thought that, despite the unfortunate associations.
The Mayakovsky Museum is the most amazing thing ever—all of his belongings mashed into a giant Constructivist sculpture that spans several floors.
Sounds gorgeous: More pix, I knew you took more.
Did pick up a 1938 edition of Mayakovsky's poetry even though I can't read it, just because it's so damned cool.
An actual 1938 edition or a facsimile? And is that the color-coded thumb-indexed version or am I confusing it with something else? Where has my Constructivist paper gotten to ? ...
Our final stop of the day was Patriarch's Ponds—unremarkable enough in appearance, but worth seeing because that's where the beginning of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita is set.
Okay! Okay! I'll finish it already!
Now that I'm looking at it, it doesn't exactly look like the Monument to the Third International. But close enough.
It doesn't look like it's falling over, but, yes, that was my first thought as well.
I have been ridiculously brilliant and prolific on LJ, in your absence, but get some rest before wading in. Jet-lag is a bitch and we don't love her.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 04:09 am (UTC)Well, it's not like Stalin was the architect. But still. There are many reasons to condemn him, but the Seven Sisters are not among them. And I haven't even started raving about the Moscow subway system yet.
Sounds gorgeous: More pix, I knew you took more.
Of the museum? Sadly, no. There are some pictures on this crappy site, though.
An actual 1938 edition or a facsimile? And is that the color-coded thumb-indexed version or am I confusing it with something else? Where has my Constructivist paper gotten to ? ...
An actual 1938 edition, but I'm not sure which book you're thinking of. It only has one picture in it.
Okay! Okay! I'll finish it already!
*smirk* And I promise to catch up on your LJ soon.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 05:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:27 am (UTC)welcome back!
Date: 2006-05-01 05:59 am (UTC)Yay! Glad you had fun and can't wait to hear about it!
Re: welcome back!
Date: 2006-05-01 11:30 am (UTC)When did you go/get back?
Re: welcome back!
From:Re: welcome back!
From:Re: welcome back!
From:Re: welcome back!
From:icon: niiiice
From:no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 08:52 am (UTC)I've promised myself that one day, when I'm old I will move to Russia, live in a rooming house, eat cabbage soup, drink vodka and write my last great book (of course I have yet to write my first, but let's not quibble over details).
I want to read all about it.
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Date: 2006-05-01 11:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2006-05-01 11:25 am (UTC)Missed you posts!
If you get time google for Stephen Colbert and Press Correspondents Dinner. Heh.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 11:32 am (UTC)Yeah, that Colbert thing is all over my friends list. I haven't seen it yet, but it sounds hilarious.
Just Jealous
Date: 2006-05-01 11:41 am (UTC)Re: Just Jealous
Date: 2006-05-01 11:59 am (UTC)Re: Just Jealous
From:Re: Just Jealous
From:no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 12:52 pm (UTC)"Anya is awesome. Ambien is awesome."
\m/
Also, the building in the last picture is pretty neat looking.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-01 12:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2006-05-01 05:47 pm (UTC)In Soviet Russia, car drives you!
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Date: 2006-05-01 07:56 pm (UTC)I think it was also very restrained of me to not write on any postcards: "In Soviet Russia, postcard sends you."
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Date: 2006-05-02 12:19 am (UTC)It was almost worth your absence.
I have wanted to go there since I was 5 (and my dad told me I wanted to go there).
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 01:57 pm (UTC)