Léonard Gianadda. Pictures from Moscow in 1957

A Bright Future - New Works from Russia

Canadian architect turned photographer David Burdeny presents a collection of images showcasing the stunning and elaborate Moscow and St. Petersburg Metro system in A Bright Future - New Works from Russia.

The photographer spent two weeks shooting the aesthetically amazing stations and, as far as he's aware, remains the only photographer in the world to have been granted permission to shoot at these locations after they had been emptied of passengers.

It took over a year for the photographer to gain permission to pursue this project, and he was forced to rent the stations by the hour and shoot only after midnight.









This station is my favorite, sometimes I come there just to look at these glass columns and to touch them:



source: http://hyperallergic.com/242843/opulent-propaganda-the-subterranean-paradise-of-the-moscow-metro/

What do Russians and Italians have in common?

Today I've found a nice post in my Facebook feed and ran here to share with you.

"It’s been nearly two months since I moved to Italy. And in these two months I’ve learned that Italians and Russians have much more in common than it could possibly make sense, both geographically and historically. The things I’m about to write are coming from a generalization of the worst kind - the one based on nationality, but I hope I manage to get through this minefield without offending anyone or falling into superficial labeling.

So. What do Russians and Italians have in common?

Sarcasm
This was a wonderful discovery that immediately made me feel at home. Italians are great at sarcasm and they use it in pretty much the same way Russians do. It’s not the English manner of: “Let me attempt to humiliate you as subtly as I possibly can, so that you don’t have any valid reason to punch me in the face”, it’s a violent, cheerful irony targeted at everyone and everything that happens to be in sight. Italians use sarcasm as a way of bonding, and the closer you become with someone, the harsher it gets. Tough love here.

Caring
If you look hungry - you will be fed. If you look upset - you won’t be left alone until you seem cheered up. If your house is invaded by aliens, there will be an uncle of a friend of a brother who once worked at disinfestation services and is ready to help: he is coming tomorrow at 7 a.m., stop arguing and get your protection suit ready. Caring is part of both the Russian and Italian DNA, and if someone likes you, he doesn’t need an invitation to start solving your problems. It’s a great thing when you need help and don’t know how to ask, but can be confusing if you are into figuring things out on your own.

Throwing money to the wind (for noble reasons)
Buying dinner for 10 people, half of whom you will never meet again? Check. Lending a third of your lifetime savings to a friend who happened to be in a terrible need of a new motorcycle? Check. Counting cents to the next salary? Check. Russians do it, Italians do it better. I thought I was used to the generosity that almost borders on a proud detestation of having money, but even I had to adjust my meter to the Italian scale.

Expensive taste
Speaking of wasting money. Moscow and Milan are surely the two capitals of designer bags. One time I decided to count all the purses that cost over a thousand euros while going home by tram. Fourteen. And there could not have been more than twenty women on the tram. I bet half of those bags are good fakes, indistinguishable from the originals until you start examining them closely, but still - it means that 1/3 of all women on the tram own a real designer bag.

Loving your country, but not liking it
This is a dangerous topic, but it seems that both Italians and Russians are used to keeping detailed lists of everything that’s wrong with their motherland. People here can talk about the beauty of Italy for hours – they are proud of it in the same way one is proud of his local football team – but many of those with whom I shared more than one bottle of wine have plans of leaving Italy at some point.

Inventiveness
Outsmarting the system for the pure joy of it is a national sport both for Italians and Russians. If there’s any rule worth breaking - it will be broken, graciously.

Love of tragedy
If you’re going to be stuck with a project late at night, make sure all the seven floors of your office know how bad it all is, how desperate you are, how deep the boss will bury your corpse if you fail to deliver. And then, when you happen to sell that line: “Buy one - get one free”, you can celebrate gloriously, because you’ve just prevented the biggest catastrophe on Earth. I’m exaggerating shamelessly, of course, but, oh, it feels like home.

Low boiling point
If an Italian is unhappy about something - you will know it; if he is delighted - you will quickly be informed. Same goes for Russians. No poker faces needed – you won’t get confused deciphering the mood of those around you. They will throw it all in your face long before you've even detected anything was wrong, and it might as well break your nose.

Passion
The wild prowess that, without a proper object, brings chaos and starts fights. You will see this glimpse of happy anger in the eyes of a Russian, as he drives his car 150 km/h into a snowstorm. You will find the same in the eyes of an Italian - even as he parks his Vespa in a quiet street. It takes one to know one".

Source: https://www.facebook.com/polina.zabrodskaya/posts/10204779617802128

Working in Russia: Finnish investor shares his impressions

If you’re working in international business, you have most likely participated in some kind of diversity or cultural training sessions. You know the kind. Those meetings where we learn that Germans are punctual, Italians are emotional and Finns don’t talk — without some alcohol.

For me, the past 1,000 days of working in Russia have been a true deep dive into the Russian landscape, business culture and mentality. And I have gained an understanding that is impossible to get from these sterilized meetings, which tend to focus on stereotypes.

During this amazing journey, I have visited 59 Russian cities, embraced numerous governors and seen all 11 time zones of this enormous country. And it is worth mentioning that all my preconceived notions about Russia were wrong.

Before deciding to come to work in Russia, I had very little knowledge of it, even though my own country — Finland — shares a long border with it. I had been a tourist in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but as the Finnish and Russian languages share probably only three common words, my ability to communicate and get to know people was very limited.

So what are my observations so far?

I’m a nerd, so I was thrilled to see the level and quality of telecommunications across the country — in complete contrast to my wildest expectations. Russians truly love and use all the latest gadgets. The post-Soviet “PlayStation Generation” is particularly well connected. Social media is widely used, and news from all over the world is at everyone’s fingertips. There is no “Great Firewall,” on the Russian Internet, like in China, so it is very annoying to see even serious, informed people lump Russia and China together in the same category when discussing online freedom.

Despite all my doubts, the infrastructure of the cities I have visited more or less meets European and American standards. Yes, some of the roads are pretty bad, but airports, hotels, restaurants and other services are well developed. Starbucks is everywhere, and I use my credit card for almost everything. I pay my bills using the online services of Russian banks, and money transfers from my home bank can be arranged overnight. For travel I use mostly airlines like Aeroflot, which has a very modern fleet of Airbus planes. I am not a specialist in air travel by any means, but as an anecdote I must say that in the past 1,000 days, I have only had my flights delayed twice, and for 15 minutes at the most.

Of course the state of the Russian economy right now is not good, but this current turbulence is good for my business — promoting the culture of startups and innovation in Russia. If oil prices were high, it would be practically impossible to convince any local businesses to make difficult restructuring decisions.

Naturally, I don’t wish hard times on anyone, but now, when I see the creation of new businesses and the modernization of big companies, I can’t help but think that there are some benefits to the current situation.

Also from the standpoint of an investor, the devalued currency has created many opportunities — after all, our potential to make money occurs in the “buying” stage of the investment.

But I must mention the most beautiful part of life in Russia — the food. When I arrived in the country, the only Russian food I knew of was borscht. But in the first few days, I realized that Russians will spend a lot of money on two things — high-quality food and high-heeled shoes. In every city I visit, I just have to log on to TripAdvisor to see an amazing variety of restaurants and cuisine.

There is something for every taste — from sushi to Caucasian cuisine.

So, dear friends in the global business community, open your eyes to Russia. Take it from me — seeing is believing!

Source

When foreigners come to visit

It's a shame that I didn't get the opportunity to meet Ann who came to Moscow for a week from Singapore. But still I see her travel picks via Instagram, the best tool to jump inside someone's head.

Come join and watch her discovering Moscow.

Complicated story: Mark Twain, Russia, Maxin Gorky and old people

Mark Twain visited Russia with a group of Quakers in 1867, who described themselves as “a handful of citizens of the United States, traveling for recreation.”

Twain had lost his passport before visiting Russia, and his arrival was accompanied by “fear and trembling... a vague, horrible apprehension that I was going to be found out and hanged.” Years later, he published a short story reminiscent of these fears. In “The Belated Russian Passport,” the hero worries his lack of a passport will lead to detention: “In a few hours I shall be one of a nameless horde plodding the snowy solitudes of Russia... bound for that land of mystery and misery and termless oblivion, Siberia!”

Luckily no such fate awaited Twain and his fellow tourists, who “met with nothing but the kindest attentions” after arriving in Russia. They were given a warm welcome in Sevastopol and Odessa, and granted an audience with the Tsar in Yalta.

The tourists elected Twain to address Tsar Alexander II on their behalf. Alexander had ruled to emancipate the serfs a few years earlier, and Twain's speech praised him for “so great a deed.” He also mentioned Russia's support during the American Civil War. “America owes much to Russia,” Twain said, “for her unwavering friendship in the season of her greatest need.” Twain remembered his meeting with the Tsar as a strange encounter. Even though “a countless multitude of men would spring to do his bidding,” Alexander II had seemed “like the most ordinary individual in the land.” His response to this brush with power was characteristically playful:

“If I could have stolen his coat, I would have done it. When I meet a man like that, I want something to remember him by.”

Twain was impressed by Alexander’s simple demeanor, so unlike the “tinsel kings of the theatre.” However, he became disillusioned at news of the increasingly oppressive regime of the Tsar’s successor. In “Letter from a Dog,” Twain wrote that the Tsar’s powers “are a theft today, just as they were when they came originally into his family.”

Although his approach to race relations in his own country has been questioned, Twain considered himself a revolutionary. He was part of a circle of authors eager to support revolution in Russia, and met Sergei Stepniak, founder of the revolutionary publication Free Russia, on his visit to America in 1891.

When Maxim Gorky traveled to New York in 1906, Twain joined several high-profile literary figures at a dinner to honor the Russian author. Gorky had traveled to America in hope of raising funds for revolution, and Twain's welcome speech echoed his address to the Tsar years before. This time, he compared the situation in Russia to the American revolution:

“Anybody whose ancestors were in this country when we were trying to free ourselves from oppression must sympathize with those who now are trying to do the same thing in Russia.”

Twain praised Gorky’s writing, and the Russian author returned the tribute. A New York Times article quotes Gorky’s statement that Twain had “proved an inspiration,” adding that “it is part of the liberal education of Russia to read Mark Twain's works.”

Gorky left America disappointed by the lack of support for his cause. However Tova Yedlin’s biography suggests he did not blame Twain. “He is a wonderful person,” Gorky wrote to friends, “but he is old, and old people often cannot understand clearly the meaning of things.”

source: http://rbth.com/literature/2015/02/26/an_innocent_abroad_mark_twains_visit_to_russia_44007.html

Not great: I live in one of "World's Unfriendliest Cities"

Editors of Travel+Leisure website collected some data from tourists to choose the most unwelcoming places on Earth. Sadly, Russia beats everyone.

St Petersburg is a Russian revelation, says Nick Boulos from Express (UK)

Let's read together:

Despite the late hour, a large crowd had gathered along the attractive embankment of the Neva River. Couples stood near groups of friends strumming their guitars, while on the river a steady stream of boats ferried tourists up and down the wide waterway. The sight of St Petersburg glowing under the midnight sun was spellbinding.

As the time fast approached 1:30am, the city’s famous Palace Bridge opened to allow boats to travel upstream. Above the city’s most historic and handsome buildings – on one side the pointy gold-topped Peter and Paul Cathedral and on the other, the pastel green walls of the Winter Palace – the sky remained midnight blue.

Summer is a special time in Russia’s second, and most elegant, city. It’s also quite a revelation and not what you might expect from a weekend in the world’s largest country. There’s neither a snowflake nor a fur coat to be seen. Instead, it’s dominated by “white nights,” a phenomenon in which the sun never quite sets.

Located on the Gulf of Finland, the city was founded in 1703 and became the Russian capital a decade later – an honour it held until 1918 when Moscow was reinstated as the country’s capital.

The long and balmy days show the city at its best, with ample time to cruise the canals, roam the museums, seek solitude in the churches and get tipsy on shots of vodka… this is Russia, after all.

But there are surprises far beyond the weather. Strolling down Nevsky Prospekt – St Petersburg’s equivalent of Oxford Street – I was struck by just how, well, un-Russian the whole place felt. Aside from a few Soviet touches on the outskirts, the city’s historic heart is, upon first glance at least, every bit as European as Vienna or Budapest.

In comparison, Moscow – 450 miles away – is Russian through and through, its skyline dominated by formidable Stalinist architecture and the high red walls of the Kremlin. Softer St Petersburg is a perfect introduction to this intriguing and often intimidating country.

My first stop was the acclaimed Hermitage Museum, home to arguably the world’s greatest collection of art. Spread across five buildings, including the exquisite Winter Palace, built in the early 18th Century by Peter the Great, you could easily spend days wandering around the gilded state rooms, admiring works by Picasso and Matisse among others.

If the Hermitage showcases international masterpieces, the nearby Russian Museum pays tribute to local artists past and present. The most impressive treasures of all, however, were on display across town at the new Fabergé Museum in the Shuvalov Palace.

Among the 4,000 pieces on display are a dozen or so Easter eggs made for the imperial family by legendary Carl Fabergé in the late 20th Century. These are no ordinary Easter eggs. Each individually designed and worth millions of dollars, they feature diamonds, gold, rhinestones and silver and open up to reveal a surprise within. My favourite was an egg of transparent yellow enamel, made in 1897 to celebrate Nicholas II taking the throne. Hidden inside is a miniature replica of the carriage used by the tsar at his coronation.

I took stock of these varied treasures over a coffee at Kupetz Eliseevs, an ornate art nouveau food hall with chandeliers hanging from a giant pineapple-esque palm tree in the centre of the room. Milling around, local foodies picked up pricey bottles of vodka and closely inspected tins of Beluga caviar.

I indulged in these two most Russian of delicacies at the Belmond Grand Hotel Europe, home to St Petersburg’s only caviar restaurant. Delicate blinis, each topped with tiny glistening balls of fishy decadence, were presented alongside glasses of potent Siberian vodka.

Thankfully, I didn’t have very far to stumble home. This landmark property dates back to the 1820s and briefly enjoyed a stint as a hospital during the Second World War when Leningrad, as it was then, was under siege.

Just around the corner from the Grand Hotel Europe is the jewel in St Petersburg’s sparkling crown: the Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood. Its whimsical onion domes – swirling shades of blue, green and white – loomed against the clear blue sky. Inside, gold reigned supreme. Following a restoration that lasted almost 30 years, it reopened with intricate mosaics of religious scenes and figures decorating every inch. Its unusual name comes from the assassination of Tsar Alexander II that took place here in 1881.

Boats sped along the canal just outside the church. Gliding past the parks and palaces, the castles and neoclassical riverside buildings was a pleasant way to experience the city from a different perspective and a beautiful way to end my time in Russia’s understated but most charming second city.

Source: http://www.express.co.uk/travel/articles/599569/Russia-most-beautiful-city-St-Petersburg

Is it possible to learn Russian?

Listen to these foreigners who mastered Russian to some point.
It's really possible.



These are audio files from this article (you can read it in bad English via google translate here).

The #CaspianChallenge

What a girl can do for charity reasons (and because she is tough and cool):

The Volga River, at 2300 miles long, is Europe’s longest river. At just over double the length of Britain, it is a very apt setting for a kayak challenge! The source to sea descent of this river will take me from the Valdai Hills north west of Moscow, through magnificent Russian countryside steeped in history, and across busy commercial waterways, before eventually leading out to the Caspian Sea.

I’ll be doing this trip solo and will be completely self-sufficient; carrying all of my own supplies for the duration of the trip and therefore I’ll be aiming to pack light! Nevertheless, I’ll be paddling for up to 12 hours a day and burning up to 5000 calories each day. I expect it to take me around 3 months to complete the epic journey.

It will be a huge test of endurance, both physical and mental, as I leave everything familiar behind to take on this enormous challenge. I’m really excited to experience the culture of Russia from a unique position as I navigate through its national river.

http://lauraexplorer.com/project-kairos/adventures/

UPD And so it ended early. I don't quite understand what happened there but it's sad that something (someone?) Russian could ruin her trip.

There are stamp collections and book collections

And here is someone who collects Soviet books published in English: https://sovietbooks.wordpress.com/.

My name is Philip Dion, I live in Vancouver, Canada, and yes, I collect Soviet Books. Books published in the Soviet Union in English for export to the English speaking world. 

I’ve been doing so for about ten years, and now have a collection I am proud to share with anyone who is interested enough to type ‘Soviet Books’ into the Google. I started out stalking the shelves of thrift stores and neglected used book stores in any city I might visit. Lately I’ve graduated to having booksellers buy collections for me knowing that I’ll buy them, and the occasional mass buy on Abebooks or Ebay. 

Soviet books have a particular look that I have developed an instinct for, and I’m able to spot them on a crowded shelf of Sally Ann flotsam. Some of these books have extraordinary cover designs, and a selection of these can be seen in the ‘design’ section of this blog.

I personally think it's pretty amazing.

Justus Walker as russian farmer

It's always amazing how people move from one country to another in pursuit for something but money and fame.

Some come to Russia with religious mission to eventually find themselves new and changed.
Yesterday friends told me about Justus Walker who lives near Krasnoyarsk (I bet you've never heard of it) and produces mozzarella cheese as a farmer with his family.

Justus has quite a fan club on youtube (27k followers) and many "friends" within his Russian social network profile as he repeatedly has been filmed for federal news channel.

The family tells more about their history on the website. I will cite some things here:

David and June Walker answered the call of the Lord in 1993, selling their possessions and moving, with their four children to Riga Latvia where they studied Russian, preparing to work in Siberia.
In 1994 the Walker family found themselves in Krasnoyarsk, a city of a million people located in central Siberia.

David had always felt that the family's mission would be to minister in rural areas that had never yet heard the Gospel or had a Church. So in the fall of 1994 David and his two older children, Mycah and Justus, made several "scouting trips" to various towns and villages. By September they had discovered the town of Oseenavy Mees, in the Boguchany region north of Krasnoyarsk.

The next six years were spent in ministering in Oseenavy and the surrounding towns and villages. The ministry then included pastoring the small church in Oseenavy, feeding and housing needy children, helping with adoptions, assisting in the importing of humanitarian aid, teaching English, setting up youth camps and other youth outreach programs and assisting in setting up other churches in the area.

In the year 2000 the Walker family returned to the US this time to stay. Justus, however, felt led of the Lord to return to Russia and continue the ministry.

Now, personally I am atheistic person (neither do I eat mozzarella nor dairy at all) but I admire the ability to sell things, move to unknown land and do things you truly believe in. Nice job, Justus and his folks.

Do you enjoy Wait But Why blog? Because I do.

And because the author have been in Russia: http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/07/russia-what-you-didnt-know.html.
The view from the other side? Cool!
Wait But Why author shared his feelings about his visit to Russia:

A lot of cars have the steering wheel on the right side even though they drive on the right side of the road. Odd.

They don’t call it World War II, they call it The Great Patriotic War, and only talk about the 1941-1945 part of it. And most places I went to had a memorial dedicated to it. Which makes sense, given that over 20 million Soviets died in the war.

Siberia is real. I spent over half of the trip in Siberia, including taking the Trans-Siberian Railway 64 hours from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk (I highly recommend this, btw). 

Siberia makes up 77% of Russia—everything but the westernmost quarter of the country—and Siberia alone would be by far the biggest country in the world if it were severed from Western Russia.

There’s no fact about Russian history that I enjoy more than that the succulent St. Basil’s Cathedral… was ordered for construction under the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Who knows what his actual feelings were about things, but I prefer to imagine him being a widely feared man who was obsessed with rainbows and colorful swirlies and anyone who ever laughed at him about this was promptly beheaded.

You know what’s remote? Here.

Read more insights on his blog: http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/07/russia-what-you-didnt-know.html

Touch Russia

I want to write a line dedicated to a video project I've seen months ago and liked a lot.
It's called Touch Russia:

(or you can go to official page at Vimeo to watch it there)