things to love and hate about russia

Things to Hate:

1. the winter

2. not being able to use credit cards

3. getting yelled at for not having correct change or using a big bill

4. militsia

5. always having to carry around your documents

6. all the fat and oil in the food

7. alcoholism

8. homeless

9. stray dogs

10. the use of dill on everything

11. relations between men and women

12. aggressive babushkas

13. packed transportation system

14. pub. transportation closing by midnight

15. bridges around the city going up at 1ish

16. crime

17. intolerance

18. russian showers

19. customer service/ lack there of

20. lack of toilet paper

Things to love:

1. architecture

2. churches

3. the people

4. generosity

5. chivalry

6. bliniy

7. productys

8. 24 hour stores of all kinds

9. the neva and canals and bridges

10. russian history

11. my host family

12. strange russian fashion

13. fur

14. arts (ballet, theater, poetry, literature..)

15. parks

16. russian kids

17. hard working women

18. russian hospitality

19. russian frankness and openness

20. mullet

21. cheap food and alcohol

History final: Why are Stalin and Lenin still popular in Russia?

Despite the brutality of their regimes, Stalin and Lenin are still popular in Russia. Statues, plaques and the Mausoleum still draw crowds and are scattered across St. Petersburg and Moscow. Yet, it is no secret that these two men ran regimes that lead to the death of thousands of Russians. Many of the Russians who were killed were the smartest and the most promising minds, yet this fact seems to be glossed over. Surveys show that a large majority of Russians view Stalin as a positive figure, and as of 2007, 4% of the population would still like to live in the Stalinist era.

Russians seem to view the Stalinist era as more positive because they choose to focus on the positive times. A section from a government-approved history textbook for children explains: “The result of Stalin’s purges was a new class of managers capable of solving the task of modernization in conditions of shortages of resources, loyal to the supreme power and immaculate from the point of view of executive discipline.” The purges are explained as an unavoidable technique to better the state.

Russians also respect a strong leader and value that over human rights or democracy. The Soviet Union at one time was a powerful country, and Stalin and Lenin created that super power. Stalin in particular was a strong figure during World War II, and even today Victory Day is one of the largest holidays in Russia. These two men allowed Russia to become a super power, something today it is still trying to reach. Perhaps Russian citizens are nostalgic for when they had immense pride in their country on a global aspect.

It has also been questioned whether perhaps the reason they are so popular is a biological issue. Most likely those who are alive now where either successful during the Stalin era, or they were able to keep their heads down. Those who experienced the camps and the direct negative impact of the purges are not around to contradict other beliefs and tell the negative side.

There is also the explanation that there are still communist citizens in Russia. It is possible that this strong political belief is enough to actually believe that Stalin and Lenin were doing the best for their country by executing citizens who seemed to be against the state. It was because of Stalin and Lenin that Russia was the first country to master communism. Stalin and Lenin are heroes in some people’s eyes, and they are a part of Russian history.

As for the reason why there are still so many physical items around the cities, perhaps this also is because they are a part of Russia’s history, despite the fact that not everyone agreed with the regimes. People still line up to see Lenin’s Mausoleum just as people lined up to view the movie Czar based on the life of Ivan the Terrible. The palaces of the Romanov era are still intact and have been maintained throughout time, because they are a part of Russia’s history. “In a discussion with history teachers, [Putin] said that the Great Terror of 1937 was a “scary page” in Russian history, but suggested that the American bombings of Hiroshima and Vietnam were far worse. ‘We should never allow others to make us feel guilty.’” Russians like Stalin and Lenin because they made Russia a world power – they just choose to ignore what else they did.

2nd paper (based on the first with analysis)

Those who have the hardest lives are the first to spoil their youth. This statement speaks clear of my host father and my host brother, as well as many families around the world. Russia’s past and current economic, political, and cultural situation creates such a gap between the youth and elders, sometimes so far as to say that they seem to be living in different worlds.

The older generations in Russia have come so far through many revolutions, drastic changes with leaders, and extreme changes in the structure of the state. The Russian generation above my own is more complex than I could have ever realized. The way they view the world and the way they think about their past still amazes me.

This generation was born into communal housing, where the state decided everything for them. It was as if they looked at their lives in a “the less I know the better I am” outlook. With this acceptance, this generation suffered through the Leningrad blockade and perestroika. Although my host father was just a child during the Leningrad blockade of 1941 and my host mother was unable to enter Leningrad during the blockade, I have heard from others about their experience and how their own history tied to the blockade. The siege lasted two and a half years, causing immense damage on the city itself as well as its inhabitants. Palaces, schools, hospitals, airports, railroads, and factories were all destroyed, basically the essentials for the city. Utilities, power, water and food were near impossible to find and many people died if not from bombardment than from starvation because of this. Walking around this beautiful city I cannot even begin to imagine what it could be like to live here in fear of your life and not know what the next day will bring.

But, clearly, my host father survived this siege and became a product of the state. Working on rockets and spaceships, he believed in the Soviet Union and helped it build arms against the United States. The Soviet rights are communal and economical. The purpose was to produce everything for the good of the state, and my host father’s job was no exception to this. During the Cold War, my host father spent time in the United States. The purpose of this trip is not entirely clear to me, but he did have to use a fake name, whether this was for the benefit of the Soviet Union, or the United States, I’m not sure.

At some point in time he married my host mother and their relationship seems to be the ideal Russian stereotype. She prepares him every meal, she makes his tea, she does his laundry, she cleans their room, she cleans their bathroom, and she does his dishes as well as working her own full time job. It is quite obvious from her body language that she will do anything to please him, despite the occasional eye-roll at his jokes.

My host mother treats my host brother in the same respect, but he does seem to help out around the house more in exchange for an open fridge. It is because of our host brother we have wireless-internet in our apartment, in Smolny, and that my host mom now has a new kitchen. For all his help, and I assume for being her son, despite the fact he has moved out, he still eats at least one meal, showers and occasionally sleeps over at his parent’s house. He is living off and taking advantage of what his parents have accomplished and gained over the years.

Looking at old family photos, it is obvious that my host parents love to spoil their sons. There are tons of pictures of them at the beach, at different monuments, in parks, and even on the World Trade Tower in New York. Our younger host brother grew up playing the violin, traveling the world playing and staying in home stays around Europe. He also studied and lived abroad in China for a year. None of this would have been possible had he grown up in his father’s era. I believe that the younger generations in Russia are more optimistic and ambitious than their predecessors. The youth have a chance to have dreams and actually fulfill them. Had my host brother grown up in Soviet times, he would have been apart of the Young Pioneer Organization, but instead he went to a free schooling system where he was able to opt out of the army draft and experience other aspects of life.

Watching my 24-year-old host brother interact with his 17-year-old girlfriend, I would describe him as enamored with her. They are very touchy feely when they are together, they call each other endearing names, she is on his desktop, and he is always in contact with her – be it on the phone or the computer or in person. Perhaps this will change if they marry and he may expect her to take over his mother’s role, with the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of him as he takes care of the handiwork of the house. Although, at dinner the other night, I witnessed him preparing a salad, despite the fact his mother was home. He seems like such a happy go lucky guy and I do not think this would be the case if it were not for his relatively luxurious life.

I can only imagine how the older generations look at the younger and how what they today take for granted was unthinkable in their early life and vise versa. Had the Soviet Union not collapsed I wonder if my host brother and father’s lives would be more a like.

first paper i wrote here

Russia

After living in Russia for these few months what still strikes me is how hard working these people are. Learning about their complex history and comparing it with the present just shows how far this country has come and how strong it makes its citizens. Riding on the buses the babushkas have stern hard faces while the youth is cheerful. I have gathered that Russians live their life one day at a time while putting so much effort into that day.

Our host father survived the Leningrad blockade as a child, worked on rockets, spaceships and missiles, overseeing hundreds of people during the cold war, lived under a fake identity in America during the Soviet era to return to his motherland to find his job gone, power diminished and yet he still found time to write poetry and paint. Here is a man who I see daily still working strong, still raising his sons, hosting random exchange students, who has this complex past. It still dumbfounds me to realize this is the same man who laughs at me and calls me lazy for sleeping in.

The two prodigies of our host father on the other hand, literally grew up in another world. The youngest host brother, at 24, is still in school learning his 4^th and 5^th language mostly to avoid the draft. His favorite past time is surfing and drinking. I have yet to fully understand his real job, if it is a real job, but from what I gather he does “deals” of exporting and importing items from China. Through these jobs he’s gotten in trouble and also gained a tanning bed while at the same time having enough money to travel and surf in Venezuela for a month this winter. He has many connections around the city that manage to get him into the top clubs without a wait or a bribe. I cannot say that this falls into the stereotype of a Russian. Sure walking around the street people seem quite cold and unfriendly, but I assume most of the time it is because of the weather. My host family is not cold in the least. This past weekend my real parents were in town and we had a huge dinner with 12 people. There was so much laughter, pictures and stories going around. Our host family is so generous and understanding. They even have the patience to deal with students who are terrible at Russian.

I realize that the language barrier has taken away a lot of what I could be learning from this experience but at the same time it makes the experience so much more real. I learn more from the youth of Russia. I met a girl one of the first weeks we were here who is 18 now and gorgeous. She told us of how when she was sixteen she lived in California dating a 51 year old. Her type now is still 47-53. I found this very odd, but I guess everyone has their type. Her and her friend refuse to ride public transportation because by the time they get off they are just in the worst mood. Russia was the first place I have ever used public transportation. The convenience and price is nice, but I still prefer driving. Both girls seemed to come from money and had their own cars. They also knew where they would be and what they would do as soon as they finished school.

Every student I have talked to seem shocked that I have no idea what I’m going to do once I graduate. My response tends to be “Well, if I get a good job offer clearly I’ll take it. But if not, I’ll probably go to grad school.” The idea of a liberal arts education does not seem realistic in this society. Students apply to study in particular faculties because that’s the area where they want to work upon graduation. They know this by age 16 or 17. When I was that age I was more interested in driving and going to the movies. I didn’t have to declare my major until I was 20, and even still I can change it or find a job in a totally unrelated field.

Russia made me realize that I coast through life. I tend to go with the flow and wander. Even with walking I notice people passing me by left and right. My host mom always asks if I have a plan for the night and my answer is always no, or maybe this maybe that. I love just soaking Russia in. Hearing people’s stories or just watching them interact. Russia is like a whole new world but I have not yet been able to describe how or why. Russia does feel like my home. The food is great, my host family feels like my own family, the weather is comparable to Minnesota, and I am in love with the city. I am going to miss it here.

unreal

we just got back from nathan, one of the program directors house.

it is 300,000 sq. meters. 10 rooms.

one of the nicest apartments in st. petersburg

full of antiques and expensive things.

then we found out that this used to be the house of a premiere ballerina before soviet times and then was taken during soviet times and turned into communal housing where 40 people lived to have half of those 40 die of starvation during the leningrad blockade.

everything in this city has so much history.

snnnowww!

today was the first snow fall. it seems like fall barely started. so now leaves are falling and changing colors and being covered with snow and slush. verrry pleasant.

but. i've been busy. we try to do cultural things on the weekends, been to the kunstkammer museum which is the ethnography and anthropology museum and where peter the great just kept his weird collections. like deformed babies.

this past weekend we went to constantine palace. which was being made for peter the great down by peterhof but peter forgot about it and liked peterhof later and it was basically forgotten for 80 years. now it's where all the presidents of different countries come to meet like for the economic convention and the G8 meetings. it was the first time our program has taken students there since usually its in use by Putin.

we've begun teaching our english class. they are quite proficient so i'm not positive what conversation topics to use... they love to learn new slang tho. and i've learned that russians honestly believe that cell phones and microwaves cause cancer and are bad for ones health. our class ranges from 17-23 with about 10 students total. class is 3 hours long, once a week.

strange.

i've also met lots of foreigners, from holland, england, switzerland, germany, italy as well as the random russians. walking home from the gym the other week a black man gave me his phone number. first, strange for that to happen. mostly because there are about 10 black people in this entire city.

i forgot to post this! but a few weeks ago we got stopped by the militisia getting off the metro and they asked to see our documents. ours checked out fine and they didn't hassle us or anything but last friday a student was robbed by a "militsia" (they aren't sure if it was an official one because they clearly arent supposed to do that).

it seems to be a severe love-hate thing with americans so its safe to keep your mouth shut until you get the right vibe.

also found out our host dad was a child during the leningrad siege, worked on building rockets and spaceships during the cold war, had to go to america during the soviet era and use a fake name, and then came back to russia when they cut the funding for the sciences and they started hosting students and he now paints and does poetry and still works. quite the life.

we're headed to estonia this weekend which should be fun! and perhaps my mom and maggie's mom will be out here the end of october and then moscow early november and then amsterdam to see ashley right after that! and if i'm not too broke trying to get up to finland and riga!

exploring

i have been major slacking on this whole blogging thing.....

so for the past few weeks we've been out and about exploring st. petersburg and the surrounding areas on weekends and in school 5 days a week.

as for school. we're about a 10 minute walk from school but regardless continue to be late every day. the classes are quite lax but quite lengthly. each class is 90 minutes and usually without a break. the most calss i have a day is 4 is which is a solid 6 hours of class. i'm taking russian history, russian art history, civilization, grammar and conversation. both the histories overlap a lot and the civilization class overlaps the history with the present state of russia. quite draining. the grammar and conversation classes also overlap a lot but the conversation class is a lot more enjoyable. our professor, michael, is a 6 foot huge muscular russian who is the cheeriest man i have ever met. you say something in russian and he basically applauds you and thinks that what you said was the most creative thing ever. quite reassuring. haha

as for grammar. oh god.

we have this women russian professor who speaks fast and refuses to speak in english so when you don't understand something she just keeps saying the same thing over and over again getting louder. she will sit at the front desk, read off a statement or a question and point or call out someone's name to respond. there is no slacking or not paying attention. our entire class is just exhausted by the end of the 90 min.

outside of school, we have been to novgorod, where we saw a MILLION churches and went on lengthly tours of most of them. this was about a 4 hour bus ride south of st. petersburg to the oldest city in russia. it was nice to get away from the hustle of the city. there we also saw the kremlin and some students opted to go to a russian banya at night where, from what was described they walked around naked getting hit by sticks in a steam room then left and got sprayed or had cold water dumped on them. sounded like quite the experience.

we also went to peterhof which was gorgeous. they still had the fountains running which they are going to shut down soon

we have also been to the russian museum, the zoo (quite depressing. ill load pictures soon) and today we are going to the hermitage!

our host mom showed us where to get "discount" clothes.. although they just seemed to be relatively normal priced. clothes in russia are not cheap. i found a trench like coat for $30 dollars, but any thicker coat was over $150. relatively speaking, half a loaf of bread is 25 cents, small thing of vodka is $1.60, bus is 54 cents, metro is 60 cents. we also went to a nike discount store so maggie could get some tennis shoes for the gym and those set her back $90

our host mom's cooking is still amazing. blinieys are amazing. as is kasha. i eat at least a tomato a day. it seems to be the vegetable of choice. they are finally growing on me.

as for the nightlife we've been to a few different clubs including an old soviet bomb shelter, a live music punk rock place, random little bars. alcoholism is obvious here in russia. walking to school at 10am i pass people drinking gin tonic in a can and beers. the whole stereotype of the cold russian i haven't really agreed with though. the younger population is always laughing and smiling and are super friendly. the few older people i've asked for directions though are quite cold, one babushka acted like she was deaf.

still having a fabulous time and still alive.

oops

so tonight me and maggie were going to take the bus for about 20 min to meet up with a friend. we get on the bus it makes one more stop turns off the lights and basically won't let us off. the attendant is an old babushka and the male driver won't even acknowledge our presence after we make it clear we want off....

so after calling one of the directors and handing the phone off between me and the only russian speaking babushka we get off the bus a good 40 minutes later who knows how far south of saint petersburg we are after a screaming match between the attendant and the bus driver and she escorts us on to another bus that takes us to another metro and we somehow made it back.

good timesssssssss.

we took another gypsy cab sat night. 50-60 year old russian tried to get my number. i told him i didn't own a cell phone or have a phone at my house. he then gave his number to maggie.

if anyone wants it, let me know.

4 people have gotten mugged so far. one girl her bag got taken from under her legs at mcdonalds while she was on her comp. another girl had her purse taken while she was trying on boots and another guy had his jacket taken at a club. haven't heard about the details of the 4th event yet, but quite scary.

pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020902&id=1282410010&l=16a4d34274

(let me know if that doesn't work....)

language barrier wins again.

So i guess i could have gotten internet a week ago when andreu fixed it.... but he gave the password for the wireless to his mom and she never gave it to us because she assumed we got the internet to work... at dinner the word internet and the verb "to work" would come up and maggie and i just assumed that the internet was still broken.

oops? hahahahaha

BUT! we started class and have figured out the bus system and partially the metro system and have realized everything is DIRT cheap here. amazing.

i have also not walked more in my life. and i am quite impressed by the russian women who all seem to do this walking in their 5 inch stilletos. amazing. i guess despite my lack of 5inch heels, i still look russian as i have been approached MANY times and asked who knows what. my responses have been between a shrug, i dont know, or i don't speak russian. and then they shake their head and walk away.

i look russian enough when one day maggie and i went to the grocery store and maggie went first, the cashier asked her for smaller bills (prices in russia are like 200 rubles and if you try paying with a 1000 ruble bill they are not pleased) and maggie just blankly stared at the woman and shrugged. the cashier then turned to me and made some smug comment about how maggie didn't speak russian. i understood it but had no idea how to respond to it so she stared at me blankly and said "ah, you also"

but russians really aren't as unfriendly as everyone seems to think. our host brothers laugh more than most people i know. andreu is 24, still goes to school and is studying chinese and sells peoples cars... from what i gathered he is a free lance car salesman? but he has also done real estate deals (hence the tanning bed). sergei is 26 and i have no idea what he does. he's not as friendly with us. he has a girlfriend who was super sweet and came over for tea one night. her family is from the most east point of russia where you can find the best caviar- i still haven't made up my mind whether i'm a fan of caviar or not, but i've forced myself not to be picky here haha

as for food:

breakfast: oatmeal type dish, activia yogurt (one day we got prune flavored-sick.), coffee, salami and cheese, omelets, bliniys, cake, cereal, one day we had basically jam filled potstickers

lunch: bread, and basically things to put on said bread. today she threw fish- some salmon type looking stuff, cheese, meat, jam, caviar, something similar to salsa and tea LOTS of tea here.

dinner: usually a meat (loaf of hamburger, chicken, etc) macaroni noodles, salad (cucumbers and tomato in oil, pepper, and salt and some spice) or bliniys, or tortellini type thing

all meals are encouraged to be followed by tea and some kind of pastry dessert.

there is no going hungry in our homestay.

classes are pretty intense in the sense that they are each and hour and a half long. earliest starts at 10, latest they will go is until 5. i only have one day where i go all day long. we have grammar 3 times a week which is pretty intense. lots of oral, on the spot talking. conversation i love the teacher. he's hilarious and super outgoing. All of the teachers are russian so its nice to have someone be teaching you who has an inside perspective on the material.

campus is beautiful. i'll load pictures when i get around to it..

i'm freaked out by the militsia. which are basically like the cops who can stop anyone and everyone and ask to see their documents. most of the time they just look for a bribe. kinda sketch. we saw one the other day kicking a drunkard outside of the metro. they also walk around with guns a LOT bigger than a pistol and usually have their hand on them.

this is where i live!

This is where me and maggie live. That green section to the right is the campus. to get to the closest metro we walk through that park and go to that little blue M!

i made it!

after the million hour plane rides and a total 15 minutes of sleep we finally landed in st. petersburg. i stepped off the plane and some short blonde lady in a white lab coat points a machine at my face and starts yelling "KAK??? KAK???" and looks back and forth to the men in uniform while i do much of the same as i say "WHAT??? WHAT???" this goes on for a minute or two while i'm holding up the rest of the plane waiting to exit because i still have no idea whats happening.

after she points this machine at my forehead, chin, chest and stomach she says KAK??? a few more times and then says vot. and moves out of my way.

i guess they are paranoid of the flu and check temperatures? and i was over-heated carrying my 50lb bags?

welcome to russia.

we then waited in line at the passport control for maybe 10 minutes, they looked at it, looked at us, stamped it and we collected our bags.

"customs" was a doorway that was guarded by gossiping men who didn't even check our stuff, our bags weight, or our bags content.

skeeetch.

we then had 2 days of orientation in this hotel like 2 minutes from the airport outside of st. petersburg and we got cell phones set up (THE PHONES HAVE CYRILLIC) and crashed a lot and ate lots of buffet food. i drink a lot of coffee.

friday at 5 they drove us around and we went to our homestays.

maggie and i are living with a host mom, host dad, and two host brothers 26 and 29 (i think?). the mom doesnt speak english but she works for the program as the housing coordinator. the dad speaks a few words in english and at least one of the brothers is pretty good in english. we had pizza together as a family. and we did russian toasts, which was basically some one saying something i didn't understand and then clinking everyones cups and you take a swig. and do this throughout the meal until your drink is gone and then fill it up again. (don't fret mom it was only wine)

we each have our own rooms. decent size. I HAVE A TANNING BED IN MY ROOM. amazing. we're also a good 2 blocks from campus. so now i don't have to pay for tanning or transportation to school. amazing. the area around us is super pretty. a nice park, gorgeous buildings, and lets not forget the russian men with mullets.

mullets and tight pants are in.

i'm mostly super jet lagged and trying to adjust but loving it so far.

Departure

I leave Tuesday, August 25 and arrive in St. Petersburg 11am August 26th after flying through NYC and Helsinki, Finland.

good god.