Overview
We planned a trip to visit Finland,
Estonia and Russia in late May 2014 after the Olympic Games in Russia would be
over. We figured that if there were to
be any international problems, they would be settled by the time the Olympic
Games were over. Oh, how wrong we were! However, we felt fortunate to be in Russia
when the controversy over the Crimea and Ukraine was starting. We had a chance to learn from our Russian
hosts their thoughts about this (Crimea and Ukraine) and about world events in
general. We remained more than 1,000
miles away from any conflict.
We grew up during the time of the
Cold War between the USSR and the USA.
We were taught to think of Russia as some dark and evil place run by Communists
enslaving its people and representing a real threat to the American way of
life.
What we found in May of 2014 was
a much different picture and understanding of this very complex country. Winston Churchill once called Russia “a
riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”
In order to try to understand Russia today, you need to first understand
Russian geography and Russian history.
Russian geography: Russian is a
country that lies far north. Moscow is
at about the same latitude as Juneau, Alaska and St. Petersburg is the same
latitude as Anchorage. It is cold and snowy in Russia most of the
year. This, of course, impacts many
things including what they are able to grow and therefore, the Russian
diet. Russia is the largest country in the
world in terms of land mass. Kiev (now the capital of Ukraine) served as the capital of Russia in the 9th - 12th centuries but since the middle ages, Russia has been run from Moscow. The two cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are
the epicenters of power for the country.
Russia is really divided into two
parts - East and West, with the Ural Mountains being the dividing line. East of the Ural Mountains, Russia is
oriented towards Asia. It extends all the way to Japan and the
United States (and yes, you might be able to see Russia from some remote
northern parts of Alaska). Much of the
land (Siberia) is north of the Arctic Circle. We did not visit this part of Russia.
West of the Ural Mountains is the
Russia Westerners tend to think about. It is
oriented to Europe. Over the centuries,
Russia has been greatly impacted by the geo-politics of Europe – particularly
Germany and France. Napoleon invaded
Russia in the 1800’s. Both WWI and WWII
had huge impacts upon Russia. Today,
Russia considers their biggest threat to come from NATO.
Russian History: There is a good documentary on You Tube about
the history of the Tsars entitled Russia: Land of the Tsars. It is
a quick way to get some understanding of the complex history of Russia. It may be found by clicking here or by going to: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL658EE0F2CE09D44E . It consists of 20 ten-minute segments.
In 1380, prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow led a united
Russian army to an important victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo. Afterwards, Moscow took
the leading role in liberating the rest of Russia from Mongol domination.
In 1462 Ivan III, known as Ivan the Great (1440-1505) became Grand Prince of Moscow (then part of the medieval Muscovy state). He began fighting the Tatars, enlarged the territory of Muscovy, and enriched his capital city. By 1500, it had a population of 100,000 and was one of the largest cities in the world. He conquered the far larger principality of Novgorod to the north, which had been allied to the hostile Lithuanians. Thus, he enlarged the territory seven-fold, from 430,000 to 2,800,000 square kilometers.
The original Moscow Kremlin was built during the 14th century. It was reconstructed by Ivan, who in the 1480's invited architects from Renaissance Italy, such as Petrus Antonius Solarius, who designed the new Kremlin wall and its towers, and Marco Ruffo who designed the new palace for the prince. The Kremlin walls as they now appear are those designed by Solarius, completed in 1495. The Kremlin's Great Bell Tower was built in 1505–08 and augmented to its present height in 1600.
Peter the Great (1696 – 1725) was the first Tsar to unite Russia beyond Moscow. He founded St. Petersburg with the idea of emulating European nobility and architecture.
The double-headed eagle was the symbol of the Tsar. Originally a Byzantine symbol, the double-headed eagle was adopted by the Russian Tsars as their own. One eagle head represents the East and the other represents the West. Now the double-headed eagle is on the coat of arms of the Russian Federation.
The Emancipation Reform of 1861 was the first and most important of liberal reforms affected during the reign of Alexander II (1855 – 1881). The reform, together with a related reform in 1861, amounted to the liquidation of serf dependence previously suffered by peasants of the Russian Empire. By this edict, more than 23 million people received their liberty. Serfs were granted the full rights of free citizens, gaining the rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property and to own a business. The Manifesto prescribed that peasants would be able to buy the land from the landlords. Household serfs were the worst affected as they gained only their freedom and no land. The serfs from private estates were given less land than they needed to survive, which led to civil unrest. (Wikipedia).
Alexander II almost decided to
institute a constitution for Russia around 1881 but ended up deciding against
it shortly before he was assassinated.
If he had decided in favor of sharing power, Russian history might have
been much different.
The Russian people have had a very long history of autocratic and dictatorial leadership. Very few of the Tsars lived long enough to die a natural death. Most met a violent end. The rule of the Tsar’s ended in 1917 with the Bolshevik revolution and the killing of the last of the Tsars.
The Russian people have had a very long history of autocratic and dictatorial leadership. Very few of the Tsars lived long enough to die a natural death. Most met a violent end. The rule of the Tsar’s ended in 1917 with the Bolshevik revolution and the killing of the last of the Tsars.
After visiting Russia, seeing the
many palaces (and excesses) of the Tsars, learning some about its history, and
talking with today’s Russians, I have come to the conclusion that modern Russia
is a country in search of its identity.
Throughout its history, it seems that Russia has always been trying to
prove that it is “as good as” some other country. It has tried to emulate the French sometimes…
or the Germans at other times. It seems
to have a need to be “macho.” There is
very little that we found that was uniquely Russian. About the only things that we found that were
uniquely Russian (besides Russian caviar and vodka) were the Russian Orthodox
Church and some remnants from the Communist era.
Some random thoughts:
Some random thoughts:
Dandelions: We visited during the early spring in
Russia. Dandelions seemed to be growing
everywhere. There were carpets of yellow
dandelion flowers all over.
Russian Orthodox Church seems like a harsh
way of worship with no pews but might also reflect the strength of the Russians.
There seemed to be a consistent struggle between security and freedom in both their history and in conversation with today's Russians.
St. Petersburg reminded me of San
Francisco - city by the water, cosmopolitan.
Moscow reminded me of Los Angeles - harsh architecture, crowded roads, drab
Today's Russian economy is probably best described as an oligarchy or crony capitalism. Bribery and corruption seem to be an accepted way of
doing business.
There was a cynical view of politics by the common Russian. They didn't mind talking about politics but didn't think it worth much of their time because they believed that what they thought didn't make much of difference anyway. They seemed to express a desire for "strong"
leader. They love Putin.
The Kremlin (translate: fortress)
is not a dark and scary place but a nice public park not unlike the National Mall in D.C. but surrounded by a wall with strict security going in and out.
What follows is a day-by-day description of our trip. If you click on the Title for each day (Day 1, etc.) a new window will open with the pictures for that day.
Twelve of us
gathered at Samarkand restaurant in north Phoenix to try some Russian
food. We called our ASU Retirees group the Belugas. It was a chance for some of to meet for the first time.
We were the
only customers in the restaurant. It was the first day after Passover and
they had just reopened.
We
woke up at 3 a.m. Saturday Tempe time to get ready. We needed to be at
the airport by around 4:30 a.m. for the 7:35 a.m. flight to Dulles.
We had
a bumpy but uneventful flight from Phoenix to Dulles.
Slept
for a bit on the flight from Dulles to Frankfurt.… spilled a glass of red wine all over pillow. I don't remember …
sleeping pill worked. About an hour from
landing in Frankfurt as I write this. Really enjoying the iPad mini.
At around 9:45 p.m. Saturday Tempe time we have eaten lunch, dinner, and Sunday
breakfast. The sun is rising as we fly over London.
We landed in Frankfurt and then changed planes to fly on to Helsinki.
We landed in Frankfurt and then changed planes to fly on to Helsinki.
We arrive
safely in Helsinki 24 hours after getting up in Tempe (3 a.m. Saturday Tempe
time - 1 p.m. Sunday Helsinki time). After
collecting our luggage, we are greeted at the airport by our GCT guide Guzel, (pronounced
"goose + L"). We were taken to our hotel and given our room (on
the seventh floor). We settled in a bit, took a shower to freshen up and
then headed down to the lobby for an orientation and short walking tour of
Helsinki. We joined some of our other travelers for dinner at a Finnish
restaurant. Vina had a salmon salad and Gary had reindeer filet. A
bit expensive but very nice. Wished Vina
a Happy Mothers Day with a card.
It was
chilly outside and we were glad that we had brought heavier winter clothing
with us. It is hard to pack for cool weather when it is 100 degrees in
Tempe!
We
returned to the hotel where we crashed about 7:30 p.m. local time.
It was a very long two days in about 30 hours…
After
breakfast, we had a 45-minute orientation by Guzeel before boarding a coach
(bus) for a tour of the city.
We met up
with Marianne, a friend from Rancho Bernardo who coincidentally was also on
this trip. She was supposed to have taken a pre-trip to Ukraine but that was cancelled.
The tour of
Helsinki gave us a good feel for the city. The Finn`s are a hard working industrious
people. They have a strong social safety net in place.
We had lunch at a street market next to the harbor. We both had a hearty bowl
of salmon soup. Even though the temperature was in the upper 40's,
we were comfortable eating outside at a picnic table.
After lunch,
we walk around, visit some shops and stop at the city hall museum. We
head back to the hotel for a short afternoon nap.
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| Vina and Gary in Senator Square |
We head over
to Senator Square to listen to a special daily ringing of bells from the four
sides of the square. We learn about Tsar Nicholas II, who allowed for the
founding of the country of Finland. The history of Finland is bound up
with Russian history. Sweden has also played a large role, having ruled
the Finns for many years.
We come back
to hotel to get ready for dinner. Gary decides to try out the Finnish
sauna in the hotel before dinner. It is the same as any other sauna but
it is quite hot. Still suffering a bit from jet lag and the time change, the
sauna was quite refreshing.
We joined
our group for a nice dinner of salmon in the hotel restaurant. It was a
chance to start to get to know our fellow travelers.
After dinner,
we head back to our room and to bed at a "normal" time. Our
body clocks are adjusting to the new time zone and we enjoy a good night’s
sleep.
Today we
leave Helsinki and take a ferry (a very large ship) to Tallinn, Estonia across
the Bay of Finland.
We pack up
and leave the hotel. Before leaving, we walk to the local K Market and
buy a turkey sandwich to share later and a Coke Light.
We board our
bus and head out to visited an architect in her home. It was an upper
middle class condo of about 1,200 square feet on the fifth floor. There is no elevator. There
was a sauna included in the bathroom. Nice to visit but we only spent a
short time there and did not have much of a chance to talk with her.
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| Church of the Rock |
We then walk in the rain to go see the only synagogue in Helsinki but unfortunately, we are not able to
tour it, as we did not have a reservation. They are very security conscious with security checks and body scanners like at airports. There are only about 1,200
Jews in all of Finland.
We then head
back to the bus where we eat the sandwich we bought earlier at the K Market.
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| Tallinn |
After
arriving in Tallinn, we check into our hotel, get settled, and head out for a
walking tour of the city including a bit of the old (medieval)
town. We enjoy dinner as a large group at a medieval themed place with
candles for light. Enjoyable. Food seemed more German with sauerkraut.
We return to
the hotel around 10:30 p.m. after having walked more than 14,800 steps (7
miles) and quickly fall asleep.
We woke up
to a sunny but cold morning. The thermometer said 45 degrees but there was
a solid wind. It was time to dress warmly as we prepared for a bus and
walking tour.
We board the
bus after breakfast and drove around the newer parts of Tallinn. We see
the Bay of Tallinn. We visit the open-air concert venue where they hold a
National Singing concert every few years. It is a big deal
here.
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| Vina ready for cold weather |
Our guide
points out many sites along the way.
We join two
other couples for lunch in old town and spend two hours with soup and salad and
the local beer.
We then head
out to the village market in the old town square where Gary buys a new hat.
Afterwards we walk
back to the hotel where we get ready to take another walking tour - this time
to the local synagogue. Only six of us go on this tour and it is very
interesting. As in Helsinki, there is heavy security checks before entering the synagogue grounds. The Jews in Estonia are mostly from the old Soviet Union.
There are only about 2,000 Jews in all of Estonia.
We then head
to local supermarket and buy some wine to take with us on the
rest of the trip.
We return to
the hotel and prepare for a 5:30 p.m. tea reception followed by a lecture about
Estonia.
Our city
guide, Dennis, tells about the history and culture of Estonia. We
quickly realize how provincial we are. We learn about a country that we
hardly even knew existed. The geopolitics of the Baltic nations are
complex and interesting and not well understood by most Americans (at least not
by us).
We enjoy a
chicken dinner with everyone before retiring for the night.
We have a
busy schedule today. At 10 a.m., we leave for a tour of Rocca al Mare and
then a farm.
We board the
bus and drive out of the city. Rocca al Mare is a medieval village next
to the ocean (mare). It is cold but sunny. We walk around the large
area and visit several buildings -- a house, a barn. We watch the people
recreating what life might have been like back in the 1700 - 1800's. We watch as men plow the
field without any animals - just pulling/pushing the plow. We see women
spinning wool into yarn. We pass by a sauna filled with smoke and a hot
fire. Most of the buildings smelled strongly of smoke since the
fireplaces did not have chimneys and the rooms were designed to take account of
this "feature" in this climate. The smoke from the fireplace would drift up and help debug the hay being stored in the attic rafters.
Any way you
want to look at it, life was hard -- even up to recent times.
The
Estonians talk a lot about the "Soviet times" and the "Soviet
occupation." They seem very happy to be an independent country and a
member of NATO. NATO is a particular sore point with Russia.
After
visiting the village, we board the coach and head out more into the countryside
to a dairy farm. The owner tells us about her experiences in getting the
farm back after the breakup of the Soviet Union and her challenges making it
into a going business after being controlled and dictated to by the soviet government. In addition to milk, they make cheeses -- which we
tasted and enjoyed.
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| Cheese |
We observed
the cheese production area before boarding the coach and heading back to our
hotel where a nap seemed in order.
We packed
back up and got ourselves ready for the long bus ride across northern Estonia
to the Russian border and then St. Petersburg. We will leave around 8 a.m. and
should arrive late afternoon\early evening.
We got up
early this morning for breakfast. Our luggage needed to be out of our room by 7 a.m. and we had to check out
of the hotel by 8 a.m.
We
boarded our motor coach and were off toward Russia. The trip
should take about 6 hours.
We travel
through several small towns but mostly see forests and farmland. It reminded us of traveling through Alaska. We manage
a few nice views of the Baltic Sea.
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| The Border |
Crossing the
border from Estonia into Russia is a big deal. The Russians take their border
very seriously. After
waiting some time in a holding area and having our passports checked 3 times
and luggage scrutinized by several very serious looking people, we are allowed
to cross into Russia.
The drive to
St. Petersburg takes a few more hours and we pass through rural areas and
several small villages and towns. It looks a bit like a third world country with
touches of modernity.
We arrived
at our docked ship and were welcomed aboard. We checked into our rooms
and find the rest of our traveling group- the Beluga's from ASU. We then become part of four subgroups on the ship. We call ourselves the "Orange Blossoms."
We listen to
a welcome briefing and enjoy some of the wine we bought in Tallinn drinking out
of paper cups. We then had a nice dinner on board ship.
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| Dick and Pat Richardson |
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| Gary and Vina |
Today was our first real day exploring Russia. We started the morning with a bus tour of part of St. Petersburg before we visited Peter and Paul fortress (see pictures).
Peter and Paul Fortress was the
central founding place for St. Petersburg and where the tsars are entombed -
including the last tsars - the Romanoff's. The fortress walls are
very thick. This area was off limits to the public and used by the elites
but is now open to the public.
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| Peter & Paul Fortress Church |
We got
together with our Orange Blossom group members at 6 pm before going into dinner
at 7 p.m. Dinner included the "CCCP" group of Russia staples: Carrots, Cabbage, Celery and Potatoes.
While some of the younger amongst our group party till all hours, most of us
are exhausted at the end of the day.
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| St. Isaac's Cathedral |
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| Peterhof |
After lunch
we go to Peterhof which is a palace with naturally flowing water
fountains. It was modeled after Versailles and was quite opulent.
It is now run as a state park. We wandered through the
grounds with one jaw dropping moment to the next. See the
pictures.
We return to
the ship around 6 p.m. in time for dinner at 7 p.m.
 |
| Selfie in Palace Mirror |
The weather
in St. Petersburg was unusually warm this day - in the 80's.
Most of the
Palace was destroyed during the siege of Leningrad (1941 - 1943).
During the siege, the Nazis occupied the Palace and eventually tried to destroy
it when they were leaving. Of the more than 300 rooms, about 100 have been
restored.
The gardens
were equally opulent.
We listened
to a small A Cappella group sing in a special "gazebo" designed for
music. It was amazing. I hope the videos (click here or go to Day 10 and click) captures just a bit of how
great it was.
We headed
back to the ship for a 1 p.m. lunch. Then people head in different
directions. Some learn about public transportation and head out for
downtown St. Petersburg. Some prepare to go to the ballet later this
evening. We chose to take it easy and retired to the President's Bar with
a great air conditioned view of the Neva River while we write these journal
entries. Vina is quickly learning how to use her new word processing
program on her iPad - and seems to be enjoying it!
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| Palace entrance |
After a big
lunch on board ship, we head out again, this time to visit a music boarding
school. It clearly affirms our belief that children are the same the
world over. We are entertained by several of the students.
Then our group of 28 go to a fourth level (grade) classroom (age around 11) where the
kids ask us questions (with our tour guide serving as translator) and we ask
them questions. Some of the kids also play their instruments. Vina
has a chance to interact with some of the kids on a one-on-one basis and enjoys
being a teacher once again for a few minutes. The children are beginning to learn English, but more reading than speaking.
We return to
the ship and bid Vas Vedayna (good-bye) to St. Petersburg as our ship, the
Rossia (Russia) sets sail up the Neva River.
We drink
champagne at the Captain's Reception before dinner. We enjoy a roast beef
dinner as we watch the scenery drift by. We sit with Dick and Pat
Richardson and Dave and Karen Schwalm and enjoy great conversation. After
dinner, we stroll out on the deck and enjoy the 10 p.m. sun.
We wake up
with pine forests on either side of the river. We had crossed the largest
lake in Europe, Lake Ladoga, while we slept.
After a
leisurely breakfast, we go to listen to a talk about the ship and the rivers we
will be traveling on in the coming days. We will cover 1,000 nautical
miles on our journey to Moscow and go through 16 locks.
Vina goes to
a talk on Russian handicrafts while Gary walks the decks and takes a few
pictures.
Then we both
attend a talk on our next ports of call, Svirstroy and Petrozavodsk followed by
a Russian language lesson. The ship docks at Svirstroy.
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| Our Home Visit |
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| We all sat around a table |
This evening
we have a special reception for ASU Retirees Beluga's hosted by Grand Circle.
It was a great way to get together.
The ship travels overnight and we dock at Petrozavodsk. We visit a
local Karelian folk center and enjoy
puppets, crafts and folk dancing.
Even though it is raining, we take a bus tour of the city.
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| Everyone got to dance |
Later,
around 5 pm, we go to Karelian folk concert. Very enjoyable
The performers danced and sang and played unique instruments.
Back on
board that evening, the crew puts on a very humorous skit based on Russian folk tales for our
entertainment. Several passengers were included as actors in the skit along with ships crew and tour guides. It was enjoyed by both actors and audience.
Again we sail overnight another few hundred miles to Kizhi Island. We wake up
early this morning and after breakfast, we leave at 8 am for a walking tour of
Kizhi Island. It is the most northern stop on our trip. The key
attraction are the old wooden buildings and especially the old Church of
Transfiguration (which is in the process of being restored).
Our weather
has turned wonderful and are enjoying sunny skies with moderate
temperatures. Unfortunately Vina brought only one short sleeve shirt, which gets washed nightly.
We set sail
about 10:30 a.m. and head out across Onego Lake (second largest lake in
Europe.). The rest of the day is cruising the river. In the afternoon, we have a
cooking lesson preparing pelmeni -- sort of like empanadas -- which are boiled, not baked or fried. We then had a
tour of the ships bridge by the captain.
We spent
this morning cruising. It was a relaxing morning with absolutely gorgeous
weather. We pass by a sunken monastery.
We attend
another lecture on Russian history - this time from the 1917 revolution forward.
Very interesting and instructive. Russian history is
complicated.
After a
typically large lunch I keep telling myself that I will eat less but then…
we head out for a tour of an old Monastery complex. I was
underwhelmed. However, it was a good walk and I was able to take
some good pictures of the church spires.
After
returning to the ship, we go for a blintz (pancake) cooking lesson. A
vodka tasting follows this. We are certainly not
lacking for things to eat!
We sailed to Uglich (not u ..gly) to visit the town. Lots of shopping opportunities between the
ship dock and the town. We bought some
vodka at a liquor store in town and some souvenirs at the stalls by the ship.
We took a walking tour of the town. We experienced another very short singing concert. We visited the local church and walked around the center of town.
We returned to the ship and proceeded on our journey towards Moscow. We passed a bell tower in the middle of the river. The river had changed course after it was built.
We had a good dinner with Baked Alaska for dessert followed by entertainment by fellow passengers who had learned some Russian songs.
Day 17 - May 26 Moscow - City and Subway Tour
We returned to the ship and proceeded on our journey towards Moscow. We passed a bell tower in the middle of the river. The river had changed course after it was built.
We had a good dinner with Baked Alaska for dessert followed by entertainment by fellow passengers who had learned some Russian songs.
Day 17 - May 26 Moscow - City and Subway Tour
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| Red Square |
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| St. Basil's |
We visited Red Square surrounded by St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin, Lenin’s Tomb and Gum Department Store. Red Square is a true study in contrasts.
Then we took a tour of the Moscow subway. The stations were designed to be “palaces for the common people” by the Communists. Each station had a different decor. They were quite impressive and the trains ran continuously. It is obvious that Muscovites make heavy use of the Metro system.
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| Kremlin Entrance |
We spent the day touring the Kremlin. The word Kremlin means a walled fort. It is not some dark evil place but
rather it is sort of a park, not unlike the National Mall in D.C. It houses a lot of government buildings as
well as museums and churches. There was tight security going in and out of the enclosed area.
They did not allow pictures inside the Armory museum but it
was a fascinating look at Russian history. This is where the Faberge eggs that Russia still has are kept. Only seven of 100's worldwide remain in Russia.
We concluded the evening with a visit to the art gallery and
a concert of Russian songs.
A very good day.
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| Circus Arena |
Late in the day we went to visit a circus in Moscow. This is not the movable tent kind of circus
but one with a permanent building. It is
a Russian favorite. And despite the
language barrier, we thoroughly enjoyed the show.
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| WWII Veterans |
After returning to ship, we were honored to have three Russian
WWII veterans come and talk with us about their experiences. The USA and Russia were allies in WWII. These gentlemen were in their late 80’s and
had a lot of history to share. It was
both moving and fascinating.
A long day coming home. We got up at 2:30 a.m. to get to the Moscow airport for our flight home. The flight was uneventful
and boring… just as it should be.
It felt good to be back in the USA!
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