It's Monday Funday!

After four weeks in Russia, I have observed an aspect of this culture that I did not think I would witness - wealth dispersion and economic polarization seen in everyday life.

Now before I continue, I hardly consider myself a mathematically oriented person, let alone an economist. (Math 111 was the death of me.) However, I am a citizen of a first world country cast into the midst of a nation only 20 years removed from a Socialist system. When the Soviet Union fell, small companies and individuals snatched up previously government owned property- from factories to natural gas rights to oil fields. I’ll spare those who already are knowledgeable on the subject, and cut to the chase. This made a few people very, very rich and left the majority of the Russian population in the lower-middle class to lower class.

A country whose top 5% holds over 90% of the wealth is certainly not an uncommon idea, as most of the world outside of the U.S. lives in poverty. (You’ve seen the Red Cross commercials… yadah yadah yadah.)

 Consider this: Russia ranks third in the world in number of billionaires with 101- that’s 7.1 billionaires for every 10 million people- but ranks 53^rd in the world in GDP per capita!

            

This is evident in observing everyday life in a city like St. Petersburg. Along with Moscow, St. Petersburg holds almost all wealthy people in Russia, as much of the country is small rural towns with a considerably low income. Traveling just 30 minutes outside of the city was as far as I needed to go to see shanty like homes and farm animals galore.

0-60 In about 3 minutes

            

Unfortunately I did not have my camera on me at the time (some journalism major I am…) but yesterday I witnessed a perfect example of this on the street. At a stoplight near my house were 4 cars sitting at a red light. Two of these cars were Ferraris- the models I am not sure of, but I am confident one was a 458 Italia, while the other two were of a Russian brand- Lada.  I kid you not. I will leave you with a stunningly resembling photo of the condition and type of Ladas were in front of the Ferraris. -->

Just a couple of natural gas tycoons out for an evening drive, next to a farmer and his family in their most prized possession. This should paint a decent mental image for you.

Also- Happy birthday to Eddie Paskal. Love you buddy. Good luck to all my fellow ducks whom begin class today!

Valaam, Pavlovsk, Artillery Museum. (Monastery in the middle of nowhere, Over the top Palace, Things that go BOOM

Okay okay okay so below are pictures from the last week or so. FINALLY. A quick rundown of each place:


Valaam: a monastery located on an island in the middle of Lake Lagoda, the largest lake in Europe. We took an overnight booze cruis.... uhh.. I mean.. holy pilgrimage to this island, and toured the island in one full day. Lots of walking, but very peaceful. The serenity of Valaam was surreal, I could definitely sense the history and serenity walking around the grounds. While the exact date of the creation of Valaam is not determined- inhabitants of the island told me it was around the 14th century that this monastery was first formed.


Pavlovsk: All you need to know is that it is an over the top palace built by Russian tsars. Big. Beautiful. Russian.


Artillery Museum: Located to the north of the city, I took a 30 minute metro ride to this building which used to be the old armory up until the fall of the Soviet Union. There was a Mikhail Kalashnikov exhibit going on- commemorating the creator of the most famous weapon in the world- the AK-47. I had the chance to take apart and put back together a functioning AK. Pretty cool. Call me skeptical or paranoid, but the entire place wreaked of gunpowder. It was also creepy walking around and seeing these huge ICBMs (didn't get any good pictures- they were simply too big to get a decent angle on while indoors!) and tanks that were manufactured for the sole purpose of taking down the Western Alliance if the Cold War came to be a legitimate and conventional war.

Enjoy.


VALAAM

Inside the "winter" chapel. In a basement to keep warm during the ridiculously cold Russian winters.

The first chapel erected on the island. 

Unfortunately the large tower was being refurbished. The others are still purdy!

Another of the winter chapel.

The importance of icons in the Eastern Orthodox Church deserves a much bigger explanation than I am willing to give...

Same pose in every picture? Of course.

There are over 200 miles of walking trails on the island just like this.

A small and gorgeous lake somewhere in the middle of the island.

A small chapel under construction. (Different from the first one.)

 PAVLOVSK

State Park

Palace 1

Palace 2- With some friends mean-muggin of course.

ARTILLERY MUSEUM

Peter and Paul fortress in the background. I'm no soviet artillery officer, but isn't this gun aimed in the wrong direction?

Soviet Military Law #1: You can never have too big of a gun, or too many.

Russian T-80 tanks. I've driven one before! On Xbox...

Big Big Guns.

A Katusha rocket launcher. These are those trucks with tons of fiery rockets. If you have watched the history channel- ever- you know what this is. Basically if this thing were functioning, one would NOT stand where I am standing.

Kalashnikov Exhibit. Soviet Military Law #2: The more variations of the AK-47, the better.

I can return to the USA a happy man. 

For all you Call of Duty nerds- recognize this? 

A piece of the U2 spy plane the Russians shot down in the 1960's. Bastards.

7 things you didn't know about Russia.. Or already assumed but are now confirmed.

I've been in the Motherland for a little over 3 weeks now, and boy, I've seen some stuff maaaan. Some weeeirrrddd stuffff. Anywho, below is my top list of perhaps the most intriguing aspects regarding Russian culture.

1.) Mullets are absolutely socially acceptable. And I know you think this goes just for men... not a chance- girls are proponents of the "business in the front, party in the back" look as well.
2.) Man purses- you call it European, I call it questionable. Either way, "Murses" are everywhere. (Bonus points go to those who rock the Mullet/Murse combo)
3.) Looking pissed off / tired in public. Unlike in America where people will smile at complete strangers and murmur a muffled "hello",  Russians mean-mug 24/7. You hold a door for a little old lady? You're getting a frown and if you're lucky, a nod.  Everyone looks straight ahead with a frown. ALL THE TIME. It's actually hillarious. And here's the catch- they aren't even actually mad at YOU! This was the hardest concept for me to grasp at first. It is not a sign of hostility, but simply the way they go about their business in public. At orientation we were told to put on our "Metro Faces". Basically our academic advisers told us not to look like dumbass Americans all the time. Too bad I laugh at everyone all the time here.. Whoops.
4.) Grapefruit juice + Gin. In a 16 oz. can. $1.20. Need I say more?
5.) Girls wear heels. And nothing else. American college girls would be put to shame in this country. No offense ladies- I am a huge supporter of the yoga pants / boyfriend's crewneck / uggs / greasy, messy hair- look around campus, but school is like your high school prom. Errrryday.
6.) Your typical Russian fight consists of a 1 or 2 on 10 matchup. I witnessed this first hand. I will not be throwing down in Russia despite all hopes and dreams I have of getting in a Russian club brawl. They don't mess around with the talk-talk-talk-talk... okay 1 on 1 brawl-type of fighting we see in America. There is no code of ethics. Gee go figure...
7.) Cross-walks. In America, it is quite simple, correct? White walking man = go. Red hand = stop. Simple. Russia? Nooooooo. Traffic lights are more like terrorism threat levels indicating how likely a pedestrian is to be hit by a car. We play real-life Frogger daily. No big deal.

Next post will be overdue photos! all photos! You stay classy, America. One love.

Hermitage!

Today I had the pleasure of visiting the second largest museum in the world, The Hermitage. (Государственный Эрмитаж) Located in the center of St. Petersburg, the Hermitage first served as the royal winter palace for Catherine the Great in 1764. Here are just a few pictures from my visit today. The Hermitage (pronounced errr-meee-tahhhzzhh) has over 3 million items on exhibit, so there are many I will see in a second trip back to the museum later on.
Perhaps the more interesting aspect of my visit to this area today is the history behind the Palace Square. This was the place that hosted the dismal events such as Bloody Sunday in 1905, and the October Revolution of 1917- both violent and blunt events in Russian history. (One who studies this nation's history will find that most Russian events are harsh and violent...) I stood in the same spots today where citizens protesting the Tsar's regime were gunned down by the royal guards.. SKETCH.

The Palace Square, with the Alexander common on the left and Hermitage on the Right.- Other unnecessarily tall buildings can be seen in the background- St.Isaac's cathedral on the left and the Admiralty Navy building in the center background.

Alexander Column. This was built to commemorate the Russian defeat of that one French general at Waterloo in 1812. I just get all French military figures confused!  Don't blame me- they all lose or surrender and as a result, it is impossible to distinguish these individuals.

The Raphael Loggias. This picture amuses me due to the fact that a nearly identical photo exists on wikipedia.

My tour group had moved on, but Da Vinci's work really forced me to stop and ponder the wonders of Italian artwork and the Renaissance.

Outside the front gates of the Winter Palace. (Note: I was very tempted to Photoshop the Soviet Union hammer-and-sickle flag over the Russian Federation flag. That white, blue and red just doesn't seem right...)

This picture is the same, but gives you an idea for the size of the building. The lines I am standing on are for Stalin-era troops during military marches and parades. Yeah I'm pretty much a Soviet Infantryman.

It's ya boy Rembrant's art

Catherine the Great's personal kick-it spot, complete with over-the-top chandeliers. Obvi.

Peter the Great's own throne chair. Seeing as how he stood an equal 6'6" to my height, I had to fight the urge to hop the ropes and snag a pic in the big man's chair. After all, it would have been a perfect fit!

Arrival

Finally finally finally finally finally I am here! A 26 hour transit starting in Spokane and ending in St. Petersburg seemed like eternity. My journey took me through the likes of Denver, Toronto, and Frankfurt. Upon arriving we (we consists of the other 25 students in the same program) were bussed to a hotel. My first taste of Soviet Union grandeur was thrown in my face, as a massive monument dedicated to the Heroes of Leningrad engulfed the intersection where my hotel was located. This monument congratulates the members of the city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) for the accomplishment of surviving the Nazi siege from 1941-1945. Extreme hunger, cold, and of course Nazi soldiers were the daily occurrence for any Russian citizen at the time.

The obelisk in the center measures 175 feet tall, while the two main statues are around 40.

From left to right: Sergei, Anton, Mikhail, Ivan......

Below and around the arc is writing that commemorates the 900 days and 900 nights during which the residents of Leningrad were under siege.

Tall. Monumental. Heroic. Tall. Yep, I'd say that fulfills the Russian requirements for a statue.

Novorossiysk is commemorated here as well. It is considered one of 9 "Hero Cities" that were crucial in fending off the Nazi Invasion.

 I also had the chance to visit the Church on Spilled Blood. (Russians are masters in making any name completely dismal and sad.) I won't go into the history, but nevertheless this church was perhaps the most colorful and vibrant thing I have seen so far!

Could have sworn I was in Eugene with this rain...

Onion domes fer dayz

It is dinner time, but I will post about my living situation tomorrow. Until then, до свидания!