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Two Weeks in Russia
Dr. Harold Wingo

Saint Basil the Blessed    Ordinarily, I travel on business and sometimes for humanitarian reasons; I also travel, for the most part, by myself. My trip to Russia, however, was purely recreational and I traveled with a German group. Germans, by all rights, are very good travelers. They complain little and to say they are adventurous is a gross understatement. I have linked up with several German groups in the past and they have certainly won my respect.
    Leaving Frankfurt, Germany on Swiss Air, my flight carried me south to Zürich, Switzerland where I had a one hour lay-over. By 0800 HRS I was on a non-stop flight north to Moscow, Russia and by 1000 HRS (Russian Time) our aircraft began its final approach into Moscow International Airport. Having descended through an overcast sky, a light drizzle partially obscured our visibility as we over-flew green fields, small wooded areas and the sprawling city and roof tops of Moscow.
   For some reason I had imagined that Moscow International would have been a large, modern airport. I was wrong. It was ordinary . . . extremely plain. Large, unpainted steel girders, serving as the super structure, were exposed and rusting. Streaks of rust
stained large portions of exposed, raw concrete bearing witness to years of neglect. The swing-out walkway from the aircraft to the terminal was unlike most European and American walkways; it was drafty, leaking and far below the standard of the West. Normally, but not always, a smiling face greets you as you walk from the walkway to the terminal proper. This was not the case in Moscow. Several Russian soldiers, dressed in green wool uniforms and wearing what appeared to be plastic boots, stood stone-faced
clutching their automatic weapons. Like sheep we were funneled through partitioned corridors, following arrows and finally making our way down a flight of steps into a dimly lit Immigration station. Standing in semi darkness we waited and watched as Russian soldiers passed and re-passed eyeing and often stopping and staring at us for several minutes. It was intimidating. Finally, the line began to move towards 5 small poorly lit Immigration booths.

Immigration The Immigration Official said nothing . . . she only viewed the passport, looked up once to match the picture with the face, stamped the passport, then looked directly in my eyes, without breaking eye contact, and pushed the passport back through a small opening cut at the bottom of thick glass. Her face was blank   . . . void of any feeling or emotion. For an instant I saw contempt. As a gift, I gave her a warm, friendly smile. What I had just seen was a broken spirit, hopelessness, despair, and fear . . . fear and uncertainty yet unquestionable knowledge that tomorrow would be worse.
    Having passed through Customs I began the task of finding my group. The area was dark and damp. A musty smell was interlaced with burned diesel fumes. Blank faces starred through metal bars as I fought my way past a large crowd and perhaps 60 people holding various signs. I was hunting for the sign DeTour. Having spotted the sign I made my way to the group only to find that they were all French. One French gentleman spoke no English but a little Deutsch; enough to tell me that several DeTour groups were further back in the dark recesses of the terminal. Making contact with several groups I was finally approached by a Russian lady who spoke to me in broken English. I was the last to complete the group of 80. “Warten heir!”, was her staunch command in Deutsch. No one moved. Surveying the group I realized that my next two weeks would be spent with “Blue Hairs” . . . Senior Citizens. Although not officially a Senior Citizen, I chuckled to myself because by all rights I fit the description now that I am mostly gray and my face filled with War Maps. Our group consisted of one American (myself), one Polish lady (a mid-wife), two Chinese (both doctors) and the remaining were Germans from the West and former East.
   Shortly, the Russian lady, whom I later learned was to be one of our two guides, returned to the group instructing us to follow her. Forming a queue at the bus each passed by her as she confirmed our name on her list. Boarding the bus I got my first glimpse of and soon to be first experience with Russian ground transportation. Waiting for our bus to leave I sneaked several pictures of two Russian Soldiers standing just outside our bus. Then away we went.
    The streets were wide and seemingly well maintained. Streetcars ran in juxtaposition with the city’s streets and basically they were in good shape. Their mass transit system was definitely intact, reliable and I found later to be dependable. For a country experiencing political unrest and pains from continuous change, Moskva (Moscow) was well kept, clean and from all outward appearances on track. For the most part, the more recent buildings were like those of East Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, i.e., they were massive, tall, gray and depressing . . . raw unpainted concrete structures all indicative of recent Communist times.

Typical Housing Housing is a real problem in Moscow as two families share a small apartment the waiting list for separate dwellings as long as 5 years for most and much longer for others. On the other hand, however, with perhaps exception of Budapest, Hungary I don’t think I have witnessed another city so rich in old, beautiful architecture and this alone is certainly cause for a return trip.

Historical Museum at Red Square The old parts of the city were absolutely astonishing and often breathtaking. Contrasting with newer works, old buildings were colorfully constructed of red but mostly yellow stone adorned with hanging sculpture. Some structures dated back to the 15th Century and a few pre-dated the 14th Century.
After a 30 minute bus ride, we arrived at our hotel. It was huge though on a smaller scale it resembled the Empire State building.

Our Hotel in Moscow We were located directly on the Moscow River and very close to the center of Moscow. The hotel was old with a large cupola in the antechamber sporting hand paintings and stone scroll work. Twin stair cases, likened to that in Gone With the Wind, were located on either side of a large passage leading to others parts of the Hotel. Our rooms were simple and the beds were very old and hard. After several hours of rest and lunch our first tour took us to the famed and impressive Red Square.

Red Square Facing West The open area of the Red Square was constructed in the 15th Century of cobblestone much like other parts of Europe. It borders the east wall of the Kremlin. At opposite ends of the square, facing each other, are two historical landmarks, the 15th Century cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed and at the other end the 19th Century Historical Museum. Although impressive, Red Square is far from being as large as that often depicted in movies and news reports. Standing there, I couldn’t help but reflect on childhood days when I saw tanks, soldiers and missiles flaunted before the world in News Briefs. Even more recently, a young German student eluded Russian radar and flew his single engine plane into Moscow and landed in Red Square. The “pucker factor” must have been titanic as there was barely room to land and certainly no room to take off. Mid way along the east wall is Lenin’s Moslem and behind the Moslem are graves of all recent great Russian presidents and leaders. Directly across the square from the Moslem is The Peoples Mall, a long beautiful building built in the 1800 running the entire length of the Red Square.
For a country so “atheistic”, I have never before seen so many religious works of art and so many structures built around Christianity. There are over 500 Russian Orthodox Churches in Moscow the most famous being Saint Basil the Blessed. The unique Onion Domes of Russian Orthodox Churches are prevalent throughout the city most of which are covered in gold.

Considered the most Sacred site in Russia The Onion Domes of Saint Basil the Blessed are the only ones that I saw in Moscow which were constructed of various geometrical shapes and colorfully decorated.

Me in front of Moslem     I stood in line for over an hour to enter Lenin’s Moslem and to view the body of Lenin. This structure is massive and absolute silence must be maintained when passing through. Lenin is enclosed in a glass viewing-case and his body is lighted by rose color lights similar to those in most mortuaries. He appeared to be well preserved and the left hand could pass for polished wax.
    Leaving the Moslem, we crossed the square and headed for a small church adjacent to the Historical Museum. We entered the church and I have never heard such beautiful singing in my life. I would have sworn that it was a professional recording had I not personally witnessed 8 very ordinary people singing. I could reach out and touch them; that’s how close I was. We were not allowed to take pictures however I turned on my video camera and recorded the music. Ever so often I would point the camera in their direction with hopes that I could capture the moment on film. It worked and I have the music and people on tape singing. Later that day, an important processional took place at the church as we watched what I assumed to be the Russian Orthodox Pope, dressed in spectacular wear festooned in diamonds and other jewels, enter the church with great singing. Armed Russian Police stood guard while the processional unfolded. Not until 7 years ago were Russians allowed to openly practice religion. This was obviously an important event and certainly respected and held in reverence by the participants.
    Our next point of interest was the “Zero Point”, a brass marker imbedded in the street at the far end of the Red Square. All distances in Russia are measured from this point. In the immediate vicinity was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and several hundred meters from that an underground Mall.

Underground Mall This Mall is located five stories underground and spans a distance of 2 foot ball fields. Had I not been told it was there I would have never known.
In the interest of conserving space and time I will say that in the following 6 days I was exposed to more culture than I could possibly digest. I became a “Culture Vulture”. We entered the Kremlin and viewed the National Treasures which was awesome, we visited several enormous art museums viewing works by van Gogh, Rembrant and Leonardo Da Vinci, we visited many historical sites to include the very room where Communism was born and we even took in a Ballet performed by a famous Russian Ballet Company.
The Ballet was remarkable as I got into a confrontation with an American JERK!! During intermission I was talking to my German friends when I felt a sharp thump in my ribs. This little “Worm of a Man” had punched me in the ribs because he wanted by me. He could have said Pardon, Excuse Me, even “Hallo” would have worked because each one of these words are Internationally recognized but he chose to be the "Ugly American" . . . an American JERK. He assumed, because I was speaking Deutsch, that I was German and took advantage of the moment. I followed him to the hallway where I confronted his rude actions. After shaming him in front of his American friends and strongly lecturing him on the importance of being a good Ambassador for America I turned to walk away but thought better and stopped. He had made an obscene gesture behind my back and I caught him. His aging wife begged that I not do anything and apologized for his reprehensible behavior. I started towards the man when he sought refuge behind one of the biggest men I have ever seen. Stopping short of getting my butt kicked I spat out several urging words both in Deutsch and English and walked away. As a matter of importance, for those Americans who do little traveling, be courteous and kind while a guest in other countries. Represent my country well and let not one critical word be said because of rude American behavior. Mind your manners and realize that YOU represent America!

Moscow's Metro which is SUPER clean One of the most amazing places that I visited was Moscow’s subway. The subway is almost 400 feet under Moscow and it is spotless!! No drawing on the walls . . . no trash on the train nor on the floor of the subway station. The floors shined as though they had just been polished. No threat of being robbed or accosted and each stop served as a very special Art Gallery.

One of the large mosaics in the Metro One stop contained fantastic mosaics on the walls bounded by carved, marble scrolls around each, another sported marvelous paintings on the walls and ceiling, and yet another produced fine sculpture. One even displayed crystal chandeliers while another presented back-lit stainglass.
Having practically foundered on Culture our six days were up and we boarded the train for our overnight ride to St. Petersburg, Russia. Sleep came easily and time passed quickly. One interesting note is, during summer months such as when I was there, the sun does not go down until around midnight and at that it never gets dark. The sun actually breaks the horizon at 0300 Hrs and shortly after it is broad daylight. Should you decide to visit Russia I would suggest summer as there are long days and plenty of light to see the sights.
My “Blue Haired” friends and I began another 6 days of “Culture” arriving in St. Petersburg at 0800 Hrs. We were collected by our new guide, packed on a much smaller bus and made our way along poorly maintained streets and through dilapidated neighborhoods until reaching our rather modern hotel on the Baltic Sea. St. Pete was not as well kept as Moscow however it was certainly more endowed with 14th Century architecture than Moscow and equally rich with regard to Fine Art.

Our Hotel in St. Petersburg The hotel was actually fabulous. We checked in, received our room key and headed for the showers. We were given several hours to collect ourselves and prepare for an afternoon of “Culture”. Our first stop was St. Peter and Paul Church. Constructed inside St. Petersburg’s citadel the tall, slender gold spiked steeple towered above the skyline and could be seen from most any place in St. Pete.

Peter & Paul Chruch Just one week prior, Russian President Boris Yeltsin attended a ceremony at Peter and Paul Church closing a chapter on Russia’s history whereby laying to rest Nicoli II, the last Russian Zar, and his family. The Zar and his family had been murdered by the Russian people years ago and this last act by Yeltsin was to pay penance, on behalf of the Russian people, for their murders. Flowers were still fresh as we filed by the graves.
Throughout the week we visited several Summer and Winter Castles of famous Russian leaders, took a trip outside St. Pete to the Peterhof (a spectacular summer castle), and toured the river canals of St. Pete by boat.

Me at the Peterhof Castle

Peterhof

By the 6th day it was TIME to leave. I had my fill of “Culture”. The trip was very educational, exciting, and certainly worthy of a return visit. For me, however, I have seen a small piece of Russia in the summer. Perhaps my return will be during the winter months.

Dr. Harold H. Wingo
Schweinfurt, Germany

Dr. Harold H. Wingo