August 26, 2004
red square: something larger
I stood with my wife and step-son in red square. We saw the Kremlin. We saw the sights of central Moscow. We stood in red square. Ponder that for a second. I grew up in a generation of western kids that still saw Russia as an inaccessible place - blazing red as Mars in its communist hold over it's people. I never once dreamed of visiting Moscow or any city in Russia as tourist attraction. I grew up, a bit naively i suppose, on stories of people stripped completely of their freedoms, especially their religious freedoms. I grew up with visions of people sneaking about in constant avoidance of actual living of a day to day life. Rather living a life spent in fear of the strong arm of the Duma - KGB. How wrong it seemed I was as I actually began to see - begining with the kremlin and red square, little bits of how much pre-communist history and deep culture that Russia has to base it's present national identity on. It seems we in the west have missed some things in our learning about Russia. Consider the rapid rekindling of the great power and strength that lies in the incessant prayers of thousands of devout Russian Orthodox babushkas (whether it was "allowed" for them to pray or not), for instance.
I remembered with a smile too, the late 1980's/early nineties news story of a 19-year old German pilot of a Cessna 152 who took off one day from Germany, crossed the border into Russia, flying low, and eventually landed in Red square, safely. They arrested him of course. And now, I saw how in the massive open area of the square he easily could have landed there. A Cessna 152's landing roll in normal wind conditions is pretty short, like 300 feet, that's it.
We continued standing, ten o'clock, mid-morning still and young people in love strolled past with beer bottles in hand, characters mellowed by the brewskis they fondled. Strolling by the front of the mausoleum of Lenin's tomb, I watched a black pigeon peck at the fallen crumbs of something larger left behind. The tomb was closed until tomorrow. The hungry black pigeon pecked on. Beyond the tomb, between the Orthodox Church and a horse-mounted monument to a Russian General who stopped the fascists taking Moscow in WW2, Lenin, Marx, Tsar Peter and Tsarina Caterina offered photo-ops for three bucks American (The next day when we came back I was trying to find the guy dressed as Lenin for a quick picture and couldn't see him anywhere so I asked Dimitri: where's Lenin today? I want to take a picture." Dima replied: "Rowb, he is taking a rest now, break time" and he gestured towards the Mausoleum. "Eh?" I believed him for a half a second (good one, again, Dima!), and for that half second of belief, Dima, Ioulia and uncle volodia all began laughing at me.
Timing is the key and Dima's got it, I tell ya. I believe My wife has now told everybody she knows here and in Russia about Dima's little - getting Rob - with the "Lenin's on a break right now" practical joke. Look, I know Lenin's been dead for a long time ok! Come on, leave me alone ok! I don't wanna talk about, quit laughing!
Through two archways out of red square and back into downtown Moscow, people threw money in the air ensuring one day they'd return to this place. A crowd of poor old folks stood ready for the next person to throw their money. Over the shoulder and tinkling on a Hollywood star like emblem inlaid in the sidewalk, the old folks closed in and grabbed as they could.
Have you ever thrown Macdonald's Drive-thru French fries out the window of your car and watched the seagulls fight for every morsel as you munched down your drive-through quarter-pounder with cheese meal? Sad truths exist in downtown Moscow, it appears.
Meanwhile, skirts are short, girls are slim and bare A LOT. Stilettos are of the latest fashion and usually enticingly laced to pairs of Neet-bared young Russian female's legs, very hard NOT to look at, even with your pregnant wife punching you in the arm six or seven times: "Rowbertt!!, Rowbertt!!, Rowbertt!! ", then slapping you silly. Just kidding, I've learned to be far more furtive then that, and of course, I somehow find the way to remain faithful in spite of the occasional Holy Moses, look at that over there, can't help it if she walks in front of me, dear, lingering glances.
We strolled back to the car, through a construction tunnel, past tables of hawkers hawking items of value to tourists. Pirate software freely displayed, Windows XP Professional, $2.00 Am., Russian Army hats in perfect shape - $5.00 Am. Russian Army medals - $10 Am. Sunglasses - cheap. Socks - cheap.
Back in the square, Government Universal Market which used to house essential goods for citizen's lives now houses fashion boutiques and storefronts of every branded merchant worthy of note. Capitalism has a permanent residence in Red Square and no-one seems to mind at all.
I remembered with a smile too, the late 1980's/early nineties news story of a 19-year old German pilot of a Cessna 152 who took off one day from Germany, crossed the border into Russia, flying low, and eventually landed in Red square, safely. They arrested him of course. And now, I saw how in the massive open area of the square he easily could have landed there. A Cessna 152's landing roll in normal wind conditions is pretty short, like 300 feet, that's it.
We continued standing, ten o'clock, mid-morning still and young people in love strolled past with beer bottles in hand, characters mellowed by the brewskis they fondled. Strolling by the front of the mausoleum of Lenin's tomb, I watched a black pigeon peck at the fallen crumbs of something larger left behind. The tomb was closed until tomorrow. The hungry black pigeon pecked on. Beyond the tomb, between the Orthodox Church and a horse-mounted monument to a Russian General who stopped the fascists taking Moscow in WW2, Lenin, Marx, Tsar Peter and Tsarina Caterina offered photo-ops for three bucks American (The next day when we came back I was trying to find the guy dressed as Lenin for a quick picture and couldn't see him anywhere so I asked Dimitri: where's Lenin today? I want to take a picture." Dima replied: "Rowb, he is taking a rest now, break time" and he gestured towards the Mausoleum. "Eh?" I believed him for a half a second (good one, again, Dima!), and for that half second of belief, Dima, Ioulia and uncle volodia all began laughing at me.
Timing is the key and Dima's got it, I tell ya. I believe My wife has now told everybody she knows here and in Russia about Dima's little - getting Rob - with the "Lenin's on a break right now" practical joke. Look, I know Lenin's been dead for a long time ok! Come on, leave me alone ok! I don't wanna talk about, quit laughing!
Through two archways out of red square and back into downtown Moscow, people threw money in the air ensuring one day they'd return to this place. A crowd of poor old folks stood ready for the next person to throw their money. Over the shoulder and tinkling on a Hollywood star like emblem inlaid in the sidewalk, the old folks closed in and grabbed as they could.
Have you ever thrown Macdonald's Drive-thru French fries out the window of your car and watched the seagulls fight for every morsel as you munched down your drive-through quarter-pounder with cheese meal? Sad truths exist in downtown Moscow, it appears.
Meanwhile, skirts are short, girls are slim and bare A LOT. Stilettos are of the latest fashion and usually enticingly laced to pairs of Neet-bared young Russian female's legs, very hard NOT to look at, even with your pregnant wife punching you in the arm six or seven times: "Rowbertt!!, Rowbertt!!, Rowbertt!! ", then slapping you silly. Just kidding, I've learned to be far more furtive then that, and of course, I somehow find the way to remain faithful in spite of the occasional Holy Moses, look at that over there, can't help it if she walks in front of me, dear, lingering glances.
We strolled back to the car, through a construction tunnel, past tables of hawkers hawking items of value to tourists. Pirate software freely displayed, Windows XP Professional, $2.00 Am., Russian Army hats in perfect shape - $5.00 Am. Russian Army medals - $10 Am. Sunglasses - cheap. Socks - cheap.
Back in the square, Government Universal Market which used to house essential goods for citizen's lives now houses fashion boutiques and storefronts of every branded merchant worthy of note. Capitalism has a permanent residence in Red Square and no-one seems to mind at all.
