Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out

. . . take me to your Daddy's farm . . . . Beatles afficianados recognize the line from "Back in the USSR" belted out by Paul McCartney.   Late today, Wednesday, May 16, we heard plenty of balalaika music, but more on that later.

We cruised toward Moscow on the Volga River this morning for a 1:30 p.m. arrival.  On the way in, you could see increasing signs of life in terms of housing and also pleasure boats, jet skis, etc.  It reminded me of the difference in Hong Kong from the rest of mainland China in 1998 although I suspect that has abated with the growing middle class.   The real difference here is the massive territory that lies between St. Petersburg and Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation.

The distance between the two cities is about 400 miles by train and 350 nautical miles (as we traveled).   It wasn't always connected, but was first envisioned as connected by Peter the Great for transport of goods and bypassing of ports.  While the canal system that makes these connections was envisioned by him, it was Joseph Stalin who made the most progress using forced labor from his gulags to make the connections in a project far greater than the Panama or Suez Canal projects.  This resulted in Moscow becoming a port city to connect all five Russian seas:  the Black, Baltic, Caspian, Azov, and White Seas.  Additionally, it provides about 50% of Moscow's water consumption.

Note the jumble of architectural styles in Moscow, with
this 17th. century church surrounded by skyscrapers

At 2 pm we boarded our buses for a tour of Moscow.  I found the ensuing hour frustrating as we whizzed by so many beautiful sites that deserved to be seen up close.   Even with a guide and a week or more, it would be difficult to see all of the beautiful Russian Orthodox churches which often stand beside towering skyscrapers, let alone the countless museums, monuments to Russian victory (and death), etc.   Moscow, unlike St. Petersburg, is a jumble of architectural styles from very old (16th. century forward) to Stalinesque (ugly Soviet style apartment buildings) to very modern glass and steel skyscrapers.

A view of downtown Moscow, city of 15 million, from
Sparrow Hills and Moscow State University

Our first stop was Moscow State University which sits on one of Moscow's highest points, Sparrow Hills, about 280 feet above the Moskva (Moscow) River.   Founded in 1755, it has about 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students - I wonder when we'll see them on the Buckeye's football schedule?  Across from it and advantaging the high terrain is an observation area which looks out over all of Moscow.  It also includes 2 ski jumps from the 1980 Olympic games (which readers will remember as being boycotted by Jimmy Carter over the Russian invasion of Afghanistan - wish we'd learned from their lesson).

Inside the Metro waiting for our train to Red Square

From here we journeyed to the city's southwest side to board the world famous Moscow metro system, the fourth most used in the world behind Tokyo, Seoul, and Beijing (sorry New York!).  It averages 9 million riders per day during the week.  Opened in 1935 under Stalin following construction by the British, it is incredibly deep and spotlessly clean.  The trains run extremely fast and the boarding platforms are adorned with beautiful art and statues of heroic Russian figures.   Four stops later we got off at the Red Square station and made our way to the surface.

A view of Red Square with the Kremlin on the left, Putin's
residence (round dome), and Lenin's Mausoleum (small
triangular shaped building in front of Kremlin wall)

Red Square (per Wikipedia) separates the Kremlin (the former royal citadel and current residence of "The Putin" from the historic merchant quarter.  It is considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia, because Moscow's major streets—which connect to Russia's major highways—originate from it.  Although raining lightly, we stood and gawked after our entry.   We had all seen it many times on television . . . Russian tanks, missiles, and massive columns of men moving past stoic Russian leaders like Brezhnev standing on platforms with Russian generals.

St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square

Its main buildings include Lenin's Mausoleum (1924), St. Basil's Cathedral (the oldest building in the Square dating to the mid-16th. century), the Kazan Cathedral (early 17th. century) and GUM (pronounced 'goom'), Russia's famous department store (but just like any other high-end indoor mall anywhere in the US - big deal!).  Two of the most significant military parades on Red Square were November 7,1941, when the city was besieged by Germans and Russian troops left Red Square straight to the front lines, and the Victory parade in 1945 when banners of defeated Nazi armies were thrown at the foot of Lenin's Mausoleum.  Indeed, as said in the first posting of this blog, how blessed am I to have seen both Tianamen Square in China and now Red Square in Russia!

After this magnificent stop, we boarded our buses for a ride to a concert hall for a special performance of Russian music.   Young performers mostly in their late teens and twenties played traditional Russian folk instruments including balalikas, bayans, doras, and guslies, as well as other instruments.   With music by Tchaikovsky, Puccini and others, they were occasionally joined by a knockout Russian woman with a voice of an angel.   One song was music from Dr. Zhivago (pronounced Jivago by the conductor) and at its conclusion I looked at Cheryl and said "I thought you'd be crying" as it was incredibly beautiful.   She looked at me with tears in her eyes and exclaimed "I AM!".

So, of course I had to buy their CD .  . . that makes five I've accumulated on this vacation!   From here we boarded our buses about 9:30 pm for the ride back to the boat.   The traffic leaving central Moscow was unbelievable - worst I think I've ever been in - despite having 8 lanes of traffic moving outward.   We eventually arrived back at the boat about an hour later (for what is probably a 15 minute ride) and called it a day.



Russian schoolchildren on a class trip to Sparrow Hill,
wearing blue jeans and chewing gum, just like ours would be.
Some are listening intently, others are bored, and
some are being mischievous (just like I was!)



Tomorrow (Thursday) is slated for a visit to the Cosmonaut Museum in the afternoon, and a "Moscow by Night" tour on Thursday evening.   We're finding Moscow and its people to be equally charming as they were in St. Petersburg and elsewhere, and despite seeing Brezhnev on that platform and fearing the Russian nukes, I can tell you that these people are strikingly just like us . . . . one guide summed it up best by saying that during Soviet times, all they wanted (himself a kid then) were "chewing gum, blue jeans, Led Zeppelin, and Creedence Clearwater Revival" .  . . . heck, that's what we wanted.