So much more than totalitarian ghosts in the glitzy New York of the East

By Meghan O’Connell

Russia has an image problem.

Some of us hear the word and ours minds immediately fly to thoughts of the cruelty of communism, Soviet gulags, the brutality of the recent conflict with Georgia and a prime minister who seems unashamed about having been part of the secret police apparatus in the bad old days.

But we also know that the Russia of today is full of millionaires, ultra-luxury shopping, the hottest clubbing in Europe or Eurasia, and some of the world’s most beautiful scenery.

But still, we are afraid —there’s no other way to put it. But is this necessary, I wonder? Must we really still fear Russia?

Last weekend, I set out to decide for myself.

“But why would you want to do that?” asked David Horak, a Czech student at Charles University. What do you mean?, I asked him.

“I don’t like Russia,” he said.

His tone was matter-of-fact, as if the statement should be obvious and needed no further clarification. Is this the common sentiment among most Czechs?, I inquired, perhaps ignorantly, thinking that this new generation does not still hold a grudge against the Soviet domination that ended in 1989.

”Pretty much,” he said. But what’s so bad about this place today, I wonder?

***

I arrived in Moscow on a cold, rainy October day. Our bus left the airport and began trying to maneuver through the traffic– six roads converged into one intersection with no lanes to direct cars where to go. It was a free-for-all– a survival of the fittest– a natural selection of automobiles where only the most aggressive would make it to the other side of the street.

Looking out the window, I attempted to decipher the Cyrillic street signs. I had tried to teach myself the alphabet on the plane and now sounded out the words like a first-grader trying to read “The Cat in the Hat.” I sounded absurd, but every time I translated a word I felt like I’d broken a secret code.

Reaching the center of the city, we drove down streets lined with the most hip, expensive shops; stylish women emerged sporting bags containing fashions I could never dream of affording. Restaurant windows looked so fancy that I didn’t even dare to stop and look at the menu.

The city appears to be overflowing. It’s hard to believe this is the same country where people were forced to wait hours in line for a loaf of bread. But there is no more scarcity here—it’s consumerism gone wild.

“Russia is in the best time of its history now,” explains Vaclav Bartuska, Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security at the Foreign Ministry in Prague. The economic improvements in Russia from the communist era are obvious. But what about its domestic political climate? Russia has been criticized by human rights groups and Western governments for its one-party rule, unfair elections and crackdown on independent media.

Still, according to The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 17, 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s public approval rating is 76%.

The Russian government’s popularity owes its strength to a resurgent national pride after economic and geopolitical humiliation in the 1990s, analysts say, as well a booming economy due in large part to the country’s vast gas reserves.

Russia may not be a full fledged democracy, but Bartuska paints a much scarier picture of the Soviet era.

“There was not one family that didn’t lose someone under communism to political persecution.” It was a “pretty ghastly” time, he notes.

Tatiana Styrkas, a native Muscovite, currently lives in Prague and teaches Russian at New York University. She was born in the 1970’s and grew up under Soviet rule.

“It was not so bad,” she explains. “Things were less plentiful– everything was a bit more sober. But really I just didn’t understand what I was missing.” When she graduated from college in 1991, she was surprised to learn of the luxury of the West.

She moved to England as soon as she could, eventually settling in Prague. Moscow has “changed drastically” since her departure: it has embraced capitalism and done much to revamp the drab streets, building facades and infrastructure that characterized life in the U.S.S.R.

Still, the city is not altogether tourist friendly. In order to enter the country each traveler must go through a long, somewhat frustrating process in order to obtain a visa: you must first request an invitation to visit the country, then fill out the visa paper work, then give up your passport for upwards of two weeks and finally hand over $150 to pay for the small sticker.

Not to mention, the city itself is full of tourist traps. Restaurants and bars can be ridiculously overpriced—Bartuska tells a story of just last year, when he was treated to a $500 piece of cheesecake and cup of tea.

But just like its Cyrillic alphabet, the city is all about breaking the code. For starters, there are plenty of establishments that are within a reasonable price range, if you know where to look.

Cafeteria-style restaurants are big in Moscow. We tried the popular Café Mu-Mu, which was not only cheap, but offered an epic variety of traditional dishes. I got a bit carried away and sampled five different home-cooked meals (borscht, blintzes, pickled herring, chicken julienne, and two kinds of potatoes), but even with a drink and dessert it was still less than 500 rubles ($20).

Similar to the food selection, the city’s architectural sights are wonderfully overwhelming. No matter how many guidebook photos I poured over before my trip, nothing could have prepared me for the reality of Red Square.

Turning the corner, I was blinded by thousands of twinkle lights covering GUM, the castle-like department store that spans one entire side of the square.

It was late and the vast square was almost empty. I stood directly in the middle, feeling utterly small: St. Basil’s Cathedral, with its rainbow colored onion domes, looked like a giant ice cream sundae that would fit into a Russian version of Willy Wonka.

Lenin’s tomb, which is literally bigger than my house in Boston, looked imposing and Christmassy at the same time. The mammoth structure was guarded by uniformed soldiers, but the walls were so shiny it reflected each and every one of the twinkle lights from across the square.

It would be so easy to lose yourself here, I thought. But luckily, the people of the city are some of the nicest, most eager to help I have encountered anywhere in the world.

As several of my friends and I stood inside of the gargantuan, palace-like metro station consulting our map, a middle-aged woman approached us, asking if we needed help. We told her we were fine, just verifying the name of the station we were headed too. She proceeded to give us directions anyway (albeit completely wrong ones), explaining that she was an English teacher and loved meeting Americans.

“The world is on fire,” she explained, attempting to engage us in a political discussion. “I wake up every morning and pray for peace between two great nations. You young people are the future, please tell me you will be voting.”

We assured her we already had and waited for her to walk away so we could continue in the opposite direction that she had instructed us.

Later that evening, my friends and I met a friendly 25 year-old Russian man at a hole-in-the-wall bar/café. His name was Ilia Kondratiev. “Please let me take you out,” he begged us. “I love practicing my English.” We eagerly agreed, excited to discover a bar that we had not found in Lonely Planet.

He took us to what appeared to be a business district. Tall, fancy, glass buildings lined both sides of the street. As we entered one, I wondered if perhaps we were stopping off at his office before going to the bar.

There was a security guard, a reception desk, and cubicles fully equipped with computers and copy machines. But as he led us around the corner and through a small café, we entered a bar/lounge completely packed with young Russians.

We felt a bit out of place, but Ilia secured us a table and helped us to order drinks. We learned that he is currently in the process of starting a small tourism company outside of Moscow, that he hoped Obama would win the election, and that he was eager to give us tips on which traditional Russian drinks and dishes we should make sure to try.

I could not believe how warm and hospitable everyone had been– my Czech friends had really made me believe the worst. But I realized it’s not hard to understand their negative feelings.

“It is easier to swallow being occupied by a country that is culturally advanced, not one that is culturally 50 years behind you,” explains Bartuska. The Czech Republic has not yet forgiven Russia for nearly five decades of oppression.

The Soviet Union, controlled by Russia, extended its military and political control to satellites across eastern Europe after liberating the region from the Nazis at the end of World War II. When Czechoslovakia tried to break free and implement “socialism with a human face” in the spring of 1968, Warsaw Pact troops marched into the country and a more forthright occupation lasted until 1989.

Most Russians today still do not realize how much Czechs resented this trampling of their freedom.

But most Czechs have never even been to Russia, Styrkas explains to me. They have the old Moscow in mind– cold, dreary, and depressing– when the new city is radically different.

When I returned to Prague, I told David about how much I had enjoyed my trip. Would you ever consider visiting, I asked him, just to see for yourself?

“Maybe,” he replied, not sounding at all convinced. I realized it will probably take more than a naïve American student to alter the general Czech opinion.

I think back to Styrkas and imagine it must be difficult for her to live in the Czech Republic with so much Russian resentment floating around.

Do you find that people in the Czech Republic treat you differently because of your heritage, I ask her?

“No, no,” she replies. “People hear my accent and know I’m not from Prague, but they can’t tell I’m from Russia.”

But if they find out you’re Russian? I persist. “They may be skeptical at first,” she says. But once people get to know her, she says, it is not an issue.

So do Russians have the same opinion about Czechs? “Well, no. The Czech Republic is a small country, so they don’t care as strongly about it. But they hear Prague is beautiful.”

They hear, I ask her? Well yes, she explains. Most have not visited the country before. It is still very difficult to travel– you need a visa to go anywhere.

Interesting, I think, remembering my very own long, drawn-out visa process. I then learn that compared to my minor bureaucratic annoyances, Russians have day-long waits in lines with no assurance of getting…anything.

Meanwhile, I just can’t help but wonder how differently Czechs would feel towards Russia if only they could spend an evening in Moscow with someone like Ilia.

It was 3 a.m. by the time my friends and I stumbled home from our night out, stuffed with blintzes, borscht and vodka, when Ilia turned to us:

“There is a saying that goes like this,” he said. “Stay with us, you’ll be our king.”

***

For information on how to obtain a tourist visa, visit http://www.russianvisa.org/

Cheap Eats
Try one of Moscow’s many cafeteria-style eateries for a wide selection of traditional Russian fare:
-Café Mu-Mu. Multiple locations, including Mjasnitskaja 14
-Cafeteria Grably. Located at Pjatnitska 27
-Elelky-palki. Located at Arbat 16/2

Nightlife
Check out Café F.A.Q. for a fun, relaxing evening. The underground café/bar is full of small rooms decorated like an apartment (complete with a children’s playroom and a library). Smoke a water pipe, listen to the live music, or just chill out and have a vodka on one of the many couches.

Meghan O’Connell is a third-year student at New York University studying acting. She is from Boston, Massachusetts.