среда, мая 27, 2009
THE ILLEGAL PICTURE
The metro systems in the Former USSR are famous for having large numbers of accessible stations, being kept clean, beautiful, and for being well designed. The other notable feature in both Moscow and St Petersburg is the depth of the the "undergound" and the extremely long escalators you have to take up and down in the city centers. I have tried to take a picture that captures the depth - but this has been difficult, in part because it is illegal to take pictures in the underground. I have already been forced to delete the nice shots I had of Sportinvnaya station in Petersburg, but they did not get them all! A small victory for me, but still, this does not capture what it feels or looks like on these deep treks.
вторник, мая 26, 2009
FIRST TRAINING SESSION IN ST PETERSBURG
During the Night of Museums, I visited the artillery museum which had a pellet gun target range. Here I am trying out a mock rifle. I ended up winning a prize, but I must say I would have rather won a beer rather than a collection of pictures of archaic miltiary costumes and weaponry. I think Kalishnakov once wrote that had he known how popular his gun would be, he would have rather invented a lawn mower.
BORDEAUX, THE FRENCH FANAGORIA
Well, I am surprised. I found this wine in an underground bar off Nevsky Prospect last week. It is from a region in the south of Russia called Fanagoria, and on the back of the bottle, a map displays how it is located along the same lattitude as Bordeaux.The red, Saperavi, usually associated with Georgian wines in the CIS, was deep, dark, dry, and tasted similar to a Grenache. It has an odour after opening similar to some Spanish wines I have tried; a barnyard smell. This can be overcome by letting the bottle breathe a bit before drinking.
I have not yet tried the Chardonnay, displayed on the right. These bottles are priced at Red: 188 rubles and white: 150.
Definitely not what I expected and are decent every day drinking wines.
воскресенье, мая 17, 2009
MOSFILM ANYONE?
Inside Russia's museum of Political Hisotry in St Petersburg is a collection of relics from the past all well displayed, including hints of sarcasm and real facts and figures - such as the numbers of people who perished in various conflicts with the obvious tragedy in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989 far outweighing the other events since WWII in death tolls. This image, however, brings back memories of the sound of the clock bells next tot he Kremlin chiming at the beginning of Mosfilm productions.
WHO'S IN THE CAGE
This picture is deceiving. It looks as though I am standing in front of a zebra locked up in a cage in St Petersburg's Zoopark. Perhaps its the reverse. All I kept thinking about as I walked through the exhibits was the classic version of planet of the apes thinking that it is the crazy people walking around eating peanuts who are really trapped in cages of their own making. This particular zebra hardly seemed interested in seeing me and I am all the way from Canada - has he ever seen one of me before? Does he even care? I was not impressed by his attitude. I included him in my blog anyway, despite his lacklustre care for humanity. He is probably one of those who complains but never shows up for the vote when it comes to election day.
AMNESTY'S FORGOTTEN GULAG OF OUR TIME
You might think this guy would not have used his freedom for anything productive for society anyway. His contribution to Russia's GDP is zero, and currently he is just taking social resources away from others. He should be happy to have a place to live and be provided for. He eats well, looks healthy, err, he's fine. It's not as if he is complaining...
EARLY THIS MORNING IN ST PETERSBURG
This was the view of the city I had this morning after a long walk home. Last night was the Night of Museums - when over 40 museums city-wide remained open all night to visitors. The sun rose around 4 AM or so - this was taken around 5:30 AM.
понедельник, мая 11, 2009
понедельник, мая 04, 2009
пятница, апреля 10, 2009
You Don't Say
Hit the title to follow the link to an article about demonstrations in Georgia calling for Misha's resignation. I, of course, wish that the living standards in the CIS had improved during the past few years, but unfortunately they have not and today, the vast majority in the Former USSR have seen more decline while a remote few have experienced elite lifestyles. Related to this issue is the hype and praise that Western media threw on the Rose, Orange and Tulip revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan respectively, without looking at the actual platforms and qualifications of those seizing power, let alone any of the complications that raised doubts amongst experts that real change was really being initiated. Not only was there ample evidence prior to each of these regime changes that democracy and economic progress was being voted into power, but ignoring failure after new presidents were swept in has meant that more time has been lost. Since 1989, living standards have been approaching third world levels with no progress in sight. Switching presidents yet again rather than focusing policy debate is unlikely to improve much.
пятница, апреля 03, 2009
The 16th Annual Russian-American Seminar
From May 15 to the 22, St Petersburg State University's School of International Relations will be hosting the 16th annual Russian-American seminar. Follow the link to find out more.
среда, марта 25, 2009
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