STEPPING THROUGH MOSCOW - Я ИДУ ШАГАЮ ПО МОСКВЕ

In 2000, on my way from Kharkov, Ukraine, to Moscow by train, the border guard asked me where I was from. I showed my Canadian passport and he happily started singing some song in Russian. I think it was "White Snows Over Toronto??" Everyone sitting around me was waiting, I think, for me to join in with him in what he assumed was a well known popular song, even the Russian version, to any Canadian.

He paused suddenly after singing alone. Then he asked me very formally what my business was in going to Russia. I realised I must have embarassed him by choosing not to sing along in a song I MUST KNOW. Fortunately for me, one of my favorite films of all time that I first watched on TV in Tashkent has a popular hit song. I politely replied, " Я иду шагаю по Москве!"

The imagery that I had of Moscow based on TV during the cold war era was mostly of serious looking stiff men with medals standing above Red Square for military displays, harsh, cold war rhetoric and military music playing in the background. The reality is far different. A large city of affection, warm and sunny in summer, cold, snowwy and white in winter. In any season, strolling through the streets has a kind of romatic charm that many would associate with maybe a combination of Paris, Barcelona, and the rush and bustle of London.

The ending of the film captures some of the charm. Some other videos using the original theme song also touches upon the nostalgia for strolling through the grand city. This home video, uses a newer version of the main theme capturing a glimse of a modern day stroll across Red Square.

A new version with Артём Михалков who stars in My Moscow, which shows a much more romanticised version of the modern city.

I Step Through Moscow (TV-spot for TV Zvezda)

Other links:

The home guitar version along with the classic - Москва слезам не верит

(Poster Source: Nikita Mikhalkov on 1964 Film Poster)

The Russia House - Русский Дом - Русский Отдел

Not the blockbuster that the latest Le Carre novel-turned film might be. The Russia House however is a great film covering the early years of Soviet break up. The scenes, sound track, dialgoue and setting capture much of the cold war mind sets that continue to plague international relations. I am shocked at how well the film captures the characters and I can imagine so many people I have met in the Former Soviet Republics who resemble, almost too closely, many of those depicted in the film.

The translation of the title is also worth noting. There are two in use in Russia, both provided in the title above. The reason is that the first is a direct translation of the English words. The second, however, captures the idea in the film, that the Russia House is the internal Department dedicated to Russian affairs. The English does not refer to a Russian house so much as it does - the Russian Department.



The Tribute to the Film