Candid Russia

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan Apr 15, 2005

Today, Russia sent a rocket into space...

An American, a Russian and an Italian will be nesting in the stars and awaiting the first shuttle flight since the sad loss of the Columbian flight two years ago.

Hope all goes well up there..

The famous St. Basil's Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built on the edge of Red Square between 1555 and 1561. Legend has it that on completion of the church the Tsar ordered the architect, Postnik Yakovlev, to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again. (He did in fact go on to build another cathedral in Vladimir despite his ocular impediment!) The cathedral was built to commemorate Ivan the Terrible's successful military campaign against the Tartar Mongols in 1552 in the besieged city of Kazan. Victory came on the feast day of the Intercession of the Virgin, so the Tsar chose to name his new church the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin on the Moat, after the moat that ran beside the Kremlin. The church was given the nickname "St. Basil's" after the "holy fool" Basil the Blessed (1468-1552), who was hugely popular at that time with the Muscovites masses and even with Ivan the Terrible himself. St. Basil's was built on the site of the earlier Trinity Cathedral, which at one point gave its name to the neighboring square.



St. Basil's is a delightful array of swirling colors and redbrick towers. Its design comprises nine individual chapels, each topped with a unique onion dome and each commemorating a victorious assault on the city of Kazan. In 1588 the ninth chapel was erected to house the tomb of the church's namesake, Basil the Blessed. The church's design is based on deep religious symbolism and was meant to be an architectural representation of the New Jerusalem - the Heavenly Kingdom described in the Book of Revelation of St. John the Divine. The eight onion dome-topped towers are positioned around a central, ninth spire, forming an eight-point star. The number eight carries great religious significance; it denotes the day of Christ's Resurrection (the eighth day by the ancient Jewish calendar) and the promised Heavenly Kingdom - the kingdom of the eighth century, which will begin after the second coming of Christ. The eight-point star itself symbolizes the Christian Church as a guiding light to mankind, showing us the way to the Heavenly Jerusalem and it represents the Virgin Mary, depicted in Orthodox iconography with a veil decorated with three eight-pointed stars. The cathedral's star-like plan carries yet more meaning - the star consisting of two superimposed squares, which represent the stability of faith, the four corners of the earth, the four Evangelists and the four equal-sided walls of the Heavenly City.

The extravagant and brightly colored domes of the cathedral's exterior mask a much more modestly decorated and somewhat less spectacular interior. Small dimly lit chapels and maze-like corridors fill the inside of the church and the walls are covered with delicate floral designs in subdued pastel colors dating from the 17th century. Visitors can climb up a narrow, wooden spiral staircase, set in one of the walls and discovered only in the 1970s during restoration work, and marvel at the Chapel of the Intercession's priceless iconostasis, dating back to the 16th century. There was so little room inside the church to accommodate worshippers, that on special feast days services were held outside on Red Square where the clergy communicated their sermons to the milling masses from Lobnoye Mesto, using St. Basil's as an outdoor altar.

The church has narrowly escaped destruction a number of times during the city's tumultuous history. Legend has it that Napoleon was so impressed with St. Basil's that he wanted to take it back to Paris with him, but lacking to the technology to do so, ordered instead that it be destroyed with the French retreat from the city. The French set up kegs of gunpowder and lit their fuses, but a sudden, miraculous shower helped to extinguish the fuses and prevent the explosion.

Early in this century the cathedral almost fell prey to the atheist principles of the Bolshevik regime. In 1918 the communist authorities shot the church's senior priest, Ioann Vostorgov, confiscated its property, melted down its bells and closed the cathedral down. In the 1930s Lazar Kaganovich, a close colleague of Stalin and director of the Red Square reconstruction plan, suggested that St. Basil's be knocked down to create space and ease the movement of public parades and vehicle movement on the square. Thankfully Stalin rejected his proposal as he did a second plan to destroy the cathedral. This time the courage of the architect and devotee of Russian culture, P. Baranovsky, saved the church. When ordered to prepare the cathedral for destruction he refused and threatened to cut his own throat on the steps of the church, then sent a bluntly worded telegram to the leader of the party himself relating the above. For some reason Stalin cancelled the decision to knock the church down and for his efforts Baranovsky was rewarded with five years in jail.

An extensive program of renovation is still being carries out on both the exterior and interior of the church, but will not spoil that essential visit to St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow's moat famous and arguably most beautiful ecclesiastical building.

In the small garden outside St. Basil's stands an impressive bronze Statue to Minin and Pozharsky, who rallied Russia's volunteer army during the Time of Troubles and drove out the invading Polish forces. They were an interesting duo - Dmitry Pozharsky was a prince, while Kuzma Minin was a butcher from Nizhny Novgorod. The statue was designed by the artist I. Martos and erected in 1818 as the city's first monumental sculpture. It originally stood in the center of Red Square in front of what is now the GUM Department Store, with Minin symbolically indicating to Pozharsky that the Poles were occupying the Kremlin and calling for its liberation. The Soviet authorities felt that the statue had become an obstacle during parades and after the construction of the Lenin Mausoleum Red Square, its position was considered rather ambiguous and was eventually moved to the garden in front of St. Basil's in 1936.

Address: 4 Krasnaya Ploshad, Kremlin, Moscow
Tel: (095) 298 5880
(095) 298 3304 (Excursions)
Metro: Kitai Gorod
Open: Wednesday - Monday 11am - 5.30pm, closed Tuesday

Cultural differences can lead to culture shock if you are not prepared.

Here's an insiders view of a few Russian qualities you should be aware of before travelling here.. I'll add as I think..

BREAKING THE ICE

Apart from alot of Russian women loathing Anna Kornikova, sport seems to be a generally safe topic in Russia. Russian people can be overtly patriotic, so I would avoid discussing corruption, corporate crimes and avoid comparisons with other countries. The younger generation are more open, but it's wise to consider that the person sitting opposite you may have been a victim of, for example, the banking crisis of 98. Keep it simple - Moscow is booming these days, which makes alot of people proud. Just like the rest of us we all go on about the cost of living, flats, etc. Try not to sound patronising.....most muppets do!


• Relationships and friendships, and the concept of a professional relationship without personal contact, is strange to the majority of Russian people. Always extend your hand and greet everybody enthusiastically. Generally, you will find Russian people to be open, thoughtful and receptive to your ideas.

• On the other hand, if Russian life was summed up in one word I would choose 'barborous'. The shop assistants can be very rude, especially in the supermarket where you really must empty your baskets personally. Any beurocratic type will glare at you suspiciously before manouvering power tactics which will probably leave you dumb struck! Simply stand up straight and be firm - you will be surprised how quickly they change their tune - applies to the police especially. Look out for your feet on the Metro - you will be pushed, thumped, jerked and sat on at every juncture.. mind you, I used to enjoy the metro in the summer :-) I even met my girl-friend on it.. remember to give up your seat for children and old ladies, but especially mothers and children as they will poke at you to get up anyway if you don't... so when in Rome..


• There are several widely-held superstitions. Don't shake hands through a doorway, light a cigarette from a candle, bring an even number of flowers, or whistle indoors. If you get to know your host's children, don't kiss them goodbye on the forehead: that's for corpses. Going back for something you've forgotten is inauspicious too.. if you do have to return you should look in the mirror before leaving..

• If you smoke while walking, or if you don't smoke at all, people will stop you and ask for a cigarette. I generally tell them to piss off and buy their own, but you should be more polite than that:-) as it's quite normal given the price of a ciggie here.


• If Russian friends invite you over one evening , take flowers (odd numbers), or a large box of chocolates. Even numbers of flowers are traditionally reserved for the dead. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF FLOWERS WHEN MEETING A LADY.. AND HOLD HER COAT WHEN SHE GETS UP........ BE A GENTLEMAN ........ she won't be offended by your sexist courtesy of being attentive.. if she's western don't bother.. as she will probably read this as being patronising and a form of abuse.

• Drinking... just drink it. Don't refuse. Get totally anebriated together... but always look into eyes when toasting.


• No Russian drinks vodka without eating zakuski (snacks) after each shot or at least sniffing some black bread (surprisingly effective) to help soak up the alcohol. Zakuski usually consists of pickled vegetables with black bread.

• Set your glass down on the table to be refilled; do not raise it to meet the bottle.

• If you are visiting the regions on business I'd advise you to work out in the gyme for a few days before departing. Think of it as an assault course and test of stamina. You will DRINK and DRINK and DRINK and EAT and EAT... then fall over with a big fat contract signed and sealed.. but without the afore mentioned forget it.

• Toasts are a big deal in Moscow. Toast everything... even the dog!

• Many Russians think it rude to accept something the first time it is offered. If you are entertaining, always offer several times to top up glasses, refill plates, and so forth.

• Russians like to provide food in large quantities. So you should do the same when entertaining. Take it steady because a huge buffet and mix of Russian salads (don't mix the salads) will just be starters.

• Don't dress down. Russians always dress up to a poser level beyond belief. You can never look too rich or successful here. You just need to be immaculate and look the part.. that's it. Five phones is always impressive here and tacky watches... Flash git is the way...

• Always hand in your coat at the cloakroom (garderobe) when visiting a restaurant or theatre—hanging it over the back of your chair is frowned upon, but again, the younger people are getting cooler and more relaxed.

• Because of the general mess outside on the streets, Russians always take off their “outdoor” shoes in the entrance hall of a private home, and also keep working shoes at the office too. Visitors are offered tapochki or slippers by their hosts. You will certainly win points if you bring your own indoor shoes - never be surpised if a Russian pulls a pair of slippers from their brief case when visiting you.. that's normal.

• Don't smoke in Red Square as the police will fine you, or rob you, whichever modd takes them.


If you catch cars be careful - average cost is 150 roubles for most destinations in the centre, but a Russian would pay say 50 roubles. Anyway, you're foreign so you are rich - right? You're one of those oil people or something... that's why you're here.. get used to that genralisation..

On expatriates:

Moscow 1998 – most of the expats I know landed in Mother Russia craving adventure, money and harboured an insatiable lust for anything not familiar. Is that an average expat sense of self?

The sense of the unfamiliar, strictly speaking for most revolved around the pursuit of female (dyev) when not in pursuit of the elusive cash fix. Anglophile junkies tethered to a common, unspoken, cause of seeking difference: difference to what?

Well, to all things familiar. If you’ve done the mortgage gig and spent most of your adult life driving up the same motorway and paying the same bills, even the most practical minded person can start to question the old Zen situation. What if I just said ‘sod it’ and headed for one of those developing countries. What would I be there? The answer is many things because all that made you who you are will certainly change. It is an acute change.

I know of a waiter who is now a big fish (more of a sprite) in construction… a traveler who suddenly became a café owner… a teacher who owns three schools and more stories abound of people who were simply lost finding their true selves when abroad. Maybe you just need to escape the familiar to just see how alien you were in that place you used to call home. There again, if I had a dollar for every expat who whispered, “I’m working on a project,” I’d be a millionaire. Most never get that project off the ground, but the pursuit of it like the elusive ‘Gatsbean’ green light just keeps you moving toward it – the self justification of actually living this life of unfamiliarity. Is it why your relationships fail… hate responsibility getting in the way of the green light?

Russia, contradicts itself at every turn, as do most expatriates. That’s part of life here – any tangible sense of reality can evaporate in seconds. Maybe that is the attraction that moves expats onwards.. Regardless of the final destination you just feel driven towards that sense of being. You know what feels right and worse than that you understand that your old skin no longer fits you and probably never did.

You don’t talk about it because it’s sensitive. You don’t really understand your own feelings because it’s like having a conversation with an old mate from school you vaguely remember in flashes, but ultimately, have no sense of familiarity at all. All you're friends have become collegaues...

You are alone.

Isolation first came to me in the dessert of Saudi Arabia. No language, no friends, nobody around but me and a couple of Arabs, and of course, my camera. I had an experience where I slept for one whole day. It was a Friday. I awoke at what I thought was an early start – cooked my breakfast as usual before the morning shriek of ‘Allah Aghbad’ murdered my ears, but there was no strangulation to be heard. On venturing out, I realized it was actually 1am the following day. I’d slept for almost 28 hrs. To this day I don’t know why my body and mind disappeared for such an unaccountable length of time, but I resigned that week and flew back to Russia the following month convinced I was losing my mind - from one extreme to another.

Maybe we all have to lose some sanity to become expatriates. I mean, unless you’re a body strictly motivated by the pursuit of money, I can’t imagine a reason for putting ourselves through such rigorous anti-normality scenarios as an expat abroad. What is it with you? Hey? Can’t you just get on with it? Settle down... Build your career like normal folk? You’re surrounded by xenophobia…justifying why you are here every week… love… hate… fear… instability.. What is IT with you?

No, you can’t… can you? You’re just like Mr Hemingway, burning up all of that residual sense of self till you implode… that’s why you are here, or over there, and you wouldn’t have it any other way because you are very, very, far from yourself.

Good luck