Новая Россия (New Russia)

Streets of Moscow
Originally uploaded by fuego_de_la_cabeza.

Moscow's new main shopping street is shown in this picture. Compare it with the picture in the previous post.

Everything about Russia seems to retain an honesty about the past that one would not think possible given the Russian experience of totalitarian regimes. In St. Petersburg, they maintain their pride in Lenin and his largest statue stills stands where it was erected in the '70s. In fact, the common name for the statue is "Lenin pointing out the metro station," for he does indeed point out the closest metro stop. They also respect Peter the Great for his reforms, while at the same time mourning the fact that the city is built on the bones of the millions of people who died while working on it.

In a souvenir shop, there was a matryoshky doll of Russian leaders. The first one was Putin, of course, but he was holding a massive KGB shield in front of him. He is both respected and reviled for that past. Ivan the Terrible (whose title would be better translated from the Russian as "Thunderous") was feared, but also respected for his strong leadership.

Старая Россия (Old Russia)

Streets of Moscow
Originally uploaded by fuego_de_la_cabeza.

I recently visited my parents in Russia this winter (yes, I'm a foreign service brat). This was the first time I had ever seen Russia and was really impressed. This is a nation not afraid of its history. Where many other nations with similarly dramatic revolutions and regimes tend to downplay elements of their past, Russia shows all, from the beautifully exhibited Tsarist palaces to Stalin's tomb with fresh flowers, one feels an honest continuity throughout the place.

This picture of the old market street in Moscow and the one of the new one in a later post illustrates this as well. The old street is about one block away and runs parallel to the new and dramatically different market street.