aroundtheworldwJudy: RUSSIA: Anticipated Russia with surprises

With decades of newscasts, history books, and the movie Dr. Zivago to inform me, I found Russia full of surprises along with the anticipated. Delightfully the weather was sunny and mild which dispelled all notions of bitter cold winters and bitter cold people. I arrived with notions of “in the Soviet times” (as they all refer to 1917 to 1990) and I found contemporary Russia to be eclectic and upbeat and certainly on an economic upswing.

Russia has always been conflicted – face toward Europe and the West or face toward Asia and the East. This immense nation spans from East to West. The numerous Ethnic minorities certainly lean toward Asia. The Imperial Czars and aristocrats of the 18^th century certainly were striving to “be” European with their unparalleled art collections, palaces, diamonds, and treasures (i.e. Faberge, crowns, gowns, carriages, etc.)

An ornamented ceiling in one of the 1000 rooms of the Hermitage
was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764. With 1000 rooms
his museum is one of largest and oldest in the world.

The Hermitage is an experience of grand scale and magnificence.
The collection includes remarkable

Colors: Russians love deep saturated colors in their architecture, churches, traditional folk dress, and contemporary living. Both sacred and secular aristocratic architecture from the 16^th to the 18^th centuries are brilliantly colored in many contrasting colors along with gold, gold, gold. Heavily patterned and ornamented interiors stand in brilliant contrast to rich colors. The abundance and richness of color and pattern can barely be appreciated in the fly-by pace of the 4-day tourist.

Colorful Russian Orthodox Church from the 16th century
with colorful bikers from the 21st century.

In both St. Petersburg and Moscow the brightly colored spires
of the Russian Orthodox churches are many.

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood
At this location Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881.

6 a.m. bright - the express train from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

Such a nice sleeping compartment for the overnight trip back to St. Petersburg from Moscow.
The overnight train was gently creeping along the tracks, not in any hurry.

Colorful houses and buildings in a small village beside the tracks on the way
from St. Petersburg to Moscow.

Gold: Along with the bright colors, add gold on the classic onion cupolas, gold Baroque ornamentation, gold Rococo swags, gold chandeliers, gold candelabras, and gold “lamps” to illuminate the icons and artworks. Russians certainly love gold!

Candelabras - literally with candles - are positioned in churches in
front of icons and in palaces like The Hermitage in front of artworks
and by doorways.

St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg

Weddings: Who knew?

In the 2 days of St. Petersburg and 2 days of Moscow we saw 20+ wedding parties!

Apparently the bride and the groom go to the Registry to officially secure the wedding.

The newlyweds then proceed with photographers and selected small groups of family and friends to public buildings, parks, bridges, and gardens for the photography sessions, making sure, along the way to fasten a lock to a tree then toss the key into a river from a bridge. Bottles are opened with toasts and kisses, rose petals, and small coins. In Moscow the afternoon downpour chased the wedding parties back to their limos. Later they will celebrate in homes or restaurants.

Notice the bridesmaids in their flourescent pink, orange and green gowns ....
and yes, there is a bride in white there too.

This bride is parading in the garden outside the Kremlin wall.

Sometimes they are ambling and sometimes they are moving swiftly.
Frequently the groom is difficult to discern.

Sometimes the group is large ...

And sometimes the couple is unaccompanied.

By St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square

One couple nearby and another over further at the WWII Monument overlook

above the site of the 1980 Olympics.

What looks like foliage is actually thousands and thousands
of locks. Despite this, our guide Olga informs us that the
divorce rate is high and higher these days....

And finally.......

Moscow Metro: One positive contribution made “in Stalin times” is the noteworthy Moscow Metro. Each station is beautifully decorated in a particular artistic style. The paintings and mosaics celebrate the Workers, the Russian people, and the Communist ideal. Though these photos do not show it, these stations are VERY busy with trains noisily passing every 2 minutes. Very clean, the art of each station uniquely tells different parts of the Soviet stories.