СССР vs. Россия

Hi all,

Today is Monday. I had such a wonderful and relaxing weekend. I'll begin where I left off: Friday.

Friday was a national holiday -- Day of Russia. I suppose it's the equivalent to the "4th of July," but since the holiday came into existence only ~20 years ago, it's not a big thing. I asked people in the lab if there would be a parade or some other celebration, but they just chuckled and said no. People have the day off from work, but otherwise, not much happens -- like our Labor Day or President's Day. 

I looked on blog-fiesta.com to see what was happening that weekend, and quickly found that there was a Holi Festival on Friday. I don't know much about Holi since I'm not Hindu, but now, for better or for worse, Westerners have turned the holiday more into a celebration of music/color than a celebration of religion. Almost no one in Russia is Hindi, but that obviously didn't stop ~1000 young Russians from celebrating. It's the same in the US. 

Anyways, I decided to check it out. As soon as I arrived at the metro station, I was greeted by hundreds of young Russians in white t-shirts in groups of friends. I followed the growing crowd and soon stumbled upon a huge Arena/Stadium. The concert and festivities were to take place outside the Arena in a big open space. It was SO. FUN.

After crossing security, I passed through throngs of people who were throwing colored powder on us and high-fiving/hugging people.  It was pretty surreal. There was also a huge stage with singers and DJs. I spent a few hours there, enjoying the concert, having colors thrown on me, snacking, relaxing, people-watching. It was really great and I got some awesome pictures.

At one point I was just sitting and watching people, and I realized that this sort of concert could have happened in the USA and I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference, save for the languages. That was a weird realization. I’ll get to this more in a second, but there is SUCH a difference between the older and younger generations here in Russia (much more so in the USA) since these generations were brought up not only in “different times” but also LITERALLY in different countries.

The music at the festival included many Russian artists, but all of the DJs were playing Western pop and EDM. There were even FLOWER CROWNS…. Yes, flower crowns in Russia. Everyone there was a young person – and it was just so obviously trying to be a hip western thing… I don’t know, it was very strange.

I read an article about how the West needs more Russophiles (which I agree with), but I think a lot of our current American Russophiles are simply enamored by this illusionary romanticized Russia filled with Tchaikovsky’s, Dostoyevsky’s, communism, idealism, art, literature, take your pick…. And although that history is vital to understanding the country as it is today, I don’t think Russophiles like to see (or admit) that now young people in Russia want to be part of the western trend.

I guess the point is that it’s important to accept the country as it is today and to not reject it or say “why is it trying to be western?! What happened to soviet nostalgia?!” because that is not their reality anymore.  Remember I was even struck by this western desire with Katya and Dasha in St. Petersburg – I am in no place to judge this desire.

Anyways, so that was Friday. It was super fun and I’m glad I went and got to see young Russian people in their element. J

After the festival, I was tired and in need of a shower, so I headed home. On the way, I stopped at a Produkty to buy chicken for dinner, and I ran in to other people – with colors on them – who had obviously been at the festival as well. We kind of chuckled to each other… it was a cute moment (and surprising since the produkty was very far from where the festival took place).

On Saturday, I was craving a bagel, so I looked online to see where I could find bagels. Since shops open and close for business pretty rapidly, I was a little nervous that the shop I chose would be closed. Lo and behold, after getting to the area and searching around for 15 mins, I concluded that it was. Since I had travelled so far to find a bagel, I didn’t just want to go home, so I decided to explore the area and see what I could find. After only a bit of walking, I stumbled upon the Moscow Planetarium!

I had visited the Planetarium once before with Susan, Luke, and a few others when we came to Moscow for the weekend, but for some reason (I think it was too late in the day?), we couldn’t actually get into the museum at that time. SO, seeing this, I decided to spend the day at the planetarium.

There was a tour (in Russian of course), I got to explore a few rooms of the museum, AND I got to see a show inside the Planetarium itself. The tour was funny. The lady who conducted it (an old бабушка) was very passionate about space and about the fact that Soviets had the best and most advanced technology of all (especially over Americans). She went on and on about how pioneering Soviet space technology was (which is true) and KEPT emphasizing the fact that they were better than Americans. Intermittently, she would ask people on the tour specific questions about Soviet space history, and I was PRAYING that she wouldn’t say anything to me because I knew that as soon as I opened my mouth, my secret (that I’m American) would be revealed. Luckily, she didn’t.

Nevertheless, it was hilarious to hear history from a different point of view. Later that night, I was talking about it with Alec, and we were both laughing about it, and at one point he exclaimed about how “obviously America won the Space Race since we ultimately sent the first man to the moon!” This is true. But then I realized that history is not static and that it does not contain some “truth” that we uncover. History changes depending on who is in power and from whom the story is told. History has lenses and depths.  I was very much aware of this fact at that planetarium. Americans and Russians are told very different stories about the Space Race, but is one truer than the other? Not necessarily.

I was also very in tune with how the lady spoke so nostalgically of “our Soviet Union” (yes, she said “our”). For me, the old planetarium lady spoke so perfectly towards all my thoughts of the day before. Again, there is this HUGE separation between the old and young generations. Roza, the Planetarium lady, Balaban (to a certain extent), other old people I’ve spoken with over the months…. There IS nostalgia for Soviet times. People reminisce often, and I see this sly, sweet hint of a smile when older people talk about it. They’re also very confident. “The Soviet Union – in its prime - was the most advanced and powerful country of the world.” Period.

The younger, “net” (as Conn likes to call it), generation does not feel this way. They, seemingly, could care less about Soviet History. While this isn’t to say that history doesn’t influence the present (that is not true at all), I do see a certain amount of disconnect and apathy among young people. Now, it’s about iphones, Holi music festivals, t-shirts with English splattered across them, fast food restaurants, and so on. Maybe a certain degree of this comes from the fact that we’re in a city, but nevertheless, the culture has undoubtedly changed. Russia is open. In the Soviet Union, no one entered and no one left! Now, there is this diffusion with the rest of the world that hasn’t happened in almost 100 years. It’s exciting.

Anyways, after the tour (phew back on track), I headed to the main planetarium. I could have watched the film in Russian, but since I saw that there was an English version available, I decided to go for it. I felt a little guilty, but then again, I never speak or listen to English with anyone. My ears and brain deserve a break. So I asked the man for English headphones and went to settle in.

The movie was cool – pretty standard – and afterwards everyone traipsed out to an outdoor garden/statue/place that had good views, artifacts, and telescopes. Eventually, I headed home, and stopped at Ashan on the way back to pick up the remainder of my groceries (mainly gummies, I will be honest).

Sunday was a very lazy day for me. I thought about going on a day excursion somewhere outside the city, but I was sleepy and not wanting to do anything, so I let myself have a lazy day of bed and movies and Netflix.

Movies I have watched!

1.     Prometheus. Thriller/Drama. Pretty creepy and apparently is part of the “Alien” series. It was fine, but forgettable.

2.     In Time. Sci-Fi. Old favorite (fun) movie with Justin Timberlake about a capitalistic society that is operated with “time” as its currency.

3.     Interstellar. Sci-Fi. THIS MOVIE IS SO GOOD. It completely rocked my world and makes me want to join NASA. It’s directed by Christopher Nolan and the special effects/music are amazing. Towards the end a little, “wait what?” but overall SOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD. Watch.

4.     Maze Runner. Action/Thriller/Sci-Fi. Based on a book (that I never read). Pretty good, but predictable. Kind of reminded me of Lord of the Rings but contemporary version. Dominated by boys.

5.     The Best of Me. I don’t know why I finished this movie. It was fine, but boring. Typical Nicholas Sparks. Except obviously the Notebook is way better. Chemistry between the characters was weird too. ALTHOUGH…. You do get to look at James Marsden for 2 hours…. Which is always nice.

I think that’s about it for now. Yesterday my parents celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary. I can’t imagine BEING 35 let alone being MARRIED for 35 years.

What is life.

Have a great week everyone!