Russia and the Former Soviet Socialist Republics

Introduction

It is hard to summarize Russia. There can not be any sweeping statements that would summarize this great country. Its size is almost incomprehensible to imagine. Even without some of its former possessions it is still large, covering many time zones. Its climate goes from frigid to temperate. There are a multitude of ethnic groups, although ethnic Russian are still a slight majority. Its history could only be described as "epic" with characters such as Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Rasputin, Lenin,Stalin and Gobachav. The Soviet Union was one of the major social experiments in the Twentieth Century, although it eventually failed. One thing you can say about Russians, they are not wimps. Its contribution to music, art and literature is significant. Modern Russia is still a major force in world politics, even though greatly demised from the days of the Soviet Union.

Physical Characteristics
Most of Russia could be described as plains. The only major mountain ranges is the Urals, which pales when compared to the Alps or other major mountain ranges.

Climate
Most of Russia is in the D climate range. There are areas of Polar E Climates B climatic zones (desserts) are found in the west of Russia, There are also some C climate types near the Crimea.There are no real mountain barriers and so the Polar cold front sweep the plains of Russia. Most could be described as continental climates (D) similar to the Midwest of the United States. There is no Gulf Stream or any other warm currents as in Europe to moderate the temperature.The B Climates are located in Siberia due to the "rain shadow" effect of the Himalayans.

History

Early History

In the early history of Russia, most were traders and farmers. These people of Slavic backgrounds built fortified wooden towns or Kremlins. In the Eighth and Ninth Centuries, . Scandinavians migrated and established trade settlements with Slavs. The Norseman Ruik conquered Novgorod in 862 . At the same time, Scandinavians established during the period around Kiev. This was the beginning of the Russian people. The name Russian is based on the Norse word meaning oremens or rower, since row boats were the major mode of transportation. In 880A.D. Ruik's successor Oleg conquered the Kievan territory and made Kiev its capital. The state of Rus because the largest kingdom in the area. In 988 A.D.Prince Vladimir introduced Christianity to Russia. In the Eleventh Century the towns of Novgorod and Kiev increased in importance to become important religious and commercial centers Later in the Eleventh Century, Moscow established as a protective outpost between the Volga and the Oka Rivers A Kremlin was built and a church was added within the settlement

The Huns Invade

In the 12th Century, Genghis Kahn started his invasion of Europe and Asia. In 1237, Batu Khan
( Tartars), grandson of Genghis Kahn, invaded Russian and burned towns in the area. The Mongols, also refereed as Tartars ruled for 250 years. The heritage is still in Russia. This is reflected in persons in Russia who have dark hair, dark skin and Asiatic eyes.

The Czars

The above photo is that of St. Basil's in Moscow. It is probably one of the most photographed location in all of Russia. It sits in Red Square and is the center of the Kremlin, the seat of government in Russia. Down the street is Lenin's Tomb (there is now talk of taking Lenin out of the tomb and burying him literally and symbolically burying the past of the Communist government) and just across from it is the GUM department store, a huge department store during the times of the U.S.S.R. However, when you are inside you realize that it is just a collection of small indescript kiosks selling odds and ends. It didn't resemble anything like our department stores. The selection of goods have no doubt increased after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, during the days of the Soviet Union, the goods in normal store were pitiful. All foreign and Soviet goods for exports were found in "hard" currency stores which were restricted to foreigners and high-level government officials.

Ivan the Terrible (1453-1505) ended Tartar rule. He was known for his cruelty against his enemies. (I don't know if he was as cruel as Vlad Tepes, but I am sure the title "the Terrible" didn't come about because of his tolerance.) Ivan started the expansion of Russia beyond its ethnic core. At this point, Russia ceased being nation (homogenous ethnicity) and became a nation-state The reign of Peter the Great (1652-1725) was a major watershed in Russian history. He established the "forward capital" of St. Petersburg (notice the name) as his "window to the West". It was a master piece and still one of the great cities of Europe. Peter tried to modernize Russia to be like his European. He defeated the Turks with Russia's first Navy and established the first access to the Black Sea. He was fairly liberal, as Russian Czars go, and tolerated Catholics, Lutherans and Protestants. His reign was considered the start of the golden age of Russia. The next major figure in Russian history was Catherine the Great (1762-96). She was German borne, as many of the royalty of Europe and was influenced by French culture. She was noted for her notorious love affairs. She secularized some of the Church's land and established a parliament for 1 year. However, A parliament, of sorts, was established during her reign. However, democracy was tiring for Catherine and she abolished after one year. She acquired most of the Crimean and started the process of the partitioning of Poland While Europe was undergoing a major change from monarchies to democracies during the 1700's and industrializing.

The Beginning of the End of the Russian Empire

Russia was still, for the most part, undeveloped. Russian existed in its own world. Industrialization had only occurred in a few places. Until the mid 1800's, legalized slavery of thousands of peasants of peasants was legal. These peasants who were legally bound to the land was called "serfs". Most of the population could be considered peasants. There was the nobles, some rich industrialists and entrepreneurs, and a small middle class. Entering this scene was V.I. Lenin and Nicolas II (1905-17) and one of the tragic incidences in history. (Truth is stranger than fiction.). Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra were oblivious to the raging storm that was gathering. They were insulated from the terrible poverty of most of the masses and the growing revolutionary movement spearheaded by Lenin and the Bolsheviks using the ideology of Marx, modified by Lenin. In the drama was the Crown Prince Alexi, who was a hemophiliac. Rasputin, who was a renegade monk, was apparently the only one who could stop his bleeding. Alexandra, oblivious to public opinion, allowed Rasputin to become a part of the royal family and followed his advice. This caused the image of the royalty by the people to be tarnished. Meanwhile, World War I was raging. Russia was ill prepared for the war and the situation became worse when Nicolas decided to lead the troops from the front. Back at the home, the war was draining the resources of the country. At the front, Russians were deserting in mass. The government and the monarchy was collapsing. In October (actually September according to our calendar) of 1917, the Russian Revolution started with the firing of the canons from the battleship Aurora in St. Petersburg (Petrograd) and the storming of the Winter Palace by the Bolsovicks. Nicholas II and his family had fled but were captured by the Bolsheviks and later murdered. Later the civil war was ended by the victory of the Bolsovicks and started a new phase in Russian history, the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.)

The Communist Era

The above photo is one of the monument "Mother Russia". It was erected after the World War II or the Great Patriotic War, as it was referenced by propaganda machine in the Soviet Union. It represents the triumph of Russia ( and Communism) over Fascist Germany. The Soviet government used the Great Patriotic War as propaganda to prove that the Communist system was superior to other systems and that despite the great loss of life in this war, Russia was protected and look forward to a glorious future. Monuments to the war effort were in almost every city in Russia. It was so much a part of the life of the Soviet Union that couples after their marriage ceremony (generally civil because the government was officially atheist) went to these monuments to have their picture taken with the local monument in the background. I witnessed this during my visit to the U.S.S.R. in Kiev (now Ukraine.) Russia suffered greatly during World War II. Ukraine was brutally treated and Leningrad (Petrograd) was bombed and starved by the by the Nazis.However, eventhough the intelligentsia of the Soviet Union exploited the War, the memory of this tragic time was still fresh in the minds of the peoples of Russia. When I was in Russia, it was apparent that they were still mourning their relatives who were killed. Our tour guide in Kiev when talking about the almost complete destruction of this city by the Germans, I believe was sincere (or at least it was a good act) when she showed us the area from the bluff of the city looking across the Dneiper River and mentioned that this area was once a beautiful part of the city, but was now completely leveled. Kiev, a very historic city, was rebuilt with drab Soviet buildings and still looked as it was recovering something. One can only imagine the beauty of Kiev before the Great Patriotic War.

Lenin became the sole dictator of the communist revolution. However, in the background were two fellow revolutionaries who were vying for power, Trotsky and Stalin. Trotsky sought a more benign communism,while Stalin advocated a much more forceful view of achieving the communist state. After Lenin death, Stalin was "elected" as the leader of the U.S.S.R Trotsky had fled and was later assassinated in Mexico City, presumable under direct orders from Stalin. Stalin proceeded to implement his vision of obtaining communist "nirvana". He collectivized farms, started a centrally planned economy with the institution of the Five Year Plans and conducted massive purges of subversives. Russia was perhaps spared from any further antics by Stalin due to World War II. Russia was devastated by World War II, which in Russia is called the Great Patriotic War. It was also aligned with the Allied Forces. After the war, in Yalta, U.S.S. R. (now in the Ukraine) the Allies divided up the defeated countries for purpose of rebuilding them. The U.S.S.R. was "given" the Eastern European countries. "Elections" were held and this part of Europe was brought into the Soviet sphere of influence. After World War II, it was apparent that the countries of Eastern Europe including a part of Germany (East Germany) were not going to allowed to determine their own destinies and that the U.S.S.R. aim was to back Communist regimes around the world At this time, the U.S. began opposed the policies of the U.S.S.R. and thus the Cold War began. After the death of Stalin, a renegade, Kruschev assumed the head of the Soviet Union and challenged the United States (i.e. Sputnik, Cuban Missile Crisis). Kruschev also denounced the policies of Stalin. What followed Kruschev was a series of hard-line and non-creative persons who progressively allowed the Soviet Union to slip. At the ends of the 1980's, it was apparent that the Soviet Union was bankrupt, economically and morally. Gobachev sought to reform of the system (Perostroka) and sought to be more open to the West (Glasnost). Since the Soviet Union, like the Russian Empire was held together by force, the U.S.S.R. soon started to unravel despite the efforts of Gorbachov.

Post-Communist Russia and It Former Socialist Soviet Republics

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, parts of the former Soviet Union started to form their own countries (i.e., Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Central Asian Republics, Azerbaijan, Georgia, etc.) For a while, there was some effort to hold together the countries of the former Soviet Union, with the organization know as the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.) and while this organization still exists on paper, it is currently fairly inactive. The remaining part of the Soviet Union was renamed as the Russia Federation under President Yeltsin. Although Russia lost some of its former territory, it is still a large country with tremendous resources. However, it is at danger of further disintegration with several "homelands" seeking independence from the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation and the former Soviet Republics are struggling to become viable economies and democracies.With this dramatic change, Russia and its former republics and the former Eastern Block (Eastern European countries) are seeking aid from the U.S., U.N. E.U, I.M.F., and the other assorted "alphabet soup" of international agencies. (Do you know some of these players on the international scene? Look them up if you are unsure. One you should know.) It is a tenuous situation, Russia's Duma (parliament) is full of former communists and battling Yeltsin and other reformers and their currency may be devalued further, countries such as Georgia, Uzbekistan and the Other Central Asia Republics are marginal economies and marginal democracies struggling with their Islamic past and renewed relations to this area. Meanwhile the Russia Federation wants to bring some of these republics "back into the fold". Some of them don't want to be under the Russian sphere of influence, but can't ill afford to cut themselves off from trading with Russia etc. Also, there are gas lines running from Russia to many of these countries, so they can't realistically ignore Russia.

Comments on Ethnic Homelands in Russia

As discussed in your book, Russia is full of "ethnic homelands" and potentially independent countries. Not to long ago, Chechnya one of these homelands mustered together an army and fought the Russians. They were defeated by the Russians and a treaty was established. Independence will be considered in 2001. The situation with Chechnya was one that was one which the Russians thought would cause further fragmentation of the Russian Federation with other ethnic homelands following suit. This was definitely a danger of this happening, but the world community took a dim view of how this situation was handled by Russia and Yeltsin. (This situation with Chechnya has faint overtones of the American Civil War and the sovereignty issues raised by this cathartic conflagration in our own country.) There are numerous other ethnic homelands which could be mentioned. However, I think this discussion is somewhat tedious and not really necessary to understand the Russian Federation in general. (I think our author was desperate to fill pages so he put in some very detailed information about the Russian homelands. I would recommend to browse this material, but you will not be responsible for it, other than noting the variety of ethnic groups in Russia.)

Focus on Selected Regions in Russia

The Core
This is the area surrounding Moscow. This is one of the most heavily industrialized regions in Russia. The policy of the Soviet Union was to concentrate industry near Moscow. Moscow is surrounded by a several satellite cities.

The Urals
The Urals are a source of raw material in Russia. There are a string of cities along the Urals originally oriented around extraction of minerals.

The Volga
The Volga is one of the major transportation routes in Russia. It is essentially the "Mississippi" of Russia. Along the Volga there are a string of cities that are highly industrialized.

Siberia
Siberia conjures up a cold frigid land without any trees. Siberia is definitely one of the most hostile places on the face of the earth. However, it contains some of the world's largest sources of raw material including petroleum, its greatest resources. The U.S.S.R. "encouraged" immigration to this reason to supply labor in the oil fields and the mines. Most of the major cities exist on the "life line" of this area, the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Novosibirsk is the largest city along the railroad and is a major industrial and academic center. Siberia was noted as a place of exile in Stalin's era. One of the most famous book describing the process of imprisoning in Siberia is The Gulag Archipelago (also see One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. I would not recommend The Gulag Archipelago for light reading. One Day.. is a much more readable book. It was required reading when I was in high school.

Want to Learn More
There are some excellent references on Russian history. The following are some of the best I have come across:

Everything you wanted to know about Russian history
This is a well organized and pleasing site. I would take sometime and explore it.

A Site with collection of Russian history
This site is a personal webpage by a Ph.D. candidate in history. It has some links that are not found in the previous site. If you are interested in extra credit you might consider a paper on Russia as this site contains a bibliography which might give you some good references. They will probably not be our library, even though the good folks in our library are trying to expand the collection, but we can hope. It is also not too late to request some of these books via our interlibrary loan service.

A Brief History of Russia from LoneyPlanet
This is Russia's history "in a nutshell" similar to mine. You might want to explore other aspects of Russia mentioned in the webpage. This site is for travelers to this country and other countries around the world. It is a fun site and one you might want to revisit if you are planing a trip to Russia or other countries.

What about events in present day Russia? Here are some good links:

St. Petersburg (Russia)Times with an archive of back issues
A well constructed web site. This could also be a good place for research for an extra credit paper.

Russia Today
A on-line newspaper from the Czech Republic concerning Russian politics. One reference today,which is curious, in one stating that Yeltsin told Chirac of France that he backs France in the World Cup. Doesn't Yeltsin have better things to do to send such sophomoric messages to France? Like the French care that Yeltsin supported France in the World Cup.)

Other on-line sources for Russia

Brief Discussion Concerning Former Republics

You don't hear much about these countries in the nightly world news. They are generally out of the mainstream for most news agencies. The latest news that happened among them was ethnic wars in Georgia and Azerbaijan and some of Central Asia Republics giving signs to Iran that they desired a closer relationship, which did not sit well with the United States. Also, let us not forget, Ukraine (not the Ukraine) decided to give up their nuclear arsenal. However, there are still questions about who owns the ships of the former U.S.S.R. sitting in the harbor at Sebastopol, originally a major Russia naval base in the Black Sea. Ukraine says they are theirs and the new Russian Federation says that they should be theirs. It is becoming a moot (or mute as a colleague of mine used to say) point as the ships are rusting and soon will be worth little more that cost of the metal. Nevertheless, the Russians are still eyeing these ports and hope, maybe in vain, that Ukraine may one day become part of the Russian Federation. Presently, there is no real news in these areas. This may not last long as all of the referenced countries below are struggling and have ethnic problems brewing.

All of these countries declared independence after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Some had previously been independent states in the InterWar period, like the Baltic States, or had been independent states in some distant past, such as Georgia, Armenia. Others had not been countries as at anytime in their history, except probably marginally such as the Central Asia Republics and Belarus. However, their declaration of independence was not a panacea for their ethnic problems and their continued dependence upon Russia. Even if they would like to divorce themselves from Russia, they find that it is still their major trading partner. There are pressures from Russia for these now independent countries to become part of the Russian Federation, this is particularly true of Ukraine and the Trans-Caucasian countries.

The Trans-Caucasian countries are an agglomeration of various ethnic, including Russian, and religious groups. This area has been a tramping ground for the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire and then the U.S.S.R. Many have not been independent states for centuries. These states resemble another area we have studied, Former Yugoslavia. They are potentially "powderkegs" for ethnic civil war. As previously mentioned, for about a couple of years in the early 1990's, Azerbaijan and Georgia battled because of ethnic problems of Moslem Ajerbaijani in Georgia and Christian Georgians in Azerbaijan.Armenia is a fraction of its former self. There are many ethic Armenians in some of the surrounding countries. Like the Kurds (who are basically a people without a nation) in Turkey and Iraq, there could be a movement for some of these areas that have a majority of Armenians to desire separation and a reunion with Armenia. We have no further than look to Kosovo (with 90 percent of the population being ethnic Albanians) in Serbia to see a similar situation. So, this is an area to watch because of its volatility.

The Central Asian Republics are large countries whose population is most Moslem. However, under the Soviet regime, Islam was discouraged and the population became secularized. There is now a movement in these countries to revive Islam. There is also rumblings that they are seeking closer relationships with Islamic countries, particularly Iran This potential alliance could upset the balance of power in this area. In the meantime, these countries are rediscovering their role as a key crossroads between Asia and Europe. Many of the cities in the past were prosperous (i.e. Ulan Batu) due their key locations along the Silk Road ( the overland route from China to Europe. Several of these countries have significant oil reserves. There is much potential in these countries, but at the present they are struggling economically and politically. This area could be classified with the countries of Southwest Asia, however at the present moment I think that they are more aligned with the states of the former Soviet Union, particularly the Russian Federation. This is debatable and illustrates somewhat the difficulty of classifying some countries which border two regions or realms, as our author calls them.

The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have characteristics similar to some of their Eastern European neighbors. They have a fairly high standard of living among the former Soviet Republics, a literate population and have the advantage of being located at key locations in the Baltic. They have formed a loose trading association similar to the one formed by the Benelux countries just after World War II. There are many similarities with these countries in terms of size and economic strength. It make much more sense for these countries to band together that go their separate ways. These countries probably will be members of the E.U. in the next century.

Ukraine is the largest of these countries. In fact, it is now the largest in Europe, if you define the Ural Mountains as the division between Europe and Asia. It has large cities such as Kiev and Odessa which have a fair amount of industrial development. Odessa has the advantage of being one of the key ports along the Black Sea. However, the Ukrainians are ethnically kin to the Russians and have always been closely associated with Russia. Remember, this is where the Russia people originated and Kiev is considered one of the "hearths" of the Russian civilization. The Russians still are perturbed that Ukraine has not come into the fold of the Russian Federation. However, most Ukrainians do not want this and desire continued independence from Russia. Russia soon after Ukraine's separation did not recognize its sovereignty and continued to represent Ukraine diplomaticatically, even to the point of insisting that they still had the right to issue visas to Ukraine. This presented quite a problem for those wishing to travel into Ukraine. The biggest problem was the tension between Ukraine and Russia over the huge nuclear arsenal that the Soviets had left in Ukraine. The Russians were insisting that they would keep the nuclear weapons until the Russian Federation recognized their independence. There was no threat, per se, in that the Russians help the codes for the missiles. Finally, the Russians granted Ukraine independence and the missiles were dismantled. The latest festering problem is the situation with former Soviet Naval ships at Sebastopol and Odessa. However, this issue apparently has been put "on the back burner." Meanwhile, Ukraine is suffering with economic and political problems similar to it neighbors in Hungary and Romania.

Moldavia and Belarus are small countries which are independent but heavily tied to the Russia. Moldavia would eventually desire a reunion with Romania, since this was formerly part of Romania. However, the economic situation in Romania is presently unstable and such as union would not be in the best interest of a relatively prosperous Moldavia. Belarus is essentially a break-away republic that is very similar to Russia. It is fairly industrialized and developed. Minsk, its capital, under Soviet rule one of the key industrial cities in European U.S.S.R.

Most of these countries are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.). This organization is a "shadow" of the former Soviet Union, without participation of the Baltic States.
Its role is minimal for the the member states and carries little weight in international politics. Overall, there appears to be impasse among its members to role and so the organization appears to be inactive.

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.)

Links to the Former Soviet Socialist Republics

*Previously linked in the Eastern European notes
** I refer these countries in my classroom lectures as the "stans"
+ Member of C.I.S.

Note: Most of the links are from Encarta On-line (a Microsoft On-line Encyclopedia). For basic information, this source is excellent. You may want to use it when researching any topic for an extra credit paper.

Commentary

Last night (13 July, 1998), I heard a commentary on National Public Radio (NPR) by a journalist who had visited the Soviet Union in the 1980's before its breakup and was now visiting the Soviet Union.(I would strongly recommend that students in my class start listening to NPR or watching the PBS NewsHour, if you do not already do so. They offer an in-depth view of current events that is not found on network news broadcasts, particularly in relation to foreign affairs reporting. Often they cover significant events that have are being completely ignored by the regular press or have been buried in the back of newspapers and reported in a very lackluster fashion. I admit that I get most of my news via NPR or PBS.) His conclusion was that "everything changes to remain the same". He stated that he was in a shop that was a butcher/bread store and there were people standing in line (sound familiar) and being handled by some clerks who were carry-overs from the former era. In the line were several "babushkas" patiently waiting in line for the typically rude Russian version of service. An older man, jumped the line and insisted on service because he was a veteran of the Great Patriotic War (World War II). He pointed to a sign in the store, stating that veterans of the Great Patriotic War could be unobservant of the normal queuing rules. A babushka hastened to tell him that the rules of the former Soviet Union do not apply any more. She forced him back into the line. When she finally was served and received some rotting fish, herons, she went back to him and struck him on the head with the fish.

Such stories indicate the problems in the present day, with some persons hanging on to the former rules of the Soviet Union and sometimes wishing that the U.S.S.R. was still in existence. On the other hand, there are citizens who are still struggling to adjust with the "twilight zone" that Russia has become. Can Russia deny its past? It may be able to eliminate all of the icons of the Former U.S.S.R., but its legacy is still very much present in the day-to-day lives of its citizens. Russia, like China, is used to strong leadership. Democracy has changing leadership and sometimes no clear domestic or foreign policy. Capitalism, in its rawest form, does not have any mechanism to take care of the unemployed or indigents and allows for unlimited accumulation of wealth. These tendencies of democracy and capitalism conflict with the former ways of the U.S.S.R. where people were always employed or subsidized by the government and most of the population were given the same economic rights. So, the population of Russia forge ahead, many fearful that they will remain a ghost of their former glory and will not see any progress. A Russian friend of mine in Milwaukee, when I asked about traveling in Russia stated that I shouldn't at this time. He stated that people were being robbed in broad daylight at gas stations and that the overall situation for tourists was dangerous. I heard the opposite from another friend who had recently traveled in Russia.

I traveled in U.S.S.R. in 1989, as part of an Intourist tour group, as independent travel in the U.S.S.R was difficult. I went to Kiev, Yalta, Leningrad (now Petrograd) and Moscow. It was an experience which was not unfamiliar when I took a trip to Eastern Europe in 1995. You knew that you were in the Soviet Union, when one of the members of the tour was detained in the airport in Kiev. There was some questioning and his luggage was searched. The reason was not quite clear. It probably was not quite clear to the Russians. It was probably for intimidation purposes. (However, the only reason we were allowed to travel in the U.S.S.R. was because they needed hard currency. In the hotels which we stayed they readily accepted U.S. Dollars and British Pounds.) When we left the airport we drove for several miles on a long wide street lined with drab multi-storied apartment buildings. (I later stayed in one of these poor excuse for housing in Romania. Our old public housing, which is horrible, was better than this place.) We were ushered like cattle into our hotel. The hotel room was full of listening devises, it was that obvious. At that point, you could have stated, "Toto, I don't believe we're in Kansas anymore". You knew from the very start, that the rules had changed and that you were definitely in a different place with a whole new set of rules.

Another story to illustrate the situation in the U.S.S.R. happened when my hotel roommate stepped out to see Kiev on our own. (Yes, you were allowed to do individual site seeing. Although you knew that everyone was aware that you were not Russian.,I was never detained or hassled when I was looking about on my own.) Within a few feet after leaving the hotel, a young woman approached us speaking in several languages until we answered in English. She asked what we were doing in Kiev. We told her. Then, she stated if we would like to see some sites. Naively we agreed and hopped into her car. It was safe. Turns out that she was a scientist working in Kiev. This was probably true, as she spoke English well, almost flawlessly was well dressed, with Italian boots as we were to find out. She took us to a Russian church which was having services. She seemed distracted due to the fact that her aim was not to show tourist around, we were later to find out. I was amazed at the Russian Orthodox service. The chanting was in a minor chords. The place was full of icons and smelled on incense. Candles were everywhere. However, something was wrong. The majority of the people just stood watching, as this was some kind of event which they were passive observers. Meanwhile the priests were chanting surrounded by "babushkas" constantly crossing themselves. You think Catholics and Anglicans are liturgical. They "don't hold a candle" to the Russian Orthodox, of that matter the Greek Orthodox which is related to Russian Orthodox. These elaborate services can go on for up to three or four hours and more on holy days. However, from this point I became a fan of Russian Orthodox chanting. (You can hear some the same melodic strains in music by Mussorsky and other Russian composers. It is a mystic sound that stick in you memory.) Do I digress, I think so. Well, we left the church. When we were approaching the hotel, she started asking if we were interested in changing money. This was all along her purpose. In other words, I have done something for you and you also see that I am trustworthy, now how about a little business. She offered fairly good exchange rates. However, we declined. She stated that she would be near the hotel in a couple of hours if we changed our minds. She dropped us off about a couple of blocks from the hotel, to avoid being noticed by the authorities. We didn't change money with her. At this time, it was uncertain how carefully money changing was being monitored. I personally did not want any hassles.

The above story illustrates the scarcity of high quality goods or that matter any consumer product manufactured outside of the U.S.S.R.. Russian consumer goods were poor quality and did not offer the type of variety that we take for granted. If you wanted good clothes, you had to resort to to the type of activity that this young woman was doing. I am sure this was not what she wanted to do as a way to entertain herself or that she was particularly interested in foreigners. She knew that this was the only way to get quality goods. On the other hand, she could have been working for the KGB and trying to trap us to exchanging money on the Black Market. It should be noted that a private citizen owning a car was very unusual. So, either she was a very well off Russian working as a scientist in a local research institute or she was a KGB or some other kind of member of the police force trying to entrap foreigners. We will never know. Relating back to the discussion about the observation of the journalist in present day Russia, it looks like things have not changed much. It seems from the accounts of present Russian life that the KGB are not in the picture and that Russians are free to exchange money. However, now their money can buy very little even though they can buy and sell "hard" currency. Everything changes to remain the same. In that I have not traveled in the Russian Federation, I am not personally aware of the goings on in the country. However, the recent past, which I have experienced, is very much in the everyday life of Russian citizens and will continue to shape its character into the next century.

Post Script

Hopefully, after this class some of you will be excited about the world (or at least I hope this class will inspire you) and you will save up some money for traveling to see these countries in person. One of the reasons that I can be enthusiastic and have more that a passing knowledge of the countries in Europe and the countries of Russia, Israel and Turkey is because I have traveled there. I spent a year in Europe and also went to Russia and Israel after graduating from college. I had also previously traveled in Europe. Most recently I spent time in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Greece. I hope that throughout this class, you do not mind me telling some of my stories about my experiences in some of these countries. I know this will not be my last trip abroad. However, the next trip will be with my wife (presently my fiancee), who is an Anthropologist and Archeologist, and I sure that traveling with her will bring a whole different spectrum to things, even to places I had previously been before. Traveling is a "gestalt" or holistic experience where the history and the current events of the places you are located at the present moment are "in your face". In just one day in a city like Paris, Moscow, Berlin. Barcelona, Mexico City or Buenos Aires, you can learn information that reading volumes of material in textbooks and pedantic professors notes would not even touch..

With a student card, mainly the International Student Card, which gains you access to cheap air fares and rail passes and by staying in hostels, Europe and Russia can be seen on a relatively cheap budget. So, save your money and plan for a trip abroad. Even a trip to nearby Mexico, not just the border towns, could be quite an eye-opener and an experience that would help you understand other cultures.