Escaping the Past

During my first Russian politics class today the professor, who is Russian, and grew up under the Soviet regime and lived through the transitive turmoil of the early 90s, mentioned how the Russian people are unique in the world while adjusting to their political reality. Despite voting in democratic elections, the people still feel alienated from the state. Once leaders are put into power, they no longer represent the voters, but the state - just like in the Soviet days or Tsarist Russia. While this is sometimes a perception and not always reality, it makes it difficult for the Russian people (or the government) to know where they are currently or where they want to head as a political and social society.

After Germany and Japan were defeated in World War II, both societies were physically wiped clean of all traces of the regimes that had lead them into their disastrous wars. There are no monuments to Hitler or Tojo. While the Soviet Union no longer exists as a state power, symbols of it exists all over Moscow and I'm sure the country. In my previous posts, I've mentioned several old Soviet symbols still present in the Metro and on the buildings about town. While the Russian people may not acknowledge these symbols on a day to day basis they are there to remind them of a failed state. How can a country move forward if it still hangs on to its past?

Along this theme, today I noticed three physical traces of the Soviet state that still exist in Moscow.

• Walking through a major hub station of the Metro today I passed a large, bold mosaic on the station wall of Vladimir Lenin. (Not exactly a role models for the kids.)
• In the school of higher education, which I've previously mentioned was a elite school to train communist party leaders, there are six very large marble "plaques" on the walls of the main entrance to the school. (3 on either side.) They appear to have been scrubbed clean some time ago. I suspect they had communist slogans and/or portraits of Soviet leaders on them to inspire the students. For the current Russian youth attending the school, they can read a lot into this vast emptiness. Perhaps a metaphor for the country's uncertain future, as my professor suggested. (See picture below)
• Lastly, Khrushchev's skyscrapers. The story is that when Khrushchev visited the U.S. in 1958 with Eisenhower and Nixon in the White House, he visited New York and other parts of the country, was famously denied entrance to Disney Land, and he hobnobbed with Hollywood royalty. When he returned to Moscow he demanded that Moscow have skyscrapers just like New York, only bigger. What he got were five tall basic buildings of poured cement. Russian engineers could not build higher or use better building materials. Not exactly up to New York standards. These building today line a street that is bustling with high-end capitalism. The contrast is incredible. (See picture below)

Lastly, I started formally learning Russian today. Wow. It is difficult, but I think after a few days I will begin to get the hang of it. After staying in Moscow for four days I am already starting to pick up phrases and place names during conversation. More to report on the language learning later.