Russia

Visited: March and December 2007

Duration of visit: 6 days

Capital city: Moscow

Population: 142 million (2007)

• Business meetings with Russian distributors of heating and air purification products.
• Walking around Moscow downtown in cold winter at night was completed with the experience of being stopped by security guard on Red Square.
• Dirty streets of Moscow in the winter. The snow is covered with dust and small particles that makes it very unattractive.
• Expensive restaurants and hotels in central Moscow. The capital of Russia is one of the most expensive cities in the world, especially for foreigners.
• Friendly people mostly don’t speak English, but I could perceive from their conversation that they treat each other in a polite way and respectful.
• The most expensive souvenir in my life – Matryoshka doll – a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another.

The biggest country in the world, extending across eleven time zones, with traumatic history, intriguing politics, the longest railway, rich cultural heritage, natural wonders and strong leaders, would need months to understand it, visit it and explore it properly.

Covering a vast area of Europe and Asia, Russia is a diverse and exciting place. I’ve always had a lot of respect for the country, where improvisation and good understanding of local rules can be very helpful to maximize the experience.

There were millions of tourists that visited the country until Covid-19 pandemic years and later aggression to Ukraine, but mostly focused on the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

I visited Moscow twice on a business trip. Meetings in various companies enabled me an insight in how different some transactions and operations were, comparing to Western world. From buying international currencies, to import, tax payment and later distribution. Going thorough official procedures and following a post-Soviet bureaucracy would put a serious company in a lost position.

If you wanted to do business in 2007, the local company had to deal with bribes, finding alternative routes to avoid paying taxes or using official channels in order to be competitive and efficient. Especially younger generations of businessmen were very well informed and open-minded to do trade with Western companies.

I was invited to one of the best restaurants in Moscow – Café Pushkin. The upscale Franco-Russian restaurant is sprawling three floors, where four romantic dining rooms are saturated with antiques and glamorous baroque touches. Blinchiki, pirozhki, borscht and pelmeni (traditional Russian dished) are combined with alternative ingredients. All dishes and especially caviar are top quality, while prices are prohibitive to ordinary people.

When Russian people want to show that you are an important guest, they don’t try to save money, when food and drinks are on the table. A shoot of vodka after every 10 or 15 minutes, cheering, saluting and loud speeches are part of the banquet.

I realized that drinking shoots of vodka, while eating, don’t make people really drunk, but rather happy. Food, especially grassy food, helps to reduce the impact of alcohol on your head. When there is food in your stomach before drinking, alcohol is absorbed more slowly.

Nobody would go to Moscow only doing business without using the opportunity to walk around the city and visit the most interesting areas of the downtown. I was accompanied by my work colleague Christophe, who was keen on joining me. Our flight from London was delayed and we only arrived to a luxurious hotel in downtown at around 10:00pm. It was a cold December night, my first time in Moscow. I was too excited to go to bed and we were located too close to the Red Square to remain indifferent.

It was cold, snow was falling lightly and not many people walked around central Red Square, adjoining the historic fortress and center of government Kremlin so late at night. We walked around, took some photos. Fairy-tale lit Saint Basil’s Cathedral with exquisitely carved architecture was standing in front of us, striking contrast to the monochrome buildings, characteristic of the Soviet era. The towers topped with differently designed onion domes – some swirled like ice creams, some textured with diamond patterns. Covered by snow the scene was magic.

Only a half a day after leaving London and we had a story of our life. “We flew by old Russian airplane with a few hours delay, walked around Red Square and being investigated my famous KGB!”. After returning to the hotel, we immediately asked for a registration certificate.

The next day, I returned to the area of Red Square. Walking and driving around Moscow was not very pleasant. There was very little snow, but the streets were covered with black puddles and dark residues. Very unpleasant for both, pedestrians and cars, which are all extremely dirty.

I purchased the most expensive souvenir in my life – Matryoshka doll – a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The cheapest matryoshkas can be purchased for a few dollars, but the real quality starts at a few hundred dollars. The motives are designed to follow a particular theme: traditional dresses, nature, Christmas, Easter, portraits, as well as political, movie stars or celebrities.

Moscow’s most recognizable structure, the Kremlin, a 15^th-century fortified complex that covers an area of 275,000 square meters surrounded by wall. The area with over 700 rooms was once home to the Tsar family and is now the official residence of the president of the Russian Federation. One section was open to the public and the visit was really impressive. No photos allowed.

The Bolshoi Theater is home to the largest and one of the oldest ballets and opera companies in the world. Unfortunately, it was closed and under reconstruction for many years. Not far from the theater Moscow’s oldest and most upscale shopping center is an architectural marvel.

GUM might not be the biggest shopping center any more, but it is the most beautiful with a mix of a steel skeleton and 20,000 panels of glass forming an arched roof, strong enough to support snow in cold Russian winters. Window-shopping in exclusive stores with top brands warmed me up.

The last stop was Lenin’s Mausoleum, the final resting place of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, located in a central spot of Red Square. Lenin’s embalmed body has been exhibited since his death in 1924, lying down in a bulletproof glass sarcophagus as if he’s sleeping. It reminded me a lot on Mao Zedong mausoleum in Beijing.

I only visited the capital city of the biggest country in the world, Moscow. Russia has been on my schedule many times, but the most serious intent was in 2021. I had started to learn Russian a year before, planned the route and connections to travel it from west to the east.

My plans were first postponed for a year due to Covid-19 pandemic and a year later suddenly dashed by Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine and the war that followed. It Is hard to predict when the war in Ukraine will be over and Russia will turn away from its aggressive politics to become more democratic and peaceful country.

Until then I will keep my level of Russian and explore the neighboring countries that are descendants of the Soviet Union.