Life Lessons...

Finally! After three months in Russia I learn how to drink vodka in a civilised way without cringing at the burning sensation or retching at the taste. My lesson coming from a Russian who insisted the following steps be taken to ensure shots be enjoyed with a straight face:

1) Toast!
2) Inhale deeply and hold breathe...
2) Take the shot
3) ...breathe out slowly from the mouth
4) Food in hand, inhale through the nose, smelling the food
5) Eat the food
6) Enjoy the warm glow and never, ever mix with beer!

The food needs to be something from the traditional Russian selection of aperitifs. Fish, bread, pickles - unfortunately not the ketchup laden french fries we were left with last night - but at least the theory was right. Considering it was my last night things didn't get silly and retiring to bed at a reasonable hour I felt like I'd ended this trip on a high note.

До свидания!

The Day Job...

"Убита наших красноармейцев не 48 тысяч, а около миллиона, разве столько возращается с фронта, сколько ушло?"

There's been a lot of talk on this blog about why I'm here and what I want to achieve with all this hard work. Its very difficult to put across the excitement I enjoy from this history game. The fact that I've been lucky enough to 'play' for the best part of three months in the archives of Moscow hasn't diminished that enjoyment one bit.

If anything I'm hungrier now than I ever was. I've proven I'm capable, that the two years of hard work have paid off and I can complete original and - I hope - revealing research about the Soviet Union of Stalin.

Today was a good day. Despite the fact I'm only in Petersburg for a week I took the time on Monday to visit the former Leningrad Party archives hoping to register and review their holdings. I arrived with a lead and low expectations (just in case) yet walked away today with more material than I could hope to transcribe in the few hours afforded to me, despite over five hours of solid commitment to the reading room. I ran on adrenaline but found a few more pieces of the puzzle. The quote you see above you comes from a report sent to the heads of the Leningrad Party - Zhdanov included for those of you in the know - detailing popular responses to the signing of peace between the USSR and Finland in March 1940. It remained censored until last year. I was not the first to see the file but I hope I will be the first to use it in my work.

Its significance? It helps me show a chink in the armour of the Soviet propaganda machine. It allows me to engage with secondary literature of an established historian whose work you could pick off the shelf of a library or bookstore. It is my attempt to move one step closer to becoming a 'proper' historian'...

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

The last twenty-four hours have passed in such a blur. Still as if by magic, I am here, once again in St Petersburg, after the best part of two and half months in Moscow.

I have a lot of stories. Some of them not really publishable, but the moral of this tale is that Russia's capital is a place where 'stories' seem to regularly write themselves into your day-to-day experiences of the city.

There's some catching up to do here, having not had a regular internet connection for the interim period. I still need to post up a few bits from my last couple of days before the move over to Moscow. This week should give me chance to collect my thoughts and do just that.

Watch this space...

Next stop Moscow...

...Wish me luck!

I'll hopefully share a little about the journey once I get there!

...одну картошку, пожалуйста...

Finally! My little treat in St Petersburg, the wonders that are - literally speaking - 'little potatoes' from the kitchens of 'Север' can be purchased by yours truly with proper Russian conjugation.

Sick and tired of getting it wrong, I asked the very nice young lady behind the counter of its Nevsky Prospect branch. She seemed puzzled by my request at first but eventually twigged.

одна картошка,
две картошки,
...
пять картошкой,

...and just make things even more complicated, you have to put it in the 'accusative' case if you want to request one from said, nice lady behind the counter. "одну картошку, пожалуйста"

Sending in the big guns...

Unfortunately this write up is coming about three months after the event - filling gaps from my absence in Moscow - but I thought there were a few worthwhile words / photos to include still.

Despite the absence of any T-34 tanks, I'd recommend losing a few hours in the vaulted corridors of the artillery museum. Its a pretty comprehensive history, everything from the early days of cannons - including some pretty impressive contraptions that never quite took off in the same way...discus firing gun anyone? - through to the nuclear age and rockets that look like they should never have fitted in through the front door.

For my own research interests it was nice to finally find a token reference to the Winter War in one of the last rooms dedicated to the engineers corps. The exhibitions seems to have survived intact from the Soviet period, praising the exploits of its heroes and giving great attention to the successful undermining of White Finnish defences and the notorious 'Mannerheim Line'.

Enjoy the photos. For you animal lovers out there you might want to avoid the cabinets housing stuffed dogs strapped to explosives. They were trained to run under German tanks. I'm assuming those on display died a less dramatic death, otherwise it must have been a hell of job piecing them together again.

P.S - I almost forgot. For those of you want to experience a throwback to the Soviet days of the 'Stoloviaya' kitchen canteen you'll find one in the museum. Its menu is a little better than we get among the Moscow archives but you mind find a taste for them.

"Время летит!"

Besides providing a useful reminder for which of the verbal pairing corresponds to the uni-directional version of 'to fly' (...don't ask!) todays subject is probably more familiar to native English speakers as 'Time flies".

The reason for acknowledging this is a comment made my teacher today that turned out to be an unexpected compliment on the progress I've made since first coming to St Petersburg last April. Being as it was last April, the fact that she thought it must have been two, maybe three years since I was first here is either a reflection on how slow time travels when she's teaching me or, as it turned out, a realisation that my Russian has progressed quicker than she'd anticipated.

A victory then! And one I was determined to prove as not just a fluke aided by my talking to a teacher trained to communicate with any foreigner who happens to have a rudimentary grasp of the langauge...

Undecided about where exactly to go for my 'practical lesson' I wandered over to my old haunt, the 'Museum of Political History of Russia'. (Note to self: Must take a photo of this place for the blog!) The sun was shining after an overcast start to the day - we seem to be on a good run again this week after a few early wet days - but I was happy to spend a couple of hours inside. The front entrance is still being renovated so follow the arrows to the side door.

What started as a quick question posed to the cashier - pre-prepared and repeated in a rather strange inner monologue during the journey - about whether the museum had any material on the Soviet-Finnish War became a full blown conversation with various members of staff about what resources I might find in the city! And I understand most of it! And they understood me!

Needless to say there was nothing available at the musuem and no dedicated exhibitions they could think of, but regardless, I did what I came to do and got my fix of 'conversation'. Not only that but to be able to talk about my work, my research interests and what I hope to achieve in Russia over the next few months was a real bonus and will hopefully set me up for my travels in Moscow.

Anyway, plenty more work to be done and I think tomorrow I need to pick another likely candidate and go speak to the curators there. Maybe the Secret Police branch of the State History Museum again or the artillery museum which I'm still yet to visit. Watch this space...

Too good to be true...

Little bit of drama at the supermarket this morning. Unfortunately I'd failed to appreciate one of the offers on display for fruit juice was only available if you bought three cartoons and not just the one. All was fine until I turned up at the checkout and faced the prospect of having to explain that I hadn't realised I needed to buy three and as a result wouldn't take just the one. (I certainly had no need for 6 litres of apple juice!)

To be fair I understood what they were trying to tell me, didn't panic and eventually got them to understand what I was trying to say. The only real problem was then getting someone with a key to authorise a refund on the till. No harm done but I'm pleased with how I coped. I think all involved eventually realised we were speaking the same language. Or trying to at least.

On a more positive note I also managed to explain to one of the staff I wanted to buy slices of cheese. And that I didn't know how to say 'slices of cheese'. Mime is a wonderful tool for filling in the gaps...

A revolutionary road...

I took a trip to one of the old districts steeped in revolutionary history today. A statue of Comrade Kirov dominates the central square, giving his name to much of the surrounding area, including the Kirov Factory, metro station and shopping centre. He's a figure surrounded by 'what-if's?' and 'who-dunnits?' in the history of early Stalinist Russia. Go see the Kirov Museum dedicated to his memory if you get the chance and don't assume the conspiracy theorists have it right when they argue Stalin played a direct role in his death. As ever, the jury is still out on that one...

However even before his name christened the post-revolutionary redevelopment of the region the streets had seen their share of working class unrest. Both the 1905 and February 1917 revolutions were precipitated by unrest at the nearby industrial complex. An impressive, constructivist inspired mural covers one of the buildings in memory of those proletarian heroes.

Perhaps its my working class roots but something about early Soviet design still resonates with me. Never mind the hammer and sickle being one of the most striking political and cultural symbols of recent years, its whole design ethos with clean lines and angular geometry seems powerful and timeless. They could design a good monument too, just consider the one that sits at the entrance to the city commemorating the Leningrad Blockade.

Just around the corner I took a stroll through Ekaterinahof Park. A grassy little 'oasis' full of shady trees and delapidated fairground rides that still manages to lay claim to housing possibly the only remaining profile of Stalin in the city's vast collection of statues and memorials. Not that you'd know unless you were looking hard enough. Sculpted into the banner of a piece commemorating the Komsomol youth, his face is just visible alongside Lenin's. You'd be hard pressed to see it in a photo. Not that I have one. Damn camera ran out of battery!

Win!

My only real reason for posting this is its general awesome'ness! (I love technology...) I just picked it up from a Russian news report about the site.*

If your current computer will take the beating this resource heavy little clip(s) requires its worth the wait for it to load up. Oh and so I'm not accused of being Google's bitch, I ran it fine on Mozilla and didn't bother downloading Chrome.

P.S - The album - and band - are on fire at the minute. Forgive the pun.

*Funnily enough I spotted a bus today (Sunday) plastered with an advertisement for "Карты Google" (maps.google.ru) which suggests you may be seeing a Google camera van in a street near you soon...

Back to school...

Little cultural reference for you. Yesterday was 'Knowledge Day' according to the Russian calender and as evidenced by the hordes of school kids dressed in their Sunday best and on their way to the first day of school.

It certainly seemed like a happier time for them than I ever remember the end of summer holidays feeling. Maybe the festivities are intended as a way to soften the blow.

The evening news was full of images of the new intake, bells being rung, flowers handed to teachers and photo-opportunities for President and Prime Minister alike. A great deal of optimism was on display not to mention freshly painted classrooms, new computer suites and attentive, quiet students. Still I can't imagine, after the festivities have died down, school life will prove that much different from what I remember...

He's got a ticket to ride...

What an anti-climax! I've had a harder time buying a train ticket in the UK. Still, no complaints and for anyone reading this, I'd recommend doing your homework before hand and come as over prepared as I did.

With all the relevant details of train and required ticket (the cheapest going) printed off all I had to do was hand over my passport, registration and the money.

I used the following guide to navigate my way through the Russian state rail network website (RZD) where you can find the relevant details for the day you want to travel. Its pretty much just a case of running the site through 'Google Translate' once you've inputted the relevant stations in Russian. [Санкт-Петербург / Москва]

Similar info is on the guide above but the important things from my experience are:

1. The date, time and tickets for each train are only released up to 45 days in advance.
2. The cheapest tickets [плацкартный ] sell quickly so get in there early. Even a week and a half in advance didn't give me much choice.
3. There are high-speed services (3-4 hours) from St Petersburg to Moscow but they're, unsurprisingly, quite a bit more expensive.
4. I went to the ticket office at about 10:30am on a Wednesday and there was no queue. The office is open from 08:00 - 20:00 so probably best to avoid peak times in morning and evening.
5. My train is going overnight, comes in at a pretty awful time (04:47) but only cost me about £15! Yes, £15! Considering what I'd pay for an equivalent trip from say London to Edinburgh this is incredible. And I get a bed to sleep in!
6. Though I'm planning on coming back to St Petersburg when I return to the UK it doesn't seem to be the norm to book return tickets. I think each journey has to booked seperately.

Happy travels!

P.S - For someone who doesn't own a single Beatles album I'm doing well with my song references!

There's a right way and a wrong way...

...and I seem to keep choosing the wrong way!

This is my fifth time in Russia, you'd think I'd have noticed before now but I can't seem to stop myself from getting in people's way. It should be such a simple change to make but after 24 years of apparently walking on the left hand side of the pavement, I can't learn to walk on the right.

I guess we - the Russians and English - operate on the same principle as our roads. However, based on my experiences of Russian driving you'd think they'd follow the 'rules' just a loosely as pedestrians. A minor issue maybe, but if I'm ever going to stop looking like a tourist I better get in the right lane and start going with the flow!

The grass is actually greener...

My first impressions (fourth impressions?) of this city yesterday were taken by the obvious amount of development work that has been going on in my absence. The area I'm based at the school has definitely enjoyed a little TLC in recent months. Its noticeable, perhaps because of how rough and ready some of the surrounding area is, but its clear there's some money coming into the place and some of its old Soviet debris is being cleared away.

Obviously it helps being here while the grass is still green and the leaves remain on the trees, but beyond that you notice the freshly dug flower begs around apartment entrances. A few more are scattered in pots and planters around the roads with their freshly painted white lines and newly laid paving. Two new children's areas have sprung up where before it was the sorry, rusted skeleton of Soviet era apparatus. Even car parking, with perimeter fencing, marked out spaces and an organised line of autos has found its place among the plethora of machines still swamping every available kerb and corner.

I don't know what I'll find when I make it into the centre but its just nice to see such a marked change. The buildings are still their tired old selves for the most part and I don't want to give the impression its a paradise on earth, but at least its moving in the right direction. Hell, there even seems to be a greater proportion of pretty girls walking around...

Back in the USSR...

I'm back! And this time I mean business. Literally. Well sort of. It says as much on my [3 month!!!] visa and if anyone asks I'm here for various seminars and other commercially minded reasons...

The real reason for my trip, besides the obligatory Russian lessons - still very much needed despite steady progress over the summer months while I had a willing Russian speaking Pole to practice on in Oxford - is that I'll be travelling down to Moscow for a couple of months in the archives. Yes! Those archives!

Allow me to bring you all(?...hello mum x) up to speed...

Managed to get involved in a week long workshop in Moscow in Easter aimed at introducing DPhil students to working and researching in them. Largely a chance to have someone experienced there to help navigate us through the endless form filling and beaurocracy. Now a proud owner of two Russian library cards - one for the old state 'Lenin Library' and the other for the state history library - and the necessary paperwork for entry into the former Party archives in RGASPI and (hopefully) the more general holdings of GARF.

Besides access to real, dusty, history in your hands, butterflies in your belly (just me still?) documents, most of the above still boast their old Soviet era kitchens that continue to provide a decent meal for a student friendly price. Hopefully won't starve at least while I'm there.

After that it was the obligatory revision / exam run that Oxford loves to make us all suffer. The fear wasn't there after getting through finals in my undergrad days and I was pleasantly surprised by the overall performance. Aced the history paper - which I really should be doing if I'm at all serious about playing this game long term - and comfortable passes in the other two.

That left me with a summer ahead to work every hour available to earn the money to come here and stay here for any decent amount of time..."I don't know how lucky [I] are!"

P.S - The photo is from that earlier Moscow trip. Currently sat tapping away in St Petersburg so will start updating properly as of tomorrow.

Passed the test...

I thought it deserved mentioning that I got news the other day of my successfully passing the qualification exam for the Russian language component of my MPhil.

I have to say its a load off my mind and makes me appreciate again just how much progress I've made over the last year thanks to my regular trips to St Petersburg.

I can only hope that progress continues and now that the academic requirement is fulfilled I can get back to the process of learning the language primarily for its enjoyment and the opportunity for personal development it promises.

Prospects for the future...

Its been a hectic few weeks since my last post. I'm aware I didn't reflect much on my progress during my trip in December. I guess my time in Russia is starting to feel a little more 'normal'. I'll take that as a positive.

I've not left the snow behind though, thats for sure. Maybe those guys in Copenhagen have done a better job than we give them credit for...Either way the thermostat seems to have been turned down for time being, I'm almost glad to have experienced those big negative figures, Oxford was practically tropical in comparison...

The subject of this post reflects the opportunity I've been given to return to Russia in Easter, this time not just to my adopted 'home' of St Petersburg, but to Moscow and my chance at last to feel like a proper historian again. Through an organisation connected to my academic studies at Oxford - CEELBAS for those with any interest - I have successfully applied for a place in workshop that will offer my first introduction to the state archives of Russia and the former Soviet Union. You've seen how excited I get in the museums over there, I'll probably need to wear bib my saliva glands will be working so hard...

In the meantime I return to my studies for another term. After being a little frustrated by the teaching thus far being geared purely for the academic side of things, I am nevertheless hoping to complete my qualification exam next week. This is really just to give me the chance to take off some of the pressure and get back to enjoying the process of learning the language again.

In the classroom things are going to get a little more current too, with papers focused on politics and economics during the transition from Communist power. I'm hoping it will fill in some gaps, I just hope it won't dillute my enjoyment with a lot of mind-numbing statistics and analytical modelling. Only time will tell.

Its been a wonderful start to the new year for me so far. Though none of that is really connected to my Russian. I'm now looking forward to the next step, trying to get my head round how to spend my Summer and getting my hands on some documents. One of my presents at Christmas was a big dictionary. I'm so cool.