I start this series with a photograph of me reading a mystery novel in Gorky Park. I know I am not Russian and this photo does not really belong here, but I include it because I did not know where else to put it and I wanted to put it somewhere. If nothing else, the photo provides a view of a small portion of Gorky Park.
My two trips to Russia were part of an exchange program with Moscow State Pedagogical University. Students and faculty would come to the University of Central Arkansas to study and teach and students and faculty from the University of Central Arkansas would go to Russia and spend four weeks learning about and living in Russia. Generally our hosts came from the Geography Department, that is, very often we would have a few to several Russian students from the Geography Department serving as guides. This experience would also enable our students to have an opportunity to visit the Russian students' homes and really see how they lived. Some very good friendships were made. The photograph below is of five Russian geography students. Most of the students were female because MSPU is a teacher training university and not many males were planning to become school teachers. From the left is Natasha (she later came to the U.S. and studied in Oregon), Helen (she is now married and has a small child), Kate (she has graduated and is working in Moscow), Natasha (I have lost track of her), and Helen (she has come to the United States and will marry a student who traveled to Russia with me in 1994).
The first time I went to St. Petersburg, we had two Russian guides travel with us from Moscow. They are shown below. On the left is Alexie Zalesky and on the right is Natasha (I never did know her last name).
The highlight of my first trip to Russia was a trip taken to Pskov, a 13-hour train ride to the northwest. When we arrived in Moscow in 1994, Phil Gould, a graduate student in history at UCA, was teaching in Moscow. Phil had become acquainted with many people, one of whom was Tatyana Volova, who had a close friend in Pskov. Tatyana arranged for a trip to Pskov and Phil invited me. His purpose was to see the railroad station where Nicholas II abdicated the throne. Anyway, while in Pskov, we stayed with Nina Nikonova and her husband Alexander. It was truly a wonderful experience. The first day, Nina took Phil and me to Pskov Pedagogical Institute where Phil visited with historians and I became the first American geographer to visit with geographers there. Nina is an English Professor. The photograph below is, from left to right, Victor Lesnenko (he gave me a copy of his book, "Peaceful Lakes"), Nina Nikonova, Alexander Slinchak (Dean of the Geography Faculty), and me.
One of the truly great experiences that I had in Moscow was a conversation with Lydia (see photograph below). One day a group of us were to meet at the entrance of the Alexander Gardens. I got there a little early and found a group of people gathered around an elderly lady who was really causing a ruckus. The crowd eventually went away so I sat down by her and began a conversation - a little in English and a little in Russian. Lydia was somewhat of an activist and adamantly oppossed to the Boris Yeltsin government. She told me that she really liked Stalin, Churchill, and Truman. She was passing out a pro-Communist newspaper trying to make a little money. She told me that she had a son who lived near the Black Sea and that she lived in the railroad station. She was very poor and doing what she could to survive. She loved my daughter because my daughter had a Russian name - Anya. Other Russians around me told me that Lydia was crazy, but I enjoyed the visit we had together. I hope Lydia is no longer living in the railroad station and that her son took care of her.
Russians are extremely proud, or at least they were, of their country. Its history is, indeed, rich. It is a well known fact that many Russians still wear medals they received during the Great Patriotic War (World War II). At Victory Park in western Moscow, the government has consructed an acceptionally good memorial commemorating the end of that war. It includes detailed, realistic dioramas and is a place where veterans like to hang out. Below is a picture of Alexander Ivanovich proudly displaying his war medals.
One of the most memorable and remarkable experiences I had while in Russia during the summer of 1995, was to spend three hours at Pushkin Square on June 6th. June 6th is the birthday of Alexander Pushkin, the great, perhaps the greatest, Russian poet. On that day, at least in Moscow, in celebration of his birthday, Russians of all ages gather at his statue in Pushkin Square on Tverskaya Street and for hours on end, recite his poetry from memory. The recitations are lengthy, enthusiastic, and wonderful to watch. The three photographs below provide a brief glimpse of that occasion.
My stay in St. Petersburg has been for three days on two separate occasions. During the summer of 1994, our group stayed in a downtown dormitory whereas in 1995, we stayed in the northern part of the city near Akademicheskaya Metro in a dorm at St. Petersburg Technological Institute. While there, each morning we were provided a warm breakfast. The photograph below is the wonderful cook.
While in Pskov visiting Nina Nikonova, I was able to talk with geographers at Pskov Pedagogical Institute. They permitted me to briefly watch a graduate thesis presentation - something that all students must do at the end of their fifth year of college. This photograph below is of one such student.
Below I present "Kiosk Operator." While we were taking a bus tour in St. Petersburg, we stopped temporarily to pick up a guide. Adjacent to the bus was a kiosk selling various kinds of alcoholic beverages. I wanted a picture of the koisk, but while I was taking the photograph, the operator came out and gave me a gift - a bottle of wine. He was very nice and I felt badly that I didn't have a gift in return. He wouldn't accept money. I don't drink wine, so I gave the bottle to the bus driver at the end of our tour. This was just another example of the kindness of the Russian people, although this person was probably Georgian, Armenian, or from some similar ethnic group.
One of my favorite slides is the one below. This was taken in Gorky Park. This Babushka was trying to earn some extra money (pensions are hardly sufficient) by working in the park picking up trash. She was willing to stop long enough for this slide to be taken. She used the long poles to stab paper and other objects. I felt sorry for this elderly woman who had to work to put food on her table.
