Russia 2002
The summer of 2002 was an extraordinary one. I was able to go to Russia for three weeks and then tour the British Isles for three weeks. It was great! My trip to Russia began on May 23 and ended June 12. The purpose of this trip was to gather demographic data from the archives in Ryazan' and from the Lenin Library in Moscow. This was an especially good trip because Kathleen, my wife, was able to join me in Moscow the last few days of my stay. I was able to show her around Moscow and take her to St. Petersburg. We had a great time together celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. The photos below begin with the archive experience and end with a few views of our tour.
At the far left is the desk of the archive director. I would give her a list of needed items and she would retrieve them for me. Oleg Sonin, a college student, assisted be at the archive.
While working in the archive, I stayed in a student dormitory at Ryazan State Pedagogical University. It was very comfortable. The phots show the livingroom and the bedroom.
The bathroom was tiled with a shower. Just up the street from the dorm was a western-style grocery store. It had all the food I needed for breakfasts and snacks.
The photo on the far left is the south view of the airport in Moscow. Going through it is really an experience. The other photo shows Kathleen's plane arriving.
At the left Kathleen is standing by the Romanov Mansion and I am in front of the Tret'ykov Art Gallery. Mikhail Romanov lived in the mansion and the gallery houses Russian art from icons to modern paintings.

At the heart of Moscow is the Kremlin. The photo at the left is me sitting near the Kremlin wall and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The guards at the tomb were formally at Lenin's tomb, but within recent years, they have been moved to this site. Every hour they change.

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is a gorgious structure. Stalin destroyed the original in the 1930s. This structure was reconstructed in the last few years of the 1990s. It is a must on any tour of Moscow.
Proof that Kathleen actually was at the Hermitage. She also saw the Bronze Horseman and St. Isaac's Cathedral as shown in the adjacent photo.
One of our favorite sites was west of St. Petersburg - the beautiful Petrodvorets or Peterhoff Palace. Here we are standing on a bridge over the main canal in front of the palace. The gardens from the shore of the Gulf of Finland to the palace are beautiful and well cared for. We enjoyed the boat ride to and from the palace.

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