oh how much i want to comment but i shall refrain - a short extract from todays MT:
Tuesday, February 13, 2007. Issue 3595. Page 4. News in Brief
Chechen War Called Success
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Sunday that Russia had succeeded in its latest war in Chechnya, defeating separatists and what he called their "emissaries from 50 states."
"We have scored a success in Chechnya," Ivanov said. "The problem has been solved."
Ivanov, speaking before an international audience of defense officials and diplomats at the Munich Conference on Security Policy, underscored the Kremlin's confidence that the second war in Chechnya since the dissolution of the Soviet Union had largely ended, and that the separatists' ranks had been shrunk by military operations and offers of amnesty. (AP)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
more on confusion about new registration rules for foreigners
i am indeed fascinated by these new registration rules for foreigners in russia... here another article from the MT:
Friday, February 9, 2007. Issue 3593. Page 3.
Foreigners Confront Tighter Travel Rules
By Carl Schreck
Staff Writer
Foreigners registered in Moscow must inform migration officials of their whereabouts if they take a trip to another Russian city that lasts more than 10 days, a senior Federal Migration Service official said Thursday.
The change comes under a new law that also requires foreigners to alert migration authorities every time they enter or leave the country. The rules are sowing confusion in the foreign community, and Vyacheslav Postavnin, deputy head of the Federal Migration Service, tried to clarify them to a bewildered group of businesspeople Thursday.
A foreigner must hand over his registration papers to migration officials if he travels to St. Petersburg, for example, and stays there for more than 10 days, Postavnin told a briefing organized by the American Chamber of Commerce.
The foreigner's "inviting party" -- an employer, landlord, hotel or other Russian host -- must then register him with local migration officials and deregister him after he leaves for Moscow, he said.
"If he says in a hotel, then it will all be done automatically for him," Postavnin said. "He won't experience any problems."
Back in Moscow, the foreigner must re-register within three days of his return, he said.
The Jan. 15 law -- which requires foreigners to hand over their registration papers via their inviting party -- has been touted by migration officials as a simplification of the registration process. The inviting party is merely required to submit information about the foreigner's passport, visa and migration card to the local branch of the migration service or send it by registered mail.
But the law is steeped in vagaries, and Postavnin spent much of Thursday's briefing asking attendees to inform him personally about problems they encounter in registering their foreign employees.
One woman in the audience told Postavnin that during an attempt to register foreign employees at a migration office in Moscow, officials told her that for each foreigner the company must submit his passport, visa, registration, a letter from the company, and a letter from the local building-utilities administrator offices. Furthermore, she was told that both the foreigner and his landlord must both come down to the branch.
Another audience member said post office employees were refusing to handle the registration documents, while another said local migration officials had acknowledged that they did not know the new rules.
One audience member described the new law using the famous phrase uttered by former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin: "We hoped for better, but it turned out like always."
Postavnin promised that kinks in the system would be worked out "in the nearest future."
Postavnin did make one concrete clarification concerning foreigners currently in Russia with valid visas and registrations pre-dating the new law. If such foreigners leave the country, they will be registered under the new law upon return, he said.
This means that the foreigner's inviting party is required to inform local migration officials of the foreigner's arrival within three working days of his entry into the country.
Migration officials then issue a registration card that the foreigner carries at all times as proof of being in the country legally. The card makes obsolete the previous practice of placing a registration stamp in passports.
The inviting party is also required to inform authorities if the foreigner leaves Russia, and it has two working days from the day of departure to do so.
AmCham president Andrew Somers said he expected migration officials to clear up the confusion surrounding the law soon.
"I don't think that we'll have any negative long-term effects," he said.
Friday, February 9, 2007. Issue 3593. Page 3.
Foreigners Confront Tighter Travel Rules
By Carl Schreck
Staff Writer
Foreigners registered in Moscow must inform migration officials of their whereabouts if they take a trip to another Russian city that lasts more than 10 days, a senior Federal Migration Service official said Thursday.
The change comes under a new law that also requires foreigners to alert migration authorities every time they enter or leave the country. The rules are sowing confusion in the foreign community, and Vyacheslav Postavnin, deputy head of the Federal Migration Service, tried to clarify them to a bewildered group of businesspeople Thursday.
A foreigner must hand over his registration papers to migration officials if he travels to St. Petersburg, for example, and stays there for more than 10 days, Postavnin told a briefing organized by the American Chamber of Commerce.
The foreigner's "inviting party" -- an employer, landlord, hotel or other Russian host -- must then register him with local migration officials and deregister him after he leaves for Moscow, he said.
"If he says in a hotel, then it will all be done automatically for him," Postavnin said. "He won't experience any problems."
Back in Moscow, the foreigner must re-register within three days of his return, he said.
The Jan. 15 law -- which requires foreigners to hand over their registration papers via their inviting party -- has been touted by migration officials as a simplification of the registration process. The inviting party is merely required to submit information about the foreigner's passport, visa and migration card to the local branch of the migration service or send it by registered mail.
But the law is steeped in vagaries, and Postavnin spent much of Thursday's briefing asking attendees to inform him personally about problems they encounter in registering their foreign employees.
One woman in the audience told Postavnin that during an attempt to register foreign employees at a migration office in Moscow, officials told her that for each foreigner the company must submit his passport, visa, registration, a letter from the company, and a letter from the local building-utilities administrator offices. Furthermore, she was told that both the foreigner and his landlord must both come down to the branch.
Another audience member said post office employees were refusing to handle the registration documents, while another said local migration officials had acknowledged that they did not know the new rules.
One audience member described the new law using the famous phrase uttered by former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin: "We hoped for better, but it turned out like always."
Postavnin promised that kinks in the system would be worked out "in the nearest future."
Postavnin did make one concrete clarification concerning foreigners currently in Russia with valid visas and registrations pre-dating the new law. If such foreigners leave the country, they will be registered under the new law upon return, he said.
This means that the foreigner's inviting party is required to inform local migration officials of the foreigner's arrival within three working days of his entry into the country.
Migration officials then issue a registration card that the foreigner carries at all times as proof of being in the country legally. The card makes obsolete the previous practice of placing a registration stamp in passports.
The inviting party is also required to inform authorities if the foreigner leaves Russia, and it has two working days from the day of departure to do so.
AmCham president Andrew Somers said he expected migration officials to clear up the confusion surrounding the law soon.
"I don't think that we'll have any negative long-term effects," he said.
Monday, February 05, 2007
article by MT on new registration rules...
from today's Moscow Times (i shall refrain from commenting, but it just goes to show how crazy life in russia is...):
Monday, February 5, 2007. Issue 3589. Page 1.
Registration Rules Stir Up Confusion
By Carl Schreck and Natalya Krainova
Staff Writers
Thinking of jetting up to St. Petersburg for a week to see White Nights this summer? If you're a foreigner and you want to spare your employer from a possible $30,000 fine, you'd better make sure the government knows you're leaving town.
According to a new law that came into effect Jan. 15, foreigners are now required to hand over their registration papers to migration officials -- via their employer or other sponsor -- every time they leave the country and re-register upon subsequent entry into the country.
But the law is steeped in vagaries. Visa agencies say foreigners could incur heavy fines for their employers if they neglect to inform them of even a short trip out of town.
Hotels, for their part, say the amount of documentation on their foreign guests has become unduly burdensome. At least one St. Petersburg hotel has stopped admitting foreigners altogether.
The new law says a foreigner's "inviting party" -- an employer, landlord, hotel or other Russian host -- is required to inform local migration officials of the foreigner's arrival within three working days of entering the country.
The inviting party is also required to inform authorities if the foreigner leaves Russia and it has two working days from the day of departure to do so.
"The foreigner has to be stricken off the Federal Migration Service register, because he can't be registered with the Federal Migration Service if he is not in Russia," said Zalina Filimonova, spokeswoman for the Moscow branch of the migration service. "That's pure logic."
The law has been touted by migration officials as a simplification of the registration process. On paper, after all, the inviting party is merely required to submit information about the foreigner's passport, visa and migration card to the local branch of the migration service.
Migration officials then issue a registration card that the foreigner carries at all times as proof of being in the country legally. The card makes obsolete the previous practice of placing a registration stamp in passports.
In theory, the entire process can even be done at the post office, with a post office receipt serving as confirmation of a foreigner's registration.
But the new procedures could prove to be quite a hassle for foreigners who travel often -- either internationally or within Russia, said Yekaterina Elekchyan of Your Lawyer, a legal firm specializing in visa and work-regulation issues.
"On the one hand, it's easier in that the landlord doesn't have to physically go down to the DEZ," Elekchyan said, referring to the local building-utilities administrator offices that were obligatory stopovers for foreigners' landlords under the old registration rules. "But for a foreigner who enters and leaves the country quite often, it's not very convenient to have to turn in documents every time."
Foreigners must turn in their registration card when they leave for another region, Filimonova said. Then, upon arrival, the inviting party must register the foreigner with local migration officials within three days and inform them of his departure no later than two days after he leaves.
Under the law, the inviting party is fully responsible for registering the foreigner. According to information posted on the web site of the Moscow branch, fines for breaching the rules run up to 4,000 rubles for a Russian citizen hosting a foreigner and up to 800,000 rubles ($30,000) for employers.
One large Western-managed company informed its foreign employees recently in an internal memo that they would have any fines deducted from their salaries if they did not inform the company of their international travel plans.
Federal Migration Service spokesman Denis Soldatikov said Friday that authorities would not be "hunting" down violators. "But if people are found in violation, they will be fined," he said.
Inexplicably, Soldatikov contradicted the deadlines and procedures given in the law itself. He said the inviting party must inform authorities of a foreigner's arrival within 30 days and departure with 10 days.
Soldatikov -- in another contradiction of what the law says -- also insisted that a foreigner does not have to turn in the registration card upon leaving the country.
Alexei Filipenkov, deputy chairman of Association of European Businesses' visa task force, said the law is so muddled and riddled with holes that it is impossible to enforce. "Nobody knows what is going on," he said. "I ask one migration official what to do, and he tells me one thing. On the same day I go to another official, and they tell me something completely different. Nobody knows what is going on because the rules are constantly being changed."
One group that is already lobbying for changes in the law are hoteliers.
One large Moscow hotel said it has had to hire two employees to deal exclusively with filling out the increased paperwork for foreign guests, and because the local branch of the migration service is understaffed, the employees themselves must sit down and enter the data into the migration service's system.
"Until our employee sits down and enters every single form in to their system by manually typing, no one is registered," said an executive from the hotel, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing company policy.
Soldatikov, the migration service spokesman, denied that hotel employees might be entering information into the migration service's database. "Access to those computers is restricted," he said.
Soldatikov said hotels had no grounds for complaint and that the system had changed little for them.
One small hotel chain in St. Petersburg, however, has stopped accepting foreigners for fear that a single violation of the new law could result in a hefty fine.
"Fortunately it's not high season yet, and primarily Russian citizens are on business trips," Marina Slesareva, deputy head of the Rinaldi chain, told Komsomolskaya Pravda. "It's scary to think what will happen in the summer. Not one single branch of the Federal Migration Service can tell us what to do under the new rules."
Monday, February 5, 2007. Issue 3589. Page 1.
Registration Rules Stir Up Confusion
By Carl Schreck and Natalya Krainova
Staff Writers
Thinking of jetting up to St. Petersburg for a week to see White Nights this summer? If you're a foreigner and you want to spare your employer from a possible $30,000 fine, you'd better make sure the government knows you're leaving town.
According to a new law that came into effect Jan. 15, foreigners are now required to hand over their registration papers to migration officials -- via their employer or other sponsor -- every time they leave the country and re-register upon subsequent entry into the country.
But the law is steeped in vagaries. Visa agencies say foreigners could incur heavy fines for their employers if they neglect to inform them of even a short trip out of town.
Hotels, for their part, say the amount of documentation on their foreign guests has become unduly burdensome. At least one St. Petersburg hotel has stopped admitting foreigners altogether.
The new law says a foreigner's "inviting party" -- an employer, landlord, hotel or other Russian host -- is required to inform local migration officials of the foreigner's arrival within three working days of entering the country.
The inviting party is also required to inform authorities if the foreigner leaves Russia and it has two working days from the day of departure to do so.
"The foreigner has to be stricken off the Federal Migration Service register, because he can't be registered with the Federal Migration Service if he is not in Russia," said Zalina Filimonova, spokeswoman for the Moscow branch of the migration service. "That's pure logic."
The law has been touted by migration officials as a simplification of the registration process. On paper, after all, the inviting party is merely required to submit information about the foreigner's passport, visa and migration card to the local branch of the migration service.
Migration officials then issue a registration card that the foreigner carries at all times as proof of being in the country legally. The card makes obsolete the previous practice of placing a registration stamp in passports.
In theory, the entire process can even be done at the post office, with a post office receipt serving as confirmation of a foreigner's registration.
But the new procedures could prove to be quite a hassle for foreigners who travel often -- either internationally or within Russia, said Yekaterina Elekchyan of Your Lawyer, a legal firm specializing in visa and work-regulation issues.
"On the one hand, it's easier in that the landlord doesn't have to physically go down to the DEZ," Elekchyan said, referring to the local building-utilities administrator offices that were obligatory stopovers for foreigners' landlords under the old registration rules. "But for a foreigner who enters and leaves the country quite often, it's not very convenient to have to turn in documents every time."
Foreigners must turn in their registration card when they leave for another region, Filimonova said. Then, upon arrival, the inviting party must register the foreigner with local migration officials within three days and inform them of his departure no later than two days after he leaves.
Under the law, the inviting party is fully responsible for registering the foreigner. According to information posted on the web site of the Moscow branch, fines for breaching the rules run up to 4,000 rubles for a Russian citizen hosting a foreigner and up to 800,000 rubles ($30,000) for employers.
One large Western-managed company informed its foreign employees recently in an internal memo that they would have any fines deducted from their salaries if they did not inform the company of their international travel plans.
Federal Migration Service spokesman Denis Soldatikov said Friday that authorities would not be "hunting" down violators. "But if people are found in violation, they will be fined," he said.
Inexplicably, Soldatikov contradicted the deadlines and procedures given in the law itself. He said the inviting party must inform authorities of a foreigner's arrival within 30 days and departure with 10 days.
Soldatikov -- in another contradiction of what the law says -- also insisted that a foreigner does not have to turn in the registration card upon leaving the country.
Alexei Filipenkov, deputy chairman of Association of European Businesses' visa task force, said the law is so muddled and riddled with holes that it is impossible to enforce. "Nobody knows what is going on," he said. "I ask one migration official what to do, and he tells me one thing. On the same day I go to another official, and they tell me something completely different. Nobody knows what is going on because the rules are constantly being changed."
One group that is already lobbying for changes in the law are hoteliers.
One large Moscow hotel said it has had to hire two employees to deal exclusively with filling out the increased paperwork for foreign guests, and because the local branch of the migration service is understaffed, the employees themselves must sit down and enter the data into the migration service's system.
"Until our employee sits down and enters every single form in to their system by manually typing, no one is registered," said an executive from the hotel, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing company policy.
Soldatikov, the migration service spokesman, denied that hotel employees might be entering information into the migration service's database. "Access to those computers is restricted," he said.
Soldatikov said hotels had no grounds for complaint and that the system had changed little for them.
One small hotel chain in St. Petersburg, however, has stopped accepting foreigners for fear that a single violation of the new law could result in a hefty fine.
"Fortunately it's not high season yet, and primarily Russian citizens are on business trips," Marina Slesareva, deputy head of the Rinaldi chain, told Komsomolskaya Pravda. "It's scary to think what will happen in the summer. Not one single branch of the Federal Migration Service can tell us what to do under the new rules."
Monday, January 29, 2007
the trans-siberian railway
again, a few comments on the trans-siberian railway by an adventure travel site:
The Trans-Siberian Railway
This week long, non-stop 10,000km [6,000mls] or so ride travels from Moscow to either:
- Vladivostok on Russia's Pacific coast.
- via Mongolia to Beijing.
- via Manchuria and Harbin to Beijing.
This is reputedly one of the world's great train journeys but does not necessarily deliver a comfortable or fascinating experience for everyone.
TS train downside:
- there are no showers, except for a few lucky 1st class travelers.
- conditions will be cramped.
- dining car food will be abysmal.
- the scenery is mainly dull, tending towards endless forests and grassy plains, interspersed with the occasional log cabin, log village or vast lake. The train stops for 10 minutes a few times a day, leaving no time to explore, just time to aquire emergency supplies from the platform.
- As a consequence, life on the train is paramount, and this depends on various factors coming together. Is your car attendant cordial? Are your fellow passengers interesting? Does anyone snore? Do you mind living off fairly basic food for six days? Can you happily stare out of a dirty window looking at birch trees for hours on end? Is TV an integral part of your life? Do you have a good selection of books with you? Do you like vodka? And so on...
TS train upside:
- you can arrange to take a stop over at key points en route, for example attractive Irkutsk and nearby huge, mountain-hemmed Lake Baikal. Siberian timber buildings are often charming, colourfully decorated and carved.
- due to the fame of the train and the number of serious travellers on it there will almost always be someone interesting you can find to chat to for days, though a good companion and a monster picnic hamper [loaded with - you've guessed - vodka] would be a useful starting point.
- if you are actually going east/west for a purpose - such as for work in Japan or China - you will be saving the air fare.
Train Survival hints:
- don't drink the tap water. A samovar [hot water pot] in each carriage supplies sterile water.
- clean your window to improve views and photos.
- stand well clear when flushing the toilet, it can backfire if the train travels at speed.
- learn a few key Russian phrases to charm your surly attendants.
- take lots of vodka with you. You can buy some snacks, fruit, cigarettes etc during 15 minute stops at stations, but no alcohol, and you will be doing a lot of socialising!
The Trans-Siberian Railway
This week long, non-stop 10,000km [6,000mls] or so ride travels from Moscow to either:
- Vladivostok on Russia's Pacific coast.
- via Mongolia to Beijing.
- via Manchuria and Harbin to Beijing.
This is reputedly one of the world's great train journeys but does not necessarily deliver a comfortable or fascinating experience for everyone.
TS train downside:
- there are no showers, except for a few lucky 1st class travelers.
- conditions will be cramped.
- dining car food will be abysmal.
- the scenery is mainly dull, tending towards endless forests and grassy plains, interspersed with the occasional log cabin, log village or vast lake. The train stops for 10 minutes a few times a day, leaving no time to explore, just time to aquire emergency supplies from the platform.
- As a consequence, life on the train is paramount, and this depends on various factors coming together. Is your car attendant cordial? Are your fellow passengers interesting? Does anyone snore? Do you mind living off fairly basic food for six days? Can you happily stare out of a dirty window looking at birch trees for hours on end? Is TV an integral part of your life? Do you have a good selection of books with you? Do you like vodka? And so on...
TS train upside:
- you can arrange to take a stop over at key points en route, for example attractive Irkutsk and nearby huge, mountain-hemmed Lake Baikal. Siberian timber buildings are often charming, colourfully decorated and carved.
- due to the fame of the train and the number of serious travellers on it there will almost always be someone interesting you can find to chat to for days, though a good companion and a monster picnic hamper [loaded with - you've guessed - vodka] would be a useful starting point.
- if you are actually going east/west for a purpose - such as for work in Japan or China - you will be saving the air fare.
Train Survival hints:
- don't drink the tap water. A samovar [hot water pot] in each carriage supplies sterile water.
- clean your window to improve views and photos.
- stand well clear when flushing the toilet, it can backfire if the train travels at speed.
- learn a few key Russian phrases to charm your surly attendants.
- take lots of vodka with you. You can buy some snacks, fruit, cigarettes etc during 15 minute stops at stations, but no alcohol, and you will be doing a lot of socialising!
a few comments on Russia by a travel site
i just have to share these comments on Russia by an adventure travel website:
Why Travel to Russia?
This vast and diverse country, occupying the top chunk of a continent all the way from Poland to Japan - and a big chunk of world history too - demands travel attention. The architecture is both glorious and hideous, the history is monstrous, the art is sensational and the people can be touchingly friendly. Absurd Fabergé eggs? Extraordinary onion domes? Caviar crepe? Yes, please. A hard day's White Night in St Petersburg? Slamming vodka with your taxi driver? Da!Big, brutal, beautiful and intriguing, Russia is an enigma that's got to be sampled by any serious traveller.
Downside:
- Accommodation is hardly cheap if comfort is an issue, though plenty of budget options are available.
- Hygiene can be a problem.
- Officials are often unpleasantly boorish.
[i think i would use a different adjective to describe russian officials...]
- Crime and corruption in the cities requires an ever-open eye.
[no shit, Sherlock...]
- Despite the size of the country, internal flights are unreliable and Russian airlines have the world's worst safety record.
[yipppiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee.............................]
Climate:
Best: May, June, Sept, Oct. July/August can be wet. Worst: Nov-March (winter is long, dark and extremely cold with short days, but the snow scenes will be stunning. Early Spring is muddy, slushy and falling icicles kill!)
Drinks:
Most of us know the varied pleasures of vodka, particularly drunk chilled and in one gulp, but Russia also does a fine line in local beers with lively flavours, good champagne, not such good wine, passable tea and effective coffee.
Russians love to press drinks on foreigners so prepare your excuses now. Or practice chugging.
Travel Health:
Do not drink Russian tap water, not even for cleaning your teeth.
[i don't agree with this for every city in russia - moscow is fine, but tap water in st. petersburg is indeed famous for its bacteria...]
Check you are up to date with all jabs, and consider including vaccinations for diptheria, typhoid, hepatitis A and B. A flu jab is also useful if you plan to travel to Russia in spring or autumn when the bugs are rampant.
[seems like they recommend you get vaccinated against anything possible...]
Foreigners usually prefer to be treated at private clinics, which are very costly. Get Insurance!
[definitely!!!]
Costs:
Moscow is now the most expensive city in the world, but elsewhere Russia can be good value if you don't mind slightly crude accommodation and eat/drink at local establishments rather than typical tourist places.
[sigh.......................................................................................................................thinking about my monthly rent......................................................................................................................]
Why Travel to Russia?
This vast and diverse country, occupying the top chunk of a continent all the way from Poland to Japan - and a big chunk of world history too - demands travel attention. The architecture is both glorious and hideous, the history is monstrous, the art is sensational and the people can be touchingly friendly. Absurd Fabergé eggs? Extraordinary onion domes? Caviar crepe? Yes, please. A hard day's White Night in St Petersburg? Slamming vodka with your taxi driver? Da!Big, brutal, beautiful and intriguing, Russia is an enigma that's got to be sampled by any serious traveller.
Downside:
- Accommodation is hardly cheap if comfort is an issue, though plenty of budget options are available.
- Hygiene can be a problem.
- Officials are often unpleasantly boorish.
[i think i would use a different adjective to describe russian officials...]
- Crime and corruption in the cities requires an ever-open eye.
[no shit, Sherlock...]
- Despite the size of the country, internal flights are unreliable and Russian airlines have the world's worst safety record.
[yipppiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee.............................]
Climate:
Best: May, June, Sept, Oct. July/August can be wet. Worst: Nov-March (winter is long, dark and extremely cold with short days, but the snow scenes will be stunning. Early Spring is muddy, slushy and falling icicles kill!)
Drinks:
Most of us know the varied pleasures of vodka, particularly drunk chilled and in one gulp, but Russia also does a fine line in local beers with lively flavours, good champagne, not such good wine, passable tea and effective coffee.
Russians love to press drinks on foreigners so prepare your excuses now. Or practice chugging.
Travel Health:
Do not drink Russian tap water, not even for cleaning your teeth.
[i don't agree with this for every city in russia - moscow is fine, but tap water in st. petersburg is indeed famous for its bacteria...]
Check you are up to date with all jabs, and consider including vaccinations for diptheria, typhoid, hepatitis A and B. A flu jab is also useful if you plan to travel to Russia in spring or autumn when the bugs are rampant.
[seems like they recommend you get vaccinated against anything possible...]
Foreigners usually prefer to be treated at private clinics, which are very costly. Get Insurance!
[definitely!!!]
Costs:
Moscow is now the most expensive city in the world, but elsewhere Russia can be good value if you don't mind slightly crude accommodation and eat/drink at local establishments rather than typical tourist places.
[sigh.......................................................................................................................thinking about my monthly rent......................................................................................................................]
Sunday, April 30, 2006
I HAVE LEFT !!! I HAVE ESCAPED !!! - or: russian border guards - part 5
YEP !!! it is DONE. i have LEFT RUSSIA FOR GOOD.
but not without being able to tell another story... on, guess what, russian border guards... (check november 2005 blogs for the first four parts on russian border guards)
so there i go, with plenty of luggage (since i don't know when my shipment will arrive back to europe - this can take weeks if not months, depending on many factors), with tears in my eyes and sadness in my heart, and the bloody border guards won't let me cross the border!!!
can it be, that leaving russia is even harder than entering it?! only in this country is something like that possible.
the first lady looks at my travel doc and doesn't understand anything. instead of calling a supervisor immediately, she just looks at it from all sides, reads all pages, looks at it again from all sides, looks at me, then at the picture, then once again at the russian visa, then again at all sides of the travel doc, then reading the visa probably once again... you get the picture? FINALLY she has the glorious idea (mind you, of course she was asking questions all the time as well, some even twice - she even asked me whether i was a refugee, irony of life... those who know me will understand what i mean...) to call a boss. this is about 10-15 minutes later. people behind me probably already started to hate me, as the queue is growing longer.
so the boss comes. obviously only another 5 minutes later, since he was busy, probably playing solitaire on the computer in the back room. anyway, he looks at my travel doc one time for about 10 seconds and waves off, ie tells the blonde border guard lady to let me through, given my diplomatic status... why why why could that chick not ask her boss immediately?
i already miss the anarchistic chaos a la russe...
but not without being able to tell another story... on, guess what, russian border guards... (check november 2005 blogs for the first four parts on russian border guards)
so there i go, with plenty of luggage (since i don't know when my shipment will arrive back to europe - this can take weeks if not months, depending on many factors), with tears in my eyes and sadness in my heart, and the bloody border guards won't let me cross the border!!!
can it be, that leaving russia is even harder than entering it?! only in this country is something like that possible.
the first lady looks at my travel doc and doesn't understand anything. instead of calling a supervisor immediately, she just looks at it from all sides, reads all pages, looks at it again from all sides, looks at me, then at the picture, then once again at the russian visa, then again at all sides of the travel doc, then reading the visa probably once again... you get the picture? FINALLY she has the glorious idea (mind you, of course she was asking questions all the time as well, some even twice - she even asked me whether i was a refugee, irony of life... those who know me will understand what i mean...) to call a boss. this is about 10-15 minutes later. people behind me probably already started to hate me, as the queue is growing longer.
so the boss comes. obviously only another 5 minutes later, since he was busy, probably playing solitaire on the computer in the back room. anyway, he looks at my travel doc one time for about 10 seconds and waves off, ie tells the blonde border guard lady to let me through, given my diplomatic status... why why why could that chick not ask her boss immediately?
i already miss the anarchistic chaos a la russe...
Friday, April 07, 2006
leaving russia - the unthinkeable thing to do ... ?!
3 years ago, in april 2003, i had arrived to russia. i came for 2 years. and stayed for 3. and now, at the end of this month, i am actually and really leaving the country again. i mean, for good.
i can hardly believe it...
mixed feelings...
i suppose it's time to leave, 3 years was a long time, intense, in both good and bad ways. but will i be able to leave without the crazyness around me to which i have gotten so used ?!
oh bozhe...
i can hardly believe it...
mixed feelings...
i suppose it's time to leave, 3 years was a long time, intense, in both good and bad ways. but will i be able to leave without the crazyness around me to which i have gotten so used ?!
oh bozhe...
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
siberian winter in moscow - brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!
winter 2006 in moscow is freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
record minus temperatures for the past 40 years or so. -30 and more for weeks now - will it ever end?!
you're outside for 5 minutes - and your eyelashes (!!!) are frozen!!!
(look at the bright side - no need to put on any make-up, 'cos it won't stay anyway...)
i can't type anymore, it's so cold even in my apartment.............................................................
record minus temperatures for the past 40 years or so. -30 and more for weeks now - will it ever end?!
you're outside for 5 minutes - and your eyelashes (!!!) are frozen!!!
(look at the bright side - no need to put on any make-up, 'cos it won't stay anyway...)
i can't type anymore, it's so cold even in my apartment.............................................................
Monday, December 05, 2005
toasting
you want to out yourself as a non-russian in russia?
simply go shouting "na zdarovye" when toasting.
there. you are outed. you are a "inostranets".
wanna do it the correct way? simply say "za zdarovye".
russian grammar...
simply go shouting "na zdarovye" when toasting.
there. you are outed. you are a "inostranets".
wanna do it the correct way? simply say "za zdarovye".
russian grammar...
Friday, December 02, 2005
YOU KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN TO RUSSIA TOO LONG WHEN...
this one doesn't come from me but i LOVE it! (i shall refrain, however, from admitting how many of these symptomps are valid for yours truly)
1. You have to think twice about throwing away an empty instant coffee jar.
3. You carry a plastic shopping bag with you "just in case".
4. You say he/she is "on the meeting" (instead of "at the" or "in a meeting).
5. You answer the phone by saying "allo, allo, allo" before giving the caller a chance to respond.
6. You save table scraps for the cats living in the courtyard.
7. When crossing the street, you sprint.
8. In winter, you choose your route by determining which icicles are least likely to impale you in the head.
9. You are impressed with the new model Lada or Volga car.
10. You let the telephone ring at least 4 times before you pick it up because it is probably a mis-connection or electric fault.
11. You hear the radio say it is zero degrees outside and you think it is a nice day for a change.
12. You argue with a taxi driver about a fare of 30 rubles ($2) to go 2 kilometers in a blizzard.
13. You actually know and CARE whether Spartak won last night.
14. You win a shoving match with an old Babushka for a place in line and you are proud of it.
15. You are pleasantly surprised when there is toilet paper in the WC at work.
16. You look at people's shoes to determine where they are from.
17. You automatically hand in your mace at the door before going through a metal detector.
18. You are pleasantly surprised when there is real wine in the bottle of Georgian Kinzamaruli you bought in a kiosk.
19. You notice that Flathead's cell phone is smaller than yours and you're jealous.
20. Your day seems brighter after seeing that goon's Mercedes broadsided by a pensioner's "Moskvich".
21. You are thrown off guard when the doorman at the nightclub is happy to see you.
22. You're not sure what to do you when the "GAI" (traffic cop) only asks you to pay the official fine.
23. You wonder what the tax inspector really wants when she says everything is in order.
24. You give a 10% tip only if the waiter has been really exceptional.
25. You plan your vacation around those times of the year when the hot water is turned off.
26. You are relieved when the guy standing next to you on the bus actually uses a handkerchief.
27. You are envious because your expat friend has smaller door keys than you have.
28. You ask for no ice in your drink.
29. You start using "da" instead of "yes".
30. You go mushroom and berry picking out of necessity instead of recreation.
31. You develop a liking for beetroot.
32. You begin to socialize with your driver and/or your cleaning lady.
33. You know what Dostoyevsky's favorite color was.
34. You start to believe that you're a character in a Tolstoi novel.
35. You know seven people whose favorite novel is "The Master and Margarita".
36. You change into tapki (slippers) and wash your hands as soon as you walk into your apartment.
37. You take a trip to Budapest and think you've been to heaven.
38. You start thinking of black bread as a good chaser for vodka.
39. You drink the brine from empty pickle jars.
40. You can read bar-codes, and you start shopping for products by their country of production.
41. You begin to refer to locals as "nashy" (ours).
42. It doesn't seem strange to pay the GAI $2.25 for crossing the double line while making an illegal U-turn, and $35 for a microwaved dish of frozen vegetables at a crappy restaurant.
43. Your coffee cups habitually smell of vodka.
44. You know more than 60 Olgas.
45. You give you business card to social acquaintances.
46. You wear a wool hat in the sauna.
47. You put the empty bottle of wine on the floor in a restaurant.
48. You are rude to people at the airport for no reason.
49. You have to check your passport for an arrival-in-Russia date.
50. 'Remont', 'pivo' and 'nalivai' become integral parts of your vocabulary.
51. You've been to Tallinn at least a dozen times for visas.
52. You are curious as to when they might start exporting Baltika beer to your home country.
53. Cigarette smoke becomes 'tolerable'.
54. You think metal doors are a necessity.
55. You changed apartments 6 times in 6 months.
56. You no longer feel like going to your "home" country.
57. You speak to other expats in your native language, but forget a few of the simplest words and throw in some Russian ones.
58. You remember how many kilos you weigh - but forget how many pounds.
59. A gallon of gasoline or milk seems like a foreign concept.
60. You no longer miss the foods you grew up with, and pass them up at foreign-owned supermarkets.
61. You actually enjoy shopping at the rynok, and you think that Ramstore is the most advanced supermarket you've ever been to.
62. You think that the Manezh is a real shopping mall.
68. You don't feel guilty about not paying on the trolley.
69. You can sleep through a hangover without curtains on your windows.
70. The elevator aroma seems reassuring somehow.
71. You no longer think washing clothes in the -bathtub is an inconvenience.
72. You can heat water on the stove and shower with it in under 10 minutes.
73. You have to take E S L lessons before you go home.
74. You do not take off that silly sticker on the sunglasses that you just bought.
75. Your sister writes to you about the best prime rib she's ever had and you can't remember what it looks or tastes like.
76. The sellers at the rynok start calling you by your patronymic only.
77. You have had your clothes ruined by all the so-called Western style dry cleaners and have to start the cycle over again.
78. You bring your own scale and calculator to the market to make sure the amount you are charged is correct.
79. When you know the Moscow Metro better than you know the subway system back home.
80. A weekend anywhere in the Baltics qualifies as a trip to the West.
81. You start buying Russian toilet paper.
82. You sit in silence with your eyes shut for a few moments before leaving on any long journey.
83. You look in the mirror to turn away bad luck if you have to return home to pick something up you've forgotten.
84. You catch yourself whistling indoors and feel guilty.
85. You never smile in public when you're alone.
86. You know the official at the metro station/airport/border/post office/railway station etc. etc. is going to say "nyet", but you argue anyway.
87. When you save tea bags of Yorkshire Tea brought over specially from home to use for a second cuppa later....
88. When you go back to England and notice how frosty, unemotional, unsentimental and cold the Brits are and long to return to the warm rush of the Russian "dusha" (soul).
89. When that strange pungent mix of odours of stale sawdust, sweat and grime in the metro makes you feel safe and at home....
90. When you realise that all the above and the other messages on this subject posted here are what you love about Russia, that you've been here long enough to feel at home and wonder whether you'll ever be able to fit back in in the old country....
91. You are in awe that after 3 days home your shoes are still clean.
92. You get wildly offended when you are asked to pay at the coatcheck.
93. You are insolent to people for leaving their jackets on when entering restaurants, etc.
94. You are afraid of offending someone by asking them what they do for a living.
95. (For women) When you dress up in your best outfits for work and ride the metro.
96. When the word "salad" ceases for you to have anything to do with lettuce.
97. When mayonnaise becomes your dressing of choice.
98. You can recite in Russian all the words to all the tampon (OK OB, etc.) and chewing gum commercials.
99. When you begin paying attention to peoples' floors and can distinguish the quality of linoleum and/or parquet, and thus determine social status, taste, and income e.g. embezzled, earned, pension, unpaid, etc.).
100. You get excited when the dentist smiles and has all his own teeth.
101. You do all your shopping at kiosks.
103. You judge the strength of your local Mafia clan by the availability of Planters Cheese Balls.
104. You voluntarily take a stroll in the park, Baltica beer in hand, on a sub-zero day.
When you go back to the "home country":
105. You continue to "cross" the number 7.
106. You think it's too hot, no matter what season you return.
107. You specify "no gas" when asking for mineral water.
108. You are dumbstruck when high school or college students wait you with a smile, reciting a 90 second spiel on the "specials of the day" and display complete knowledge of the contents of each menu item...
109. You tip very little, even for great service.
110. You try pay a traffic fine one the spot and get arrested for attempted bribery.
111. You look for kvas and kefir in the supermarket, and ask to buy half a head of cabbage.
112. You are surprised to see that the cooks in a Chinese restaurant are actually Chinese.
113. You get bored with the pace and organization around you, and can't wait to get back to Russia.
114. You see a car behind you with flashing lights and think it's some politician.
1. You have to think twice about throwing away an empty instant coffee jar.
3. You carry a plastic shopping bag with you "just in case".
4. You say he/she is "on the meeting" (instead of "at the" or "in a meeting).
5. You answer the phone by saying "allo, allo, allo" before giving the caller a chance to respond.
6. You save table scraps for the cats living in the courtyard.
7. When crossing the street, you sprint.
8. In winter, you choose your route by determining which icicles are least likely to impale you in the head.
9. You are impressed with the new model Lada or Volga car.
10. You let the telephone ring at least 4 times before you pick it up because it is probably a mis-connection or electric fault.
11. You hear the radio say it is zero degrees outside and you think it is a nice day for a change.
12. You argue with a taxi driver about a fare of 30 rubles ($2) to go 2 kilometers in a blizzard.
13. You actually know and CARE whether Spartak won last night.
14. You win a shoving match with an old Babushka for a place in line and you are proud of it.
15. You are pleasantly surprised when there is toilet paper in the WC at work.
16. You look at people's shoes to determine where they are from.
17. You automatically hand in your mace at the door before going through a metal detector.
18. You are pleasantly surprised when there is real wine in the bottle of Georgian Kinzamaruli you bought in a kiosk.
19. You notice that Flathead's cell phone is smaller than yours and you're jealous.
20. Your day seems brighter after seeing that goon's Mercedes broadsided by a pensioner's "Moskvich".
21. You are thrown off guard when the doorman at the nightclub is happy to see you.
22. You're not sure what to do you when the "GAI" (traffic cop) only asks you to pay the official fine.
23. You wonder what the tax inspector really wants when she says everything is in order.
24. You give a 10% tip only if the waiter has been really exceptional.
25. You plan your vacation around those times of the year when the hot water is turned off.
26. You are relieved when the guy standing next to you on the bus actually uses a handkerchief.
27. You are envious because your expat friend has smaller door keys than you have.
28. You ask for no ice in your drink.
29. You start using "da" instead of "yes".
30. You go mushroom and berry picking out of necessity instead of recreation.
31. You develop a liking for beetroot.
32. You begin to socialize with your driver and/or your cleaning lady.
33. You know what Dostoyevsky's favorite color was.
34. You start to believe that you're a character in a Tolstoi novel.
35. You know seven people whose favorite novel is "The Master and Margarita".
36. You change into tapki (slippers) and wash your hands as soon as you walk into your apartment.
37. You take a trip to Budapest and think you've been to heaven.
38. You start thinking of black bread as a good chaser for vodka.
39. You drink the brine from empty pickle jars.
40. You can read bar-codes, and you start shopping for products by their country of production.
41. You begin to refer to locals as "nashy" (ours).
42. It doesn't seem strange to pay the GAI $2.25 for crossing the double line while making an illegal U-turn, and $35 for a microwaved dish of frozen vegetables at a crappy restaurant.
43. Your coffee cups habitually smell of vodka.
44. You know more than 60 Olgas.
45. You give you business card to social acquaintances.
46. You wear a wool hat in the sauna.
47. You put the empty bottle of wine on the floor in a restaurant.
48. You are rude to people at the airport for no reason.
49. You have to check your passport for an arrival-in-Russia date.
50. 'Remont', 'pivo' and 'nalivai' become integral parts of your vocabulary.
51. You've been to Tallinn at least a dozen times for visas.
52. You are curious as to when they might start exporting Baltika beer to your home country.
53. Cigarette smoke becomes 'tolerable'.
54. You think metal doors are a necessity.
55. You changed apartments 6 times in 6 months.
56. You no longer feel like going to your "home" country.
57. You speak to other expats in your native language, but forget a few of the simplest words and throw in some Russian ones.
58. You remember how many kilos you weigh - but forget how many pounds.
59. A gallon of gasoline or milk seems like a foreign concept.
60. You no longer miss the foods you grew up with, and pass them up at foreign-owned supermarkets.
61. You actually enjoy shopping at the rynok, and you think that Ramstore is the most advanced supermarket you've ever been to.
62. You think that the Manezh is a real shopping mall.
68. You don't feel guilty about not paying on the trolley.
69. You can sleep through a hangover without curtains on your windows.
70. The elevator aroma seems reassuring somehow.
71. You no longer think washing clothes in the -bathtub is an inconvenience.
72. You can heat water on the stove and shower with it in under 10 minutes.
73. You have to take E S L lessons before you go home.
74. You do not take off that silly sticker on the sunglasses that you just bought.
75. Your sister writes to you about the best prime rib she's ever had and you can't remember what it looks or tastes like.
76. The sellers at the rynok start calling you by your patronymic only.
77. You have had your clothes ruined by all the so-called Western style dry cleaners and have to start the cycle over again.
78. You bring your own scale and calculator to the market to make sure the amount you are charged is correct.
79. When you know the Moscow Metro better than you know the subway system back home.
80. A weekend anywhere in the Baltics qualifies as a trip to the West.
81. You start buying Russian toilet paper.
82. You sit in silence with your eyes shut for a few moments before leaving on any long journey.
83. You look in the mirror to turn away bad luck if you have to return home to pick something up you've forgotten.
84. You catch yourself whistling indoors and feel guilty.
85. You never smile in public when you're alone.
86. You know the official at the metro station/airport/border/post office/railway station etc. etc. is going to say "nyet", but you argue anyway.
87. When you save tea bags of Yorkshire Tea brought over specially from home to use for a second cuppa later....
88. When you go back to England and notice how frosty, unemotional, unsentimental and cold the Brits are and long to return to the warm rush of the Russian "dusha" (soul).
89. When that strange pungent mix of odours of stale sawdust, sweat and grime in the metro makes you feel safe and at home....
90. When you realise that all the above and the other messages on this subject posted here are what you love about Russia, that you've been here long enough to feel at home and wonder whether you'll ever be able to fit back in in the old country....
91. You are in awe that after 3 days home your shoes are still clean.
92. You get wildly offended when you are asked to pay at the coatcheck.
93. You are insolent to people for leaving their jackets on when entering restaurants, etc.
94. You are afraid of offending someone by asking them what they do for a living.
95. (For women) When you dress up in your best outfits for work and ride the metro.
96. When the word "salad" ceases for you to have anything to do with lettuce.
97. When mayonnaise becomes your dressing of choice.
98. You can recite in Russian all the words to all the tampon (OK OB, etc.) and chewing gum commercials.
99. When you begin paying attention to peoples' floors and can distinguish the quality of linoleum and/or parquet, and thus determine social status, taste, and income e.g. embezzled, earned, pension, unpaid, etc.).
100. You get excited when the dentist smiles and has all his own teeth.
101. You do all your shopping at kiosks.
103. You judge the strength of your local Mafia clan by the availability of Planters Cheese Balls.
104. You voluntarily take a stroll in the park, Baltica beer in hand, on a sub-zero day.
When you go back to the "home country":
105. You continue to "cross" the number 7.
106. You think it's too hot, no matter what season you return.
107. You specify "no gas" when asking for mineral water.
108. You are dumbstruck when high school or college students wait you with a smile, reciting a 90 second spiel on the "specials of the day" and display complete knowledge of the contents of each menu item...
109. You tip very little, even for great service.
110. You try pay a traffic fine one the spot and get arrested for attempted bribery.
111. You look for kvas and kefir in the supermarket, and ask to buy half a head of cabbage.
112. You are surprised to see that the cooks in a Chinese restaurant are actually Chinese.
113. You get bored with the pace and organization around you, and can't wait to get back to Russia.
114. You see a car behind you with flashing lights and think it's some politician.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
black hair
when i moved to russia, i had pitch-black hair. not natural of course.
an acquaintance of mine was married to a chechen guy at the time. she told me i was going to have problems in moscow, with such black hair. because i could be taken for a chechen.
i stopped dying my hair black.
and one of my colleagues who also used to dye her hair black would constantly get stopped on the streets by police for document checks.
i am now back to being boring brown-haired.
an acquaintance of mine was married to a chechen guy at the time. she told me i was going to have problems in moscow, with such black hair. because i could be taken for a chechen.
i stopped dying my hair black.
and one of my colleagues who also used to dye her hair black would constantly get stopped on the streets by police for document checks.
i am now back to being boring brown-haired.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
russian border guards - part 4
the unfriendliness of russian border guards in the moscow area is so grave that there is some sort of a decree instructing them that they have to be polite to tourist passengers, entering and exiting the country.
reportedly, that order even requires the border guard officials to smile at passengers!
in a normal place (no, this is not a normal place, this is moscow, russia, something different!), there would be no need for a "law" obliging people to be polite and smile at other people.
of all the funny things about this place, i think this is my favourite!
(note: in practice the order is totally useless, you still ain't gonna get no smiles from them border guards! - i need to get a hold of that order so that i can next time hold it under their nose and demand a smile from them!)
reportedly, that order even requires the border guard officials to smile at passengers!
in a normal place (no, this is not a normal place, this is moscow, russia, something different!), there would be no need for a "law" obliging people to be polite and smile at other people.
of all the funny things about this place, i think this is my favourite!
(note: in practice the order is totally useless, you still ain't gonna get no smiles from them border guards! - i need to get a hold of that order so that i can next time hold it under their nose and demand a smile from them!)
Thursday, November 24, 2005
black jeeps in moscow
one night, i was driving home with my friend. actually, she was the one driving ('cos i am shitscared of driving in moscow city traffic...). just when we were pulling into the little side street next to my house, a fancy big expensive dark car with darkened windows shoots directly in front of us.
now that's nothing of the extraordinary here. but then, all of a sudden, this big massive guy dressed all in black comes onto the street and stands right in front of our car, signaling to us to stop the car and not to move any further.
and all of a sudden a big black jeep with darkened windows pulls in from behind us, out of the nowhere, going right after the other fancy car.
it was the security escort of probably some rich new russian...
(there went my chance of meeting a russian millionaire)
and we cut off the way for the security escort... oh dear... when we realised that, we were just waiting for the guys to pull out their big guns at us...
(which didn't happen but would not have been surprising)
the morale of the story: when you see a fancy expensive car with a black jeep right behind it, NEVER, under NO circumstances, try to get in between these two cars!
now that's nothing of the extraordinary here. but then, all of a sudden, this big massive guy dressed all in black comes onto the street and stands right in front of our car, signaling to us to stop the car and not to move any further.
and all of a sudden a big black jeep with darkened windows pulls in from behind us, out of the nowhere, going right after the other fancy car.
it was the security escort of probably some rich new russian...
(there went my chance of meeting a russian millionaire)
and we cut off the way for the security escort... oh dear... when we realised that, we were just waiting for the guys to pull out their big guns at us...
(which didn't happen but would not have been surprising)
the morale of the story: when you see a fancy expensive car with a black jeep right behind it, NEVER, under NO circumstances, try to get in between these two cars!
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
trans-siberia
i did it!
last summer.
9,289 km from moscow to vladivostok.
(just to compare: south africa to the middle of europe is about the same distance...)
144 hours 45 minutes on trains.
all my russian colleagues thought i'd gone completely nuts when i told them about my planned trip. why would one want to spend 6 days and nights on russian trains as holiday?! i caused even more headshaking when i said that i wanted to travel in 3rd class ("platskartny") as much as possible. why why why?! would everyone ask me. hi hi... it got even worse when i announced that i was going to do this all by myself, all alone...
and i did it! during 3 weeks. and i loved every single minute of it!
i had some of the best moments in russia during my transsib trip. forget about them moscovites, they are a different species of their own. i encountered so much friendliness and warmness during my trip. probably also exactly because i was by myself. one young (yes!) chick traveling by herself caused a lot of openness from the side of the russians.
i took a lot of pictures from all the places i visited. kazan, ekaterinburg, novosibirsk, krasnoyarsk, irkutsk, lake baikal and olkhon island, ulan ude and ivolginsk, khabarovsk and vladivostok. and all my russian colleagues were really impressed and somewhat envious about my trip. i had seen much more of russia than them. now they all want to do it as well...
i say, go for it!
last summer.
9,289 km from moscow to vladivostok.
(just to compare: south africa to the middle of europe is about the same distance...)
144 hours 45 minutes on trains.
all my russian colleagues thought i'd gone completely nuts when i told them about my planned trip. why would one want to spend 6 days and nights on russian trains as holiday?! i caused even more headshaking when i said that i wanted to travel in 3rd class ("platskartny") as much as possible. why why why?! would everyone ask me. hi hi... it got even worse when i announced that i was going to do this all by myself, all alone...
and i did it! during 3 weeks. and i loved every single minute of it!
i had some of the best moments in russia during my transsib trip. forget about them moscovites, they are a different species of their own. i encountered so much friendliness and warmness during my trip. probably also exactly because i was by myself. one young (yes!) chick traveling by herself caused a lot of openness from the side of the russians.
i took a lot of pictures from all the places i visited. kazan, ekaterinburg, novosibirsk, krasnoyarsk, irkutsk, lake baikal and olkhon island, ulan ude and ivolginsk, khabarovsk and vladivostok. and all my russian colleagues were really impressed and somewhat envious about my trip. i had seen much more of russia than them. now they all want to do it as well...
i say, go for it!
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
russian border guards - part 3
ok, here goes another one...
i have a special travel document from my work, which does not state my nationality. but it contains my russian visa and the latter in turn states my western european nationality. now remember that i have 2 nationalities and hence another 2 regular passports.
so normally when i travel in and out of russia, i hand over my special travel document and my western european passport.
but, one day last july, i was going on a trip to my eastern european home. so when approaching the border guards at the passport control at the airport, i give them my eastern european passport instead.
oh boy.
that was a funny moment.
the border guard on duty looks at my 2 documents and is totally confused. i mean, really confused. so eventually she asks me if i have 2 nationalities, because my documents don't make any sense to her. hi hi... i admit, i was playing with them that day, confusing them on purpose and pretending to have forgotten my western european passport at home... (actually, this is another sign of saying i have been in russia for too long - when you find it fun to stir up heated arguments with someone else, esp. with the authorities...)
the whole thing ended after a discussion of 15 minutes with the head of the border guards. they finally agreed to let me leave the country! (but also saying that upon my re-entry into russia, i would have to present my western european passport)
imagine that, it is sometimes harder to leave russia than to enter it...
once they agreed to let me depart, i was really mean and, ooops, "i just found my other passport in my handbag - sorry, it's a bit messy and i didn't see it ... i really thought i had forgotten it at home..."
i had so much fun testing how far i could go with the border guards and whether i could convince them with my negotiation skills in russian!
(help - i am soooo russified!)
i have a special travel document from my work, which does not state my nationality. but it contains my russian visa and the latter in turn states my western european nationality. now remember that i have 2 nationalities and hence another 2 regular passports.
so normally when i travel in and out of russia, i hand over my special travel document and my western european passport.
but, one day last july, i was going on a trip to my eastern european home. so when approaching the border guards at the passport control at the airport, i give them my eastern european passport instead.
oh boy.
that was a funny moment.
the border guard on duty looks at my 2 documents and is totally confused. i mean, really confused. so eventually she asks me if i have 2 nationalities, because my documents don't make any sense to her. hi hi... i admit, i was playing with them that day, confusing them on purpose and pretending to have forgotten my western european passport at home... (actually, this is another sign of saying i have been in russia for too long - when you find it fun to stir up heated arguments with someone else, esp. with the authorities...)
the whole thing ended after a discussion of 15 minutes with the head of the border guards. they finally agreed to let me leave the country! (but also saying that upon my re-entry into russia, i would have to present my western european passport)
imagine that, it is sometimes harder to leave russia than to enter it...
once they agreed to let me depart, i was really mean and, ooops, "i just found my other passport in my handbag - sorry, it's a bit messy and i didn't see it ... i really thought i had forgotten it at home..."
i had so much fun testing how far i could go with the border guards and whether i could convince them with my negotiation skills in russian!
(help - i am soooo russified!)
Friday, November 18, 2005
phone lines
ouf. i could blog a lot about phone lines in this country.
or i could blog all the phone conversations i accidentally overheard. because of the phone lines in this country.
they are bad.
if you're bored at home, just pick up your phone and you can be pretty sure to be able to listen in on other people's phone conversations.
this happens a lot.
or, you are chatting away on the phone to a friend and all of a sudden there is this "click", and "allo allo allo?", "seriosha, eto ty?", "a olya doma?" etc. and there goes another phone conversation that is being mixed up with yours. you can even meet new people like that!
that is one of the reasons why you simply don't talk about certain things on the phone.
the other one is of course the authorities. if even your neighbours can overhear your conversations, you can probably imagine who else is listening in every once in a while.
given that i am a foreigner in this country, i can be definitely sure that i am of special interest to the russian authorities.
for example, the other day i was talking to one of my friends from back home. we were talking in a language that is rather rare, even in europe. after exactly 30 minutes (i know because i have a timer on my phone screen), the line goes dead. just like that. in the middle of my sentence. and we were not even talking about anything political or so. i tried to call back my friend and so did he. but, no chance! the line remained dead. at least for a couple of minutes. then, all of a sudden, it worked again.
my theory is that, since we were talking in such a weird and rare language, they couldn't find anyone who would understand us. so they had to tape our conversation. and the tape ends after 30 minutes and you have to change sides.
maybe i am getting too paranoid living in this place...?!
i had numerous moments like that, though...
or i could blog all the phone conversations i accidentally overheard. because of the phone lines in this country.
they are bad.
if you're bored at home, just pick up your phone and you can be pretty sure to be able to listen in on other people's phone conversations.
this happens a lot.
or, you are chatting away on the phone to a friend and all of a sudden there is this "click", and "allo allo allo?", "seriosha, eto ty?", "a olya doma?" etc. and there goes another phone conversation that is being mixed up with yours. you can even meet new people like that!
that is one of the reasons why you simply don't talk about certain things on the phone.
the other one is of course the authorities. if even your neighbours can overhear your conversations, you can probably imagine who else is listening in every once in a while.
given that i am a foreigner in this country, i can be definitely sure that i am of special interest to the russian authorities.
for example, the other day i was talking to one of my friends from back home. we were talking in a language that is rather rare, even in europe. after exactly 30 minutes (i know because i have a timer on my phone screen), the line goes dead. just like that. in the middle of my sentence. and we were not even talking about anything political or so. i tried to call back my friend and so did he. but, no chance! the line remained dead. at least for a couple of minutes. then, all of a sudden, it worked again.
my theory is that, since we were talking in such a weird and rare language, they couldn't find anyone who would understand us. so they had to tape our conversation. and the tape ends after 30 minutes and you have to change sides.
maybe i am getting too paranoid living in this place...?!
i had numerous moments like that, though...
Thursday, November 17, 2005
mentally unbalanced!
THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO FANTOMAS:
i once read a short article on the order handed out to russian border guards to be polite and smile when confronted by tourists on account of the many complaints against them.
it further commented that "It should be pointed out that smiling simply for the sake of being polite and not because one wants to make a sincere gesture is quite alien to the Russian mind. In general, a smile from a Russian really means something for the person at the receiving end and a Russian who smiles at people whom s/he does not even know is assumed to be mentally unbalanced."
my russian colleagues in the office confirmed this statement and stated that "of course i don't smile at people that i don't know!"
despite my russification, i guess i'm considered mentally unbalanced...
(i also find it interesting that the smiling order only goes for tourists but not for locals - this is such a fascinating country!)
i once read a short article on the order handed out to russian border guards to be polite and smile when confronted by tourists on account of the many complaints against them.
it further commented that "It should be pointed out that smiling simply for the sake of being polite and not because one wants to make a sincere gesture is quite alien to the Russian mind. In general, a smile from a Russian really means something for the person at the receiving end and a Russian who smiles at people whom s/he does not even know is assumed to be mentally unbalanced."
my russian colleagues in the office confirmed this statement and stated that "of course i don't smile at people that i don't know!"
despite my russification, i guess i'm considered mentally unbalanced...
(i also find it interesting that the smiling order only goes for tourists but not for locals - this is such a fascinating country!)
russian border guards - part 2
i am not sure yet how many stories i will post about russian border guards. nor how many i should, really...
last summer, i decided to see russia. i mean, really see the country and travel around all over. so i went on a trip across the country, across siberia, some 9300 km from moscow to vladivostok. the good old trans-siberian!
when i boarded the train in ulan ude (capital of buryatia, east of lake baikal), i was going on my longest train ride in a row - approx. 60 hours to khabarovsk. since the cheapest class was all booked out, i travelled 2nd class, in a little "kupe". the kupe is meant for 4 people with a door (3rd class, or "platskartny", doesn't have a door and resembles more like a big, open sleeping camp - or refugee camp, as lonely planet put it...).
so there i go, i found myself in a kupe with some border guards, my specially beloved russian official-type...
after some silent and shy minutes, the party gets going. the border guards (and two other guys who joined the kupe) unpack all their food and drinks. in the real russian fashion, they share all they have with everyone else in the kupe.
and so i found myself drinking 3 bottles of vodka (5 people!) in the course of about 4 hours... and that was right after lunch, it wasn't even evening yet... also, i don't even particularly like vodka...
(now don't give me that line "you could have politely declined" - this DOES NOT fly with russians, esp. not with the border guards, trust me. that would have been like punching them in their faces. not a good idea. the only resistance you can put up is saying only "tzhut-tzhut" please = "a tiny little weeny bit")
admittedly, though, i had a great time with them... they were a lot of fun...
last summer, i decided to see russia. i mean, really see the country and travel around all over. so i went on a trip across the country, across siberia, some 9300 km from moscow to vladivostok. the good old trans-siberian!
when i boarded the train in ulan ude (capital of buryatia, east of lake baikal), i was going on my longest train ride in a row - approx. 60 hours to khabarovsk. since the cheapest class was all booked out, i travelled 2nd class, in a little "kupe". the kupe is meant for 4 people with a door (3rd class, or "platskartny", doesn't have a door and resembles more like a big, open sleeping camp - or refugee camp, as lonely planet put it...).
so there i go, i found myself in a kupe with some border guards, my specially beloved russian official-type...
after some silent and shy minutes, the party gets going. the border guards (and two other guys who joined the kupe) unpack all their food and drinks. in the real russian fashion, they share all they have with everyone else in the kupe.
and so i found myself drinking 3 bottles of vodka (5 people!) in the course of about 4 hours... and that was right after lunch, it wasn't even evening yet... also, i don't even particularly like vodka...
(now don't give me that line "you could have politely declined" - this DOES NOT fly with russians, esp. not with the border guards, trust me. that would have been like punching them in their faces. not a good idea. the only resistance you can put up is saying only "tzhut-tzhut" please = "a tiny little weeny bit")
admittedly, though, i had a great time with them... they were a lot of fun...
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
flying on the plane with russians
ever been on an airplane with russians? then this will sound familiar to you:
the minute the plane hits the ground, often a round of happy clapping.
the next sound is the "click" "click" "click" from all the russians immediately unfastening their seat belts.
then the mobile phones. note the plane is still rolling on the landing lane. lots of different melodies from the phones.
then lots of shouting into mobile phones "we just landed! will be out in a few minutes!"
the minute the plane stops rolling and arrives at the gate, everyone jumping out of their seats, grabbing all their belongings and running out of the plane. literally. regardless of who is in front of them, little kids, elderly ladies, handicapped people.
then a race to the passport control office.
queues.
and even the nicest and most harmless-looking old lady/babushka will try to sneak in front of you in the queue. don't give up! stick out your elbows! and if someone is trying to get in front of you, just start screaming something at them, preferably in russian.
once through the passport control, quick, everyone needs to find a spot where they can light up their cigarette.
more shouting into mobile phones "i'm through! just waiting for my luggage!"
when waiting for the luggage, everyone will try to stand right at the little opening so they can grab their luggage the minute it comes rolling onto the band. once they have their stuff, the next race to the exit begins...
the morale? just give up being western. when in russia, do like the russians.
the minute the plane hits the ground, often a round of happy clapping.
the next sound is the "click" "click" "click" from all the russians immediately unfastening their seat belts.
then the mobile phones. note the plane is still rolling on the landing lane. lots of different melodies from the phones.
then lots of shouting into mobile phones "we just landed! will be out in a few minutes!"
the minute the plane stops rolling and arrives at the gate, everyone jumping out of their seats, grabbing all their belongings and running out of the plane. literally. regardless of who is in front of them, little kids, elderly ladies, handicapped people.
then a race to the passport control office.
queues.
and even the nicest and most harmless-looking old lady/babushka will try to sneak in front of you in the queue. don't give up! stick out your elbows! and if someone is trying to get in front of you, just start screaming something at them, preferably in russian.
once through the passport control, quick, everyone needs to find a spot where they can light up their cigarette.
more shouting into mobile phones "i'm through! just waiting for my luggage!"
when waiting for the luggage, everyone will try to stand right at the little opening so they can grab their luggage the minute it comes rolling onto the band. once they have their stuff, the next race to the exit begins...
the morale? just give up being western. when in russia, do like the russians.
Monday, November 14, 2005
beetroot
i am not going to blog about beetroot.
i just want to officially inform missus wonderland that:
i don't like beetroot.
i have never liked beetroot.
and i will never like beetroot.
so there.
if you ever catch me eating that sh...tuff, PLEASE SHOOT ME DEAD!!!
i just want to officially inform missus wonderland that:
i don't like beetroot.
i have never liked beetroot.
and i will never like beetroot.
so there.
if you ever catch me eating that sh...tuff, PLEASE SHOOT ME DEAD!!!
moscovites' friendliness
have you ever been to moscow? then perhaps this will sound familiar to you:
one nice fine saturday afternoon, i was walking down a street in moscow city and passing a fruit stand, i really felt like some grapes. so there i go and ask the vendor-lady for some of her grapes.
yikes.
she starts screaming at me, for no reason whatsoever.
probably she didn't like the fact that i was interrupting her chat with a non-customer.
i mean, what WAS i thinking?! she ain't there to sell her stuff and make money, no no, just to chat of course.
that is what is commonly referred to as the friendliness of moscovites.
one nice fine saturday afternoon, i was walking down a street in moscow city and passing a fruit stand, i really felt like some grapes. so there i go and ask the vendor-lady for some of her grapes.
yikes.
she starts screaming at me, for no reason whatsoever.
probably she didn't like the fact that i was interrupting her chat with a non-customer.
i mean, what WAS i thinking?! she ain't there to sell her stuff and make money, no no, just to chat of course.
that is what is commonly referred to as the friendliness of moscovites.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
russian border guards - part 1
in my work, i sometimes have to deal with various russian authorities. on some occasions with the russian border guards. now these people are tough cookies to break...
so there i go, off to some detention place to visit a few clients. i call up the head of the border guards to ask for permission to visit these people. now remember that i am female. and the interpreter who was with me that day was male. you think that doesn't matter? think again. in this part of the world, it does.
the border guard head comes out of his office and walks straight to us. he doesn't even look at me (!) but starts to talk to the interpreter straight away. because he's the man. oooops, he realises that i am actually "the boss" and turns to me, with a, let's say, not exactly friendly smile on his face. actually, forget it, there was no smile at all. of course.
after i've introduced myself and the purpose of my visit etc., the border guard head takes out his mobile phone and calls up his buddies. from the small parts of the conversation i overheard, i assume it was his buddies from the FSB.
(i suppose y'all know what the FSB is. it used to be called KGB in previous times. and the border guards service in russia ultimately falls under the FSB.)
alright, so he calls his buddies. and asks them to run a check on me. oh brother! as my friend would say. he had them check out my file before he would even talk to me!
the whole story, however, has a happy end.
i had made a new friend that day. the border guard head asked me out to the movies...
(i got out of the situation by responding only if the movie is not in russian - and that was the end of it...)
so there i go, off to some detention place to visit a few clients. i call up the head of the border guards to ask for permission to visit these people. now remember that i am female. and the interpreter who was with me that day was male. you think that doesn't matter? think again. in this part of the world, it does.
the border guard head comes out of his office and walks straight to us. he doesn't even look at me (!) but starts to talk to the interpreter straight away. because he's the man. oooops, he realises that i am actually "the boss" and turns to me, with a, let's say, not exactly friendly smile on his face. actually, forget it, there was no smile at all. of course.
after i've introduced myself and the purpose of my visit etc., the border guard head takes out his mobile phone and calls up his buddies. from the small parts of the conversation i overheard, i assume it was his buddies from the FSB.
(i suppose y'all know what the FSB is. it used to be called KGB in previous times. and the border guards service in russia ultimately falls under the FSB.)
alright, so he calls his buddies. and asks them to run a check on me. oh brother! as my friend would say. he had them check out my file before he would even talk to me!
the whole story, however, has a happy end.
i had made a new friend that day. the border guard head asked me out to the movies...
(i got out of the situation by responding only if the movie is not in russian - and that was the end of it...)
Friday, November 11, 2005
drinking vodka with russians
forget it.
don't even try.
there is NO WAY ON EARTH that one can keep up with russians when drinking vodka.
i tried.
i failed. miserably.
it was on a fine friday about 2 years ago, when i was living here for a few months. i just wanted to go for a beer and some heavily-fried food to the pub in my street with my friend (also non-russian).
so we did. we ordered our irish beer and fries and other fried stuff. at the table next to us, there were 3 fine russian ladies. with a few beers. and a bottle of vodka. the bottle was empty within no time at all. so they order more. and invite us to join in and drink with them.
stupid us. we did.
we ended up staying in the pub until after official closing time (closing time in bars are flexible in russia, often depends upon the last customer). then we headed for some snobbish club. more vodka. some dancing. more vodka. some more dancing. more vodka. some more dancing in a sort of separee. and more vodka. actually, it could also have been gin, i really don't remember anymore.
eventually we escaped and got home somewhere between 5-7 am (i think - i have very vague memories of the way back home), completely shitfaced. when we left the club, the russian chicas were still going strong on drinking and dancing...
it took us 24 hours to recover and sober up from our vodka-encounter. the whole next day (or, rather, afternoon and evening) was in a hazy blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........................
i had learned my lesson...
don't even try.
there is NO WAY ON EARTH that one can keep up with russians when drinking vodka.
i tried.
i failed. miserably.
it was on a fine friday about 2 years ago, when i was living here for a few months. i just wanted to go for a beer and some heavily-fried food to the pub in my street with my friend (also non-russian).
so we did. we ordered our irish beer and fries and other fried stuff. at the table next to us, there were 3 fine russian ladies. with a few beers. and a bottle of vodka. the bottle was empty within no time at all. so they order more. and invite us to join in and drink with them.
stupid us. we did.
we ended up staying in the pub until after official closing time (closing time in bars are flexible in russia, often depends upon the last customer). then we headed for some snobbish club. more vodka. some dancing. more vodka. some more dancing. more vodka. some more dancing in a sort of separee. and more vodka. actually, it could also have been gin, i really don't remember anymore.
eventually we escaped and got home somewhere between 5-7 am (i think - i have very vague memories of the way back home), completely shitfaced. when we left the club, the russian chicas were still going strong on drinking and dancing...
it took us 24 hours to recover and sober up from our vodka-encounter. the whole next day (or, rather, afternoon and evening) was in a hazy blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...........................
i had learned my lesson...
migration card
when you enter russia, every foreigner has to fill in a special migration card. one half of the card is then being retained by the border guards and the second half has to be handed back in upon exiting the country again. reportedly, this was introduced because every year, around 15 million entered russia, but only 10 million exited again... the authorities had no idea where or who the remaining 5 million people are... presumably, most of those non-exiters are from the cis (former soviet union countries). and since russia has visa-free regimes with most, if not all of these countries, rather than re-introducing visa requirements for them (not possible since one of the purposes of the cis is the visa-free regime), they just introduced the famous migration card.
in any case, since early 2003, we long-term resident-expats of russia are used to this by now. not much of a big deal, a few minutes of scribbling around on the little russian/english-piece of paper.
recently, however, the migration card was revised. when i flew back into the country last week, i had my first encounter with the new card.
not sure whether the authorities are actually trying to deter foreigners to come to russia, but now the card is only in russian language, with no translation into english or any other language being provided. those poor tourists...
any other, or normal, country would actually try to make things easier for tourists, but oh no, not the russian federation!
to make things even more chaotic, of course there was no advance warning whatsoever regarding that change. it was simply changed from one day to the other. no agency servicing tourists, nor air companies, was able to prepare for the new card.
i am just waiting for the day when they will require all foreigners to fill in the migration card in russian language...
(it would be even more fun if those with grammar mistakes in russian would then be refused entry into the country)
in any case, since early 2003, we long-term resident-expats of russia are used to this by now. not much of a big deal, a few minutes of scribbling around on the little russian/english-piece of paper.
recently, however, the migration card was revised. when i flew back into the country last week, i had my first encounter with the new card.
not sure whether the authorities are actually trying to deter foreigners to come to russia, but now the card is only in russian language, with no translation into english or any other language being provided. those poor tourists...
any other, or normal, country would actually try to make things easier for tourists, but oh no, not the russian federation!
to make things even more chaotic, of course there was no advance warning whatsoever regarding that change. it was simply changed from one day to the other. no agency servicing tourists, nor air companies, was able to prepare for the new card.
i am just waiting for the day when they will require all foreigners to fill in the migration card in russian language...
(it would be even more fun if those with grammar mistakes in russian would then be refused entry into the country)
Thursday, November 10, 2005
hot water
in russia, every year, the hot water gets shut off. for one month.
(hey, at least they do it in "summertime"!)
this stems from the good old soviet times. they need to clean and "remont"/renovate the water system.
in moscow, the exact month depends on your district. in any case, you can always tell when that time of the year has started again (that is, the first district is without hot water) by the smell in the metro. actually, it's not the metro that smells, but the people.
so what does one do in these weeks?
- you go on holiday (for expats)
- you buy a water boiler (for expats)
- you go to the banya (for expats and russians)
- you go to your friends/relatives/colleagues to shower (for russians)
- you heat up water on your stove and wash yourself with that (for russians with no friends/relatives/colleagues, or russians with friends/relatives/colleagues who live in the same district)
- you simply don't shower (mainly for russian men)
how do i do it? i have a water boiler but don't know how it works so i go away during that time...
(hey, at least they do it in "summertime"!)
this stems from the good old soviet times. they need to clean and "remont"/renovate the water system.
in moscow, the exact month depends on your district. in any case, you can always tell when that time of the year has started again (that is, the first district is without hot water) by the smell in the metro. actually, it's not the metro that smells, but the people.
so what does one do in these weeks?
- you go on holiday (for expats)
- you buy a water boiler (for expats)
- you go to the banya (for expats and russians)
- you go to your friends/relatives/colleagues to shower (for russians)
- you heat up water on your stove and wash yourself with that (for russians with no friends/relatives/colleagues, or russians with friends/relatives/colleagues who live in the same district)
- you simply don't shower (mainly for russian men)
how do i do it? i have a water boiler but don't know how it works so i go away during that time...
wild wild east
the day i arrived to moscow, a duma deputy was shot dead in moscow.
2 weeks after i arrived to moscow, there was a shoot-out right in front of my office in which a mafia boss and some of his buddies were shot dead.
(it was on a sunday. the monday after, you could see the white lines drawn onto the ground...)
welcome to the wild wild east!
2 weeks after i arrived to moscow, there was a shoot-out right in front of my office in which a mafia boss and some of his buddies were shot dead.
(it was on a sunday. the monday after, you could see the white lines drawn onto the ground...)
welcome to the wild wild east!
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
russian women
i told my best russian girlfriend to watch this space for my stories about my life in this crazy place.
she responded that i am being actually nice and that she can't wait to read my blog about russian women.
i ain't gonna do that.
i would have to fear for my life if i would blog about russian women.
does that say enough about this topic?
she responded that i am being actually nice and that she can't wait to read my blog about russian women.
i ain't gonna do that.
i would have to fear for my life if i would blog about russian women.
does that say enough about this topic?
riding the metro
in moscow, the metro stations are really beautiful. but that's not what i want to blog about.
there are roughly 10-12 million people living in the city, and with the suburbs it's around 12-15 million people. of course no one knows the exact figure because of the "illegals" or other people not officially registered as residents of the greater moscow area.
the moscow metro has a daily user rate of 9 million people, as they say. according to lonely planet, that is more than the new york and london underground taken together. interesting, eh.
now can you imagine how many people are whirling around in these underground passages every single day?!
the mornings are something of the worst. streams of thousands and thousands of people. literally. so when you are unlucky and you have one of them really busy stations on your way to work, oh boy... no way to avoid getting physical...
when i arrived to moscow and started using the metro, all i wanted to do once i finally got home in the evenings was to take off all my clothes and check my entire body and count all the new bruises i got that day from riding the metro. no joke.
i mean, if you are people-phobic, don't ever come to moscow. but even if you're not, be ready for some heavy body contact. you will be touched, shoved, hit, pushed, run down and over.
the best part is always when the doors open and you are trying to get in. there is so much pushing and shoving and elbowing and racing to the seats! sometimes it can be a challenge trying to get out of the waggon when everyone else is trying to get in and get that one free seat on the bench...
my advice? get some good shoes, put on a really grim look on your face, stick out your elbows and dive head-forward into the masses with an attitude that this is war!
the only way for physical survival...
there are roughly 10-12 million people living in the city, and with the suburbs it's around 12-15 million people. of course no one knows the exact figure because of the "illegals" or other people not officially registered as residents of the greater moscow area.
the moscow metro has a daily user rate of 9 million people, as they say. according to lonely planet, that is more than the new york and london underground taken together. interesting, eh.
now can you imagine how many people are whirling around in these underground passages every single day?!
the mornings are something of the worst. streams of thousands and thousands of people. literally. so when you are unlucky and you have one of them really busy stations on your way to work, oh boy... no way to avoid getting physical...
when i arrived to moscow and started using the metro, all i wanted to do once i finally got home in the evenings was to take off all my clothes and check my entire body and count all the new bruises i got that day from riding the metro. no joke.
i mean, if you are people-phobic, don't ever come to moscow. but even if you're not, be ready for some heavy body contact. you will be touched, shoved, hit, pushed, run down and over.
the best part is always when the doors open and you are trying to get in. there is so much pushing and shoving and elbowing and racing to the seats! sometimes it can be a challenge trying to get out of the waggon when everyone else is trying to get in and get that one free seat on the bench...
my advice? get some good shoes, put on a really grim look on your face, stick out your elbows and dive head-forward into the masses with an attitude that this is war!
the only way for physical survival...
felix
i am having my morning coffee and reading today's moscow times. headlines on front page: "'Iron Felix' Back at Petrovka 38".
now, only those who really know russia and/or the soviet union know what i am talking about, so let me explain for the others.
petrovka 38 is the address of the headquarters of the moscow police. you want to scare someone, you tell them you're gonna inform petrovka 38. it comes in second right after the lubyanka, the headquarters of the former kgb and of today's fsb. the lubyanka has a long history in this country.
and felix? felix is felix dzerzhinsky. he was the founder of the soviet secret police, i.e. the kgb (or, rather, the predecessor of the kgb). he was called iron felix. you wanted to strike fear into someone, you mentioned iron felix. and his friends.
during the soviet times, there was this tendency of erecting several-metre-high statues, or busts, of all sorts of important personalities of the soviet times and history. the most obvious are lenin and stalin. and felix was also one of them. there were several felix-statues all over the city, the biggest one standing in front of the kgb-headquarters on lubyanskaya ploshchad (square). they say that that one weighed 16 ton.
after/during the breakup of the soviet union, in august 1991, many of these soviet-era monuments were brought down either by angry mobs or by the authorities, fearing the mobs would bring them down. felix' bust in front of the lubyanka was brought down by the mob. the one that used to stand in the courtyard of petrovka 38 was quickly removed by the authorities.
and now?
now it was restored back to its old place in petrovka 38.
that is scary.
that is like, say, germany would re-erect old statues of hitler. or iraq, in ten years from now, re-erect old statues from saddam.
scary. just like, when you go see stalin's tomb, there are always fresh flowers...
the ironness of the soviet union ain't dead yet in this country...
now, only those who really know russia and/or the soviet union know what i am talking about, so let me explain for the others.
petrovka 38 is the address of the headquarters of the moscow police. you want to scare someone, you tell them you're gonna inform petrovka 38. it comes in second right after the lubyanka, the headquarters of the former kgb and of today's fsb. the lubyanka has a long history in this country.
and felix? felix is felix dzerzhinsky. he was the founder of the soviet secret police, i.e. the kgb (or, rather, the predecessor of the kgb). he was called iron felix. you wanted to strike fear into someone, you mentioned iron felix. and his friends.
during the soviet times, there was this tendency of erecting several-metre-high statues, or busts, of all sorts of important personalities of the soviet times and history. the most obvious are lenin and stalin. and felix was also one of them. there were several felix-statues all over the city, the biggest one standing in front of the kgb-headquarters on lubyanskaya ploshchad (square). they say that that one weighed 16 ton.
after/during the breakup of the soviet union, in august 1991, many of these soviet-era monuments were brought down either by angry mobs or by the authorities, fearing the mobs would bring them down. felix' bust in front of the lubyanka was brought down by the mob. the one that used to stand in the courtyard of petrovka 38 was quickly removed by the authorities.
and now?
now it was restored back to its old place in petrovka 38.
that is scary.
that is like, say, germany would re-erect old statues of hitler. or iraq, in ten years from now, re-erect old statues from saddam.
scary. just like, when you go see stalin's tomb, there are always fresh flowers...
the ironness of the soviet union ain't dead yet in this country...
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
candy
last saturday night, i went to a club for a concert of a local moscovite band.
as usual (for security reasons), you have to go through some security checks, through the metall detector that always beeeeeeeeeeeeps (but no one really pays much attention to) and show them the contents of your handbag.
so in mine, since i was feeling a bit rough in the throat, i had one piece of candy.
can you believe it?!?!?! i was not allowed to take that one piece of candy into the club!!!
but no problem taking in your mobile phone, camera and what not into the club, but not your candy!!! no problem for chewing gum, though.
does that make sense to you? to me, no. really no... i just don't see the security threat emanating from a piece of candy...
(btw, i was allowed to pick up my candy again on my way out. i thought screw them, but my russian friend insisted on getting it back, "out of principle"...)
as usual (for security reasons), you have to go through some security checks, through the metall detector that always beeeeeeeeeeeeps (but no one really pays much attention to) and show them the contents of your handbag.
so in mine, since i was feeling a bit rough in the throat, i had one piece of candy.
can you believe it?!?!?! i was not allowed to take that one piece of candy into the club!!!
but no problem taking in your mobile phone, camera and what not into the club, but not your candy!!! no problem for chewing gum, though.
does that make sense to you? to me, no. really no... i just don't see the security threat emanating from a piece of candy...
(btw, i was allowed to pick up my candy again on my way out. i thought screw them, but my russian friend insisted on getting it back, "out of principle"...)
"devushka"
that is russian for "girl".
now, every female human being is considered a devushka from age 10 to 59. from around 60, you go directly to being called "babushka", grandmother.
when i moved here, i could just not get used to the fact that everyone is addressing me as devuskha. i had serious internal resistance against that. and i was just not capable of realising that people meant me when they were screaming at me DEVUSHKA.
you know, you walk down the street and someone stops you to ask for the time or so. they will address you as "devushka, can you please tell me the time?", rather than "excuse me, could you please be so kind as to tell me what's the time?"
(actually, forget the please, they will say "devushka, what's the time!")
in any case, i had such an internal aggression against that word. call me chick, lady, idiot, whatever, but not girl.
(for men, the equivalent is "molodoy chelovek", literally translated: "young person". go figure...)
and nowadays? i automatically turn my head when i hear "devushka!"...
and i call all the waitresses in restaurants and bars with "DEVUSHKAAAAAAAAA!"
now, every female human being is considered a devushka from age 10 to 59. from around 60, you go directly to being called "babushka", grandmother.
when i moved here, i could just not get used to the fact that everyone is addressing me as devuskha. i had serious internal resistance against that. and i was just not capable of realising that people meant me when they were screaming at me DEVUSHKA.
you know, you walk down the street and someone stops you to ask for the time or so. they will address you as "devushka, can you please tell me the time?", rather than "excuse me, could you please be so kind as to tell me what's the time?"
(actually, forget the please, they will say "devushka, what's the time!")
in any case, i had such an internal aggression against that word. call me chick, lady, idiot, whatever, but not girl.
(for men, the equivalent is "molodoy chelovek", literally translated: "young person". go figure...)
and nowadays? i automatically turn my head when i hear "devushka!"...
and i call all the waitresses in restaurants and bars with "DEVUSHKAAAAAAAAA!"
Monday, November 07, 2005
salad dressing
on my very first day at work in russia, i go to have lunch in the office kitchen. the cook handed me my plate, as well as some salad. without any dressing. because, as she explained me, the salad dressing is on the table and i can just serve myself of it as much as i want.
okeydokey, i think, cool. i look around the table and i just can't find any salad dressing. so i ask my new colleagues about it and they hand me something. mayonnaise. pure mayo. i look at them and go "but that's mayonnaise"? they reply "of course, you said you wanted salad dressing".
that was my first encounter with salad dressing a la russe.
by now i have come to understand that, indeed, salad dressing in russia means PURE MAYONNAISE and nothing else.
needless to say that i have gone off eating too many salads unless i can do the salad dressing myself...
okeydokey, i think, cool. i look around the table and i just can't find any salad dressing. so i ask my new colleagues about it and they hand me something. mayonnaise. pure mayo. i look at them and go "but that's mayonnaise"? they reply "of course, you said you wanted salad dressing".
that was my first encounter with salad dressing a la russe.
by now i have come to understand that, indeed, salad dressing in russia means PURE MAYONNAISE and nothing else.
needless to say that i have gone off eating too many salads unless i can do the salad dressing myself...
24-hour supermarkets and others
you know these 24-hour supermarkets? a really great invention, especially for people who have long working hours.
in russia, you see lots of 24-hour shops, kiosks, restaurants, hairdressers, etc.
as i said, a great invention.
but in russia, things work the russian way. so even if it says 24-hour, that doesn't mean it will indeed be 24 hours.
you get there at, say, 4 in the morning and you'll find a sign: "technical break from 2 - 6am".
hi hi, that's the russian understanding of 24-hour...
in russia, you see lots of 24-hour shops, kiosks, restaurants, hairdressers, etc.
as i said, a great invention.
but in russia, things work the russian way. so even if it says 24-hour, that doesn't mean it will indeed be 24 hours.
you get there at, say, 4 in the morning and you'll find a sign: "technical break from 2 - 6am".
hi hi, that's the russian understanding of 24-hour...
Friday, November 04, 2005
toilet paper
you think this sounds boring as a title?
ha! it ain't...
my sister used to live in russia 3 years ago. in st. petersburg. so when i moved here, to moscow, she came to visit me over the weekend. i took her to the semi-western supermarket just across my street. and there she stood! in front of the shelve with all the toilet paper. she could hardly believe it - imagine that! several different brands of toilet paper! she was happy as a little kid...
because in her shops in st. petersburg, you were lucky to find 2 different brands of toilet paper. all the same. hard carton-paper basically... you know, the old soviet toilet paper...
my sister thought that living in moscow is no fun, is no adventure, when you can buy the smooth fine toilet paper like we know from western europe. life's too easy here in moscow, she said.
it's the small things that count in life!
ha! it ain't...
my sister used to live in russia 3 years ago. in st. petersburg. so when i moved here, to moscow, she came to visit me over the weekend. i took her to the semi-western supermarket just across my street. and there she stood! in front of the shelve with all the toilet paper. she could hardly believe it - imagine that! several different brands of toilet paper! she was happy as a little kid...
because in her shops in st. petersburg, you were lucky to find 2 different brands of toilet paper. all the same. hard carton-paper basically... you know, the old soviet toilet paper...
my sister thought that living in moscow is no fun, is no adventure, when you can buy the smooth fine toilet paper like we know from western europe. life's too easy here in moscow, she said.
it's the small things that count in life!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
floodings
i was meant to blog much more. but again life had caught up with me and didn't provide me with the time to write at all.
have been travelling a lot lately and just came back from africa. on some days i wonder whether there is much of a difference between africa and russia. yeah yeah, i know, things are even harsher in africa, but the first-world-moments are rare in this country.
like with floodings in your apartment. within less than one year, my apartment managed to twice flood the ones below it. i suppose i am not very liked by my downstairs-neighbours...
this is pretty normal in this country. many people have flooding problems in their apartments. for all sorts of reasons, bad material (like using the wrong screw - that was my first flooding incident), bad pipes, bad renovation/installation (that was my second flooding incident), etc.
so i had my bridget-jones-moment. it was about one o'clock in the morning and i had just come out of the shower, wrapped in a towel. and the screw burst and with it the pipe got loose and the whole water of the city was unleashed into my apartment. at least that's how it felt like. i was banging on the doors of my neighbours to get some help, still in my towel, but no one even opened the door. lovely. the waterfall in my bathroom lasted for about one hour until the sanitary guys finally managed to shut it all off. i was told afterwards that i had flooded 9 floors below me... i don't dare imagine how those flats looked like, i just remember mine, water literally all over, in every corner of every room... my 70-something-year old babushka-neighbour was helping me get rid of the water in my flat, soaking up probably hundreds of liters of water, until the early hours of the night. and after some 3 hours of sleep, i had to find some dry clothes and go to a really important meeting at work...
the second time was less bad but meaner. i went to bed and slept my sweet dreams all through the night and was woken up by the sanitary guys screaming at me why i am, again, flooding the building. turns out, sometimes throughout the night, when i was sleeping, again my bathroom decided to go nuts and pour some water down... just great. one goes innocently to bed at night and wakes up in the morning just to find a whole new catastrophy in one's place.
of course my landlady was screaming at me as well. russian landladies are a whole own chapter, or blog.
now, my apartment is not the regular russian type, that is, it is big, nice, newly renovated and i surely pay enough money for my little luxury. yet not even in such a place one can be secure from all sorts of things going wrong. i know so many people who have had floodings in their apartments here in russia, yet i know no one to whom this has happened in the west.
in moments like this, i go crazy in this place. perhaps i should start a petition for a right to floodless-living in russia...
have been travelling a lot lately and just came back from africa. on some days i wonder whether there is much of a difference between africa and russia. yeah yeah, i know, things are even harsher in africa, but the first-world-moments are rare in this country.
like with floodings in your apartment. within less than one year, my apartment managed to twice flood the ones below it. i suppose i am not very liked by my downstairs-neighbours...
this is pretty normal in this country. many people have flooding problems in their apartments. for all sorts of reasons, bad material (like using the wrong screw - that was my first flooding incident), bad pipes, bad renovation/installation (that was my second flooding incident), etc.
so i had my bridget-jones-moment. it was about one o'clock in the morning and i had just come out of the shower, wrapped in a towel. and the screw burst and with it the pipe got loose and the whole water of the city was unleashed into my apartment. at least that's how it felt like. i was banging on the doors of my neighbours to get some help, still in my towel, but no one even opened the door. lovely. the waterfall in my bathroom lasted for about one hour until the sanitary guys finally managed to shut it all off. i was told afterwards that i had flooded 9 floors below me... i don't dare imagine how those flats looked like, i just remember mine, water literally all over, in every corner of every room... my 70-something-year old babushka-neighbour was helping me get rid of the water in my flat, soaking up probably hundreds of liters of water, until the early hours of the night. and after some 3 hours of sleep, i had to find some dry clothes and go to a really important meeting at work...
the second time was less bad but meaner. i went to bed and slept my sweet dreams all through the night and was woken up by the sanitary guys screaming at me why i am, again, flooding the building. turns out, sometimes throughout the night, when i was sleeping, again my bathroom decided to go nuts and pour some water down... just great. one goes innocently to bed at night and wakes up in the morning just to find a whole new catastrophy in one's place.
of course my landlady was screaming at me as well. russian landladies are a whole own chapter, or blog.
now, my apartment is not the regular russian type, that is, it is big, nice, newly renovated and i surely pay enough money for my little luxury. yet not even in such a place one can be secure from all sorts of things going wrong. i know so many people who have had floodings in their apartments here in russia, yet i know no one to whom this has happened in the west.
in moments like this, i go crazy in this place. perhaps i should start a petition for a right to floodless-living in russia...
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
why my blog
very easy.
because i don't have a therapist.
so my blog is going to be about everything and nothing.
and i don't expect any wise advice back.
(you hear that, you living in wonderland? you know who you are.)
because i don't have a therapist.
so my blog is going to be about everything and nothing.
and i don't expect any wise advice back.
(you hear that, you living in wonderland? you know who you are.)
Sunday, September 25, 2005
why russia
i am not sure if i should really write about this.
but of course i have asked myself that question before.
many times.
so have others.
it is not always bad here. there are things i really like about living in russia.
but...
the real reason was my job. of course. what else. i don't think anything else would have made me move here.
so now i have been here for a little over two and a half years. which seems like a long time at times.
i am russified.
the worst is, when i am outside of russia, i do miss it. sometimes. some things about it at least.
like, life can be very exciting here. but also very exhausting and tiring and stressful.
after some time, you become like me.
crazy in russia.
and that's when you start your own blog...
but of course i have asked myself that question before.
many times.
so have others.
it is not always bad here. there are things i really like about living in russia.
but...
the real reason was my job. of course. what else. i don't think anything else would have made me move here.
so now i have been here for a little over two and a half years. which seems like a long time at times.
i am russified.
the worst is, when i am outside of russia, i do miss it. sometimes. some things about it at least.
like, life can be very exciting here. but also very exhausting and tiring and stressful.
after some time, you become like me.
crazy in russia.
and that's when you start your own blog...
Friday, September 23, 2005
me
who am i? no, no, don't worry, this is no philosophical question. just some basic info on me myself and i.
i am a mix between eastern and western europe. white. female. not married. no children. which can be an issue sometimes when living in russia.
and this is where i currently am living.
russia.
crazy in russia.
that's me.
i am a mix between eastern and western europe. white. female. not married. no children. which can be an issue sometimes when living in russia.
and this is where i currently am living.
russia.
crazy in russia.
that's me.
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