Sitting On The Blog

My Second Year

I'm now well into my second year in Russia.  My contract was renewed at the end of August, so I know I'll be here until at least August this year.  And, there is always the possibility that I may wish to stay longer. Since my last blog entry quite a few things have happened which I'd like to share with you.  I had hoped to post much earlier, but I've been busy with work.  

September/October 2014

The summer ended rather well; in terms of weather that is.  The long humid days gave way to a couple of weeks of fresh(er) air and clear blue skies.  And then, of course, came the wet weather and the ensuing loveliness of muddy pavements.

One day I decided to head to the Russian Museum, which boasts huge galleries of Russian art.  A lesson was cancelled, the day was bright and sunny, so I thought this was an ideal opportunity.  It was a Tuesday.  I forgot that the museum is closed on Tuesdays, so I was a little disappointed when I got to the closed gates.  But nevermind!  I took the opportunity to explore the area and take a few photos.

Kazan Cathedral 

The Singer Building - home to The House of Books and VK

Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood

Statue of Pushkin with the Russian Museum in the background

Peterhof

In the middle of September I had the opportunity to go Peterhof. Known as 'Russia's Versailles,' Peterhof is a series of palaces and gardens built by Peter the Great and is located south-west of Saint Petersburg on the coast of the Gulf of Finland.  Like Versailles, the gardens contain some outstanding fountains with figures covered in gold.  The main reason for going at that particular time was because it was the last night of the fountains - a closing ceremony held each year to mark the end of the fountain season.  At 9 p.m, when it was dark enough, the show began with a fantastic firework display and laser-audio-visual show (with moving projections on the main palace's facade).  It was a long wait until the start of the show, but it was worth it in the end.

One year in Russia

On 27th September I celebrated one full year in Russia.  I contemplated a bit on what that actually meant, thought about the forthcoming year a bit, and then held a party.  

   

While it was a time for celebrating I was also a little sad that I had lost a friend a few weeks earlier.  My friend hadn't died - he was in rude enough health; at least physically.  No, the person in question decided to sever all contact with me; and the underlying reason for this:  because I live and work in Russia.  One day I received a message through Facebook from him.  It was his last message before blocking me, so I couldn't reply.  And it was a long message.  It was courteous in tone, but he stated that for the peace of his mind he could no longer have anything to do with me.  His reasoning was as follows:  I work as a teacher in Russia, therefore I support the Russian economy; as I support the Russian economy, I indirectly support the 'Putin regime.'  Now, I knew he was no fan of Putin and Russian foreign policy.  And I was aware that he held some rather Russophobic views, but I was rather gobsmacked that he would end a friendship (we've known each other since university - 1995 to be precise) based on this.  In short, I can only come to the conclusion that he swallowed all of the anti-Russian propaganda coming out of the western media.  That, mixed with his own prejudices, must have prompted him to do this.  It was a strange reason.  Many people remain friends, even when their political views are at opposite ends.  I haven't ended a friendship because friends and acquaintances have posted weird left-wing rubbish on Facebook, or they believe in different things to me.  I'm just speculating here, but I think he might have lost the plot a little.  Such a shame.  For an intelligent man, he's bloody stupid as well!

November/December 2014

The Russian Museum

I finally made that visit to the Russian Museum in November.   It's a huge place and I spent a few hours looking at what I considered the most interesting paintings and sculptures.

   

 

The Currency Crisis

I'm just going to write a few words on this.  I haven't written much on the political and economic situation in Russia before, as I've tended to focus on other things (and maybe I should for another post).  As you know, the Russian rouble was hit hard in December and this made the currency very weak against the US dollar, Euro and Sterling.  What I will say at this point is that I think this is part of Washington's game-plan to weaken Russia even further.  The US government has used Crimea and Ukraine as an excuse to get the international community to impose sanctions on Russia.  This is only part of their overall strategy. Yes, prices are going up, people are feeling gloomy about the economic situation in the country, and there are certain goods you can no longer buy in the shops.  But, I don't think the US will get its own way in the longer term.  Firstly, Putin will not back down on Crimea or 

Ukraine.  Also, many countries are feeling the effects of not doing so much trade with Russia; tourism included.  Hopefully, countries like Germany will see sense and drop their sanctions, and Obama will be left with egg on his face.  Also, trying to bully Russia just makes people even more contemptuous of the US government.  

My Upper-Intermediate English Class

Congratulations to my upper-intermediate English class who passed with flying colours in their final tests! They were such a pleasure to teach.  I'm going to miss the laughs and the giggles.  And I did laugh a lot during those 15 weeks.  So, thank you once again for being such fantastic students! 

With my students:  Nikolai, Kseniya, Anastasia, Kati, Valeria, Alexandria and Ekaterina

And now for something completely different:

Little Big:  one of the strangest bands from Russia

From Russia with love

We will push the button