Since my return from my recent travels, I've frequently been asked what Russia is really like. Knowing that it's impossible to answer such a query in just a few sentences and realizing that my week-long experience in two Russian cities hardly qualifies me to be providing a definitive response, I usually come back with, "Interesting. It's a very interesting place." Lame? Yes, but expedient and moreover, quite accurate.
One of the things that I found most interesting and a bit unexpected was the presence of many reminders of the Soviet days. While I realize it's been a mere fifteen years since the dissolution of the USSR, it was strange to discover a main street still bearing the name of Karl Marx, a giant statute of Lenin, and revolutionary building art in Chelyabinsk. The statue saluting the WWII tankers was easier to understand, but I found it odd that the architects of an evil system that oppressed millions would still be honored.
I didn't notice this as much in Moscow, although you could still find hints of the former worker's paradise here and there. I suppose it's not really practical (or desirable) to try to wipe out all traces of the Soviet period, but when I saw teenagers, who probably weren't even born before the collapse, sporting trendy nostalgic t-shirts bearing the USSR logo, it left me a little cold. There's much to be said for remembering the past as long you remember the way it truly was.
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