Joseph Burke

Impressions of Modern Day Russia Part 3 Dispelling the many misconceptions about life in modern Russia

• September 30, 2003 •

(continued from the previous segment)

Russia is a fascinating cross between the turn of the 20th century, 50's, 70's and the new millennium. Since the Soviet Union was dissolved back in the early 90's, the younger generation of this vast country is rushing headlong into full tilt westernization. Yet the money isn't there (yet?) to upgrade the vast decaying infrastructure of this antiquated country. The government is clearly intent on upgrading some of the decay. Right now they are focused on important monuments, cathedrals and other national structures symbolizing the tradition and heritage of this one great country.

The Russians are a very proud people, and rightly so, but everywhere you look there are crumbling old buildings, shabby factories and dilapidated huge living structures that look like huge cream colored high rise apt buildings liberally tinged with rust, peeling paint and decay. Not every one, to be sure, but more common than not. Contrast this with glittering shopping malls filled with western merchandise pitching western fashions, music, food, and general merchandise of every sort.

Advertising is everywhere, like in America and around the cities, billboards abound pitching high end western goods like automobiles (BMW, Lexus, Audi, etc), fashionable clothing, perfume and of course Vodka. Goods are often advertised with a healthy dose of sexual innuendo and imagery. Looks like Madison Avenue has taken hold in the Russian economy, I guess.

I ate pretty well on the trip, and I'm happy to say I had no digestive problems at all. I was warned to drink only bottled water and drinks and I did so and was quite comfortable healthwise throughout my ten days in Russia. Well except for one episode with the Wodka! I also drank fountain soft drinks and hot tea and coffee and had no problems at all.

I only had a couple opportunities to savor the better examples of Russian cuisine. Food at the conference was certainly edible but it was mostly, well, conference food. My Russian developer friends were given to inexpensive fast food restaurants and cafes. But on two occasions in St Petersburg I treated my one Russian friend Konstantin to a nice dinner in a better restaurant. One one occasion I had stroganoff which was excellent, and on another pelmeni. a traditional Russian dish referred to on one menu as a sort of Russian ravioli. It looked more like a tortellini and was stuffed with a very tasty bits of venison and covered with a mushroom creme sauce. Mmmmm... highly recommended! The spot where I had the pelmeni was an intriguing spot called Russian Fishing where guests may walk out on the restaurant's cement docks and catch their own fish for dinner. I've never see that one before!

Fast food restaurants abound... McDonald's, Sbarro Pizza (looks like cbappo in Cyrillic characters), coffee house chains,etc. But these have only the food in common with their American counterparts. Most of them serve alcohol, especially beer and wine, and the atmosphere in the early evening resembles more a TGI Friday's bar scene than a pizza joint! Oh and TGI Friday's is also very popular over there. The places are brightly lit and colorful, with western music pounding out of expensive sound systems. The music is very interesting... Russian traditional music is rarely heard in public places unless some spectacle designed for tourists or historical purposes. The music in the malls and restaurants is all pop music, Russian and American almost exclusively. Both sound pretty much the same except the words are in one language or the other. But neither is like much of what is heard in the USA these days. Far from it.

Let me say that I have lost my stomach for most of what is played on the radio and television today in the American pop music genre. I listen to oldies Rock and Roll, contemporary country (which mostly resembles older style rockabilly) or jazz and classical music. Call me an old fogie perhaps, but this droning tasteless stuff they play today in the US leaves me cold. The music in Russia, by contrast sounds like disco music from the 70's. Your basic Beegees or Donna Summer style music. This was never my favorite era of music but it was always enjoyable and pleasant to listen to and can easily set your feet to tapping. Probably the most danceable music of the second half of the 20th century when music was still melodic.

Think Saturday Night Fever or Flashdance and you have the music of contemporary Russia. I can't decide if they are 20-30 years behind the US in musical taste, or leading the way for a revival of melodic music. Call me an optimist, but I am hoping for the latter. American music (if we can even call it that) seems to have sunk to the absolute depths of self indulgent anti-melodic pounding and droning delivered with either anger, despair or sexuality and very little talent or adherence to any traditional interpretation of musicality. My visit to Russia gave me hope.

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Joseph Burke
Editor-in-Chief
InfiniSource.com

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