Hey everyone! With half of our class time done in Moscow, we are in need of a week-long break without classes. Therefore, tomorrow morning we shall find ourselves on our way to Saint Petersburg for a full week of exploring and sight seeing. Like I said before, our program director has many exciting things planned for us this week (scavenger hunts, cultural tours, and group activities for a start) and the two days that we get to ourselves will also be jam-packed full of adventures around St. Petersburg. I wanted to give a quick summary of what we did this week and also what I myself know about St. Petersburg. I'm also going to attempt to add pictures into this to help make Russia more appealing than my descriptions can.
On Thursday, we took our group excursion to Park Pobedy, where the Museum of the Great Patriotic War is located. All I can say about this museum is that it is simply beautiful. In World War II, Russia lost more than 27 million people (soldiers and civilians) in order to survive the Nazi invasion and help the Allies win the war. To honor their dead, they created this amazing memorial on the 50th anniversary of ending the war so that the spirit of what they died for lives on. The US lost about 650,000, if I'm correct, which is 40x less than what Russia lost. So in all fairness, Russia's mourning shines through 40x more than our WWII memorials in Washington. I really can't describe it, it was absolutely stunning.
Inside the museum, you go downstairs to the Hall of Remembrance and Sorrow. Along the walls are record books which attempt to record the names of every single life lost from 1941-1945. On the ceiling are 2.6 million chains adorned with little, shining crystals which is meant to represent the tears Russia wept for their dead. At the end of the hall is a statue of Mother Russia cradling her dead son. It is a truly beautiful place, with such a solemn, yet peaceful, aura around it that it creates the most perfect environment to remember such a terrible tragedy. The emotions and feelings of what it is like to be here cannot be described adequately through photo or words.
Once you go upstairs and pass through the Hall of Commanders (where most of the museum's artifacts and war remnants are kept), you enter the Hall of Glory. In this hall, the names of the 11,800 people who were the recipients of the Hero of the Soviet Union distinction are featured on the wall. This was the highest award one could be given, and they were awarded it for their actions in war-time and their efforts to protect their country. In the center of the hall stands the Soldier of Victory, and on the walls are the Russian cities who were attacked during the war and still survive today. The room is a very imposing and tremendous memorial, and you can't help but be silent and respect the heroes of the Soviet era. The same also goes for the entire museum, which is one of the most fantastic mixes of art and emotion that you can ever hope to see.
What we saw today was a bit less dramatic than the War Museum, but it was still pretty neat anyways. We went to the Moscow City Mall (built underneath the new, modern economic skyscrapers that the city is constructing on its west side) and saw giant Matriochka pieces, which I have no clue as to how they got them in the building. We then got to explore around this neat, modernized mall with a cool color fountain as its centerpiece. While I did not buy any of the expensive clothes or souvenirs this place had to offer, three hours of walking around looking at things made me the most tired I've been on this trip. Good thing we have our train ride tomorrow.
Now, finally, I get to talk about St. Petersburg real quick and then prepare to start my week there. Founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, the city was, and is considered today, to be Russia's most Westernized city. Peter the Great himself actually took a lot of heat for designing the city as he temporarily moved Russia's capital to there and the older, powerful Russians didn't like that. So after assassination attempts and treason charges, Peter still got his city, but even today Russians don't seem to like him for it anyways. We were told that a statue of Peter the Great in Moscow (pictured here) that sits on the Moskva river is looked down upon by Muscovites and we were more than welcome to take it back to America with us if we wanted. Anyways, St. Petersburg grew regardless and today is a cultural icon in the world. Home to the Hermitage (which is the largest art museum in the world), it has over 220 museums for us to be overwhelmed by and throws about 100 city wide cultural festivals each year. Hopefully we came on a good week. I'm particularly excited to see the magnificent Church of the Savior on Blood which was built on the spot where Alexander the II was assassinated in 1881. Also, like I said last time, I'm excited to go to the Moika Palace where Rasputin was killed, even though the Wikipedia page says that a playground has been built on the square where he was tossed into the Moika river. Whatever, I'll play on it regardless. I cannot wait to see everything and take a ton of photos to share with everyone. We're all looking forward to what will surely be one of the best weeks of our lives. Hope everyone enjoyed this! Have a great week!
On Thursday, we took our group excursion to Park Pobedy, where the Museum of the Great Patriotic War is located. All I can say about this museum is that it is simply beautiful. In World War II, Russia lost more than 27 million people (soldiers and civilians) in order to survive the Nazi invasion and help the Allies win the war. To honor their dead, they created this amazing memorial on the 50th anniversary of ending the war so that the spirit of what they died for lives on. The US lost about 650,000, if I'm correct, which is 40x less than what Russia lost. So in all fairness, Russia's mourning shines through 40x more than our WWII memorials in Washington. I really can't describe it, it was absolutely stunning.
Inside the museum, you go downstairs to the Hall of Remembrance and Sorrow. Along the walls are record books which attempt to record the names of every single life lost from 1941-1945. On the ceiling are 2.6 million chains adorned with little, shining crystals which is meant to represent the tears Russia wept for their dead. At the end of the hall is a statue of Mother Russia cradling her dead son. It is a truly beautiful place, with such a solemn, yet peaceful, aura around it that it creates the most perfect environment to remember such a terrible tragedy. The emotions and feelings of what it is like to be here cannot be described adequately through photo or words.
Once you go upstairs and pass through the Hall of Commanders (where most of the museum's artifacts and war remnants are kept), you enter the Hall of Glory. In this hall, the names of the 11,800 people who were the recipients of the Hero of the Soviet Union distinction are featured on the wall. This was the highest award one could be given, and they were awarded it for their actions in war-time and their efforts to protect their country. In the center of the hall stands the Soldier of Victory, and on the walls are the Russian cities who were attacked during the war and still survive today. The room is a very imposing and tremendous memorial, and you can't help but be silent and respect the heroes of the Soviet era. The same also goes for the entire museum, which is one of the most fantastic mixes of art and emotion that you can ever hope to see.
What we saw today was a bit less dramatic than the War Museum, but it was still pretty neat anyways. We went to the Moscow City Mall (built underneath the new, modern economic skyscrapers that the city is constructing on its west side) and saw giant Matriochka pieces, which I have no clue as to how they got them in the building. We then got to explore around this neat, modernized mall with a cool color fountain as its centerpiece. While I did not buy any of the expensive clothes or souvenirs this place had to offer, three hours of walking around looking at things made me the most tired I've been on this trip. Good thing we have our train ride tomorrow.
Now, finally, I get to talk about St. Petersburg real quick and then prepare to start my week there. Founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, the city was, and is considered today, to be Russia's most Westernized city. Peter the Great himself actually took a lot of heat for designing the city as he temporarily moved Russia's capital to there and the older, powerful Russians didn't like that. So after assassination attempts and treason charges, Peter still got his city, but even today Russians don't seem to like him for it anyways. We were told that a statue of Peter the Great in Moscow (pictured here) that sits on the Moskva river is looked down upon by Muscovites and we were more than welcome to take it back to America with us if we wanted. Anyways, St. Petersburg grew regardless and today is a cultural icon in the world. Home to the Hermitage (which is the largest art museum in the world), it has over 220 museums for us to be overwhelmed by and throws about 100 city wide cultural festivals each year. Hopefully we came on a good week. I'm particularly excited to see the magnificent Church of the Savior on Blood which was built on the spot where Alexander the II was assassinated in 1881. Also, like I said last time, I'm excited to go to the Moika Palace where Rasputin was killed, even though the Wikipedia page says that a playground has been built on the square where he was tossed into the Moika river. Whatever, I'll play on it regardless. I cannot wait to see everything and take a ton of photos to share with everyone. We're all looking forward to what will surely be one of the best weeks of our lives. Hope everyone enjoyed this! Have a great week!
Hi Alex! hope you're having fun in Russia! i actually haven't read this yet but I will!!
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