Ok so Russia is huge. Like, needs to span 2 continents huge. Even, could be its own continent huge. And frankly, with the changes in less than a century from the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union to the Russian Federation…as a Tsarist, Bolshevik, Communist, and Socialistic Republic…Russia is a faraway land in many ways.
Until recently it has been too distant for reporters to reach quickly or at all to capture a glimpse (however media changes things) of the biggest country in the world. Conversely, many Russians never made it state-side to exchange their culture with the US. Most of what we heard of from the States was a rumored Russian mail-order bride program (which sounded a bit like the Nigerian prince sending you a check program).
Either way, the goal of our group The Exchange is to travel and get to know people and see what a place is like and just share ideas and thoughts and preconceptions, and maybe eliminate false perceptions.
So our trip to Moscow, the largest city in Europe (in the largest country in the world) seemed a bit daunting. How are we supposed to reach everybody there? Or anybody? Or are we so freaking different that it won’t matter? After all, a number of stories just started to bubble up about anti-gay acts, both legislative and vigilante; many states in our country are legalizing gay marriage and embracing that culture and we’re traveling to a place that the wrong walk or turn-of-phrase might get you in serious trouble.
Socially speaking: whether you believe being gay is a choice or the way you’re born, an abomination or a benefit, a curable disease or an enlightened state, a reason to get worked up or no big deal at all–violence is not the way to address the matter. I’ll respect you your opinion and the opportunity to think what you will. We all have different experiences in life to come to understand and believe what we do, so I can only say that if I were you, I’d feel exactly the way you do (naturally). But I am me, and…
Legally speaking I come from a divorced home with straight parents. Without making this an exposé, I know that no relationship is perfect and no marriage is either. Gay or straight, men or women, we all have our problems and do things for good and bad reasons–nobody is perfect! Marriage seems to work best when it’s based on love, and anyone who is in love will tell you that there is no rationale or way to explain love. You just know it. I cannot in good conscious (and even for the sake of academic/political/legal debate) allow rationale to be applied to an emotional decision.
Ok, thanks for the soapbox minute there. More about Moscow.
We took an early morning before the show to walk up to the Red Square and Kremlin. It’s one of the big tourism checks in my book and really gratifying to see up close. Some landmarks I’ve visited seem smaller in person or almost unimportant to the locals. See: the Mona Lisa and London Bridge. But the long approach over the Moskva/Moscow River, the slight curvature of the grounds like stylobate Greek curvature, the armed guards, the gravity of Lenin’s mausoleum, and even the breadth of Moscow itself around us: all made this place seem as big and important as I’ve imagined.
All of this aside, the one thing I’ll remember most is the truly foreign Ukrainian feast we had the night before the show. From pepper vodka to savory buns to pickled vegetables and mushrooms, it was a strange dinner capped off by a ceremonial shot of some horseradish flavored liquor to keep us warm on the walk home.
For now, sleep and next St. Petersburg.