There is a myth at home that everybody in Russia is trying to get out. Let me assure you that in this city of five million, people are content. City life is vibrant and like at home there are more corner coffee shops than there are corners. In fact, others are trying to get into Russia. Truckloads of immigrants from Azerbhaijan, Uzbekhistan, Moldavia and the other former Soviet republics arrive weekly. Russia is their haven as they already speak the language, the ruble has some value internationally and they are happy just for the chance to stay here and do the dirty work that many Russians won't do. Another myth busted and I've only just arrived!
Do you remember the joke about the woman who gets into a queue at a Soviet-era store, asks the lady in front what they are in line for, and receives the response, "I don't know, but the line was so long that I thought it must be for something good!" Old traditions don't die easily... all over town people line up for two things: MacDonald's and public toilets. I wonder half-jokingly if the line-ups at MacDonald's are for their restrooms. If you were thinking of coming over here to start up a business, I can recommend two sure-fire options.
I was surprised how many people, both men and women, are drinking beer in public while walking in the streets, standing on a corner, or sitting on a bench. You can even buy beer in the same 1.5-liter plastic bottles that is normally reserved for water, except that the water is more expensive. It occurred to me that with all this beer being consumed openly, the need for public toilets becomes obvious.
Do you remember reading about Peter the Great in high school? Most people here are fiercely proud of him. In case you've forgotten he built this city from scratch! I'll give you some background. He had a couple of hot girlfriends in Holland and spent a lot of time chilling there. The canals of Amsterdam really impressed him, so he launched a decades-long construction project using the mighty Neva river as a source of water to fill the planned canals of his new city. He decided to name his city Peter the Greatburg, but somehow it never stuck. His new city however became Russia's first port and remains its most beautiful, with wide, clean streets, an underground metro and European-style architecture clearly evident throughout the burg.
The current global economic crisis has not left Russia unscathed. While reading the popular, free daily newspaper, Metro, I learned that there are 400 one-factory towns in this country. Many of these factories have closed down, effectively rendering entire communities unemployed. What's worse is that in some cases the workers had been unpaid for several months beforehand. Now some towns are demonstrating or striking. A local boy who made it good, Vladimir Putin, has jumped into the fray, arriving in one such town by helicopter and forcing the factory owner to sign cheques for all back wages and re-open the plant. Apparently Putin has more clout than the Russian courts. The factory owner was seen on television holding his head in shame for the hardship he had caused.
Maybe Putin had it right... How to end the economic crisis? Force business owners to re-open shuttered plants, pay its employees fairly and sell its products any way it can!
Here's hoping there's no crisis in your life and I wish you well from the land of white nights.
Barrychka
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