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Russia - Saint Petersburg October 2007 - Russian Tour
Russia has always been interesting to me, as a product of western decadence I've always wondered about the huge scale of the place, the political systems, the famous Lenin, Stalin and the Bolshevics. And then there was WWII, a country whose determination, size and winter that turned back Hitler, the country that sent the first satellite into space, the first probe to the moon, whose music eclipses that of most of europes.
Since Iraq it is also painfully obvious how western politicians lie and cheat to their electors, and how much of a sham the 'democratic' process is. In Saint Petersburg the average person on the street actually likes Putin. Lets face it, he is a young, clever and powerful leader of a country with it's own energy supply and enough force to defend it. China, the modern oil fired manufacturing power may seem to be in the economic driving seat now, but let me tell you - Russia has got a very bright future indeed.
Saint Petersburg was called Leningrad for a while, and for many people the place has a great charm. For me it was an interesting revelation of soviet prowess. Firstly the buildings - imagine the best buildings in london all gathered together. Then clean them so it looks like they were built only yesterday. Then put them everywhere, with majestic views over the River Neva (Heba) and the architectural, breathtaking scene is set. Add wide roads and wide, ruler flat solid stone pavements up to 20 foot wide and you begin to get the scale of the city.
Big. Majestic. Grand. Impressive. Oh yes. Go to Vienna and all the buildings are black. Go to Saint Petersburg and there are clean stone, from roof to floor, and there are more of them, and they look better.
The St. Petersburg Times
Also there was this very cool WWII Submarine
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