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Are you familiar with that sinking feeling? You reel off another Russian word-salad to your Muscovite friend with the enthusiasm of a junior presenting his half-baked school science project. Then, after a pause, said friend stares blankly back at you and with perfect diction,...

Here in the final part of Alien Visitors, there are a few more observations and encounters to relate and then we’re done. Zero crossing I didn’t understand why folk clustered around St.Petersburg’s pedestrian crossings with such an air of deference, waiting for the numbered...

Travelling to Russia Last week we took a look at our place within a strange land, visiting Russia and walking as interloping aliens amongst the locals. Let’s examine a few more points of interest. Euro-friendly The observations here are based largely upon two factors:...

Visiting Russia and meeting locals At some point during the planning stages of our Russian trip, the question of ‘getting along’ with the locals will arise. Just what will they think of us? The nature of our impending reception is especially mysterious if we have never met any of...

Iconic Russian Izba We’ll finish our short series on the iconic Russian Izba with a look beyond its physical presence into traditions and associated beliefs connected to an ancient, Pagan past. There’s much more than the immediate wood construction to consider. Location,...

Izba cabin layouts Last week we started an examination of the archetypal Russian log cabin/house: the Izba a form that can still be found in some rural locations today, albeit modified and modernised according to the taste and needs of individual owners. Although in its simplest...

Ancient Russian log-housing is traceable back to one fundamental format, the Izba, also known to a lesser degree as the Stopa. It’s the single-room log-cabin design from which subsequent expansions and advancements were made. The design can be traced back to the 10th Century and...

In this third and final part of Siege Fatigue we will examine more of the privations suffered by the embattled residents of Leningrad, plus a few merciful rays of light and hope. Atrocity Perspectives Although the ghastly phenomenon of cannibalism existed during the siege of...

Last week we ended with some harrowing statistics associated with the Siege of Leningrad. The enormity of 1,500,000 deaths is too big to comprehend in any meaningful sense. Too large for our minds to process in terms of quantifying the evil, the loss, the grief and their ripples...

I remember standing in front of the famous Astoria hotel in St.Petersburg, just a stone’s throw from St. Isaac’s cathedral. Unaware of its significance, my guide explained its intended role if another version of history had played out. We had just emerged from a side...