Diary Travelogues | Eastern Europe | 1994 | September 11 to 15 | Part 5 – Russia

Hi Friends,

This is the fifth part of my 1994 travels through Eastern Europe: Poland - Belarus - Russia - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania - Poland.

If you are just coming on board, below is a link to earlier parts in this series on Eastern Europe 1994:
Part 1: Poland | Part 2: Poland | Part 3: Poland | Part 4: Belarus

If you'd like to switch to a different series of travel writings:
The Levant | 1996 | May 05 to May 08 | Part 1 – Egypt

If you have been following along from the beginning, welcome back 🔆

Thanks for reading
🚣

^{An overview of my travels between 28 August - 27 September, 1994. The red line is my route.}

Sunday, 11 September 1994 | 10.00 | near Moscow (Russia)

Here I am, in Russia. Apart from an uninquisitive hand poked into my backpack, nothing has indicated a border crossing that 4 or 5 years ago would be nigh on impossible, and probably dangerous!

It's all broken and kaput, very true! I could see forests and abandoned railway wagons and trucks, aged telephone wires, all decrepit like the platforms we flashed by – much more so than in Poland. Greater the power, greater the decline!

Had something of a life-threatening dream last night. No sensation of pain but I was being poked and pierced and tortured. I later put it together with what I had been thinking about coming to Moscow – dangerous city etc. I hope it's a result of that rather than a premonition. I'll be careful until I find my feet.

...later | 15.50 | Moscow

It's 15.50 according to the Kremlin clock. It's nice in the Kremlin grounds – can't be bothered going inside the buildings though. Keep hearing whistles and I was whistled at for walking on the road. You can only cross on the white lines! I won't try describing anything, it's all man-made after all, grand, majestic and I walked round part of the walls, letting the atmosphere build up. I'm leaving Red Square for later as there are lots of English voices and camera clicks (glad I no longer have one). The whole thing is really imposing though.

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At one of the entrances to the Kremlin grounds, the ticket collector tried charging me double i.e. 1000 Roubles (1 DM = 1400 Roubles). He then held on to my 5000 Rouble note. I refused to yield and he tried to make out that the money was his. He advanced threateningly but I walked off with my note saying “Police” (as if they'd help, or as if I'd even go to them). I bought a ticket for 500 Roubles from the other counter and toyed with the idea of using his entrance – but why provoke eh?

The train got in for 11 this morning. I went to buy a map but got a nice pocket dictionary instead and directions to the cheaper of the 2 hotels whose addresses I had. Found it to have closed down! A nice Russian couple in a tyre shop – the wife actually, phoned and located the other place. She was very elegant (35 ish) – lucky husband – and I enjoyed the drive to the hotel. She was in a hurry but took me all the same, zipping along the broad streets. She's a musician and has been to India. Expensive hotel - $15 USD, but apparently Moscow is Europe's most expensive city, and the world's 5th! More whistles, more beautiful women!

Ukraine seems out of the question – visa too much of a hassle and too expensive to obtain within the time available to me. I got in touch with Igor's¹ wife. He arrives back from France this evening and might phone. Be interesting to see him – 2 and a half years!

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...later | 17.15 | Red Square, Moscow

It's beautiful here, open and majestic! I'm on a little hillock just underneath the Kremlin walls. My earing² must make people wonder about my sexuality here. A man, who said he was Polish, just came and sat next to me and shook my hand. I offered him a cigarette. We talked a bit and he then offered himself to me sexually. I told him I wasn't interested. We talked for a few minutes before he left. No hard feelings, he was polite and subdued, excused himself and even thanked me! I'd hate to do it, but maybe I should remove my earing – I like Moscow but I'm not totally comfortable here and it seems to draw attention.

There are so many poor and destitute people here. This contrasts greatly with the tourists with their cameras and wads of cash, and the numerous very expensive cars to be seen all over town. Money turns people cold. In Moscow, where socialism is stamped everywhere, now they want only money. Horrific!
<sub>1. In early 1992 I studied French at the L'Alliance Française in Paris for a couple of months. Igor was one of my fellow students.
2. I had had my left ear pierced in 1992 and carried two earings I liked very much, both picked up in Egypt– one of the Key of Life, and the other of Nefertiti.</sub>

Tuesday, 13 September 1994 | 13.20 | Moscow (Russia)

Nothing much happened yesteday. I spent a while trying to get an extension on my Russian visa and realised it is going to be expensive. They charge you for every every single little thing. Perhaps this is usual in incipient capitalist states – money over the individual! Too tired at the moment to go into detail.

Anyhow I met an interesting Italian couple who had missed their flight because their stupid hotel had not returned their exit visa slips! As a result, they had to wait an extra two days, buy fresh tickets and pay $30 each for the exit visas. They had just arrived from China by train. Lots of people I have met are passing through on their way to or from the trans-Siberian express. I've given up on Ukraine, and might go right up North instead, to Murmansk on the White Sea and inside the Arctic Circle!

Went for a coffee with the Italians near Red Square and met a couple of drunk Russians who insisted on buying us whisky and cherry liquor. The Italians left shortly after that and we arranged to meet up at 9.30 in the evening. I met a sweet German girl from Jena called Martina. Talked for a couple of hours and she left after exchanging addresses. I phoned Igor and met up with him at 9pm. Felt guilty about ditching Max and Debbie, they were such a nice couple. Good to see Igor though and, our French having improved greatly since Paris, communication was very much easier than it had been when we were there.

Igor has some business setup here, importing food, beer etc. He's doing well for himself by any standards and I wondered how this would have affected him. We bought some beers and went round to his apartment where I met Irene, his beautiful and friendly wife who spoke excellent English. Stayed up until 3.30am talking and I slept on the sofa, intoxicated.

I'm tired just now. Woke up at 7am, had coffee and Igor gave me a lift to the Metro. Interesting Metro in Moscow – art for art's sake! Lots of ornate sculptures, designs and paintings in the stations along the way. I'm meeting Igor in his office at 3pm this afternoon. He was telling me about the state of the country last night, interesting.

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I like the city of Moscow very much but I'm not comfortable with the people in general. Interestingly, I have noticed many deaf groups and lots of silent conversations being conducted. Something sad, romantic and even noble about it and I wished I could understand – or would that be eavesdropping?

Now an example of the vast monetary gap that exists. I went into a supermarket only to find English books and Western goods, all marked in US Dollars. I bought a baguette for 1750 Roubles and a small tomato for 1900 Rubles. Everything at Western prices (or higher) and they accepted USD more readily than local currency. All the rich and pretentious went there and I felt ashamed when I walked out and was stared at by some of the 'ordinary' Russians, who were waiting to shop at the 'Russian' supermarket next door!

I also witnessed something unpleasant. I was thirsty and had stopped at a kiosk run by a couple of haggard-looking youths. There was a rough man with a cruel look about him, standing and drinking an expensive beer that I wouldn't have expected him to have bought. Scarred nose, dandruff in hair, dirty and mean. Behind him was a taller, well-dressed man with some $20 USD bills showing in his wallet, which he had in his hand. Standing to one side and talking to the youths was a third man, the mediator. He tapped on the window and gestured to one of them that he wanted a pack of Marlboro lights and a can of gin and tonic. I realised they must be the Mafia, extracting 'protection' money. As I walked away, I saw the sad-looking youths discussing a piece of paper. The harsh reality of the rule of power!

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I had to pay 105,000 ($45 USD) for foreigner registration and visa-extention until the 30th. Hopefully my last big expense – call it protection money!! This should be ready by Thursday evening and I could get an overnight train to St. Petersburg, where I'll perhaps feel more at ease. I've got around 700 DM left.

Off to Igor's office now.

...later | 23.45

Experience I suppose, more than anything else! I got off at the metro station and whilst looking around for Igor's office building, I was asked for my passport by a policeman. In retrospect I think I acted quite cooly overall. As I didn't have my passport, I showed him the receipt I had got from 'Intourist'¹ and followed him into the police cabin as he commanded me to. This was a good 25 km outside the center of Moscow, and the second last stop on one of the lines, called Domodedovskaya (Домодедовская). There were around 7 or 8 policeman in the cabin and I offered no resistance to their searching. The emptied my pockets, saw my map, dictionary and book in English. After keeping me a while, asking a questions and discussing amongst themselves, they finally let me go. One of them even gave me a slice of watermelon that they had probably taken off some poor seller. I'm certain that the one who searched my bag stole 20,000 Roubles, but at least they didn't get my £s or DMs, which were in the bag around my waist.

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I was met on the ground floor by Igor's twin brother, Oleg. At first I took it to be Igor himself. Oleg speaks Italian and the misunderstanding was soon cleared up with a laugh. Igor works with 5 others – 2 Georgians, Oleg, Dmitri and Nadia. Nadia is 24, married and speaks French. They have a two-room office and by 4pm, alcohol and food was brought in. By 6.30pm I was very drunk and smoking lots of cigs. Igor told me something of their business operations and said that he was waiting on a couple of lorries arriving from Belgium which had been delayed. They also reckoned that I had been stopped and taken in by the police because I looked like a Georgian²! Am going to be sleeping in the office.
<sub>1. The official 'agency' of the govt. that arranged Russian 'invitations' and visas. They had my passport at the time.
2. Russia was forcefully putting down insurgencies in Caucasia at the time.</sub>

Thursday, 15 September 1994 | 17.00 | train Moscow – St. Petersburg (Russia)

Due to leave at 17.18, getting in around 23.00. This comes about as a result of alternating dates, dejection, frustration, despair and, as usual in the end, acceptance.

I ended up spending until around 6pm at Igor's office, feeling very much at home by the end of it. The lorries turned up and I was asked to help out with unloading and loading heavy cartons of frozen chicken legs (20 kg each) from one lorry into another. Igor had bought these from the US and they were to be delivered somewhere down South. I did this for 2 and a half hours and had to overcome my vegetarian instincts! I got on well with Nadia, who was quite affectionate and elder-sisterly towards me. The consignment was 12 cartons short and a letter of complaint was written in Russian. Nadia, whose French is far from perfect, translated it into French and I had to make enough sense of it to be able to further translate it into English. I was paid 50,000 Rubles although I didn't want to accept any money from them. They said it was for helping with the loading and that it had been paid for by the buyer. I wasn't so sure, but it comes in handy and they do deal with such large quantities of cash – bundles and bundles of notes I saw on the tables!

Igor had to leave early to go and see his mother. I think I understand him a bit better. His shyness is a facade that conceals a smart mind which doesn't give much away. I said I'd go round today at 1-2 pm to say goodbye. I returned to the hotel and spluttered up an underserving $15 for a night I hadn't spent. I also met Rocky from Delhi. After squandering lots of money in his life, he is now thinking of nothing but earning as much as he can so he can do it all again! I didn't bother arguing that even if you do need money to live and travel, enjoyment doesn't come from staying in expensive hotels and spending lots and lots. I enjoy 'roughing it' – that's the essence of travel for me! Here in Russia, I've been ashamed at times when it's been obvious that I have more than most.

Now my plans for today had been to buy a ticket to St. Petersburg; to see if Dom¹ had sent me his address; to collect my passport and visa; to say goodbye to Igor and family; and then to leave on the overnight train.

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At the station I first tried buying a ticket from the Russian ticket counter, but of course being foreign they caught on and I was sent to the 'Intourist' counter, where I knew I'd probably end up! I was told I'd have to pay 51,000 Roubles for a ticket. Then a Syrian approached me and sold me his student-priced ticket for the 17.18 train, for 19,000 Rubles. I know Syrians to be honest – he looked honest, so I trusted him. He even gave me his phone number and offered to show me around. I bought it on an impulse and as a risk that might pay off after he had assured me that they wouldn't ask to see my student card, and that even if they did I could say that I had forgotten it. I had managed to prepare another excuse but as it hadn't been needed so far, I won't bother recording it. A short while ago when boarding the train, I was asked for my ticket at the door by the Conductress in uniform. She said something to me which I took to be my berth number, but I couldn't make it out. I didn't want to speak and betray my foreigness in case I got asked for a student card. Luckily she immediately put the ticket in a numbered pouch so I got a number. So far, nobody has claimed the berth from me.

But this afternoon I had to hurry. And there was no mail for me!

After the station it was off to old 'Intourist' to collect my passport and visa extension. It was 13.15 by then and I wasn't sure if my visa would be ready in time for the train, so when I saw it on the desk, I was thrilled. Not to be though, happiness is just an illusion! Apparently the Russian embassy in Warsaw had made a mistake when typing out my name and had corrected it. Where they had made the correction to my name, the type appeared to be darker than the rest. On the visa itself there was mention of a correction having been made. Although this fact was stated on the next page, it had not been stamped like my photo had been. As a result, I wasn't given an extension. They said I was to go along to the consulate myself, which, when I arrived all hot and bothered, wouldn't listen to me. It's not that they were unsympathetic, just the girl was unaware of what I needed (as was I at the time). She suggested I go somewhere else. I couldn't get her to understand and returned to Intourist, where the above was clearly revealed!

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They actually refunded me all my money – 105,000 Roubles. I realised it was the fault of the embassy in Warsaw and didn't argue or kick up a fuss when I saw their desire to wash their hands of the whole affair. Besides, one of the ladies was very nice (she even refunded my 'city-tax', which I had previously regarded as suspect). She had earlier offered to get the visa extension for me if I could procure that elusive stamp and signature.

So I'm leaving Москва́ unable to say bye to Igor (I tried phoning twice), with my visa expiring today and me holding a dodgy ticket. My hopes of going up North inside the Arctic Circle dashed against the hard head of beaurocracy. I was beginning to look forward to it. Now what? Risk staying in St. Petersburg for a couple of days, leaving the country a few days after my visa has expired, and with a visa that wouldn't stand a thorough inspection anyway and me unable to explain? Might try an Intourist office in St. Petersburg, or just head for the Baltic states. I do want at least one day in St. Petersburg, I've got Crime & Punishment² with me!
<sub>1. A friend from University in St. Andrews who was studying Russian, and was to have been in St. Petersburg.
2. Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The book I was reading at the time, set in the city of St. Petersburg.</sub>

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If you would like to carry on reading click here for Part 6

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