A Russian Abroad: November 2016

Winter is very much upon us here and, while I sometimes have problems speaking after the lower half of my face has become numb from being in the cold for a minute too long, I still prefer cold and snow to the constant grey and rain that we have become used to in the UK. The white of the snow brightens everything up around it and the light of a morning winter sun is blindingly beautiful (and just blinding in some cases).

However, it seems that Moscow is far behind many other cities in Russia where temperatures have been around -15°c and less for over a month now. And the great distances between main Russian cities mean that one can easily forget that there is life in Russia outside Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Ekaterinburg. Take Krasnoyarsk, for example. In Krasnoyarsk Krai (a federal region equivalent in size to ten UK's), it is a 4½-hour flight from Moscow or, as my father made sure to inform me, an 82-hour drive from our house in England, yet still only half-way across Russia. As my mother reported back, after her trip, it is a charming place full of culture and history where people are blissfully ignorant of life in the capital, where the regional minister for culture is hoping to be the one to build the city's first McDonald's and where people will happily take a couple days off to drive the 806km (500 miles) to their nearest Ikea in the "neighbouring" (their word not mine) city of Novosibirsk.
I was also delighted to hear that they have recycling. Unfortunately not the same can be said for Moscow and St. Petersburg where a small group of twenty-somethings seems to be fighting a losing battle against a generation of Soviet Russians (including my grandfather) who don't understand that throwing something away doesn't mean that it just disappears into thin air... Currently my mother resorts to taking a suitcase full of recycling back to the UK with her every time she goes back.

On a recent trip to Tallinn, I felt the true effects of living in snow-bedevilled countries as my direct flight was cancelled due to an incoming snowstorm. I managed to convince the girl at the service desk to put me on a flight via Helsinki instead to make it in time for the evening's concert. [For my Canadian friends who were asking - Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and Helsinki is the capital of Finland, both in north-east Europe.]

Through the winter months, before take-off, every plane needs to be "de-iced". On first hearing that this was the cause for our 40-minute delay, I was quite unsure as to what exactly this entailed. As the plane turned towards the runway and I got a better view, I realised we were part of a long queue of planes all awaiting the same fate as two big trucks worked their way down the line, spraying every part of the planes with their magic solution - an experience that brought me back to the excitement of dad suggesting getting a car wash on the way home from the shops and sitting in the car as the unstoppable thunder of brushes came towards you (and always wondering what would happen if you open the window...even just a touch).

My connecting flight from Helsinki to Tallinn proved to be the ultimate Nordic experience. Sporting our thick winter coats and furry hoods, everyone resembled eskimos as we walked out to our small propeller plane*, trying to distinguish it from the surrounding blizzard. Admittedly, it was somewhat disconcerting not being able to see anything apart from a thick blanket of white for the whole journey and only realising you had arrived when you felt the plane touch-down at the other end. The bird-song playing in the toilets on arrival certainly helped to calm any excitement from the journey, if slightly off-putting as I generally prefer to go inside rather than out. It was interesting to compare the Russian and European airport security checks, i.e. anything goes vs. nothing goes. I got water and juice bottles through on the way there without even taking my liquids out of my bag and I was made to check my bag on the way back as almond and cashew butters have been known to be quite dangerous items to take on flights...

In Tallinn and, therefore, in Europe, I was caught off-guard by the number of Russians that seemed to surround me everywhere I went - I had left Moscow to have a break from them! The Soviet market we found with thousands of relics reflecting a different time and way of life reminds you that although Estonia has done its best to be "european" and "western", many Russians living there still hold on to their Russian roots and past as a strong part of their identity. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral** - the Russian orthodox church on top of the hill overlooking the city is a beautiful, poignant symbol of exactly that, and as I walked by I had strong memories of my mother taking my brother and I there as kids. I was pleasantly surprised by how small the city is with a maximum ten-minute walk to any location and not the minimum 45 minutes that I'm used to and so I made sure to use all this time I saved during the day to stock up on enough good food to keep me going till I'm home for Christmas. Russia still hasn't picked up on the freshly-cooked food and good quality fruit and vegetables trend unfortunately - well, that is affordable for a music student at least - so I have to rely on care packages from my lovely father and a few days away to stock up my reserves.

Another sign of good security and safety efficiency in Russia can be observed in the fire drill we had in academy one day. It reminded me of the musicians on the Titanic who refuse to leave the sinking ship and are determined to play right until the very end. My classmates were determined not to miss the beginning of our ear-training lesson and various percussionists and wind-players practising in the surrounding corridors were absolutely resolved in perfecting their dominant seventh arpeggios before even considering leaving the premises, all the while ignoring the announcement and fire alarm blaring from the speakers. It was a whole 20 minutes before a security guard came around to tell everyone to go outside asking, "Can't you hear the fire alarm?" and people started to slowly shuffle down the stairs gazing longingly at the last page of the Mozart sonata they didn't quite get to finish.

Hope you are looking forward to the holidays as much as I am,

Lots of love,

A xx

*this may or may not be the correct technical term

** For anyone interested in a very brief Russian history lesson: Alexander was a prominent prince who ruled over Novgorod (the location for the original Kremlin years before Moscow), Kiev and Vladimir during the mid-13th century. (For more info, please ask Google.)