Notes About the Underground

Without a doubt, things have changed on the Russian trains; subway, intercity, and long-distance. The metros of St. Petersburg and Moscow were always something special, beautifully decorated with nearly every stop having its own personality. Of course, it helped that some of the gold and chandelier-filled stations of Russia’s two largest cities were ‘curated’ by the Soviets, who ransacked Orthodox churches before blowing them up. But it seems like the lethargy of the 1970s-1990s gave way to an explosion of metro building throughout the 2000’s. Not only do the trains run more frequently, but the stations are artfully constructed and easy for foreigners to navigate.

Revolutionary Glory remains in St. Petersburg Metro stations

What surprised me the most when I first stepped on to the Moskovskaya metro station in St. Petersburg, was the x-ray machines and metal detectors. Since the terrorist attacks in April 2017, all train stations in at least Moscow and St. Petersburg have been equipped with tighter security methods. In addition to the machines, there are cops everywhere; some of them heavily armed. I was wondering how they could check so many people heading into and out of the subways. I’m still not sure how well the system works as people’s pockets and bags are filled with metal, electronic devices, and plastics. Sometimes I was made to put my bags through the x-ray machines and other times I didn’t. I couldn’t quite decide on if there was some sort of regulation or formula as it all seemed so random. The workers who were checking the x-ray machines looked as bored as the people who do a similar job at the airports.

Once you pass through the security upstairs, you slowly (and I mean slowly) descend the multitude of escalators and reach the last bit of safety equipment - the blast doors. They are just as they are described, two heavy metal doors that separate riders from the tracks. Therefore, you have to listen for the sound of the train arriving or an announcement from the intercom person to know that your ride has arrived. The doors loudly slide open to allow passengers off before you can get on. Again, I question the wisdom of these blast doors. On the one hand, they look like they can contain damage from a substantial blast. That’s the good news. Then there is the bad news; what happens if a bomb goes off and you are on the train? How will you get out? I’m assuming there is a set of safety procedures but I could not see them posted anywhere, at least in English.

Beyond the Stalinist feel (what other feel would there be in Russia, Putinist, perhaps?) of the safety measures, riding the metros were a joy. It was especially joyful after hearing about all the problems with the NYC transit system which has been in the news recently. Unlike New York, both St. Petersburg and Moscow stations seem large enough to hold a growing population. The Moscow stations were particularly overwhelmed with locals and tourists alike but it seemed that everyone was able to find where they were going to with enough space to move. In Moscow there are at least ten lines but you can easily follow the maps which are in every station in Cyrillic and English. There are also signs on the ground pointing commuters in the right direction. This was particularly helpful in Moscow as the size of the system was almost overwhelming the first time. I’m unsure of how many lines were added over the years but it was definitely a more comprehensive system. There are now two ring lines that allow commuters to connect to other lines without having to head back into the city. It makes traveling easier for the time-strapped tourist and the busy Muscovite alike.

Fully-rounded view of the Moscow Metro

Finally, the décor! I could go on forever (wait, let me try…) about the beauty of the design and the layout of the St. Petersburg and Moscow metro stops but that would require months (years?) of traveling the lines to get my facts straight. It is hard to put into words the amount of decorations, mosaics, statues, etc. metro riders walk by every day. I often wonder how many of them take the time to actually look at what is around them. Or are they like New Yorkers, heads buried in phones or eyes on the ground? How one could not be amazed is beyond me. St. Petersburg, for all accounts, is not quite as fancy as Moscow. You can still much Socialist Realist art on the walls. In Moscow you can also find heavy duty Soviet stations like Ploshchad Revolyutsii as well as some of the newer, less political stations. I was in one, Novoslobodskaya that was filled with mosaics and stained glass. I didn’t have time to see who or what was represented. But the station I was near, was easy to figure out, “Dostoyevskakay”. Built in 2010, this was full out Russian author with stone murals of some of his most famous works. There is one whole panel dedicated to Crime and Punishment and another to Fathers and Sons. On the way out the door (or on the way in) there is large mural of ole’ Fyodor himself.

Stained Glass at Novoslobodskay

Lenin Speaks!

How many more stations like this exist, I am unsure. It seems that the powers (power?) that be set out to create a transit system that was both practical and artistic. I am assuming there are train delays and other distractions but I often wonder why we cannot make our transit systems run this well. At rush hour, trains come barreling into the stations every one or two minutes. In New York them come every, what, six minutes? I also think the themed stations do so much for the commute as well. To a lesser degree, New York City stations are themed but not to this level. Imagine making your transportation system into a living museum, rather than a slimy Petri dish?

For the Love of (St.) Pete(rsburg)!

I was told years ago that if you threw a kopeck into the Neva River and made a wish to return, you would someday do so. I think I threw my kopeck, complete with visage of Comrade Lenin, into the Neva on a cold November day in 1992. I wasn’t sure if I would ever, indeed, return but I thought I’d set the wheel of fate in motion. Apparently, the story is true as I began my Trans-Siberian adventure in St. Petersburg on August ninetieth.

Palace Square and Winter Palace

Fortunately, St. Petersburg has changed…and it hasn’t. I think I was struck by the good mood and the smiling faces. After all, I had only seen Russia in the fall and the winter when a dour face met me on every street corner. I was also amazed at the amount of tourist groups walking around the city, invariably led by a person carrying a tiny flag that identified the nationality of the group. Before, I felt like foreign visitors were few and far between. I was also impressed by the amount of restaurants and coffee shops. As I have previously stated, back in the goodle days, most restaurants/cafes were Soviet-type affairs with substandard (to say the least) service. Now I’m helped by waitresses/waiters with smiles on their faces and a willingness to help understand the menu. I also found that the metro had been greatly improved. There were newer trains along with the old Soviet standards. Connections were easy, payment understandable, and the stations themselves were often decorated with murals and statues. The only frightening parts were the blast doors at many of the stations as well as the metal detectors at all stations. These are the result of the terror attacks not so many years ago.

When you have only two and a half days to see one of the greatest cities in the world, the inclination is to do as much as possible. That proved to be a bit shortsighted as you really need to take your time and build in meal and rest breaks. I learned this the first day when I went tramping throughout the city, trying to hit as many hot spots as possible. I walked from my hotel past the Peter and Paul Fortress over the bridge and all the way to Nevskyi Prospect. I was so intent on taking pictures that I didn’t stop to rest for at least three hours. True, I got to see Palace Square, the Hermitage, churches, but I was so worn down that I had less energy on Day Two. Instead of going to the Hermitage, the Bolshoi Ballet, and the Peter and Paul Fortress, I mainly stuck to the Fortress.

Peter and Paul Fortress from Across Neva

Closer view of Peter and Paul Fortress

The Peter and Paul (no Mary) Fortress is located on Zayachy (rabbit) Island and is the place where Petersburg began to grow. It was a military bastion as well as the burial place for a great number of the Czars. As a student of history, I was looking forward to this visit most of all. I tried to get there early but I was so worn out from my previous day’s jaunt that I was at the gate by 1100. And that’s when I saw them…the hordes and hordes of tourist groups. This was my first real interaction with them and it was not much fun. I realize that it’s difficult to be an individual traveler when everyone seems to be with a family or a tour group, or tour groups full of families. The camera and phones are in the air and no one seems to be looking where they are going. It was particularly fun inside the main church were the remains of the czars rest. I was trying to read the information plaques and snap a few discreet shots but I was constantly dodging the hordes. I guess that was a small price to pay as I got to see the graves of Catherine the Great, Peter the Great, assassinated Alexander III, and best of all, the last czar, Nicholas II and most of his family. After finding my way out of the church I made my way over to the prison. At one time the place was filled with revolutionaries who were looking to overthrow the Romanovs. Other than say, the Decembrists (not the band), I hadn’t heard of half of these groups. It was interesting to see the cells of Lenin’s brother (who died in the prison, I think) and Maxim Gorky who was briefly imprisoned here. And it wasn’t only the czars who used this place, the Soviets took full advantage of it as well; albeit, for a shorter amount of time. They are still finding the remains of former tsarist officials buried in the yard. 

Grave of Czar Peter - Who's Great Now?

Grave Alexander III

After four hours of walking around the fortress, I planned to eat and hit the next spot. But lunch ended up being a banana back at the hotel and a two-hour nap. At that point, I knew that any ideas of doing more touring were out the window. I had even planned on doing a run down by the Neva – Negative! I was able to rally and get some dinner. I also took some time to take exterior shots of the Church of the Resurrection, more commonly known as Church on the Spilled Blood. The church was built on the spot where Czar Alexander III was assassinated in 1881. I was excited that I was getting some great shots when the rain came pouring down. That pretty much was the end of my day but I felt like I had accomplished quite a bit in less than ten hours.

                                                                                            

Russia - The Return

The last time I was in Russia was in 1992. I had just finished college; although, I had previously taken a two-week trip to the then Soviet Union in 1990. It was obviously very Soviet back then. I remember the greyness, the sameness, the unsmiling faces. As for entertainment, restaurants and attractions were few and far between. I remember feeling quite fascinated with the whole experience, yet I also felt vaguely threatened; I never knew if something terrible was going to happen. Yet, despite all this, the place had a certain charm…a Stalin/Brezhnev kind of charm. The buildings had not changed in years, the streets were uneven and pockmarked, and you never knew what the prices would be the next day. I knew that I would not see a place like this again in my life. And if I ever came back, I didn’t expect much of a change. How wrong I was…

The Russia I see now is considerably changed. First, Moscow and Petersburg are much more tourist friendly. When I (briefly) went to Red Square this week, the place was mobbed with tour groups. In fact, the metro was constantly overwhelmed with tourists of all nationalities, shapes, and sizes. I popped off a train at Revolution Sq. (filled with Soviet revolutionary statues) only to be confronted by at least fifty Japanese tourists snapping pics. There was literally nowhere to move, so I bobbed and weaved my way out the door. This would never have been the case in the 1990s. There are also more museums and tours to take. If you want to go along the Neva River in St. Petersburg there are various boat companies hawking their wares. You can do the same along the Moscow River as well. And then there are the restaurants. In the 1990s, I was lucky to find a stolovaya (cafeteria) that sold halfway decent food. If I wanted something fancier, like a Georgian restaurant, I would have to head way out of the center of the city…only to find the place was closed for “repairs”. Today, there are no such problems. Restaurants fill the streets of both Petersburg and Moscow so the only problem is making a choice of where to eat. And best of all, I no longer feel the menace, the dread that I did twenty-five years ago. I feel like I can travel the subways and the streets and be relatively safe.

Pete & Paul Fortress from across the Neva

Another view on a cloudy day

What will I see during my trip across the country is anybody’s guess. I’m thinking that outside of the main metropolises I will find more of the old ways. Will these old ways be Russian or Soviet, I don’t know. But I do hope I find things a little less slick and polished that I did in Moscow and St. Petersburg. While I do not want to go back to the mood of 1992, it would be nice to feel some of the quaintness that I did before. Before I felt like a pioneer while today I feel like I am just one of many exploring the Russian lands. 

One of the Stalinist Seven Sisters

Old Soviet hotel