I Feel Good

Since the news has been filled with so much sadness lately, I will try to make sure that this is a happy post and does not dwell on anything too depressing. I will stick with art, although that is not always the best way to avoid disturbing topics either. On Saturday I made it to Viktor Vasnetsov's house/museum but unfortunately I could not take any pictures of the inside. I thought I could sneak a few but a museum worker followed me around the entire time - maybe she was suspicious. I guess it is only fair since they charged me the student rate instead of the rate for foreigners.

I also made it to VDNKh or the Exhibition of the Achievements of the National Economy, which sounds very dull but is actually a very lively place. Think of it as a socialist Epcot Center (without the ridiculous ticket prices, expensive rides, and expensive cafes) with different areas dedicated to different nations/cultures. Or maybe we should think of Epcot as the capitalist version of VDNKh since the Soviet park was begun in 1935. There are pavilions dedicated to Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Karelia, etc., etc. Most of the pavilions are now filled with people selling everything from electronics to leather goods. Kind of a mini-mall setup.

The pavilions are pretty, especially the Ukrainian one, but the real draw of the park is the giant fountain. The center is a bushel of wheat, naturally, and it is surrounded by women in various national costumes, representing the different cultures of the Soviet Union. It is all very socialist realist, but also quite lovely. The whole thing is kind of strange from a post-socialist perspective though - a giant theme park with roller coasters and go-carts next to it, and speakers blaring James Brown's "I Feel Good" just beside the fountain. And to get to the fountain you have to walk past a statue of Lenin who is holding his hand in such a way that it appears he is showing you the way to the rides. Vladimir Lenin - theme park guide extraordinaire! I thought it was very funny, however I think most Muscovites are so used to it that they don't pay any attention to it or notice the paradox.

Today I wandered down to the Art Park, which is close to the river and has some of the most interesting statues I have ever seen. Some of them are pretty whimsical and others are very serious. The arrangement of the Stalin monument in front of statues and works representing victims of repression is extremely moving - especially for someone who wrote her master's thesis on labor camps. But just across the way is a collection of statues representing characters from different fairy tales, and then there is the juxtaposition of Pushkin and a group of naked, very round-hipped women.

notice the people in the fountain - it is very, very hot here!