But I Wouldn't Want to Live There

I have an obsession with Russia. I think it's the most interesting place on earth. Probably part of its intrigue is its remoteness and distance from the United States (both in locale and in ideology). I love hearing stories about Russia on NPR. One of their best reporters, Anne Garrules, recently did a series of stories about "The New Russia" and the direction the country is taking. One story was about a young female celebrity with her own talk show promoting free speech, free markets and severely blasting the old-time Russian way of thinking. It seems to be yet another country who seems to be moving very quickly towards an American way of thinking, but then turns around and bombasts Americans and the way that thinking is taking over their country. It's probably generational arguing, between young people searching for a better way of life than their parents have or had, and older ones too bitter and soured by problems in the past to want to change anything now. There is such economic turmoil, which also goes along with the battle over doing things the old way versus the new.

There was an amazing article on Putin in a recent issue of Atlantic Monthly. It went over his history, how he got from point A to point B, and why he seems to think what he thinks. And how sometimes it's hard to tell WHAT he thinks and which way the country is headed. Russia seems to be such a grand expanse of land. I've always wondered if what its citizens in Moscow think is entirely different or the same from people living in the far reaches of the country.

I'm now trying to get through a book about the 10 years after Gorbachev called "Black Earth" by Andrew Meier. He's a reporter who, after living in Moscow for several years, began to wonder what ordinary Russians thought about what was going on in their country. He decided to venture to those far reaching places, well away from his comfort zone and into some really dangerous places. It is not an easy read. There are massacres of Chechens and mob hits on foreigners trying to "make Russia a better place" with Western type construction projects. But it's fascinating to learn more about this place that has played such an important role in our history - and still makes us nervous thinking about the future.

I would love to travel to Russia one day, especially to see St. Petersburg. But I'm not sure I feel that it would be safe to do so now. Maybe one day the country will be a more stable place to visit.

As an addendum to this post, I am thankful that the Russian sub crewmen were safely rescued. I'm glad the military authorities in Russia were much quicker to ask for help from other countries this time, because in doing so they avoided another tragedy like the Kursk submarine back in 2000. Thank God there was a happy ending this time.