From Russia with love...

Level 8 User Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 278

Not that I can find much here.

Currently rushing around Moscow, nearly got put in the can by some corrupt cops, got bashed by another car on the way from the airport, this may not be a good country to visit, I'll give the usual report IF I get out...

Must go.

Stephen

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

lol what on earth did u do to attract the attention of the cops in the first place?

Retroholic Joined: 23 Dec 2005 Posts: 3315

he had no cosack or AK stood out as a tourist then Wink

Level 8 User Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 278

Some little fat runt of a cop followed us across the Red square when he heard we were speaking English. They wanted a bribe for a supposed error in our visa. We would not give it to them, they called their mates, and they were going to call a car and bring us to the station.
One of our (Russian) friends then phoned a guy who is high up in the force and got him to speak to the runt.
They use a special police russian dialect, so the runt knew who he was speaking to. He was told to stop this bull**** and to let us go immediately.

Nice one. It is who you know in this country.

My friend's camera was stolen last night from a table in a resturant. After that we went to the 'Hungry Duck'... it was a bit mad, I don't think it was the best place to be, I had underestimated how crazy the Russians can get...

Site Subscriber Joined: 13 Oct 2004 Posts: 4722

ill make a note to never go then..

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

lol great stuff!

Level 8 User Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 278

The Red Square and the Kremlin are probably the most famous places in Russia. Surrounding this area is the tomb of Lenin and the state owned â€˜GUMâ€™ shopping centre.
The Red Square itself is completely cobbled, at one end there is St. Basilâ€™s cathedral (notable for its onion dome architecture and rich colours) and at the other end there is a red building, which I think is a museum of some sort.
We went into Leninâ€™s tomb, and low and behold there he was in a glass case, which must have been filed with some gas to preserve the body.
The â€˜GUMâ€™ shopping centre has some excellent architecture, and at each entrance there are Al Capone types, doing the door.

Photos: Around the Kremlin

As mentioned before, on the second night the cops stopped us whilst walking across the Red Square. At one stage we were shown a bogus law printed on paper. It related to registering the visa, I read it and explained to them how this did not apply, to which four cops laughed in my face. I asked them what they were laughing at, to which they did not reply. Scum. They were going to take us to the station and put us in a cage and take statements. As stated before, a few phone calls were then made. I later learned that the guy who helped us get rid of them was a very senior FSB (KGB) official. We briefly met him later in the week and personally thanked him for his help.

I should write a note about getting help and directions in Russia. If you get lost and panic easily do not ever go to Russia. For example, we were in the subway, or the street or wherever, we have a map, we ask a passer-by if they speak English, the reply come back â€“ â€˜Noâ€™! eh??? Either that or the shoulders are shrugged or no reaction at all. They donâ€™t care. They are ignorant people.
On saying that, any people that we did come into contact with that did speak English were normally very helpful, especially younger people. Contrast that to this country - certainly if someone that didnâ€™t speak my language that came up to me, obviously wanting help, I would definitely give it to them.
To expand our Russian vocabulary we asked the words for â€˜Help meâ€™. We were told the words, and also told that this is no use. That we would be far better learning the Russian for â€˜Free moneyâ€™ to get people to come overâ€¦

Photos: In the Kremlin

Kremlin
We bought tickets and went into the Kremlin for a look. There were several places to see, one of them was a little exhibition on clothes worn in past times. Upon entering the room a little lady started mouthing off in Russian and reaching out her arm. Knowing rightly she wants the tickets I reply â€“ â€œDo you speak English?â€. She fires a load of Russian back, and it was at this point we got annoyed with the whole thing (day 5). The Kremlin is a major tourist attraction in Russia, English is the most widely spoken language in the world, most tourists speak English, so why is someone who is working in such as place not even informed of the English word â€˜Ticketâ€™??? That is a reflection of how open Russia is in modern times.

Camera stolen
My friendâ€™s camera was lifted from a table in a restaurant. You would have thought it was a simple case of going to the cops to get a report for the insurance, but no no, this is Russia. The cops would not give a report as no violence had occurred, and the crime (if it happened at all) was not important enough to bother with. Try explaining that to the insurance companyâ€¦

Drunks on street
On two occasions we came across someone lying on the street. The first was just outside the Red Square (which we renamed â€˜Bull**** Squareâ€™ after our experience with the cops, and as the Russian for square is â€˜blau shitâ€™).
The drunk guy was on the pavement and a security man came out of a nearby building and out one foot on top of him. He then called his mate and took hold of the guy to drag him out of the way.
The second time another guy on the street was having spasms, and blood and salvia was coming out of his mouth, this time two shopkeepers came out and dragged the guy off the street and threw him in a corner.

Metro stations
The Metro stations are something else. Some of them are like palaces, with marble everywhere, carvings, and stained glass windows etc. Iâ€™ll let the pictures do the talking.

Photos: Metro and train stations

Traditional Russia cuisine
We had a traditional Russian meal with our friends. This consisted of crepes, salmon, some sort of fish, caviar, olives, stringy cheese, soup, mineral water, wine, vodka (40% and 96%!!!).
It was very tasty indeed, my friend tried some of the 96% stuffâ€¦ but apparently they do drink it but watered down 50% water 50% vodka.

On a note about food, another one of the menu translation mistakes â€“ We did take a photo but the camera walked out the door, so Iâ€™ll quote here, â€œSoup of the day â€“ Ask the cockâ€.

Mafia
The Russian Mafia are in control of many of Moscowâ€™s businesses. Every business must pay protection money to the Mafia, the Police, and to the Government. One place we were in was owned by one of the Mafia, so as a member, he did not have to pay Mafia tax.

Incidentally, the Moscow river is said to contain cars and bodies from people who met their end by stepping on too many toesâ€¦

Education system, Jobs
Bribery and corruption are commonplace. To pass any course on the education system bribes must be given. I asked if someone were to just write their name on the exam and leave, would they be able to pass and get a good mark upon bribing? They answer was yes.
Also if someone wants a handy government job where it puts them in a position to accept bribes, they must also bribe their way into that position.

Driving test
If someone wants to pass their driving test, they must sit the test 6-8 times or pay a big bribe to buy their licence. Even if they are perfect on each and every test, they still will fail, as the examiner wants as much money as possible. He may even ask the driver to stop at a certain place which is prohibited in order to fail the driver.
Incidentally people can legally start driving accompanied at the age of 14â€¦

Traffic cops
Same story with the traffic cops. They can pull someone over for doing a km/h over the speed limit, in a place that is prohibited park and so them for both offences. All they want is a bribe and in most cases that is what they get.

Cars
Moscow is quite a rich city, we saw many BMWs, Mercs, Audis, Porches, and big American cars, which did look quite out of place among the many Ladasâ€¦

Old Army jeeps
The Russian army seem to be running the same kit as they did back in WW2 â€“ old jeeps and trucks, shinning, very well maintained. The same vehicles were probably cleaned and serviced by their great grandfathers at one timeâ€¦

Lefortovo Tunnel
This is the tunnel which was made famous though the video clips of the crashes etc. Unfortunately we did not have time to see it in the flesh, although watching the traffic drive though the city centre at 60+mph at times, gave us a clue as to how it all happened.

Moscow news
We watched the news one night, now that was quite an eye opener.
Item 1 â€“ CCTV camera is overlooking a guy who has just got out of his car. The guy starts doing the chuga-chuga dance as a masked gunman runs up, while pumping the magazine of his Kalashnikov into him, the car and the passenger.
Item 2 - Some guyâ€™s son spends 24/7 in a computer gaming shop. The view switches to the in shop CCTV. The father storms in and proceeds to violently punch, kick, stamp, and generally assault his son for around a minute.
Item 3 â€“ A girl is shown in a cage in the police station (Probably similar to the one they were going to put us in). She is there because she was bullied at school and retaliated by killing the people that bullied her.
Item 4 â€“ Romania (It think), there is heavy flooding and the camera shows a Landrover driving at speed along the flooded road with a guy surfing with a wakeboard on towâ€¦

Belshoi Theatre
The main Belshoi theatre was being renovated, so they built a smaller one to keep them going. As it was sold out, we bought tickets on the black market and ended up getting odd seats. The whole opera was in Russian so I had to make up the storyline myself.

Russian women
I think in the West we are sold the misconception that Russian women are very beautiful etc. In all honestly the spread of talent is the same as anywhere else. The only difference being that I could see eye to eye with quite a few of them, and being 6â€™+ that doesnâ€™t happen oftenâ€¦

St Petersburg
On a whim, we took the sleeper train to St Petersburg, it cost around Â£30 return for a 1400 mile round trip. They were old soviet style trains, and for the true Russian experience we shared a cabin with two other Russians in economy class.
Looking out the window a few times during the night we were passing though wooded areas that still had a lot of snow on the ground. Talking to our Russian friends it seems that 2m of snow has been known to fall on the outskirts of Moscow.

There is a club or pub in St Petersburg that you can have the pleasure of burning to the ground for the fee of $1M. You may laugh, but the offer has already been takenâ€¦ twice. Crazy Russians.

St Petersburg is nice, the people there are almost as unhelpful as Moscow, but there is some really nice architecture to see.
The cops there actually helped us get refunds for a missed train, and (to my amusement) walked up to us and saluted, to say who they were and that they wanted to search us?. Upon hearing that we spoke no Russian they shrugged their shoulders and went on their way.

Photos: St Petersburg

In summary, I did not enjoy this country as much as any other Iâ€™ve been to. This is mostly down to the people. The cop thing in the Red Square was annoying, but there are good cops and bad cops in every country. But generally I think the people spoilt it, as most of them didnâ€™t seem to give a stuff about anyone else.

Photos: Various

Note: Having just returned home today from Sweden and Denmark, the contrast was startling. The people there are so helpful and friendly, people actually smile and are happy, they respond to lost tourist types and will do their best to help.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

never knew alan was in russia!

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/cancel/Russia/P1010312.JPG

good pics as always, so much for a country on its knees eh!

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

also top job!

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/cancel/Russia/P1010834.JPG

Level 10 User Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 575

interesting read, don't know if I'd want to visit there or not TBH.

Mr Quoter-vator Joined: 16 Feb 2004 Posts: 7405

Wow!

Thanks again for brilliant photos and review Stephen. I love it when you've been on holiday Very Happy

I would love to go to Russia for some reason...I just love the look and feel of the place, although of course I have only seen it in pictures and films, but I would just like to see what it is like...even seeing around the rough areas...but I wouldn't want to go without someone that is from there to show me around and keep me out of trouble.

Top pics...great buildings.

Level 8 User Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 278

Thanks for the comments.

I spotted the 19 on the way to the airport, it was the only one I saw the whole time I was there.
I see it says 'Europa' as the model?

Moscow was a bit like a European city with an unfriendly, corrupt element. Still worth a visit though, especially to see the inside of a Russian police station...
Really it's not that bad, but there are definately more interesting countries to go.
A guide would be useful, but not necessary in this country, as money will buy you out of every situation...

Site Subscriber Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Posts: 591

[IMG:1004:753:c8768ce05e]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c87/andrewjenkins/car.jpg[/img:c8768ce05e]
Didn't know you'd been to liverpool mate Laughing