h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Things have been pretty hectic at work this week - 11 hour days have been the norm - and I haven't much felt like coming home and starting a journal entry. Today I have listened to TA Omnibus whilst ironing ( as usual) and that's it chorewise so time to catch up with the Baltic adventure.

Having seen the main sights ( briefly I admit ) on the first day I decided to get off the beaten track and indulge my interest in the political history of St Petersburg.

The day started with a visit to the Piskarev Memorial Cemetry. This is situated in the outskirts of the city and the drive there was an eye opener as I got to see the tenament blocks that are home to so many Russians. I knew that conditions during the cold war period were not good for your average Russian but they really are more depressing buildings than I had imagined and the best way I can describe them is to say they look like the very worst of British 1960s Tower Blocks only 10 times worse. I certainly would not want to live in one of these things and it's not long since 2 or 3 families lived in each flat. I did, however, see a number of post-Glasnost developments and these look infinately better.

The cemetry is a memorial to those whose perished, mostly from starvation or cold, during the 1941-1944 Seige of Leningrad which lasted almost 900 Days. There are about 650,000 people buried in the cemetry's graves - each of which contains about 1,000 bodies. It struck me that there are British people who are still trying desperately to trace the grave of a loved one who perished in WWII because they need "closure" ( I wish them all luck with their search ) - now I was standing in the presence of almost three-quarters of a million lost souls who would be forever "unknown". A very humbling experience.

On to the Museum of The Seige of Lenigrad. A few words here can't do justice to what the people of Lenigrad went through whilst Hitler tried to break them but a couple of things stand out to me. The early months of 1942 saw temperatures of minus 54 degrees - how anyone survived that whilst having little or no food or heating materials is beyond my comprehension. Almost 1 million people didn't of course. Bread ( not that we would recognise it as such ) was rationed to 250 gram per day for workers and half that for others. There are stories of people boiling up leather briefcases to extract what nourishment they could.
Yet the citizens were busy disguising all the beautiful buildings so that the German guns couldn't be trained on them and the contents of the Hermitage were either hidden away or smuggled out of the city. Amazing.

I skipped lunch - now there's willpower for you !

In the afternoon I visited the Smolny Institute and Kshesinskaya Mansion as both of these played important parts in the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The Smolny, former Girls Finishing School and Bolshevik HQ, is now the offices of the Mayor and tourists ( by appointment only ) are accompanied by a Russian Soldier - shades of the Cold War. After passing through a number of very long and high corridors, remarkable only for any lack of decoration which I couldn't see Ken Livingston putting up with, I arrived at Lenin's Apartments. In fact 2 very small rooms in which Lenin and his wife lived during the very early days of post-Revolutionary Soviet Russia. Remarkable for the simplicity. The Kshesinskaya Mansion is now the Museum of Political History and the very enthusiastic Curator ( speaking through a translator ) will long live in my memory for his very animated presentation skills. The interior of the Mansion has been restored to its pre-Revolution splendour ( when it was home to the prima ballerina who was once Mistress to the last Tsar) and there is an obvious contrast with the many political exhibitions it contains. The "must see" is the balcony from which Lenin gave his famous speech in April 1917 and which appears on so many posters.

Another very full day every second of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have now walked in Lenin's footsteps - I can't believe it really.

Another healthy evening meal in good company. Went to the pictures - saw Hotel Rwanda - continuation of the political history theme. The ship's theatre/cinema has (I guess) 200 seats and there were about 20 people at the film. Why oh why then did the 2 people who wanted to talk all the way through seat themselves right behind me ? ... and why oh why didn't I move elsewhere. These things will forever be a mystery.

Tomorrow - Tallinn.

Sounds amazing Polly - if you don't mind me asking, how did your interest in Russian political history start? I would also love to go to St Petersburg, but have very hazy ideas of the history.

I have, however, visited Trotsky's house in Mexico City, and was reminded of that by your description of Lenin's apartment. I have a photo of myself standing outside a modest-looking shed in the backyard, next to a sign labelling it as 'Trotsky's garage', which rather amused me.

annie, I don't mind you asking at all. It's definately an interest and not a passion which (I think) started when I saw Dr Zhivago and wanted to know a bit more about what actually went on at the time. The fact that I was quite keen on Tom Courtney at the time and that he played Pasha had something to do with it as well.

How different would the 20th Century have turned out if Lenin hadn't died at 53 ( was he pushed or did he fall ?) and Stalin taken over I wonder.

Ah yes, Dr Zhivago ... mmm!

I really admire people who make the time to pursue interests like this. Occasionally we read books in my book group that make me aware of big gaps in my background knowledge, and I always think "I'd like to read more about that period in history/artist/country/etc" but rarely find the time to do it!