Could you make Russian tourism less viable than it is already? Well, St. Petersburg’s Mayor, Valentina Matvienko, has just thought of something. A new tourist tax.

While the amount may appear small, it comes on top of increased visa price hikes and hassle and against a background of crisis. Any Laffer curve analysis would show the [...]]]>

Could you make Russian tourism less viable than it is already? Well, St. Petersburg’s Mayor, Valentina Matvienko, has just thought of something. A new tourist tax.

While the amount may appear small, it comes on top of increased visa price hikes and hassle and against a background of crisis. Any Laffer curve analysis would show the tipping point for tourist budgets was reached a while ago. Ms. Matvienko had only to read her own city’s newspaper last April:

‘The city, which claims 80 percent of the country’s tourists, expects a 30 percent drop in foreign tourists and a 10 percent to 15 percent drop in Russian tourists this summer’, said Mariana Ordzhonikidze, head of St. Petersburg’s tourism department.

‘We are all very troubled and discouraged,’ Ordzhonikidze said. A lot of people in St Petersburg will be troubled by the idea too. Tourism employs 18% of the city’s workforce.

In the meantime, Mr Medvedev has come up with another bright idea. Forget foreigners and encourage Russians to holiday at home. The Federal Tourist board is now subsidising flights for cash-strapped Russians – retirees and people under 23. Just one snag, though. This group comes up against exactly the same problem as foreigners who take a cheap flight to St. P.  The destination isn’t cheap.

Vladimir Gusev, director of the State Russian Museum, nails it.

‘Tourism is hardly thriving in a city, which is infamous for its high prices,’ Gusev said. ‘There is a shortage of mid-range hotels and affordable places to eat, especially in the historic centre.’  He expressed doubts about Valentina’s initiative. The tax will work against the city, it will be viewed as yet another piece of bad news from Russia.’

Ms Matvienko was recently listed by Forbes as one of the world’s most powerful women. Marketing, however, doesn’t appear to be one of her strong suits.

Speaking of Russo-French relations, one of the closest and most enduring was between Turgenev and Pauline Viardot. It lasted over twenty years and only death parted them.

Pauline was the wife Turgenev never had – never because she was already married to Louis Viardot. But, not a problem. Turgenev also became Louis’ best friend, even buying [...]]]>

Speaking of Russo-French relations, one of the closest and most enduring was between Turgenev and Pauline Viardot. It lasted over twenty years and only death parted them.

Pauline was the wife Turgenev never had – never because she was already married to Louis Viardot. But, not a problem. Turgenev also became Louis’ best friend, even buying him a handsome villa on the banks of the Seine at Bougival.

Here the three all shared the same passions: music, literature and human rights. Turgenev had been a force in the abolition of serfdom, while Louis’ republican politics brought him into conflict with Napoleon. The three were obliged to spend several years in exile in Baden Baden, in another villa supplied by Turgenev. When war broke out, they simply moved to London.

Pauline was a celebs celeb. Opera singer, concert pianist and composer, she socialised with Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Gounod and entertained Prussian royalty. Turgenev supplied the libretto for her own works. Together they were words and music.

At Bougival, Turgenev built himself a dacha in the gardens of the Villa Viardot and it was here that he spent his last days. In a curious twist of fate, Pauline lost both her ‘husbands’ in the same year. Louis had died a few months earlier.

In 1983 the dacha was restored and transformed into a museum by L’association des amis d’Ivan Tourguéniev.  The wonderful location, however, means it has to continually fight off the attentions of property developers. Currently, it is a musée en danger and would appreciate your support.

The statue of Turgenev above is in St. Petersburg’s Italian Square.

Louise writes to Michel in 1910. She sends a fond greeting and a picture of the Troitsky Bridge. She has just been visiting the Hermitage . .  the Manege.

Troitsky bridge was built at the height of the very cordiale entente between Russia and France. A little known fact: this could have been the Eiffel Bridge [...]]]>

Louise writes to Michel in 1910. She sends a fond greeting and a picture of the Troitsky Bridge. She has just been visiting the Hermitage . .  the Manege.

Troitsky bridge was built at the height of the very cordiale entente between Russia and France. A little known fact: this could have been the Eiffel Bridge – as famous as the tower. Auguste Gustave Eiffel won the 6,000 rouble prize from Nicholas II for the design in a competition. But the French firm of Batinol had a better idea, using metal and stressed arches, and upstaged the famous constructor.

This is the bridge tourists usually leg it across to see the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Avrora Cruiser. Quite a step. But you can admire the details on the way. There was a time when the bridge was renamed ‘Kirov’ bridge and the art nouveau ornaments replaced by Soviet stars. It’s been tweaked since. In a good way.

The famous cat market women of St Petersburg are always good for a tourist snap.

Wouldn’t you just love to take one home? (I mean, one of the kittens.)

Of course. But, supposing you need more cats? I read that it takes around 23 cats or 10 -12 dogs to make the kind of coat you need [...]]]>

The famous cat market women of St Petersburg are always good for a tourist snap.

Wouldn’t you just love to take one home? (I mean, one of the kittens.)

Of course. But, supposing you need more cats? I read that it takes around 23 cats or 10 -12 dogs to make the kind of coat you need to keep out Russia’s cold. So if you need a cheap coat, then you have to hop on down to the Polyustrovsky weekend market.

It’s called a ‘pet market’ but, hey, they sell fur, assorted reptiles and . . .  tortoises, which as we know are excellent for making guitar plectrums and fingerpicks. Just one tortoise shell should be good for a whole year of country picking.

Most tourists in St Petersburg prefer to visit the Kuznechny market. It’s Russia’s version of Les Halles, full of the kind of expensive stuff Russians don’t normally eat.  Worth a trip for the specialities though, like Rostov honey. The odd thing about Russian markets is that nothing is presented in a very genteel way.

At any American Women’s Institute stall you’d get the honey in a pretty pot, with a little gingham cloth top and a home-made label. The Rostov honey, however, was splurged – extruded is probably the mot juste – into industrial plastic containers. It looked just like the glue my nephew uses for his laminate flooring business.

Kuznechny market is expensive, so for something to eat St Petersburgers go to Sennoy market. Doesn’t the cows’ snout look good today! I was going to pick some up but then I thought . .  oh I don’t have a recipe for that.

Almost unknown in the West, Vladimir was a Sixties icon, his unofficial recordings being distributed in the way of the time on reel-to-reel tape, medical X-Ray film and later on pirate cassette.

He had a typical pop idol profile, marrying [...]]]> In a new poll of favourite Soviet idols, Vladimir Vysotsky was again runner up to Yuri Gagarin.

Almost unknown in the West, Vladimir was a Sixties icon, his unofficial recordings being distributed in the way of the time on reel-to-reel tape, medical X-Ray film and later on pirate cassette.

He had a typical pop idol profile, marrying a Russian born French actress, with the wonderful name of Marina de Poliakoff-Baidaroff, and appearing himself in film and TV series.

He also suffered the musician’s early death, mixing drink and opiates. Hank Williams did the same. Hank was recorded as ‘dying of old age’ at 29. Vladimir, however, made it until he was 42.

You know you’re famous in Russia when you get monuments. There’s a rather fine one on his grave at Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow. It’s regularly visited by pilgrims, rather like Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris. You can also leave flowers for Vladimir at Find A Grave dotcom. (How bizarre is that.)

The statue of Vladimir (above top) I found in Kaliningrad, in the park next to the Moskva hotel.

So where did this idea come from?

Finnish ethnologist Helena Jerman believes the media constructs all our definitions of [...]]]> Has anyone outside Russia actually met a Russian prostitute? Chances are close to zero. Yet it’s a widely held belief – almost accepted – that all Russian women are prostitutes. The rest, logically, must be sons of bitches.

So where did this idea come from?

Finnish ethnologist Helena Jerman believes the media constructs all our definitions of national identities. When Russians first emerged from the fog of the Cold War, she spent five years studying how they were portrayed in film and TV, recording countless hours of films and documentaries.

She noted particularly: ‘Finnish media only usually reports about Russians when they find prostitutes, drug dealers or criminals among them. Otherwise they are ignored‘.

The 24 documentaries she studied all majored on the same themes. ‘It can be fairly stated’, she wrote, ‘that the image of Russia and Russians in Russia is utterly grim in this category. Russia seems to survive because of strong women, albeit victimized‘.

Helena’s research was confined to Finland, but some easy Googling shows world media falls exactly in line.  How about starting with Seattle’s Kiro TV and their series, ‘The World’.

Synopsis: ‘A drama that explores the ups and downs of living in modern China. Amidst it all, a friendship develops between a Chinese dancer and a Russian prostitute.’

In Britain, BBC’s ever popular ‘The Bill‘ had this storyline:

‘PC Roger Valentine comes into contact with Russian prostitute Anka Markova when she helps the police with an assault case. Losing her job as a result, Roger asks penniless Anka to stay with him.’

Let’s move on to Australia, and an interesting note from the Sydney Morning Herald:

‘When Natasha Novak landed the role of Svettie Burke in Fireflies, her mother breathed a sigh of relief. Svettie may be a little unhinged but at least she’s not a Russian prostitute, a role Novak had played twice before.’

The role must be by now the cinema’s biggest cliche.

When did all this brainwashing start? Back in 1997, ‘The Saint‘, a Bond clone film, featured a Russian prostitute played by Lucija Serbedzija. Now Lucija is really Croation but . . . Eastern Europeans, they’re all the same, yes?

You can do an easy ‘how we are, how they see us’ with Chulpan Khamatova, the girl who played the sweet and sympathetic nurse in ‘Goodbye Lenin’.  The Russian Tatar was promptly signed up for the Austrian film, ‘The Whore’s Son‘. Here’s Chulpan as she is, and how the media like her to be.

What to make of all this? Ethnologist Helena Jerman suspects the media had a definite agenda in its portrayal of Russians, particularly in neighbouring Finland. What better way of controlling immigration from Russia than by conditioning the mindset of officials?

One of the cheapest ways to get to St Petersburg from the UK is by Easy Jet to Tallinn and then a Eurolines bus. Conveniently, the bus will drop you right here in town, at Baltic Station.

It’s worth a visit. It was built in 1857 and modelled on the Gare de l’Est in Paris. The [...]]]>

One of the cheapest ways to get to St Petersburg from the UK is by Easy Jet to Tallinn and then a Eurolines bus. Conveniently, the bus will drop you right here in town, at Baltic Station.

It’s worth a visit. It was built in 1857 and modelled on the Gare de l’Est in Paris. The station clock was made by the Tsar’s watchmaker (still works) and you should feel privileged, since for many years it was strictly reserved for royalty.

The old painting here looks like the Eurolines bus queue but isn’t. Baltic Station was busy with the expulsion of Jews in 1891. Not surprisingly, Russian Jews all signed up for the revolution and by 1917 they were rehabilitated as street legal proletariat.

The station has been restored of late but – insensitively. The nice old carved wooden kiosks that sold fake watches are gone and the sign is fairly vulgar, but it has good loos in the cheap cafeteria.

Baltic Station is the one you need if you’re going down to Peterhof by train. The Eurolines stop here also has buses to other Baltic cities like Riga and Vilnius. The buses usually go late at night and although it might seem an iffy area for hanging around you won’t be queuing alone.

Times have changed. A recent poll indicates that only [...]]]> Back in the nineties, you could have opened a fast-bride take-away at Moscow airport. It was the golden age – or should one say blonde age – of Russian romance. Internet agencies sold unlimited addresses of instant fiancees and ‘Natasha, I thee web‘ was a done click.

Times have changed. A recent poll indicates that only 9 per cent of Russian women want to marry a Westerner these days, compared to 46 per cent four years ago. So, does this mean Russian girls are now settling down with Ivan next door? Not.

As it happens, one of the most discussed posts on my former blog was ‘Why Russian Women Don’t Marry Russian Men‘. Most people liked to explain the export bride phenomenon in terms of Russia’s excess ratio of women to men. But Tatiana Shcherbina didn’t agree. She wrote:

Among the various natural resources exported today from Russia there is one which is unique: the Russian woman. She could represent Russia in paradise. Loving, patient, unpretentious and hardworking, the Russian wife is valued all over the world.

She  is smart and obliging and gives herself up to the world market trying to escape the nightmare of some Russian husband at home.

Ouch. But Tatiana is simply stating that natural deselection is at work here and a sex-skewed population makes no difference at all. Correct. China is looking at 40 million more men than women and counting. Now, all this surplus testosterone is worrying  a number of people, from the World Health Organisation to America which owes China the farm. Those 40 million spare men could make a sizeable army.

But guess what. Even with this staggering imbalance, there are fewer married Chinese women than men.  Chinese men don’t marry Chinese women. They even buy brides from Burma. ( Budget around $600 to $2400.) Which may go some way to explain why China is the only country in the world where women commit suicide more often than men. Who knows.

Fortunately, those 40 million Chinese guys haven’t gone unnoticed by Russian women, who have grown disenchanted with their Western, crisis-challenged admirers.

‘Can you introduce some nice Chinese guys to me? 25-year-old Russian Nadya asked her Chinese boss Zhao Hong, chairwoman of the local Chinese Association in Russia’s fifth largest city Krasnoyarsk, who often receives such requests.’

The seduction of emigration has worn off Russian girls, but Chinese men are very welcome to move to Russia’s eastern region.

Chinese migrant to Russia Ge Youjin and his Russian wife Tatiana had their third child recently. Tatiana said her husband is responsible. “He cherishes our love and doesn’t drink or spend a lot,” she said.

The outlook for Russian men remains pessimistic.

I’m indebted to A Lester Buck III for this link to a fascinating article in the Financial Times. Moscow’s strays demonstrate remarkable powers of evolution: they have worked out exactly how to use the metro and which train stops are the most rewarding for scraps.

It dovetails neatly with an old Times article Lester also passed [...]]]>

I’m indebted to A Lester Buck III for this link to a fascinating article in the Financial Times. Moscow’s strays demonstrate remarkable powers of evolution: they have worked out exactly how to use the metro and which train stops are the most rewarding for scraps.

It dovetails neatly with an old Times article Lester also passed on: The Truth Dogs Reveal About Evolution. Our pets have evolved from wolves over millennia, but Moscow’s dogs are getting up to speed in a fraction of the time.

Definitely worth a couple of clicks.

In 1900 that was a truly stunning sum, especially for just 18 kilometres of track [...]]]> It’s normal for Royals to have their own train but Nicholas II wanted it all – stations, track, bridges, the works. The Russian Treasury was fairly meticulous in those days and recorded the final bill as 4,164,621 roubles and 3 kopeks.

In 1900 that was a truly stunning sum, especially for just 18 kilometres of track running from St Petersburg to Tsarkoe Selo. But Nicholas could not abide sharing a same stretch of line with serfs – even though his ‘Imperial Way‘ ran parallel for much of the route at only 2 metres distance.

Nicholas was clearly bonkers. He worried that rogue trains might sneak on to his Imperial line and had military guards posted at any sets of points.

There’s not a lot to show for the four million these days, apart from the Emperors’ Pavillion – one entrance to the station at Tsarkoe Selo. Built in the Pskov Church style, with painted and vaulted ceilings, it’s the place where his carriage would await various European archdukes and despots who turned up for a hunting party.

The ruined pavillion was all but gone in 2008. There’s been restoration work recently, though people do ask about the point of restoring a station when there is no platform, track or train. Meanwhile, in the intervening century, some of those nice Soviet apartment blocks have sprung up around it, rather diminishing the grandeur.

Probably it does have value as a memorial to the last of the big spenders. Another of Nicholas’ weaknesses was sending to Paris for a take-away banquet. This painting shows the Russian party being entertained at the Hotel de Ville by his favourite traiteur, Potel and Chabot. As you can see, Nicholas would take along quite a few business colleagues to discuss his upcoming menus.

Tourist Note: You can now get a steam train from St Petersburg to Tsarkoe Selo, but to see the Tsar’s old train stop in the town you’ll need a cab.