Judging from appearances, Russian hipsters don’t differ substantially from their U.S. counterparts in terms of underlying tastes. In St. Petersburg, youth congregate at Etaji, a series of shops with trendy foods such as “black ice cream.” Etaji started as a squatted building. Today, shops are located in improvised compartments. At […]
In St. Petersburg, visitors are sometimes greeted to odd, quirky or ironic vestiges of the old Soviet Union. Take, for example, the Soviet Arcade Game Museum, where people may play some decidedly retro-era games. Nearby, visitors may see Soviet-era trains at a local train museum. Along a pier, a parked […]
In St. Petersburg, the visitor can still get a glimpse of what life was like for the old Soviet elite. Take, for example, Lenin’s old desk at the Museum of Political History. Nearby is the Kirov museum, the original art nouveau home of Sergei Kirov, a prominent Bolshevik leader. Nearby, […]
Though some might choose to forget the former Soviet Union, some of the old architecture still peeks out in St. Petersburg. Take, for example, the old Finlyandskiy railway station. Walking outside the city center, the visitor comes upon the old Soviet Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.
Discarded and left for gone, relics of the Soviet past find their way to St. Petersburg’s Udelnaya flea market. Kyiv’s flea market is located near the old Moscow Avenue, though the street has now been renamed in honor of controversial Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera. Old Soviet relics here are […]
In Russia, some may yearn for the days when the country was more of a naval power. Along one river bank in St. Petersburg, visitors may go aboard an old Soviet submarine. During a naval celebration in St. Petersburg, crowds thronged the river banks.
St. Petersburg has a long naval history which is difficult to miss when taking in the city. Take, for example, New Holland Island where visitors are greeted to the sight of recreated Dutch ships. New Holland Island reinforces the city’s historic mythology, since Peter The Great was a great enthusiast […]
Peeking out from modern day St. Petersburg and Kyiv are old-style markets which both have a distinctively ethnic flair. In Kyiv, the historic Bessarabsky market houses many local food vendors.
At Moscow’s All Russian Exhibition Center, the visitor is taken back to a time when many ethnic minorities formed part of a heavily idealized Soviet vision. Take, for example, a fountain with highly stylized statues. It’s doubtful that ethnic minorities living in Russia today share such a blissful vision, though […]
Though the Soviet Union no longer exists, various ethnic cuisines are still quite popular. Take, for example, Armenian food. Food from the Caucasus region is also popular, even an Ossetian restaurant. In St. Petersburg, Tatar-style “Chebureki” are ubiquitous. Throughout St. Petersburg and Moscow, Georgian food is also hugely popular. One […]
