Kostya (short for Konstantin) is one my closest friends over here in St. Petersburg. We've know each other for about two years now. Last night a bunch of us were at a friend's house until 3am. Normally, I have to leave any party by 11pm to catch my pumpkin to Kupchino. If I stay out past 11, I either have to sleep at a friend's place, or pay ( Read more... )

One of few drawbacks to St. Petersburg, vis-a-vis Moscow, is that it is less technologically developed. Almost every cafe in downtown Moscow has free wi-fi access, even McDonald's. Here, however, there are only a handful, and all off the main drag. "Carl's Jr" just opened a restaurant here. One of the main attractions is that it offers free wi- ( Read more... )

The Belorussian is my favorite train station in all of Moscow. I am fortunate to be staying at an apartment with a great location, a fifteen-minute walk from Belorussky Vokzal, which doubles as a metro station on the circle line (the edge of downtown). It's also a brisk fourty-five minute walk from Red Square. Train stations in Russia are named ( Read more... )

This is my favorite picture that I've taken so far here in Russia. It's the door to the metro, and on top is written "Entrance." On the door, however, is written "No Entrance." Well, that sums up a lot of life over here - "Entrance, No Entrance."


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I came back again to St. Petersburg yesterday. A good friend from America, who I haven't seen in two years, is in town for a week, and I wanted to see her. Of course, I'll take just any excuse to come for a visit. Though I must say that Moscow is better in one aspect, the weather. Women's Day (March 8th) in Moscow was beautiful. The sun was ( Read more... )

St. Petersburg is a stunningly beautiful city. My first direct experience with Russia was in June 2002, when I came over and taught debate. The first stop was Moscow, which was interesting, but my schedule was so full that I didn't have much time to absorb the experience. I spent a few days in St. Petersburg, and was able to explore the center ( Read more... )

Unfortunately, I still have problems with my comments. If you have anything to add, please post in the comments section of my livejournal page. It's the exact same entry, but I would love to hear any feedback or differing opinions.

There was an explosion, presumably a bomb, at a downtown McDonald's in St. Petersburg. It's on the South end of ( Read more... )

Seasons begin early in Russia. Today is the first day of Spring, and people are congratulating each other on making it through another winter. Though I'm afraid it's a tad too soon. After living over here, I understand why our seasons start on the 21st of their respective months, and not the first. Here's a look at the first day of Spring from ( Read more... )

Hypocrisy?

Mrs. Pelosi campaigned heavily on promises of honest government. "Now we find out that she is exempting hometown companies from minimum wage. This is exactly the hypocrisy and double talk that we have come to expect from the Democrats ( Read more... )

The main square in Chisinau is still all decked out for the New Year, and on Sunday night (Orthodox Christmas) there was quite a crowd. The square is located in the center of town. Stefan cel Mare, the main road, goes through it. On one side is the government building, and on the other an arc and a church. Largely blocked off to road traffic, ( Read more... )