In a Moscow state of mind

Reprinted from the Oak Ridger - Date: July 27, 2006 Section: News

MOSCOW — In Moscow, the major streets are very crowded with cars and are very wide, making them nearly impossible to cross. To solve this problem, underground tunnels from one side of a street to the other are available at nearly every major intersection.

Accordingly, to get to Red Square, our group takes a tunnel to catch an electric trolley that stops across the street from our hotel. The trolley costs 15 rubles (about 55 cents) one way.

Red Square is not named for the red bricks in the buildings surrounding it, nor is it named for the link between the color red and Communism. Rather it is named for the Russian word “krasnaya,” which can mean “beautiful” or “red.”

And beautiful indeed is the square.

I remember pictures of the square filled with massive artillery and soldiers marching during May Day parades in front of the Soviet leadership. However, today the square is filled with people from every corner of the world, and all of them are taking pictures with their phones!

From the center of the square, we can see the Moscow Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin’s official residence and principal workplace, guarded by the intimidating 60 foot-high Kremlin Walls. On the far end of the square is the beautiful Saint Basil’s Cathedral, commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in 1555. Also in the square is Lenin’s Tomb, containing the embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin, who has been on public display since 1924.

Interestingly, one whole side of the square is the GUM department store, a shopping center containing more than 200 stores, many of which are familiar to shoppers the world over.

Just outside of the square is a marker denoting the exact center of Moscow. Tradition has it that a person can stand on the exact spot, face the nearby church, and toss a coin over their shoulder for good luck. People were tossing coins in droves; some of the coins were picked up by local people "of the street," and several were left untouched.

I could not tell what made the difference, other than that some tossers asked that their coins be left alone.

Close by to Red Square is an outdoor mall containing many places to eat. I wanted to compare eating in Oak Ridge to eating in Red Square, so I stopped at McDonald’s. I have never seen a McDonald’s packed with people like this one.

Lines were 10 people deep, and my order was actually taken while I was still in line by a server holding a small wireless unit that transmitted my order to the counter. My regular hamburger, medium fries and medium Diet Coke cost 90 rubles (about $3.35), which is very similar to home.

My order was called a “take away,” which means “to go.” I must admit that a McDonald’s hamburger tastes just about the same anywhere!

On the trolley ride back to the hotel, I completed a totally unscientific survey: of the 50 automobile drivers I observed, only eight were wearing a seat belt. Drivers in Moscow are like drivers in New York City — the street markings are general guides only!

Moscow and New York are similar in many ways: there are many street vendors, giant advertising plastered on sides of buildings, great public transportation, fantastic architecture, and people walking everywhere. The only immediately observable difference is that Moscow doesn't seem to have many skyscrapers and no yellow cabs.

After a dinner at the hotel, I retired for the first honest night's sleep in 48 hours. A copy of the Moscow Times (written in English) was at my door in the morning. In reading the newspaper, Russia and the United States face many similar issues: “Caspian Pipeline Handed Tax Bill,” “Investment Fund Picks 4 Projects,” an editorial titled “Moscow Does Not Have All the Answers,” and “GM Restructuring Begins to Pay Off” are a few of the stories in this edition.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Oak Ridge Mayor David Bradshaw is offering readers of The Oak Ridger a day-by-day account of an Oak Ridge delegation’s trip to Oak Ridge sister city Obninsk, Russia.

PHOTOS: (l-r) Saint Basils Church, Red Square with Lenin's Tomb behind Mr. Campbell, Tom Row tosses a coin for good luck.