news-record.com

As I stood in Moscow's Red Square a few days ago, it brought back dark memories of the Cold War when Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and their ilk stood atop Lenin's Tomb ominously reviewing tanks, soldiers and missiles that paraded across Red Square.

Today, Red Square, the second largest in the world after Beijing's Tiananmen Square, is a benign place. On a recent Moscow morning, tourists ambled about in the warm sunshine snapping pictures and buying postcards from souvenir hawkers.

On one side of the vast square stands Lenin's Tomb; on the opposite side is Gum, the huge, ornate department store. During the communist era, Gum's shelves were often empty but today Gum reeks of capitalism. Gum is filled with classy shops selling products with chic Western labels.

Even Lenin's Tomb is a post-communist relic. Years ago, the faithful waited for hours to glimpse the communist hero's embalmed body. Now, the tomb's visiting days are restricted, indicating the government is downplaying the founder of the 1917 communist revolution. When a member of our group asked about viewing Lenin, our young guide replied, "Why would you want to see an old, wax body?" That irreverent remark could have landed her in the gulag years ago.

This was my first trip to Russia, and I regretted not seeing it during the Soviet era for comparisons. Those who visited the Soviet Union remember staying in drafty hotels with 1,000 rooms (Stalin built things big) and eating inedible food, except for tasty Russian ice cream.

Our tour group (Americans, British, Australians, Canadians) stayed on a ship docked in the Moscow Canal, a waterway built at terrible human cost by Stalin's gulag prisoners. We dined on palatable (though not delicious) food - and tasty ice cream.

During my two weeks in Russia, I was often reminded of Winston Churchill's description of the place: "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." Russia remains an enigma. The language barrier (Russia uses the Cyrillic alphabet) was a huge obstacle. My impressions of Russia were solely dependent on what I heard from English-speaking guides and on what I saw with my eyes.

Our trip focused on Moscow and St. Petersburg, plus a five-day cruise on the Volga-Baltic Waterway linking the Volga River with the Baltic Sea. It was a mere slice of the world's largest country that spans 11 time zones and ranks fifth in world population. (Given its immense size, Russia is under-populated; the government is now offering a $10,000 bonus to women who have a second child.)

My husband had traveled in the USSR in 1981 and expected to see a "different" Moscow from the drab city of the Soviet past. Instead, Moscow still looked shabby. Grass in parks needed mowing, streets were pot-holed, Soviet-era apartments looked slummy. Only Red Square and the Kremlin looked well-kept.

Moscow has more billionaires, known as oligarchs, than any city in the world, but they obviously aren't pouring rubles into their city's face-lift. Instead, many live abroad part-time and buy prime property in London and other cities.

Though Russian oligarchs, who made fast money during the privatization period, are enjoying the high life, most Russians are struggling. Their living standard has improved since the old days of empty shops and food lines. Yet the average worker earns only $540 per month. People in rural areas, including Uglich, a river town on the Volga, looked poor. Our English-speaking guide there worked three jobs (school teacher, tour guide and souvenir seller) to get by.

St. Petersburg, by contrast, is a beautiful city and looks relatively prosperous. Peter the Great built his "Window on the West" in the early 18th century with the aid of thousands of serfs who toiled for eight years to erect his city near the Baltic Sea. It is called "the Venice of the North" because of its winding canals lined with pastel-colored buildings, including Peter's summer palace.

Vladimir Putin was the mayor of St. Petersburg before he became president of Russia. Now prime minister, Putin is highly popular among his countrymen (though not in Washington).

But more about the "Cult of Putin" and Russia's return to the world stage in next week's column.

Rosemary Roberts writes a Friday column. E-mail: rmroberts@triad.rr.com