Week Three

On Wednesday we had an Екскурсия to the Russian museum, which focuses solely on Russian art. After a boring, difficult to understand 2-hour tour, I wandered a bit and looked at things at my own pace, which was a pleasure. First I saw a Soviet art exhibit with tons of Malevich paintings which were really cool, especially after having talked about Malevich so much in my Soviet history class. Then I came across Petro-Vodkin’s terrific portrait of Anna Akhmatova, which is sort of cubist and done in these gorgeous green and teal shades. I could have just stood and looked at it for hours.

I hung out with Yuliya some more and had a wonderful time. Tuesday we went to this cool, dingy little coffee shop and shared cake and talked. Afterwards she gave me the CD of one of her favorite Russian groups, DBERU, which I’ve been listening to. Its bubblegum pop, but I’m no music snob, and I really like « Do skora bvstrechi » which has an awesome music video as well.

Recently we went to see Dostoevsky’s « The Idiot » done by a small theatre company. They’re unique in that their set is an actual rundown old apartment, and the actors are right in front of you, not out on stage. Anyways, we went up to the apartment, climbed 6 flights of insanely grimy stairs and then were herded into the smallest, hottest, grimiest room you’ve ever seen. I now have a complete appreciate for how person could go insane living in St Petersburg’s filthy 19th century underbelly. Anyhow, we sat around the room, and the idiot was in the center, ranting and raving at us with just the light of a candle. It was very unpleasant, not just because I dislike Dostoevsky, but because the idiot kept disappearing and then emerging from the darkness right front you with a chillingly maniacal laugh. The following day, everyone I talked to said they’d had nightmares.

On a completely different note, I’ve become fascinated with St. Petersburg style. The guys are all wearing tight jeans with these long black leather shoes that kind of look like witch boots and take up far too much room in the crowded metro. The Babushka’s are all wearing scarves and layers of wool sweaters, no matter how warm it is. Women over 30 tend to dress like they’ve stepped right out of the American 1950’s. As for Russian girls, they go for tons of makeup, elaborate, skintight clothes, and (minimum) 4-inch stiletto heels. To my eyes, they look trashy, but they certainly always look really put together and perfect for Russian standards, which surprises me. I never look perfect, and even if I did, I certainly wouldn’t in Russia. I just don’t know how someone can walk miles in high heels, ride on a hot, packed metro, work all day without air-conditioning, use bathrooms without running water, soap, or mirrors, and still look so perfect. It’s really bizarre.