I’ve been meaning to post about our recent trip to Russia for a week or so now. But then again it’s been a busy week. Where to start? Well, the picture to the left may be the best place. That’s me, last Friday in Krasnoyarsk at the big regional economic summit. Krasnoyarsk, if you’re not by a map, is in Siberia. Far eastern Siberia, north and just a little west of Beijing.
Lots more pictures after the break.
When he introduced me, the head of Merrill Lynch Moscow, went out of his way to say that books were different than a lot of other American and Western scholarship. They deal with global economic and demographic trends, he said, and while they rate and rank Russia, don’t take a lot of time Russia “bashing.” Interesting, I thought.
So much to say. We were struck by how incredibly beautiful Moscow is. How not-so-cold Siberia is – no colder than Chicago or Minneapolis. Moscow was warmer, when we were there, than DC. By the incredible work folks did t0o restore cathedrals and churches. By how warm and engaging the people are.
But as someone who grew up during the height of the Cold War, what struck me most though was not the differences between the two countries, but their striking similarities.
Russia shares our sense of hyper-security. Maybe it’s because we were both super-powers. But immigration is a pain just like here. Metal detectors are everywhere – one even greeted us at the entrance to the conference hotel.
Russia is a hyper-consumer society, just like us. Conspicuous consumption is everywhere. It’s starts with cars. Big ones – very big ones – are everywhere. Rovers. Lexus. Mercedes. Audis. Designer shops on steroids. People literally emblazoned with brands. Maybe that’s what happens when the lid pops off. It’s conspicuous consumption on the Donald Trump scale
There are other similarities too. Russia has a huge degree of economic inequality. Big gaping distance between rich and poor – like us. And a Gatsby-esque “party class” of celebrities and nouveau billionaires who behave like Paris Hilton and her ilk in West Hollywood, Ocean Drive or the Meatpacking district.
The young people are incredible. Our host, Anna Trapkova of Institute for Regional Policy, arranged for me to give a talk at the local university. I knew we were in for something special the minute we entered the room. The energy was infectious. Buzzing. There were about 100 Siberian college students in the room They were smart. Engaged. Funny, ironic, sarcastic. Spoke perfect English. Stylish and sharp. Right in the current cultural moment. You could put them down in any cosmopolitan center in the world and they would fit right in. It made me think how globe-stretching the creative class really is. Not just in numbers and economic function, but in look and feel, attitudes and values, style and mentality.
What a difference, I thought, between this generation and my own or my father’s who fought alongside Russian soldiers in World War II. Or think back just a century ago, to the days before the Russian Revolution. What incredible differences there were in culture, in dress, in food, in attitudes not just between Americans and Russians, but between people’s across the world. They would have seemed as if from different planets. The new generation is interconnected in a way our parents and grand-parents never could be.
And it’s just that thought that give me a much needed feeling of hope and optimism to preservere in these turbulent and challenging times.
Red Square
RF in Red Square
Rana and Ella, our Moscow guide.
She just bought that from a street vendor.
Moscow at night
Rana in front of Moscow street art
RF in front of a restored Moscow cathedral
RF and Rana at the Moscow’s Swissotel
RF at the Moscow airport
Fantastic winter party in Krasnoyarsk
Carnival in Siberia Symbolizes “burning away” winter
Rana and Anna, who set it all up
Thumbs up!
June 10th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
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