Trips and Tales (Part 24)
Well, I’m still “finishing off” the area around Red Square – which, after all, is ground-zero for Russian-ness in the eyes of foreigners. And with good reason: we’ve had it reinforced in our collective consciousness via the media for decades, partly because of its true political and historical importance, but also I think as the default go-to representation/stereotype of what Russia is “about”. A bit like the idea that all Englishmen wear bowler hats and stop for tea at 4pm precisely – when they’re not marauding at full volume through foreign streets and engaging in mass drunken brawls over football allegiances, that is. Oh dear: I think I’d sooner conform to the quaint 1950’s stereotype than the modern-day one… I digress.
To be honest, I’m not too sure what the Russian stereotype is these days, though I have my darker suspicions… The whole Red Square media “brand” was largely a product of the Cold War era, and its coinciding with the advent of television. But: the cold war has been over now for 20 years. To a whole generation it’s just something that happened in a history book. However, just as nature abhors a vacuum, so human perception loathes the absence of a pigeon-hole. So, what to do? Where to look next for our easy caricature?
Well, the Russian Mafia have gained a strong popular-culture presence here in the West, through films and media reports depicting the extreme nature of their actions and culture. These representations are forming our perceptions, just as Francis Ford Coppola’s and Martin Scorsese’s creative output has contributed to a certain simplistic view of Italy and Italians. In competition with the mafia for this go-to Russian “presence”, there is always Prime Minister Putin stripped to the waist and engaged in various dynamic outdoor activities – and now singing too.
What will be the deciding Russian icon for the beginning of the 21st century is unclear. Maybe something else will rise to the perceptual surface… Alternatively, perhaps the era of distinctive national icons is over in this increasingly homogenised, “developed” world. Anyone fancy meeting up for a hamburger (sorry, can’t bring myself to utter the M-word) in Red Square? Count me out.
On the Beaten Track: Moscow Must-Sees (continued)
The State Historical Museum
If you’d really like to put Russian history and prehistory under the microscope, then this must surely be the place… It contains over 4 million exhibits and artifacts from all periods of Russian existence, and all of them in themed halls designed to fit the aesthetic of the era depicted. It was built on the site of the Principal Medicine Store, itself the original location of Moscow University, and opened in 1894 to mark Aleksander III’s coronation. Stylistically, the construction followed a distinctive Moscow Baroque style: the offspring of traditional Russian and European Baroque architectural design. It came into being through the combination of various separate collections of anthropology and archaeology, blended into a comprehensive whole under one roof. A single, focal point one-stop for a complete historical perspective.
As with several notable institutions and locations, restoration (and in other cases, complete reconstruction) was required to remove the thorn of Stalin from its side. For example, the uncovering and restoring of murals running through the interior, which had been considered “gaudy” and thus plastered over by the conservative Soviets. As I get to know Russian architecture, it appears to me that more is indeed more in this domain: nothing succeeds like excess. In marked contrast to the stern, cold Russian cliché, the stonework and woodwork is positively exuberant – aside from the giant Stalinist housing slabs of course. Bit of a blip there.
Next time: Not Quite the Holidays…
The Russian “holiday” mentality, and reflections on the events of December 2010.
[Photo by quinn.anya]