April 30

In the morning we visited the Russian Arts and Crafts Center. It is a new and modern building in the middle of an industrial area. The center had a representative display of Russian arts such as the nesting Matruschko dolls (which are not traditional folk art at all but were created in the 1890s by a man at the request of his employer, a Russian toymaker, and modeled after Japanese nesting dolls), textiles, lacquered items, decorative samovars, straw sculptures, and some wood carvings. After looking at the small display, we went upstairs for a "lecture" presented by Elena Volkova, a professor of Comparative Literature who had spent a year teaching in the U.S. in Wisconsin. She began her presentation speaking about general character themes in Russian literature and their connection to the character of the Russian people. This included a discussion of the Holy Fool, a person who pretends to be mad and is persecuted as Jesus Christ was, then teaching people about sin disguised as a fool. She discussed laughter or the lack thereof in the Russian character (reflecting an observation made by many that publicly Russians do not smile much. From this she moved into a presentation of the p**** Riot scandal.

From the New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/08/the-absurd-and-outrageous-trial-of-p**** riot.html)

"The young women of p**** Riot are being tried for "hooliganism" and inciting "religious hatred," on the basis of a "punk prayer" they performed in Moscow's Christ the Savior cathedral. For this performance, called "Our Lady, Chase Putin Out!" the prosecutor on Tuesday demanded three years in a labor camp for each defendant. The women insist that their act was artistic and political in nature—and, indeed, politics is why they are being prosecuted, as part of a broader crackdown by Vladimir Putin's government. "

Our speaker was not an actual part of the riot but a supporter of the women who rioted and presented herself as a witness on their behalf. She is a true dissident here in Russia and has been arrested in the past. She is a feminist, but states feminism is just starting in Russia. She cited as an example that there is one shelter in the country for women who are victims of domestic violence and that the government cut its telephone availability from 24/7 to the hours of 8 AM to 9 PM. She spoke about one of the defendants in the p**** Riot who is a lesbian and who had retained her own lawyer. The KGB wanted to assign its lawyer to represent her and stated that if she did not change lawyers, she would be raped in prison. Not specifically related to feminism, she spoke about the relationship of the government to NGOs that are attempting to improve conditions from social causes to environmental issues and said there are 600 NGOs under inspection in 50 regions of Russia. The government wanted all NGOs supported by foreign countries to register as "foreign agents", the term used in the Stalin era for spies and if the organization were to refuse, it would be subject to numerous "inspections."

This event which was undoubtedly not arranged by In-tourist, the Russian travel agency working with Road Scholar for the tour arrangements, was one of the high points of my trip so far. After the lecture was finished we were served lunch at the center which was more Russian in character and then we got back in the bus to return to the hotel. Now the bus was parked in a fairly narrow driveway in front of the building. The driveway opened into a parking lot filled with cars. So we all got in the bus and then the bus had to back out of this driveway and do some maneuvering in the parking lot while going backwards to be able to turn around so it could head out of the other side. This took 20 minutes to accomplish. Why the bus driver didn't do this and have the bus turned around during the three hours we were inside escapes me.

Back to the hotel for some free time. I went with my father and Mahine to the Museum of Russian Jewish History. I thought we were going to the new contemporary museum that I had read a review of several months earlier, but that is not where we ended up at. The museum were went to is the private collection of a Russian Jewish man of many items used by Jews in the 19th and 20th century. I found it interesting and we were fortunate enough to have the English speaking woman, Maria, who had studied in NY at the Jewish Theological Seminary give a description of what we were looking at. My father couldn't hear and seemed reluctant to come stand next to sher so he could. Unknown to me, Mahine is not Jewish and apparently knew very little about anything Jewish. So my father wanted me to not only repeat everything Maria said but explain it all to Mahine. (Maria would explain, for example, that the display was of items for Purim and my father expected one of the two us to explain Purim to Mahine which really wasn't going to work). They left on their own, apparently walked the few blocks to the Metro and went, I think, to the Ritz Carlton for a drink. I took pictures and left later. I wanted to go to the other museum but didn't know exactly where it was, so I returned to the hotel, changed my clothes to what I would wear for dinner and found the location. This involved changing Metro lines and then a long walk (longer than I had expected, like at least a mile each way from the subway). I did get there, but was at some Jewish building but not the museum. This kind man offered to help and took me to the museum in the next block. Daniel, who had moved from Pasadena to Russia four years ago, is an Orthodox rabbi in a city called Rostov near the Ukraine, most likely with Chabad. Well by the time I actually got to the museum it was 7:30 PM (museum open until 10 PM) but I needed to be at the restaurant at 8 PM. I asked if I could just walk in and out without paying admission since I would be there less than five minutes and was told no. So after all that I did not go in. I walked around in the front and saw the bookstore and could see in the back a large video display related to the holocaust.

So the mile+ walk back to the Metro Station. I got on the train, off at the next station to change trains and was mislead by the signs about how to go from the brown line to the green line and ended up exiting the station. When I realized what I had done I went up to the Russian woman guarding the entrance gates, repeated several times where I wanted to go and made big circling motions to try to explain how I had gone out and needed to go back in. She actually understood and left her little booth and started asking people, apparently, if any were going to the green line. She found someone to take me there and let me back in. It was no short distance and, of course was now after 8 PM. I arrived at Tverskaya Street where I wanted to be. This is a large square where one doesn't cross the street except on one side but needs to use the underground passages that also go to the Metro lines. Having never been in this station before, I had no idea where to go to get out, so I was up and down the stairs in all of the wrong exits until I finally got it right. I was wearing the one semi nice set of clothes I had with me and felt after all of this like I had just done a major workout for the day. So hot, tired, and sweaty, but nicely dressed, I arrived almost a half hour late at Café Pushkin.

My father, Mahine, Sue, and Peter were there already working on their vodka martinis. I sat down, collected myself, and not being a true martini drinker, ordered a Cosmopolitan, Café Pushkin is recommended as the one splurge one should have if one goes to Moscow for truly good Russian food. The critics are not wrong. I had (goose-loving friends can skip this) the most incredible foie gras dish presented beautifully on the plate. "Foie gras with apple and cranberries jelly, green salads and raspberry sauce". The foie gras was a pate surround by a cranberry gelee and on the plate in the shape of an apple, with an arugula salad and a raspberry sauce. Then I had the degustation which is a collection of some of the best dishes:, MIX OF WHITE MUSHROOMS, CHAMPIGNONS, CHANTERELLES BAKED IN SOUR-CREAM SAUCE, CRUNCHY PANCAKE ROLLS WITH VEAL, RUSSIAN DUMPLINGS STUFFED WITH MINCED MEAT OF PORK, BEEF AND LAMB, CHICKEN KIEV, "BEEF-STROGANOFF" IN SOUR-CREAM. It was certainly the culinary high point. We all then walked back to the hotel. My father and Peter went ahead. Mahine, Sue, and I were behind. We passed a pharmacy and Mahine wanted to go in to buy some lotion. She found some and as we were walking out she commented that it cost something like $68.

And so a full day and satisfying evening came to a close.