May 19

After breakfast (eggs today), we headed to the metro to go to the State Museum of the Political History of Russia which was on the other side of the river near St. Petersburg's large mosque. I had visited a museum in Moscow about the rise of the Communists through WWII and found it very interesting and was sure this one would be too and hoped Michael would find it of interest (which he did.). The museum was founded in 1919 and reflects political, economic, and social life of Russian society of the XIXth- XXIst centuries. The entrance was a little hard to find since it was not at the front where one expect it to be but around on the side of the building. The building was originally built for Mathilda Kshesinskaya, the prima ballerina at the Mariinskiy before the Revolution, and Nicholas II's mistress before he became Emperor. In 1917, the building was seized by the Bolsheviks and turned into their headquarters in the city. It became the center of their revolutionary activities, and Lenin made a historic speech from one of the balconies after his arrival in the city. It was later passed through a number of organizations, before eventually becoming the Museum of the Revolution in 1957. At the beginning of the 1990's, the museum was renamed the Museum of Political History, and the displays were radically reworked to reveal much of the secret history of the Soviet Union.

There was much there about the Russian revolution including graphic photographs reflecting the horrible impact on the people as the economy fell apart and political repression came into being. This period of history is depicted showing the horror it caused and then builds on that to how Russia today is becoming a better place to live. We spent several hours there and then took the metro back.

Michael indicated he wanted some time alone, so we split up. I chose to the Ethnography Museum which had exhibits depicting the many ethnic groups in Russia. There was an exhibit on the various ethnicities of the Jewish people there including the Georgian, Bikharan, and Mountain Jews as well peoples from the south near the Black Sea, those that live above the Artic Circle, and those in the far eastern very Asian part. I enjoyed the museum (as I have been to and enjoyed other ethnography museums such as the one in Hanoi) and thought that it may not have been Michael's favorite.

When I arrived at the museum which is located next door to the Russian Museum, there was a group of elementary school aged children in ethnic clothes in the lobby doing some kind of dance to music. I think they were on some kind of field trip, not there as performers. In the large central hall of the museum was an art exhibit of what appeared to be local artists.

After my time there, I walked back to Nevsky Prospect and went into the trading center, Gvidny Dvor, which now has a number of small shops, some selling souvenirs, some clothes, etc. I wandered around, bought a few things and thought Michael would not have particularly enjoyed my little shopping excursion. I took the bus back to the hotel and found him in the room. He didn't seem to keen on wanting to do anything for dinner and said he was going out. I waited a bit and then decided to try the restaurant right next door to the hotel. It was sort of French - Russian and seemed to be a nice neighborhood kind of place. I had duck and this incredibly decadent crepes suzette for dessert that my server "talked" me into. It was quite a nice meal. While I was there it started to rain really hard. I knew Michael was out without any rain gear and wondered what he would do. He was in the room when I got back. He said he had gone to some inexpensive café and had blini and was by some hotel where there was an International Finance Conference and he got an umbrella from the conference to use. ( It was to big for him to take home, so he donated it to the Art House hotel).

It was a nice day with some immersion in more recent Russian history and the ethnic groups that make Russia what it is today.