Tripping With Toby: Entering Russia

Oct. 7, 2018- Entering Russia

I must tell you about the ballet last night. The Opera House was a 10 minute walk away, and Bob led us there. After he was assured we knew the way back, he left. We checked our coats and proceeded to our seats which were second balcony center. They were optimal for us. The theater was smaller than expected. Leg room was fine and we were close enough to clearly see every nuance and expression. I would compare it to the size of a Broadway theater. We were seated behind a row of little girls who must have been there with their dance instructor. They were all blond and entranced, leaning forward in their seats throughout the performance.

Goblin was first performed in 1943. That puts it during WWII when Russians were seen as saviors from the Germans. The theme, based on an Estonian folk tale (The Master), is the struggle between good and evil, the devil and man (a factory owner), capitalism and communism. Lighting effects added to the clarification of messaging and the theme was updated by flashing US dollars and the Euro as symbols of evil. Money falling from the sky at the behest of the devil didn’t add subtlety. In the end, the devil was sent back to hell and the commune emerged as a unifying force.

I won’t attempt to critique the dancers or choreography since I’m no expert or aficionado. I did notice Russian folk-dance moves incorporated into the performance. All I can say is the experience of being in Estonia and watching an Estonian company perform a ballet by an Estonian was a treat. It didn’t hurt that the choreographer was Marina Kesler. Kessler is my maiden name :)

At intermission a few of us were drawn to a monitor showing performances that had taken place in the past. Several were based on American shows and we were inspired to sing along in English as the performers sang in Estonian. My Fair Lady was my favorite. When we began mimicking the dances, the locals noticed. Being Estonians, they took furtive glances and made no comments. David just told me that the woman selling programs turned the sound up as we joined in. So subtle. So helpful.

Oleg, our bus driver for this leg of the trip, is Russian and unlike our former driver. He immediately took over this morning and laid down the law. To quote, “One moment. Seatbelts to use. Police get money if not wear. Your money, not me. Second moment. No fear asking questions. Don’t afraid at me. I very friendly.” There were a lot of “second moments.” I had a question, but was “feared” to ask. Why are we heading North when flocks of birds are filling the sky and going in the opposite direction?

We settled in for a 90-minute video of The Singing Revolution (available on Amazon and You Tube) to summarize our Estonian history lesson. Their mantra is “patience is a weapon, and caution a virtue.” After a 5,000-year history, Estonian culture was almost snuffed out but for one tradition. Estonians love to sing. They form local choirs of hundreds that unite every five years at the amphitheater, the Song Festival Grounds, I mentioned in an earlier email. Choirs come together on stage to sing traditional songs as one. Thousands in the audience join in. And so, when recent invasions took place the singing went on. From gatherings of 25,000, numbers grew as the USSR demanded songs in Russian praising Communism. In 1947, Estonians included a song praising their forefathers. It was in Estonian. Somehow, it slipped through. In 1969, Estonians were more organized. They realized they’d been sold out by the illegal Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Stalin and Hitler, and were never legally part of Russia. At the end of the performance of propaganda songs, they added Estonian melodies. The band was ordered to play loudly to drown them out. The audience joined in. The Soviets relented and allowed the composer of a particularly favorite work to conduct the choir.

Then Gorbachev made an error. He introduced glasnost, free speech. Estonians took baby steps in expressing political views to test the waters. When they weren’t arrested, they pushed the envelope. There were 100,000 at the next song festival. This time they sang as usual then raised illegal Estonian flags they’d secreted away. In 1988, 300,000 raised their voices in song. Shortly thereafter, the human chain was formed uniting all the Baltic countries. Gorbachev was arrested and removed from power for being weak. The Soviet army was sent in to capture the TV tower and halt communications. They were met by a human barricade of Estonians. The army retreated. The Soviet Union was collapsing.

The lyrics of a camp song comes to mind: “Not by might and not by power, but by spirit alone shall all men live in peace.” Estonians absorbed that spirit and sang their way to a non-violent revolution.

After lunch in Narva, Estonia, we were ready to cross the border. Bob made a game of it, and we each guessed the number of minutes it would take. There were four passport/visa checks (Estonia, Russia, NATO, and Schengen). The group was lucky that it only took 46 minutes. We had guessed longer. Oleg’s record had been 45 minutes. The winner got a huge chocolate bar that she shared. So, all of us won... except for bathroom quality. Cleanliness and toilet paper standards dropped significantly. Oh, and you want a toilet seat too?

St. Petersburg is rare in that it was built according to a plan. Most cities spring up in all directions, but Peter the Great had a vision. Because of its canals, it is called The Venice of the East. Because it has only 45-60 clear days per year, it is called the Rain Capital. We are down the block from Pushkin’s home, across from a canal and American medical center, and staying in the Domina Hotel. The hallways are dark with walls covered in red flocked paper and woodwork painted red. It reminds us of a brothel, but no one in the group admits to having been in one. Each room has clues about an author. We are to guess and report our solution at dinner. Ours had a book in English by Steig Larsen and one in Russian by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It took us a while to translate that one.

We all had a challenge turning off our TVs. The remote seems to turn it off, but then a message appears that you’ve lost the signal. Can’t have that glowing all night. One person pushed the “off” button on the side of the screen and that worked. High tech.

They’re very concerned with safety here. There are diagrams with escape routes in the halls and our rooms as well as escape bags hanging near the windows. They contain harnesses that you attach to the window frame, put on, and rappel to the ground. When you remove the harness it automatically rises up to be used by those remaining in the room.

Our evening orientation walk in the rain took us past glorious Baroque buildings suited to Peter’s taste. Their pastel colors glowed with dramatic lighting. We crossed streets as a group and, even in crosswalks, were hurried through by turning drivers inching their way along, almost pushing us out of the way. Much different than in the Baltic States.

In recognition that we only have one week of travel left, I changed my jeans today. I could have gone another week, but I didn’t want to bring anything home I hadn’t worn. You might wonder why I haven’t complained about doing hand laundry. That is because Bob collected laundry in Tallinn and had it done for a reasonable price.

Tomorrow we tour the city. Bob has already told us that every church we’ll see is Russian Orthodox unless he says differently.

Toby