Cold War Bunker

Tuesday was the last day of my long weekend so I met up with Lisa and a group from Connecticut for a trip to a Cold War Bunker. Individuals are not allowed inside the facility, so you must go with a group. The bunker is alongside one of the metro stations, 60 meters underground. It was designed into 4 Blocks, each designed to withstand a nuclear attack and be completely self-sufficient for 90 days. Over 600 people are able to be in the bunker at one time and, when it was fully functional, 2,500 people worked in it (all shifts). The bunker was built at the same time as the metro station so it was able to stay secret from the public until the collapse of the Soviet Union when its existence was acknowledged. It is now used as a conference facility and site for groups. We got a complete tour of the facility and watched a film about the Cold War which, as our guide acknowledged, occasionally erred on the side of propaganda. I would like to get an American and Russian history textbook, set them side by side, and compare how they document history. Hmm, perhaps another senior research project...

Anyways, after we left the bunker, I headed down to Novaspasskiy Monastery to see if it would make my “Off the Beaten Path” list. I tried to get there on Saturday, but got lost, so I walked along the river which made it much easier to find. The Novaspasskiy Monastery is most famously known for the location where Princess Tarakanova (remember my favorite painting?) was confined. Unfortunately, it did not live up to reality. While it is very beautiful and can claim home to one of Russia's oldest churches, many parts of blocked off and other parts are crumbing. I got yelled at by the guards because, apparently, women are required to wear skirts and head coverings even just to walk around the grounds (usually it is just inside the churches). That kind of put me in a bad mood to start out with, which served to dim the experience a bit. Oh well. So, while it is very beautiful and has a very interesting history, the Novaspasskiy Monastery will not be making my list. It's worth a stop if you are in the direct neighbor (which you probably won't be – there is nothing else around for a 1km), but other than that, it is not worth it.

It was still early in the day when I left the monastery, so I headed back to Kropotkinskaya to hit some of the museums I missed on my other trips (there are at least half a dozen within 100 meters of each other). I walked around a bit and was rewarded with two sights that are going to make my off the beaten path list. The first is the Roerich Museum, located directly behind the Museum of Private Collections and across from the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, down an alley. The museum documents the life, works, and ideals of Roerich and his family, which traveled Asia to learn about different spiritual paths, the culture and people. The museum reflects their travels and spiritual life in a very unique way. It is scented by joss sticks and has music playing. It is very calming and quite beautiful. It is a bit pricey according to typical museum prices (it costs more than the Pushkin Museum), but is definitely worth a visit.

Finally, I ended up at the Glazunov Museum, which holds the works of Russians most famous, living artist. He mainly does portraits and historical scenes, but is most widely known for his room-size, modern paintings portraying multiple scenes and historical figures in a shocking display. He is alternatively loved and hated. Think of a modern-day, Russian Salvador Dali with less propriety. It was awesome. And that was my day. Now it is back to the grind until next weekend. Jason and the other students from GRINT are headed off to St. Petersburg in a week, so I will stare at them in envy. I might go out of town. We'll see...