Victory Park and Kuskovo Palace

Hello my lovies! I fear another weekend has passed. I now have one month left in my dear Moscow and so much still left to do. Of course, I shalt never waste a day. My classmates went to Kazan for the weekend, meaning that class was canceled...again. Francesca was feeling upset so Susan and I took her out for a nice girls' day out full of Nazis and bloodshed. But let me explain...

Now, Susan was a War Studies major in college. Needless to say, she knows a thing or two about military history. After WWII, the Soviet Union built a large memorial commemorating the Russian sacrifice (Russia lost more people than anyone else). That memorial is now Victory Park, which itself is full of history. Victory Park was once a large hill where anyone arriving in Moscow would get their first glimpse of the city. It is the spot where Napoleon stood waiting in vain for the keys of the city. It overlooks Moscow State University and much of the city. In other words, very cool spot. In Victory Park stands the Museum of the Great Patriotic War along with the WWII memorial, a small orthodox church and mosque (a synagogue was added last minute – Russians don't like to acknowledge the Holocaust all that much...). Behind the museum is this really creepy statue that most people believe is a Holocaust monument, but which really isn't – see above comment.

So, with Susan as our tour guide, we set off to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. After a small argument with the angry desjornia, of course. When you walk into the museum, look up and you will see thousands of strings (they are not really strings, but it is hard to explain) with crystals hanging on the ends. These strings cover a large part of the bottom floor and lead up to a monument to people who dies during the war. The strings, you soon find out, are part of the Hall of Sorrows with each one representing a serviceman or woman who died in the war. That is probably the most moving room of the holiday. From there, you can get to a number of dioramas. Then its off to the second and main floor. Walking onto the main floor is like walking into a palace. The room is absolutely massive with marble floors, golden and crystal chandeliers, high ceilings, a large marble staircase, and stained glass. In the middle of the staircase is another memorial which goes all the way up the staircase and to the stained class walls. Between the glass are doors leading into the Hall of Glory, which is even grander than the main hall.

You walk into the hall and are immediately drawn to a 12 meter high statue signifying the Russian soldier. The room is a rounded dome and all along the walls are written the names of all the servicemen and women who received medals during WWII. Above their names is a large banner made out of rock which encircles the room. It depicts the main battles and cities in the war – Moscow, Kiev, Stalingrad... At the the very crown of the dome, some 25 meters high is the USSR emblem with the red star. Going out of the room leads you to all kinds of artifacts from the museum which take up most of the floor. The third and fourth floor holds paintings and portraits, only some of which are related to the war.

Overall, it was a very grandiose museum of epic proportions. Unfortunately, besides a fews rooms (such as the Hall of Sorrows), it, as Francesca rightly stated, shows you the war, but doesn't make you feel it. It is not very emotive, at least, not for what I expected of a country that lost so much. If I stay here longer, I will try to go back on Victory Day when it should be more evocative.

From there, it was just off for coffee at a chain (did I mention how much I hate chains?). Then Susan and I went shopping and got stuff so we can cook! After the whole food poisoning issue, I have been trying to stay away from the cafeteria...

On Sunday, Sarah and I met up with Hongda and went to the Kuskovo Palace. After yet another argument with the desjornia, we walked around the grounds for a bit. Well, they walked and I alternatively threw myself into the snow, slid down the frozen staircases, and pretended I was in Titanic due to the partially-melted ice. The estate is very beautiful, but the slush made it a little less pleasant. We went inside the main palace and had another argument with the desjornia. You see, students are allowed in free and, thus, the desjornia at the main gate saw no need to give us tickets to ever single building. However, the desjornia to the palace wanted us to have tickets. She yelled at us and I yelled back that I was a student and, therefore, free. So why do I bloody well need a ticket? She yelled a bit more until one of the other desjornias yelled at her to stop yelling at us. Are you following? Yeah, I didn't either. In the end, the other desjornia gave us our tickets (a sheet of paper with a stamp – stupid Russia with their stamps...) at which point we walked the (literally) two feet to the other desjornia so she could rip out ticket and let us through. Because that makes sense...

The palace was nice, nothing super special but interesting to look at anyways. We left the estate, which is literally across the street from MosGu (where Jason and Hongda go) and walked through campus. Then we stopped by the dorms and I saw Jason for a bit. After that, it was off to Islmaylovo and the sketchy restaurant I love so much. It was fun as usual. I got lots of cheap, tasty fruit and was able to, somehow or other, find my way to the restaurant by myself. Go me! Anyways, going out again tomorrow. Bulgakov House with Susan and then Yeliseev's with Jake who gets back from Kazan in the morning. Right now, I need to go to bed. Silly time-change...