Another packed day, we started off by attempting to visit Lenin's Mausoleum. Apparently, the communists were in love with Lenin so much, that when he died in 1924, they decided to preserve his body and put it on display for the world to see, despite calls from his family to be buried in St. Petersburg, as he requested. However, the Mausoleum was closed for the day because of a concert for Independence Day on June 12th, a day that celebrates Russian independence from the USSR. Because of the holiday, Saturday and Sunday are working days to make up for the loss of Monday and Tuesday, which are the days of celebration for the holiday. Disappointed, we headed to the metro to have a lecture by Dr. Goeckel at FFL.
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Vladimir Putin |
The lecture was on Russian political institutions. We went over the presidency and the legislative branch of Russia. Russia's parliament is divided into two parts: the lower house (Duma) and the upper house (Federation Council), kind of resembling our House and Senate. The Federation Council houses two senators from each region in Russia that are appointed by the governors of each region. However, Putin recently made it law to allow the president to appoint the governor of each region rather than having direct elections. Thus, the Federation Council is really just a representation of Putin's cronies, causing it to be more of a rubber stamp factory than a legislative body. In terms of a Kremlin-sponsored bill that significantly raises fines for illegal protests, it took eleven hours of debate to pass the Duma, but only one hour to pass the Federation Council. Putin is finding sneaky ways to slowly centralize power, which is why several protests are occurring in the first place.
Next, we ate lunch and rushed to meet Professor Shutov, the Dean of the Political Science Department at Moscow State University. He talked a lot about the higher education system in Russia, but was also interested in speaking about corruption. He gave us an example of one student who told him that people hired by the Communist Party would go around the polling area and say to students that they would give them 2000 rubles if they gave them proof that they voted for Zyuganov. All the students had to do was check the box for Zyuganov, take out their phones, snap a picture, and show the photo to the communists in order to get their money. I guess people accused Putin of fraud, because can appoint the governors. If a governor's region had less that 65% voting for Putin, that he would consider that a failure of the governor to implement his policies and fire him as a result. Because of this, governors often created incentives for citizens to vote for Putin and often fixed the results to get above the 65% threshold. It was great to get a practical example of how corruption took place in the elections. We always hear abstract statements about how Russia is so corrupt, but it is difficult to get concrete examples of corruption.
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Worker and Kolkhoz Woman |
While the dean was interesting, I needed to get my blood flowing again. We went to the Cosmonaut Museum, which was right next to the All-Russia Exhibition Center. Although the museum was very well done, I had seen space things seven summers in a row by working at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. After thirty minutes of perusing the exhibits, I left with part of my group to the All-Russia Exhibition Center right next door. The Exhibition was opened in 1935 to celebrate the achievements of the USSR. Products made in every region of the Soviet Union were brought to the Center for Muscovites to try. Art competitions were usually held here and Soviet films were shown here as well. It is best known for being the site of Vera Mukhina's statue of the Worker and the Kolkhoz Woman, a gargantuan structure that depicts a man with a hammer racing to the future alongside a woman holding a sickle. Each republic of the Soviet Union built its own pavilion representing the diversity of its region (the Russian pavilion is the largest and most central, of course). The pavilions are designed in the shape of a ship, with Russia at the front, steering the country forward.
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Central Fountain - "Friendship of Nations" |
Walking into the Exhibition Center, it felt like going to Seabreeze. There were roller coaster rides on either side of me and lots of little kids running around, begging their parents for ice cream. People were able to rent bikes, rollerblades, peddle cars, and even segways at one of the many stands near the front entrance. The atmosphere was nice and playful. Everyone seemed to be happy. The Russian pavilion could be seen far in the distance, so we headed for that. Some interesting observations: we saw a vending machine that popped out a pizza if you put in 200 rubles, a soda machine in the design of a Soviet flag, and a kiddie pool for little kids to jump in, if their parents felt comfortable allowing their children to take a plunge into the hose water. At the center of the Exhibition was a giant fountain baroque-style fountain that got you wet if you stood near it and the wind was blowing in your face. Several people were literally inside the fountain and playing in it as if it were a swimming pool. I'm not sure if that was allowed, but it sure looked like fun. We sat around the fountain for half an hour, just getting a chance to relax after the long day. While some of our group paid eight dollars to ride the ferris wheel, I took the time to relax some more.
That night, we went to dinner with Lena, Masha, and Natasha, three of the Russian students from FFL. Lena was telling me about how here father works for a state-owned company and that her company is forced to provide lists of the workers to the government. She suspects that if her dad were ever to be spotted at a rally against Putin, he would be fired. Putin is slowly gaining more and more control of the country. It is great to watch history in action.
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