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 | Ten months Russia - review |
 Rich and poor
freedom and bureaucracy
lovely roads and bad pists
mountains and endless even
nature and pollution
well-groomed and broken
modern and old
loved and hated
At 13th of May 2005 we entered Russia. That it will be about ten months we spent at "Mother Russia" we never planned before.
After such a long time we want to review about it.
How about the things we knew about Russia before, what do we think about it now and what will be left in our mind?
At first people - their hostility, great hearts and their wish to help us. We enjoyed it many times through the whole travel in Russia.
People
There was the old man next to Volgograd who gave us a bottle of champagne because of he liked that Germans comes again as friends and what we are doing.
The weaponed watchman of a fuel-station who we asked for putting our tent behind the station was the opinion that we couldn't camp at this bad weather and invited us to his home. We stayed two days and left as friends.
Those who showed us the way by car, sometimes for hours, are uncountable.
Impressed we are about the biker’s network. Since we met some of them at a festival in Tomsk we are stuffed with telephone numbers until Kamchatka.
Once we asked for support for loading our bikes on the train - a posting in the forum of sinus.vl.ru caused many answers and new friends! In spite of the enormous distances the Russian bikers know each other and work together in a unique way!
We not only got a lot of help - even we met a lot of new friends.
Biking in Russia is a philosophy; they live their dream of freedom. A unique society!
When we asked for help we never have been turned away. People help if they can and if they started they will not stop until everything is fine and clear.
All people we met on our way just want to live together peaceful and without conflicts.
Poor, homeless people, veterans of war who don't get any support by their country - very often showed in German TV. They exist and they are more than poor. But there are also the rich and people like you and me who have a good life. Often they have several jobs. But it's like in Germany - they have TV, cars, apartment and a house outside the town. Nevertheless they are not satisfied and if they asked everything is missing.
It's not easy for us to tell about the economic situation. We live cheap and are able to leave Russia. But it's sure that there are not only the in German TV shown disasters. We met many people who try to reach their aim, have good ideas and work for realizing them.
Bureaucracy and regulations
Next to many new friends Russian bureaucracy will stay in our mind. Especially because of our six months stay in Burjatia. Unfortunately we will keep it in no good mind.
Never ask "Why?" You won't find logical reasons if they tell about punishment (Strafa) and demand impossible things. Until now we never paid any money for "Strafa".
All the small and big hurdles and regulations seem made for harass foreigners. All this made it sometimes not easy to stay here and took a lot of the beauty of Russia.
It's nearly impossible to inform yourself in Germany about the laws and regulations. Russian embassy just tells you to visit the bad website or to ask other organisations like travel-agencies.
„Bribery is usual for the Miliz and controls by the traffic-police feared.“.
Many times we have been stopped by the Russian traffic-police. All the one and five Dollar notes we took with us only for bribery are still in our luggage, unused.
It would have been more sensible to learn the answers to all the questions we have been asked by the often friendly policemen. Where we are from, where to go, how much fuel needed, how many HP, how long on our way and why in Russia?
Only one tried to get some Ruble but after we just replied "Ni panimaju" (I don't understand) he let us go.
No we never have had a reason for fear!
„Russian-Mafia is dangerous and everywhere“
What or who is the Russian-Mafia? All these people who make more or less illegal business for some more Rubels? If yes than it's not very difficult to be illegal with all these regulations.
Or is it the gangs who kill and steal in Russian cities and which the western TV likes to show in documentations?
The times of the fighting between gangs have passed and there not more killers than in European cities
We asked people we met on our way for the Mafia. "No fear, they are all in Europe - there is more money to get..." , was one of the answers.
It's like everywhere on the world - if you like to show your money, owning a lot of expensive high-tech, you don't have to be surprised about stealing.
Being always careful, hiding money and high-tech and showing some respect and tact, which should be obvious while travelling all over the world, we could avoid trouble up to now.
„Vodka is national drink which all Russians are adicted to“
Alcoholism is a big problem in Russia. This we won't deny.
But you can't take this for the whole nation! The used reportation in western media is not very clever.
We learned when and how Vodka is normally used to drink. Its use to serve guests a glass - about 200 ml we only heard, 2 cl are normal - together with something to eat. Never drink without eating!
Use is three glasses which are liked to be drunk fast. Even we had to learn that it's no formal to empty the glasses (this is typical German ;-)).
So it's ok if you just take the glass to the lips and put it back on the table.
If you are travelling from one host to the other (which the most reporters do so) you always are invited for Vodka. So you must get the impression all Russians always drink Vodka.
The regular in TV shown alcoholics sleeping on benches in the park, staggering across your way in the early morning or dieing in frosty winter because of having no place to go to, they exist.
In Europe the alcoholics can go into special houses or use social programs - in Russia these things only exist for paying. So the homeless people are visible for everyone, living on the street.
More than once we also had some problems with drunken Russians.
Most people we met during our long stay in Russia are people like you and me, drinking not more and not less than Germans.
“Siberia is cold and dangerous”
Thinking about Russia most people think about neverending width and the frosty Siberia.
These even lands, only one road always straight on. It begins behind the Ural Mountains where Western Siberia begins. We crossed it with our bikes in the hot summer at temperatures about 35° C. It's fascinating, full of mosques and we don't have to do it again.
"Dangerous Siberia" - we spent one fall and one winter there. Exactly in the South-East at Lake Baikal. A small village has been our home from November till April.
Life on the countryside is simple, water will be pumped by hand (or electric pump), toilet outside and wood used for heating. But is this poor?
Eternal ice, empty landscape and hard living conditions - this we have not seen.
It's a big difference if you stay in the North or the South of Siberia. It's too huge to be be described in one sentence.
„Shelves in magazines are almost empty, western products doesn't exist“
We stocked up our supply of western products in Istanbul first. Finally we have been on our way to Ukraine, a former land of the USSSR.
In the first supermarket we have been they had everything we want!
Before entering Russia we have not been much more clever and bought new supplies on the Krim Island again.
Same thing in the first magazine we went in - full shelves and all you need!
On our way through Russia we missed nothing and hungry we never went to bed.
All these small "Produktis" (magazines) offer everything needed and much more!
Also during our winter in Eastern Siberia we got all we needed at the market in Ulan-Ude. Huge supermarkets have been build, offering all you need.
„Existing technique is old and nothing is working correct“
Russia is a country which is in middle of a difficult development, suffering under the result of Soviet times.
Many industrial buildings was only build for producing fast and noone thought about renovating and renews them.
Today money is missing for rebuilding the old industries and build new ones. All these dirty areas and pollution causing industries, shown in TV, they exist.
Some busses driving in towns have been new - to the times of Stalin. Most houses are still heated by central regulated heating, Siberians houses are still not well isolated. About this the western media likes to report without asking why and looking at history.
People in Russia have not learned to ask why, change things or to learn out of history. It will take much time until Russia has found a way out of Soviet history.
Many people think critically now, many buildings are rebuild, new industry grows, environment organisations come gathering, modern houses and many new things coming slowly - all this exists but it doesn't fit into a documentation about Russia.
Our long stay in Russia has now finished. We have seen a lot, good and bad things. Found many new friends and people working for a better Russia. Fascinated about this huge country with all its' problems, bad and good things we only can say that it's not possible to describe this land in a few sentences.
It's so different from West to East, you have to experience it!
Alexandra Hartmann & Carsten Kraft
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