Going to Russia with Love

Zelenogorsk, Russia (Siberia) - Why would anyone go there? Well, as I sit and sip a cup of hot tea, I remembered the day we got the lucky news; we were cleared to go!

In 1997, my son and several other middle school students built a space station to simulate living on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. The kids actually made a record (30 hours) space simulation where no one could leave the “station” (a huge geodesic dome complete with air-conditioning, computers, bunks, and kitchenette). They were in touch via the internet with NASA, parents, friends, and even the Russian Space Center who caught wind of their simulation. In short, they were invited by Russia to attend the Space Consortium in Zelenogorsk with other like-minded students from Russia and Poland. (Click for article)

Now, here is where divine intervention comes in…a wonderful man in Haines City (who remained anonymous) decided that students could bridge the gap between our two countries and bring a little more peace to the world. He would pay for the entire trip! Can you believe that? And so, I was invited to attend the conference as well and join my son and the others as ambassadors of the US and Haines City. We were really going!

The trip to Zelenogorsk took months of planning: attaining Visas and passports, vaccinations, and learning about the country and the long trip we were about to embark upon. We solicited donations of pens, pencils, and jeans (we heard they were hard to get over their). Local banks and companies were glad to “represent”.

The flight over was typical, but the flights between St. Petersburg and Zelenogorsk were…scary! Russian airlines allowed dogs and animals in the cabin area. You try going to the bathroom when there is a German shepherd lying on the floor like he was on guard! Then when the plane landed, several of the unoccupied seats fell forward showing the straw and horsehair padding. We were definitely learning the differences in the travel standards between our two countries. That became even more apparent when, in route, we drove past nuclear power plants just a stones throw away from the road!

St. Petersburg was a beautiful, bright colored city: light blues and white, gilded gold, etc. It’s certainly a spot worth seeing in this world. The great Peterhoff on the Gulf of Finland was a memorable visit, and unlike its counterpart, the more formidable (militaristic) Moscow with its darker reds, greens, and black. We were lucky enough to tour both amazing cities before flying to Zelenogorsk. Traveling through so many time zones (four more, I believe) was definitely fatiguing.

Another flight and another day of sleep deprivation had us giddy. A tour bus picked us up and drove to one of Russia’s gated or “closed cities”. It was here that “the mother” in me kicked in. A guard (gate keeper) came aboard with a machine gun of some sort and requested we shut off all the cameras and enter the guard house one by one to show the proper documentation. I could not believe my eyes! What kind of city were we about to enter?

I came from the cold war era – a bit of a closed mind and maybe a closed heart – because my former husband was a Nuclear Naval Officer and played Russian roulette or “tag, your it” kind of games with Russian submarines. Luckily though, the kids thought it was very cool and hurried to oblige the guard. I just prayed we would not do something stupid and be put in the gulag. After all, we were traveling with tweens, and kids will be kids. As it turned out, after producing all the documentation for each and every one of us, we were in! Inside this gated city (by gated I mean an eight foot wall that runs the city’s circumference with bob wire on top of that), was a very peaceful feeling. After all, who would commit a crime here? There’s no way to get out without armed guards to stop you.

Zelenogorsk is a small city with lots of surrounding farm land and mountains. We learned that people who work in the city generally work for the government and are given family plots to grow their own food and own a dairy cow or two. The more prestigious the family patriarch, the more plots they could obtain. The apartments in the city are their home away from home so to speak. So, families stay in the city during the week, and they go country for the weekend.

Our first official duty was to exchange flags with the “mayors” of Zelenogorsk and Poland’s equivalent. We were presented with beautifully bound books of Zelenogorsk and treated to lunch for some pomp and ceremony. The kids were delighted when dancers greeted us with the Bread Ceremony. Who ever takes the biggest bite, gets to sit at the head of the table. That person may call the shots so to speak, and with that, we started to dine and be entertained with splendid song and dance.


While the kids attended the space consortium secluded in the White Birch forests just a few miles from the town’s center, the adult chaperones had an opportunity to visit the local school. To greet us, the students there had a chorus band awaiting our arrival even though they were officially off for summer. They sang a song in English, and then we took a tour of the different subject classes, grades one through twelve. All the children walk to school in Zelenogorsk. They had a beautiful gym and ballet room, a computer lab, cafeteria, and even display cases with their arts and crafts. I brought home a hand painted Russian egg from one the students. I was impressed by the acceptance of our cultural differences. They spoke English pretty well; we spoke only a word or two of Russian. Most European students learn more than one language!

On one occasion, I got to pick up my son form camp to have dinner at an English teacher’s country home. I’m also a teacher, so we had a lot in common and had made fast friends. Galena and her family own two plots. Their home was small but comfortable, and they had a real toilet! A toilet like ours back home is a luxury over here. Before dinner, we actually picked our own potatoes, lettuces, strawberries, carrots, cabbage, and even helped milk their cow. What an extraordinary meal they made us! My son, to this day, loves growing his own garden.

Our hotel, back in the city, was not like those in the USA. The buildings we saw as we traveled were of muted tones and unappealing really. Surprisingly, the interiors were often picturesque
with huge atriums and bird houses. Most of our room’s bathrooms were rough to say the least and many toilets did not have seats or lids. I was lucky! The water was rusty (old cast iron boilers), so we were warned to use only bottled water. The problem with that was that it was fizzy water, and by now, I had small ulcers from drinking it so often. We even brushed our teeth with carbonated water! That was a real joy. I literally dreamt of having cool, clean, “flat” water.

We persevered through these adversities like troopers. We learned that the people of Zelenogorsk were friendly, accepting, and gracious. We had an African-American student and his mom with our group, and they were actually delighted that color was not an issue. In fact, everyone wanted to touch his hair and hold his hand. He told me later that he felt like a rock n’ roll star. It was stated that it had been thirty years since an African- American had been in town, but then… it was Siberia. This is one of few cities that do not have to pay taxes to Moscow, and they were originally one of the most technologically rich cities due to the Uranium sources in the mountains. I should have made lead underwear for my son!

The city encourages entrepreneurial forms of commerce like the factory using “smart” machines to make a chemical fiber (equal in its quality to cotton) or “Siberian” cotton like we see as a down alternative in comforters, siblon fabrics for dress making, and smaller businesses like the famed folk-master crafter, Valentina Baranova. Her toy animals made of clay go far beyond the closed city and are exhibited in many museums and galleries around the world. I have a few of her characters, which all have holes to create a kind of whistle.

Almost two week into our trip and we were ready to go home with the exception of one last stop…the Space Center Moscow. The local airport was a nightmare; it was not built for tourism! The toilet situation there really threw us off balance; how do those women do it? Tired as we were from yet another long flight, we were amazed by the similarity to NASA-Kennedy Space Center except everything was

in Cyrillic letters! We got to talk to the Russian astronauts as they
buzzed by in outer space; they pass by every 90 minutes! The kids were delighted. The Russian government made sure we were treated well! It was such a privilege, and one that is given to few people!

Life lessons were learned, and a new found respect for our own country emerged. That is why one would go to such a far out place in the middle of no where! The kids went with open minds and open hearts, and as for me, I let go of a Cold War’s worth of ambivalence. I recommend two stops: St. Petersburg with its Peterhoff and Hermitage Museum ( a Baroque Winter Palace with paintings of Renoir, Monet, and Van Gogh), and Moscow (see the Church of the Resurrection of Christ as it seemingly pops up out of nowhere) just to see the differences between these two historical cities.

Time for another cup of tea!

P.S. With profound thanks to that very special “sponsor”.