Svetlana Alexievich’s book ‘The Unwomanly Face of War’ is one of the most impactful I’ve ever read. The book is a series of interviews with surviving women who fought in the Soviet Red Army during World War Two. Most (not all), of these women were medics and snipers. There are first-person tales of incredible stuff… Continue reading Ukraine: War and Wonders – Ukraine’s Womanly Face of War
Tag: Russia
Making a Bee-line to the Republic of Adygea, Russia
Honey, honey, honey – it seemed Adygea oozed the stuff. Everywhere we looked it seemed someone had set up a road-side stall and in total, were trying to sell more jars of golden honey than there were inhabitants of the Caucasian republic. Honey is nice but that wasn’t quite the bee-product we had in mind.… Continue reading Making a Bee-line to the Republic of Adygea, Russia
Lurking in the Streets of Old Tartarstan in Kazan
I admit it, I was lurking in the back streets of ‘Old Tartarstan’, Kazan. Trouble is, I like old buildings, and particularly quirky old doors and gates. Short of bubble-wrapping them and shipping them back home to New Zealand, I have to make do with photos. But even the most amazing old portals can need… Continue reading Lurking in the Streets of Old Tartarstan in Kazan
Kazan – the Peacock Big Enough to be Seen from Space
In about 2014 some genius decided to plant a peacock in front of the Kazan Kremlin. Kazan is the currently the capital of Republic of Tatarstan, part of the Russian Federation. The city is relatively recent, but for over a thousand years there has been a state of some form in this region. One of the… Continue reading Kazan – the Peacock Big Enough to be Seen from Space
In the Footsteps of Anthony Bourdain: Restaurant CoCoCo in St Petersburg, Russia
A meal in CoCoCo, a top St Petersburg restaurant? One featured in an episode of TV chef Anthony Bourdain? Would I be blowing a week’s travel budget, just to get a few outrageously little servings, then need to fill-up on pizza anyway? After a few days in St Petersburg we had formed a rule of… Continue reading In the Footsteps of Anthony Bourdain: Restaurant CoCoCo in St Petersburg, Russia
Tourists and War-Graves in Taganrog, South Russia
The man in the Taganrog Park spun around and said something at us. The only word I made out was ‘anglesky’ (‘English’)- the Russian had heard us speaking. Taganrog is well off the route of the average Western tourist in Russia. We were in Taganrog because our guide and driver Olga Tikidzhan (see her contact… Continue reading Tourists and War-Graves in Taganrog, South Russia
Nomadic Women’s Underwear – in Greek Tanais on the Russian Don
You’ll see the chick with red and green silk bloomers at Tanais… The River Don is one of Europe’s big ones. Even if you haven’t heard of it, the sound should be somewhat familiar – there’s Danube, Dnieper, and the Dniester. They all contain the ancient word ‘don’ word, which simply means …. ‘river’. The… Continue reading Nomadic Women’s Underwear – in Greek Tanais on the Russian Don
How to see the Porthole Dolmens of Russia’s Caucasus
Travelling in Russia last year I got a chance to see some of it’s famous prehistoric ‘Porthole Dolmens’. Now there is a solid dollop of ‘Atlantic facade’ DNA in me – i.e. Ireland and Scotland, and one of my pet fascinations is for the ‘megalithic monuments’ of those areas. Building megaliths was a widespread phenomenon… Continue reading How to see the Porthole Dolmens of Russia’s Caucasus
St Petersburg – 200 years of Russian Chick Selfies
Women, so I’ve read (and seem to observe), are significantly more likely to take ‘selfies’ than men. It doesn’t seem to matter where I go now, but there are crowds, struggling under the weight of a selfie-stick, with some digital apparatus on the end of it. In a previous incarnation, I was a photographer. This… Continue reading St Petersburg – 200 years of Russian Chick Selfies
The Log Cabin at the Heart of St Petersburg, Russia
The most famous ‘little log cabin in the woods’ is probably the one in which Abraham Lincoln grew up in Kentucky. It was built in 1808, but unfortunately, no longer exists. However, in St Petersburg, Russia, there is to this day, a log cabin built in 1703. It was the home for a few years of Tsar Peter… Continue reading The Log Cabin at the Heart of St Petersburg, Russia