11 July 2006…The Crimea...is the first stop on my swing through Eastern Europe.  Crimea is peninsula that juts into the Black Sea in Ukraine.  It has an interesting history and perhaps is most famous for the 1945 summit between Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt where plans were drawn up for responsibilities and occupation in Europe at the end of WWII. 

This dividing of Europe led to development of the “iron curtain” dividing the West “free” nations from the Eastern Communist bloc.  Although Stalin promised free and fair elections in the areas under the control of the Russian Red Army, puppet governments were installed and supported by armed force in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia.  Further, the fates of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Moldova (that had been ceded to the Soviets by the Nazis in 1940) were sealed as permanent member republics of the USSR (CCCP).  Had free elections happened in any of these nations, it is unlikely that Communist governments would have been installed and the horrific oppressions would not have happened (nor the blight of Soviet-style architecture).

Crimea was something of a Soviet Riviera.  Workers sanitaria were in Yalta and surrounding towns so that the faithful could come and enjoy a holiday dipping in the frigid Black Sea waters (but let’s face it the Black Sea is a lot warmer than the northern Pacific, the Baltic, or the Arctic).   The major southern port for the Soviet Navy was at Sevastopol (a secret city until 10 years ago). 

Today, Crimea is still a vacation destination but it is far more commercial than old Joe could have ever imagined in his worst nightmare!  There are high-rises, time-shares, and various other tourist traps plunked down on the steep hillsides that lead to the coast.  Its political future is uncertain as it is established as a politically autonomous region of Ukraine and an election will be held at some point in the near future to offer its residents the option of rejoining Russia. It is interesting that this place where Stalin made promises that he never kept about self-determination may exercise that right.

My reason for coming is that Clipa Siderala operates its Sparta Camp here and I was delighted to spend some time and break some bread with them.  Again, I am impressed with their good work for the children of Moldova.

Halfway up the mountain in a cable car!

A visit to Camp Sparta...sleeping in tents and enjoying quality camp food!

The Hotel Ukraina where we stayed and one of Stalin's seven skyscrapers dotting the Moscow skyline.

14 July…The Heart of the Empire…Moscow is a capital!  It is the capital of Russian culture.  Beyond being the hub of the Russian Federation, it is a mythical city that resides in the heart of every Russian whether living in Russia or not.  It is a huge place, intimidating and sprawling—with millions of people and building scraping the sky in every direction.  It was also the brain of the Soviet Union and its satellites from 1917 until 1991.   

Every major decision (and most of the minor ones too) that were made throughout the USSR (CCCP) came from or with approval of Moscow.  The Supreme Soviet met here every five years to set the plan that would direct (or impede depending on your point of view) the nation for the next five years.  In the Kremlin, the Politburo made decisions about the missiles, treaties, and leadership.  The countless bureaucrats made decisions that affected schools, careers, and production for most of the communist world (including who went to university and who did not).  The top leaders of the infamous KGB directed state security from here using intelligence elicited from spying, torture, deportation, and murder from here.  It is hard to imagine that the boy I grew up in Alabama would ever be face to face with Vladimir Lenin!

Yes, Lenin lives (well is actually preserved under glass) in Moscow in a mausoleum that Soviets and others have filed by now for almost 80 years.  There is discussion of burying him in St. Petersburg next to his mother as he had requested, so I am glad to have gotten to say hey.  As for the other Soviet leaders, Stalin, Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko are buried in the walls of the Kremlin while Khrushchev is buried in a Moscow cemetery (deemed to controversial for the Kremlin Wall).  For a while Stalin was also preserved under glass but then people thought better of it.  By the way, Gorbachev is still alive—so I don’t think he can be buried or preserved anywhere yet.

In addition to saying “Hi” to Vladimir, I got see Moscow—the most expensive city in the world but it also helped me understand more of what the legacy of communism is and what the future of Russia is.

16 July 2006…Tere/Nagemiseni Estonia…Estonia is one of those little counties that, like Moldova, that was ceded to a Soviet “sphere of influence” by the Nazis as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact made in 1939.  Within a year, the Soviets compelled farcical elections to be held in Estonia the outcome of which was that the Estonian people “petitioned” to become a part of the Soviet Union!  During WWII, the Nazis and the Soviets fought for control of Estonia with the Soviets winning.  One interesting note is that in Estonia (as well as Latvia and Lithuania) the Germans are sometimes regarded as liberators because they were pushing the Soviets out.  Odd for me to fathom the Nazis as anything other than oppressors but when you consider the horrors that were perpetrated as a part of Stalin’s “Sovietification,” I guess I can understand why some people would see world events in a different light than I do.  Stalin killed almost five times as many people as Hitler did, and many more were forcibly relocated to Siberia and other faraway lands. 

Today, Estonia is one of three former Soviet republics to have acceded to the European Union and the contrast between here and Moldova is amazing.  Estonia has had the most dramatic increase in its standard of living among the 15 former republics while Moldova has actually declined.  Estonia is just 50 miles from Finland, so it had strong influence from Western Europe even when it was a part of the Soviet Union.  The other tell-tale sign of progress include prices that are about three times those I was used to in Chisinau but Tallinn is a lovely city with a walled center and tranquil harbor.

1 am and the sun still shines at the Arctic Circle (Rovaneimi, Finland).

22 July 2006…Finland…One week of something more like vacation before heading to visit my last two former Soviet republics—Latvia and Lithuania.  Interestingly, I have learned that Finland was also ceded to the Soviet sphere of influence in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact but that it successfully fought off the Soviets (with German aid).  The Soviets allowed Finland to remain independent in return for certain concessions which included ice-breaking ships, access to the west, and limitations on NATO and western influence in Finland.  The contrast between Finland and Estonia is amazing.  The contrast in architecture, commercial development, and infrastructure development is stunning.  The difference between Finland and Moldova is overwhelming.  Again, I am amazed at how devastating the Soviet Union was for economic development and quality of life issues.

One of my main interests in coming to Finland was to see the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, but alas—wrong season!  Instead I got to cross the Arctic Circle and see the midnight sun, which was also spectacular.  Tomorrow, it is on to Riga, then Vilnius, then Atlanta!  I have said for months now that I will be ready to come home when I get there and I think that still holds true.

The most amazing sight for me in Riga was the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia 1940-91.  Latvians contend that their country was occupied by the Soviets, the Nazis, and then the Soviets again for this entire time.  To give added weight to their point, in 1991 when Latvia declared its independence, it reverted back to the constitution that existed prior to its annexation into the Soviet Union in 1940.  Much of the museum is devoted to documenting the cruelties suffered in Latvia under both the Soviets and the Nazis--including annihilation of Latvian Jews, the execution or forced exile of suspected political dissidents, and the general repression of rights under the Soviets. 

One interesting exercise of Glasnost, which finally allowed Soviets the right to protest their government's actions was that in Riga, the citizens refused to allow the construction of an underground rail system as they feared it would negatively impact the historic city center.

The center of Riga is quite charming...

The Vilnius cityscape: new meets old.

Music was a powerful force in the former Soviet Union as well.  Almost all western rock artists were banned as counter-revolutionary--imagine listening to the Beatles in hiding, knowing that you could be arrested for having the album!  In fact the music of the Beatles among others was used to communicate among underground resistors in Lithuania and other parts of the USSR.  Perhaps that is why Vilnius has a monument to Frank Zappa.  It also has a haunting museum in the former KGB headquarters that now has the names of former prisoners etched on its walls.  Lithuania has been a good spot to end my time in Eastern Europe--it is old and new, deeply patriotic, and making an amazing transition from the old to the new--one that I will hope for Moldova as well.

There are just 8 hours until my flight leaves and I am ready to start my life again in Macon and in 24 hours I will begin to reassimulate to life in America. I learned a great deal during this adventure and I will always have a special place for Eastern Europe but most especially for Moldova in my heart.