Behind the Iron Curtain in Leningrad & Moscow
April 1986
Witnessing a world
Behind an Iron Curtain
Shutters shut. Blinds down
Entrance permitted
But with movements restricted
Suspicion abounds
Cold, grey, colourless
Monochrome. Sepiatone
Spectrum hand-me-down
*
A first impression of Russia – Welcome to Leningrad
Late night arrival
Black sky, glist’ning snow – floodlights
A chill in the air
Airport reception
Machine guns cocked and ready
Soldiers unsmiling
Stationary line
Of frustrated travellers
At Passport Control
Eyes penetrating
Passport details scrutinised
Microscopically
Stationary line
Of frustrated travellers
At Customs Control
Eyes penetrating
Jew’ll’ry, books, pers’nal effects
Assessed, judged, counted
Bemused collection
Of frustrated travellers
At Baggage Control
Facing ‘Bag Mountain’
An ‘Everest’ of luggage
– No conveyor belt
Reprieved from Death Row
A rustbucket miracle
Is disguised as a bus
Smoking and rattling
A journey-worn veteran
Days numbered for years
First journey. First sights
Of Communist East foreground
From my West background
Comparisons galore
No neon ads, no traffic!
A city asleep
A tongue that’s unknown
A Cyrillic alphabet
What will daylight bring?
Destination reached
Hotel Mokba, Nevsky Prospekt
Our home for 3 days
Huge classic landmark
5 star decaying elegance
– That will do nicely
*
Pockmarked and wartorn
Damp and cold, black, white and grey
Still shows its scars
It’s ‘lived in’ and ‘worn’
History everywhere
Embedded in stone
*
Don Quixote
Energy. Poise. Grace
Stunning new experience
Ballet at Kirov
*
While waiting in queues
On escalators, buses
People reading books
*
Travelling underground
Deep within the permafrost
L O N G escalator!!!
*
Leningrad contrasts
City of Revolution
And of culture too
Peter, Catherine
Decembrists and Bolsheviks
Revolt, Purge and Siege
Kirov’s Nijinsky
Nureyev and Pavlova
Hermitage treasures
Neva’s Aurora
Island Fortress, Palace, Square
Smolny, Finland Station
Lenin, Shostakovich
Intellectual achievement
Politics/Art entwined
Creativity
Surviving Revolution,
Turmoil, War and Fear
-but no sink plugs anywhere!
*
Join one queue for food
Then another one to pay
One more to collect
*
An overnight train
From Leningrad to Moscow
Now that should be fun!
A landscape passing
Seen through open train window
I’ll only see once
A shared compartment
With two snoring baritones
– They both slept soundly
*
Palatial platforms
With crystal chandeliers
A décor unique
Underground surprise
Sheer charm, splendour and beauty
Of Moscow Metro
*
Giselle
Big disappointment
Restricted view. Heard not seen
At Bolshoi Ballet
*
Turning back the clock
Time frozen in the twenties
Or earlier still
And this is Moscow!
A shopping experience
At GUM by Red Square
*
Not exactly Red
Nor is it exactly Square
But Red Square it is
A very long line
Of quiet shuffling people
Queueing for Lenin
*
A symbol of hope
Bravery and achievement
– Cosmos monument
*
Romeo & Juliet
Musical mastery
Expressive choreography
Sheer brilliance
*
Moscow’s beating heart
Walled city in walled city
This is the Kremlin
*
Hammer and sickle
A statue of unity
Worker and farmer
A true life doctrine?
All for one, and one for all?
Or propaganda?
Leave a Reply