| The first time I saw Dr. Zhivago I was caught... The
lilting tones of the balalaika, the sweeping expanses and waving grass,
shining golden onion domes, pastel-hued palaces and ornately carved wooden
peasant dwellings, along with the teeming hubbub and exotic smells
of cosmopolitan cities in a far-off land of wondrous mystery made me yearn
to know Russia
and her people. Growing up, I dreamed of Russia and its turbulent history,
fabulous wealth and exotic peoples. With the then North American fear of
the Communist Terror, it made for many secret dreams and forbidden fantasies... |
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As I learned more of the history, religion and culture
of this country, I became even more intrigued. The story of the founding
of Kievan Rus, the conversion to Orthodoxy,
the Doctrine of the Third Rome, and the fight to lift the Tatar yoke all
made great reading as a boy, and still do. The stories from the folk tales,
like the Firebird,
and the legends from Muscovy and Novgorod all make for a fascinating adventure
in a fabled land. But when one adds the great literary and artistic traditions
of later centuries, the drama of the tsars
and the Russian people, it becomes overwhelming. |
| Attempting to learn to speak Russian
was an exercise in endurance. But it did teach me so much about Russia
that was new. I was initiated into the wonders of Russian cookery and the
horrors of more recent history. Current
events make for equally enriching reading, and the latest news from
Moscow and St.
Petersburg is always interesting, sometimes disturbing, seldom boring. |
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I hope that you too will find this country as fascinating
as I. There are several interesting links, both here and on the links
page. You can even examine a few Russian pages,
or listen to some modern Russian music.
So explore this country and its people from your
computer. It will be a journey you won't regret to a land that is forever
renewing itself, yet forever the same. Experience it! |
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Maldon 
