Lots of Flowers / Not Many Voters
Today is March 11, Election Day, and surprisingly, things are relatively quiet here. From local media reports that we've seen, less than 25% of the local population is expected to vote. Our informal conversations with friends only reinforce the anticipated low voter-turnout, although we did receive a handwritten invitation to go and vote. A number of our friends and family back home have asked us to comment on the elections and the recent protests in St. Petersburg; since we are here for other reasons and have been entirely consumed by Purim celebrations, Passover preparations and hosting Shabbat meals, we haven't paid much attention. We try to keep abreast of the news, but it's mostly through the international media. One recent op-ed piece caught my eye and I thought it was worthy of being shared here:
Breaking Putin's Cordon | The Washington Post | by Masha Lipman | 10 Mar 2007
In other recent goings-on, this past Thursday was a national holiday: International Women's Day. It felt to me like a cross between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, and not anything like the politically-motivated women's rights day that it is in the States.
Interestingly, I learned that International Women's Day was founded in 1911 by a German Jewish women's rights activist, Clara Zetkin, and that International Women's Day was proved to be the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. It wasn't until 1965, though, that it became an official holiday here in Russia, replete with a day off from work, according to the official USSR decree "in commemoration of outstanding merits of the Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, their heroism and selflessness at the front and in rear, and also marking the big contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples and struggle for the peace."
Seems all very lofty, but in reality, it's a rather meaningless holiday in my estimation. Men here typically shower their women in chocolates and flowers, and true to tradition, I received a number of gifts from my colleagues while my inner feminist cringed. I've never seen quite so many flowers before in my life -- it looked like the Amsterdam Flower Market set up shop outside virtually every Metro station in St. Petersburg! Matt dutifully bought roses for all of the women we work with at YESOD, but when we got to the flower shop that morning, there was a line nearly 20 men long! We opted for one of the make-shift stands nearby instead!
International Women's Day is also supposed to herald the start of spring, and if the weather is any indicator, it's right on time! The temperatures here have consistently stayed above freezing for the last week and have even peeked into the 40s on a few days. But more importantly, the grocery stores here got the memo about the start of spring: all of a sudden, more fresh fruits and veggies have appeared on the store shelves, just in time for our monthly Shabbat dinner on Friday night! We hosted 6 friends: 2 Americans, 1 Israeli/Russian, and 3 Russians. It was a wonderful feeling to sit around the table discussing this week's parsha, debating issues related to culture and assimilation, and celebrating Shabbat together. Another highlight of the weekend was the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the International Women's Club that was held last night at the Yusapov Palace. Here's a picture of us all fancied up (in our apartment, NOT the palace)!
Breaking Putin's Cordon | The Washington Post | by Masha Lipman | 10 Mar 2007
In other recent goings-on, this past Thursday was a national holiday: International Women's Day. It felt to me like a cross between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, and not anything like the politically-motivated women's rights day that it is in the States.
Interestingly, I learned that International Women's Day was founded in 1911 by a German Jewish women's rights activist, Clara Zetkin, and that International Women's Day was proved to be the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. It wasn't until 1965, though, that it became an official holiday here in Russia, replete with a day off from work, according to the official USSR decree "in commemoration of outstanding merits of the Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, their heroism and selflessness at the front and in rear, and also marking the big contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples and struggle for the peace."
Seems all very lofty, but in reality, it's a rather meaningless holiday in my estimation. Men here typically shower their women in chocolates and flowers, and true to tradition, I received a number of gifts from my colleagues while my inner feminist cringed. I've never seen quite so many flowers before in my life -- it looked like the Amsterdam Flower Market set up shop outside virtually every Metro station in St. Petersburg! Matt dutifully bought roses for all of the women we work with at YESOD, but when we got to the flower shop that morning, there was a line nearly 20 men long! We opted for one of the make-shift stands nearby instead!
International Women's Day is also supposed to herald the start of spring, and if the weather is any indicator, it's right on time! The temperatures here have consistently stayed above freezing for the last week and have even peeked into the 40s on a few days. But more importantly, the grocery stores here got the memo about the start of spring: all of a sudden, more fresh fruits and veggies have appeared on the store shelves, just in time for our monthly Shabbat dinner on Friday night! We hosted 6 friends: 2 Americans, 1 Israeli/Russian, and 3 Russians. It was a wonderful feeling to sit around the table discussing this week's parsha, debating issues related to culture and assimilation, and celebrating Shabbat together. Another highlight of the weekend was the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the International Women's Club that was held last night at the Yusapov Palace. Here's a picture of us all fancied up (in our apartment, NOT the palace)!
posted by Alyson Fieldman at 11:32 AM
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