Ghetto-Fabulous Gatchina
Although it rarely works out that way, Friday is nominally our day off. While we often have meetings or office work to do--and occasionally, a Shabbat meal to prepare for our guests!--Fridays are meant to be a little more low-key and relaxed. This Friday, we were able to take some time off and enjoy a fun day of sightseeing and Shabbat services.
Being a good husband, I deferred to Alyson's desire to see the Gatchina palace. Located about 60 km outside SPB, Gatchina is the ugly step-sister of the prestigious SPB palaces, like Peterhof, the Hermitage, Yusupov Palace, Pushkin, and Pavlovsk (I like to call them the Pretty Palaces, because they are just so over-the-top lavish). In fact, many tourist publications don't even mention Gatchina. Why? Because after the incessant bombing of WWII, the palace was a shambles. While the Soviets did a fantastic job restoring the major palaces, they left much of Gatchina untouched, unrestored, and generally unloved. So, as we set off on our journey this morning, I wasn't expecting anything special.
The adventure started with our bus ride. Sitting in front of us were two young men speaking English. One look at their dark suits told me exactly who they were: Mormons (or, as they prefer to call themselves, missionaries from the Church of Latterday Saints). Mormons are becoming a more and more common sight in this part of the world; just two weeks ago, the 80 Mormon missionaries in the SPB-area came together for a conference in downtown SPB. Think about it: they have 80 people working in just the greater Petersburg area--talk about a big operation! Now, don't get me wrong--we love Christian missionaries, because they are so darn nice, friendly, and supportive of our work. But when you meet two young men with such incredibly different worldviews, as these guys did, what do you have to talk about for a 40-minute bus ride?
I won't bore you with all the details, but I will tell you what I found fascinating. Did you know that these two guys are part of a worldwide network of 50,000 Mormon missionaries? By contrast, Chabad, which seems ubiquitous in this part of the world, has just 4,000 missionaries and only 150 in the FSU. Did you know that these Mormons sign up for a two-year commitment, with no knowledge or say in where they get placed? Or that they all pay the movement $400 per month to be missionaries, regardless if they live in SPB, Shanghai, or South Africa? That's spending nearly $10,000 of your own money to leave your family, move to a strange country, and work your tail off for your faith. Let's do a little math:
50,000 people x $400/month x 12 months/year = $240 million per year income from the missionaries
What an insane amount of money! What a massive commitment! I mean, these two guys make Alyson and me look like we're receiving executive-level CEO treatment! One other funny thing--since Mormons don't drink alcohol, they often have uncomfortable situations when they are at Russian houses and they are offered vodka to drink. But they seem to have mastered the ins and outs of Russian hospitality--sadly, when they were telling us about the hospitality of Russian homes, Alyson and I couldn't relate.
On to Gatchina. What makes this palace so unique, and gives it a lot of character, is that much of the building is still ruined and, rather than be cordoned off, the decrepit rooms are displayed openly alongside pictures depicting its former glory. Of course, many of the rooms have been restored and are gorgeous--but, seriously, after you've been bombarded with the inlaid floors, the gilded mirrors, the finely-detailed furniture, and the overwhelming ostentatiousness of the Pretty Palaces, you become jaded and it all starts blending together. It's easy to sit back and say, "Oh, those stingy czars--if only they had shared their wealth with the starving people. But they were too self-centered and superficial!" But, in the mid-1860s, when the Russian monarchy was at its height, America was locked in a brutal Civil War. So you have to keep everything in perspective and not get carried away by criticism. For more pictures--and these are really interesting, since you get to see a lot of half-destroyed rooms--click here.
On the way back, we had another small-world experience: one of the families we work with at EVA was on the bus as well! They don't speak any English, but they are one of those families that came back to Russian from Israel, so they decided to ask us questions about the palace in Hebrew!
To end our day, we attended Shabbat services at Hillel; this week, the theme was Israel's Independence Day. They had a nice crowd of about 50 young people, and the program was interactive and engaging. It never fails to affect me when I hear Russian voices singing Hatikvah.
In all, a very exciting Friday!
Being a good husband, I deferred to Alyson's desire to see the Gatchina palace. Located about 60 km outside SPB, Gatchina is the ugly step-sister of the prestigious SPB palaces, like Peterhof, the Hermitage, Yusupov Palace, Pushkin, and Pavlovsk (I like to call them the Pretty Palaces, because they are just so over-the-top lavish). In fact, many tourist publications don't even mention Gatchina. Why? Because after the incessant bombing of WWII, the palace was a shambles. While the Soviets did a fantastic job restoring the major palaces, they left much of Gatchina untouched, unrestored, and generally unloved. So, as we set off on our journey this morning, I wasn't expecting anything special.
The adventure started with our bus ride. Sitting in front of us were two young men speaking English. One look at their dark suits told me exactly who they were: Mormons (or, as they prefer to call themselves, missionaries from the Church of Latterday Saints). Mormons are becoming a more and more common sight in this part of the world; just two weeks ago, the 80 Mormon missionaries in the SPB-area came together for a conference in downtown SPB. Think about it: they have 80 people working in just the greater Petersburg area--talk about a big operation! Now, don't get me wrong--we love Christian missionaries, because they are so darn nice, friendly, and supportive of our work. But when you meet two young men with such incredibly different worldviews, as these guys did, what do you have to talk about for a 40-minute bus ride?
I won't bore you with all the details, but I will tell you what I found fascinating. Did you know that these two guys are part of a worldwide network of 50,000 Mormon missionaries? By contrast, Chabad, which seems ubiquitous in this part of the world, has just 4,000 missionaries and only 150 in the FSU. Did you know that these Mormons sign up for a two-year commitment, with no knowledge or say in where they get placed? Or that they all pay the movement $400 per month to be missionaries, regardless if they live in SPB, Shanghai, or South Africa? That's spending nearly $10,000 of your own money to leave your family, move to a strange country, and work your tail off for your faith. Let's do a little math:
50,000 people x $400/month x 12 months/year = $240 million per year income from the missionaries
What an insane amount of money! What a massive commitment! I mean, these two guys make Alyson and me look like we're receiving executive-level CEO treatment! One other funny thing--since Mormons don't drink alcohol, they often have uncomfortable situations when they are at Russian houses and they are offered vodka to drink. But they seem to have mastered the ins and outs of Russian hospitality--sadly, when they were telling us about the hospitality of Russian homes, Alyson and I couldn't relate.
On to Gatchina. What makes this palace so unique, and gives it a lot of character, is that much of the building is still ruined and, rather than be cordoned off, the decrepit rooms are displayed openly alongside pictures depicting its former glory. Of course, many of the rooms have been restored and are gorgeous--but, seriously, after you've been bombarded with the inlaid floors, the gilded mirrors, the finely-detailed furniture, and the overwhelming ostentatiousness of the Pretty Palaces, you become jaded and it all starts blending together. It's easy to sit back and say, "Oh, those stingy czars--if only they had shared their wealth with the starving people. But they were too self-centered and superficial!" But, in the mid-1860s, when the Russian monarchy was at its height, America was locked in a brutal Civil War. So you have to keep everything in perspective and not get carried away by criticism. For more pictures--and these are really interesting, since you get to see a lot of half-destroyed rooms--click here.
On the way back, we had another small-world experience: one of the families we work with at EVA was on the bus as well! They don't speak any English, but they are one of those families that came back to Russian from Israel, so they decided to ask us questions about the palace in Hebrew!
To end our day, we attended Shabbat services at Hillel; this week, the theme was Israel's Independence Day. They had a nice crowd of about 50 young people, and the program was interactive and engaging. It never fails to affect me when I hear Russian voices singing Hatikvah.
In all, a very exciting Friday!
posted by Matt Fieldman at 9:06 PM
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