As most of you probably know, Russia has been experiencing a sudden rise in violence over the past two weeks. First, there were the attacks on the Moscow Metro system. These were shortly followed by a car bombing in the region of Dagestan. These attacks are the result of a recent resurgence of political unrest in several of Russia's separatist regions in the Caucasus. Fundamental Islam, Russia's tight (some might say violent) security measures in recent border conflicts (which many believe to be justified), as well as the continuing economic pressures resulting from the economic crisis have all played a part in the recent outburst of violence. It has been a strange couple of weeks here as I have been forced to adjust to the increased threat of violence on the Metro system. I don't believe an attack has ever hit so close to home for me, including the attacks on the World Trade Center. Having traveled through the stations that were bombed, it felt incredibly unnerving watching the footage of the bombings on the news. Perhaps even stranger was traveling through Park Kulturi and Lubyanka again and not seeing any notable damage; as if nothing had really happened. The only uplifting part of the experience was seeing the memorial at Park Kulturiy, where there was a pile of flowers rising above my waist level. Walking by, I have seen many people in tears, many people making the sign of the cross, and many more just casting an uneasy glance at the site of the bombing.
A picture of the memorial at Park Kulturiy
And one of the memorial at Lubyanka
And some more pictures, from my adventures in Moscow:
Krasnaya Presnaya, a street in the western part of Moscow's city center
A Green Perekrostok, a bourgeois upgrade of the ordinary blue Perekrostok (a Russian chain of supermarkets)
Russia has recently been trying to tackle its smoking and drinking problems, some would say rather aggressively. A week before, they had an ad with a cigarette being put out on a baby. More recently, there was one with a bullet warning us about the dangers of second-hand smoke.
A picture from the Sokolniki region, where Vicka and I recently attended a hockey game (see previous posts)
Another Sokolniki picture
A picture of he Metro station at Vistavichnaya...
and another one
The apartment building where one of my students lives
And another picture of Moscow City, the business center of Moscow
and another
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