Uglich, Russia 2009
I thought you’d like to see what a small town in Northern Russia looks like. The stately yellow building probably once housed a government office. Now it houses a grocery. It says so in English; “Food Store” is written on the sign by the front door. A Kodak advertisement shows that Kodak, despite its financial difficulties, still means photography all over the world.
Uglich is a small city of 40,000 souls as Gogol used to write. These old cabin like homes line the streets nearby the grocery store above. Built at least a hundred years ago, they are sinking into the ground. The window panes are double or triple glass and frequently display a rather sickly plant struggling toward the sun. I rarely saw a person as I walked up and down the neighborhood. Once a tall, leggy blonde, dressed as if she were going to lunch in New York, pushed a baby carriage down the uneven sidewalk, heading toward the shops. A toothless man pedaled by on his bicycle but didn’t return my “hello”. I wasn’t surprised. After years of communism, Russians look askance at strangers.
This log cabin looks substantial and well cared for . Larger than most of the houses I passed, it has typical gingerbread trim on the windows and would look at home in almost any area of Russia including Siberia. Perhaps a wealthy merchant or an official of some sort once lived here.
For a humorous but real glimpse of life in Russia written by a Peace Corps Volunteer click the link below.
:http://ericschempp.tripod.com/russia/stories/somethingfromhome.html