22. July, Yekaterinburg – Some of you may have heard of Yekaterinburg under it’s previous name, Svedrlovsk. Svderlovsk was a renowned Bolshevik and after the October revolution the city got to bear his name. After the 1991 transition, it was again swiftly changed back in honor of Catherine the Great. Pick your preferences yourself.
The first sight we visited there has a similar historical significance, it was the place where the Romanov family where shot. If the Romanov name seems unfamiliar, Nikolaj Romanov, tsar of Russia, might ring more bells. His bells rang out long ago though, in a local engineer’s house after the 1918 revolution. The house is long gone, replaced by a cathedral built in 2000. The church and tsarist sympathies go hand in hand in Russia for obvious historical reasons. I wouldn’t loose much sleep over the demise of the Russian monarchy, but it would be hard to argue that the Bolsheviks that came after were any better. It’s one failed ideology after another for the Russians and their apetite for them does not seem to be drying out lately. One party rule seems quite a popular concept here, and I’m not thinking of the kind of party you would find in uvala Zrče. They both seem to inspire drunkeness though, one with power, the other with alcohol. Or is it both? Jelcin springs to mind…
Nevertheless, Russia still seems quite different today, with new, glass clad skyscrapers rising up in the tidy center of Yekaterinburg. 1.3 million of inhabitants is no small number either and is bound to grow as it seems.
We enjoyed the day more leisurely this time, laying on the grass right next to the lake occupying the centre of the city, observing passers by and generally not giving a shit about the lack of more classical tourist attractions. The usual batch of photos of the everpresent Lenin statues sufficed, along with some unlenin-like cruises through the shopping mall. All your ideology, all in one place, now with 20% discount for members of the communist party. ;)
One needs a good sip of beer after all those idiosyncracies and the Tinkoff brewery was the place to do just that. Unfiltered white beer, exactly what the doctor perscribed. Sadly, we couldn’t get the beer on perscription alone. Russia might need a health reform as well. :P