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http://www.jeanlouie.com/

(A compendium of what I forgot to say, and that I have to say anyway.)

Do you know the word Soviet means Council?

Do you know there is a city called Moscow in Indiana?

Do you know that there is a city called Saint Petersburg in Florida?

In Russia, married women wear their ring in the right hand. On the left, it means they are divorced.

Pravda: the famed, oft-quoted official organ of the Communist Party, a staple of the Cold War, is still around. It is online at Pravda.ru

Izvestia: the former Communist news agency is definitely still in working order. But access to news is much more liberalized now, since glasnost (openness).

Mikhail Gorbachev has his own political party that is faring poorly in Russian politics. But the leader of perestroika has no complaint to voice (financially that is). He gives lectures around the world at 100K a pop.

Ismailov Market: renowned large free market in Moscow. Not as eclectic as the ones in Beijing. It looks like everyone is selling the same stuff.

GUM: Across the Kremlin, a mall where Communist Party members used to buy capitalist goods. Now open to the general public. Not worth the visit, aside for its historical curiosity.

Double-headed eagle: Symbol of the Tsars. Way before the U.S became the single-headed eagle.

Russia is the only industrialized nation with a decreasing life expectancy: from 64 before 1991 to 62 now, for males. Cause: Decreasing quality (and availability) of health care, among others. Capitalism has its flaws.

One dollar is worth 30 rubles, that makes us rich, in Russia. One ruble is made of 100 kopeks.

I rode the subway in Saint Petersburg. To reach to train, you have to use down an escalator that goes up to 200 yards down, to under the Neva River. Claustrophobic, please abstain!

The car manufacturing industry is thriving. Lada is a Russian product.

From my window at the Pribaltiyskaya Hotel, I could see the blue water of the Gulf of Finland. I wanted to go swimming. My guide explained to me that the water is too shallow for that. One has to walk kilometers before it reaches above the knee. This renders the Gulf of Finland quite inefficient for Saint Peterburgers who want to commit suicide. They have to overdose on vodka first, then shoot themselves in the head, before they can get drowned. Sad situation!

Please, visit: http://www.jeanlouie.com/

(The Traveller, Friday, June 20, 2003)