What with the holiday weekend, and it being spring and all, I've managed to get out with a few friends over the last few days. The first picture comes from VDNKh (Vay-Day-En-Kha), or the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy. Formerly the "Soviet Disneyland," most of the pavilions have today fallen on hard times. Some have been transformed into unabashed corporate advertising, while others have been chopped into dozens of kiosks selling cheap plastic crap, behind which you can catch glimpses of the Stalinist neo-Classical architecture of the core of original pavilions, which date from the late 1930s and early 1950s.
This statue by sculptor Vera Mukhina, however, is worth the Metro ride. It was originally designed for and displayed at the Paris World's Fair in 1937, where it capped the Soviet pavilion that, fittingly enough, faced the pavilion constructed by Nazi Germany. After returning, it has served as a symbol of VDNKh, graced the introduction to films made my Mosfilm, and, recently, been relocated to a prominent new location atop a suitable pedestal for such a work of Stalinist Art Deco.
The other highlight of VDNKh: ponchiki (not pictured), which are small doughnut-type pastries. There are several stands tucked into a corner, which I had heard rumored to be the best in the city. I'm no expert, but they were really, really fresh and good.
Today, in search of some sun and fresh air, a friend and I hopped on a suburban train for a ride to Sergeev Posad, home of the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius. If you'll read back to May/June of 2007, I've been there before. Not much has changed. But the air was fresh, the sky blue, the sun bright, and the kvass delicious.
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| "The Worker and the (Woman) Collective Farmer" |
This statue by sculptor Vera Mukhina, however, is worth the Metro ride. It was originally designed for and displayed at the Paris World's Fair in 1937, where it capped the Soviet pavilion that, fittingly enough, faced the pavilion constructed by Nazi Germany. After returning, it has served as a symbol of VDNKh, graced the introduction to films made my Mosfilm, and, recently, been relocated to a prominent new location atop a suitable pedestal for such a work of Stalinist Art Deco.
The other highlight of VDNKh: ponchiki (not pictured), which are small doughnut-type pastries. There are several stands tucked into a corner, which I had heard rumored to be the best in the city. I'm no expert, but they were really, really fresh and good.
Today, in search of some sun and fresh air, a friend and I hopped on a suburban train for a ride to Sergeev Posad, home of the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius. If you'll read back to May/June of 2007, I've been there before. Not much has changed. But the air was fresh, the sky blue, the sun bright, and the kvass delicious.
2 comments:
Ahem: I believe Jenifer and I dubbed it Soviet EPCOT...
Hah, well I must have missed that one, but who am I to contradict? Soviet EPCOT it is.
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