Kronshdat

Yesterday I went to Kronshdat, and island in the gulf of Finland reachable only by hydrofoil or a treacherous bus-ride over a 10km man-made spit, roughly 30 metres wide. Kronshdat was an essential in the Red Army's victory over the Nazi's during the siege of Leninigrad. Allied supplies were secreted into Leningrad through Kronshdat. It has always been a naval city. Before the war, The Russian Navy built a large installation there, which remains today. Some of the tiny islands that surround it were used for bubonic plage research facilities...you can see the ruined shells of the research buildings on the bus ride in. During the cold-war, Kronshdat was a submarine dock and repair facility. It was off limits to all but non-residents of the island up until 1996. It was quite strange to be walking in a place once forbidden to me. Had I found myself in Kronshdat in 1980, I would've been arrested if not shot on the spot.Our old friend Vladimir Illych Lenin, standing proud in the park. Very interesting. Kronshdat seems trapped in the soviet era. There has been little development on the island, save upgrades to the naval installations. It hasnt seen the kind of commercial movement and advances that St. Petes and Moscow have.Furthermore, Kronshdat is home to scores of sailors. Some live at the academy, others find less conventional homes amongst the trees and greenery of the island.Russians arent a particularly religous people. It seems though, that sailors (despite their coarse tongues) like to feel the warm light of providence on their shoulders as they set out for a long sea journey. Who can blame them? Kronshdat is a small island, but it boasts two amazing churches. The first, this quaint Orthdox church nestled near the island's Gostinny Dvor.And this, "the Church of the Sea." This is said to be based on the design of one of the largest churches in Constantinople and is the best example of Byzantine architecture in all of Russia. It sits atop a hill that descends into the Letny Sad (summer garden) and overlooks an old docking pool for ships, and later subs. The handles of the doors to the chapel are actually fish. AmazingNearby, the father of the Russian Navy steers his fleet towards their destiny, braving the icy northern seas, his beard frozen, cold waves licking his feet.

When will the sun stop?

The white nights have fallen upon this city. This means that the sun doesn't ever really set.For example, this picture was taken at 4 am a week ago. It is even brighter now!

My curtains are thin and sleep is a phantom I chase every night. These days, I often find myself walking out into the night, hopping the fence in front of the Kazan Cathedral and sitting on the lawn there until 3 or 4 am, watching the fountain with the drunks and lovers. It's hard to feel danger in a city with no shadows. Though my eyes are heavy dark bags now from lack of sleep, I'm happy. They say in Seattle and London people get SAD; the seasonal depressive disorder that results from a lack of sunlight. How can you not be happy after months of cold and grey and wet and white, to finally step into a neverending sunny day? We sit on the river and drink and watch the boats on the canals, listening for canadian accents, or french, or japanese. The city is flooded with toursists. Theyve come for the sun.This is an interesting public health warning about venereal disease I found near the 10 Pushkinskaya non-conformist art collective. Gets the point across quite nicely I think.View out my flat of the decaying building next door. This picture was taken at 11pm. I love this building. The color patterns the years of wear have left on its facade keep my eyes busy.Last weekend I went to an Aikido demonstration on Ligovsky Prospekt. A master from Japan had come to give a demonstration at a local martial arts school. I must admit, after all the xenophobia I have borne witness to here in Russia, it was somewhat satisfying seeing 300 lb russian fighters bowing and groveling to a 5'5 140lb japanese man, who then proceeded to toss them through the air 3 at a time. It was quite a sight.
God bless these dogs and the ease with which they sleep under the light of the ever-present sun. May the rest well, and find food when they awaken.