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Usually I try to study about a place as much as I can before traveling there. In preparation for this trip I did the usual reading and even watched some of the old Sergei Eisenstein movies again before departing from SFO. It wasn't enough and I couldn't catch up on the trip - there was just too much to see and do. Russia is vast, complex, fascinating, and important. It deserves a better understanding than we give it. This trip reminded me of that fact. Fortunately our guides provided some excellent lectures on life in Russia and Russsian history and they answered our questions. That helped a lot, but I still want to learn more about this "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."
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All of our guides were amazing. Fluent in English, knowledgable about the history of their country, and sincerely interested in answering our questions. On a few occasions some of our fellow travelers felt that they were being propagandized. I am not an expert in politics or history, but am interested in both subjects. I listened carefully to everything that we were told and I did not hear one single statement that I would label as untrue. I did disagree with a few of the conclusions, but found the rationale behind the guide's statement to be very educational. These men and women were, without exception, intelligent and proud of their country. It is understandable to me that they would explain their history in nationalistic terms.
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