Russia
Moscow Russia St Basile
“A difficult problem presents itself ceaselessly to the Russian – the problem of organizing his vast territory. The immensity of Russia, the absence of boundaries, was expressed in the structure of the Russian soul. The landscape of the Russian soul corresponds with the landscape of Russia, the same boundlessness, formlessness, reaching out into infinity.”
– Nikolai Berdyaev
Russia is the world’s largest country and it has shores on three oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Acrtic). The diverse landscape ranges from marshes to mountains and deserts, both sandy and frozen–all that serve as home to a variety of wildlife and ecosystems.
Within Russia you can find a medley of cultures (120 ethnic groups), languages (more than 100) and people. The majority of citizens can trace their ancestry to the Slavs who settled in Mother Russia nearly 2,000 years ago. Other groups descend from the Tatars who came with the Mongols and Ukrainians.
Russia‘s contributions to the arts and literature are rich and timeless from Leo Tolstoy (writer whose nephew we’ve met) to composers like Tchaikovsky, just to name a few.
Having lived in and traveled to parts of Russia we have an affinity for this country. The people are warm, passionate and hospitable and they are certainly not a reflection of their government.
Enjoy learning more about Mother Russia–her treasures and her history.
The Romanov family was infamously and brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks at the end of World War I. Czar Nicholas II, his wife, and their five children were executed to make way for the new ruling hierarchy under the communist leadership of Vladimir Lenin.
The country of Russia celebrated a very successful Olympic and Paralympic Games and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Sochi. For us, the Paralympic Games were transformative. We saw many examples of courage, strength, humanity and the belief that all things are possible, especially in the face of great adversity. For a spectator, traveling to the Olympic Games takes about 24 hours of constant travel, but once you see Sochi and all it has to offer, the inconvenience and jet lag drift away. Others have endured and waited for this moment far longer than 24 hours. We met some amazing people and some colorful characters during our time in Sochi and you'll meet some of them during the show. You will receive a small taste of what we experienced during our time in Sochi. On our way back to the U.S. we spent a long layover in Moscow and you’ll hear about [...]
For a spectator, traveling to the Olympic Games takes about 24 hours of constant travel, but once you see Sochi and all it has to offer, the inconvenience and jet lag drift away. Others have endured and waited for this moment far longer than 24 hours. Residents of Sochi have been living through Olympic construction since the Russian bid for the Olympic Games in 2007—and it has taken a toll. 14 years of preparations “Due to the Olympic construction, there wasn’t electricity for days at a time because they were running new electricity lines to the Olympic Park and Villages,” said Ivan Skoreshev, a Sochi resident. Others also observed how dirty Sochi continued to be even as the Olympic deadline grew closer. “There was a lot of dust and dirt,” said Sochi resident Sergey Okunkov. “I had binoculars that I used to look around and would see the dirt around [...]
Tonya gazes at the Olympic Rings on the Black Sea. Photo: Ian Fitzpatrick One of the biggest events of next year will grasp the attention of the whole world and will bring into attention the Russian resort city of Sochi. Unknown to many people, that think about Russia and only imagine its vast land with plains, mountains, Siberia and the tundra, it does also have some excellent summer sea resorts, the biggest and most famous being the city of Sochi, located in the southwestern extremity of the country, south of the Caucasus Mountains and by the Black Sea coast. This is also considered one of the longest cities in Europe, spreading along about 145 kilometers of the coast. Then again, if you imagine a mild climate with hot and sunny summers and mild winters, with warm weather and waters, you will be right, as the city features a subtropical climate [...]
