September 24, 2005

Tonight went with Melissa to meet Evgeny at Red Square; and though we were late, Evgeny was there sure enough, holding a bowl of kashi and carrying his old backpack. We went 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Russians like their towels and personal space and general living situations small and everything else huge. This is the surefire the state has managed to build pride for almost a century: just keep going bigger. The largest chunk of platinum. The largest square in the world; the largest city. Buildings so large that I would have tired myself out just trying to imagine their size. This Monument to Peter the Great, on the river near the sculpture garden of the national gallery, blew me away.

Colorful, bulbous, moving St. Basil’s Cathedral was unreal. I just couldn’get over the fact that I and Evgeny and maybe 50 other people were standing nearb99up99.

So yes Americans may put a premium on size, but some Russians obsess over it as a point of pride.

[Excuse the above absurdist digression—this is what little sleep and my writing aspirations do to me.]