Visit to Victory Park
Activities
By Jennifer O'Boyle

We traveled to Victory Park, which is on the top of Poklonnaya Hill (Kneeling Hill) and lies on 20 hectares of land. The park is located at the highest point of the hill, and is the location of the Memorial of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1942-1945. When most people think of memorials, they visualize a reasonably large statue or a plaque, sitting somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The memorial, which was built between 1983 and 1995, includes a museum (what we had originally gone to see) several monuments, the Church of St. George the Victorious, (who was the patron saint of Moscow), and an open-air display of military vehicles, planes, and weapons.

As we approached Kneeling Hill, along a large marble and stone alley, a huge monument to St. George dominated our field of view. It is a large bayonet, with the names of cities from Russia and the former Soviet Republic carved into it. At the base, St. George is seated on a horse, standing over the body of a slain dragon. At the top, there are several angels that appear to hover 'round. The Church of St. George lies off to the left, and directly behind the monument is the museum. Most of the Russian students refer to it simply as, the Military Museum. It is curved into a half-circle, and has three floors of artifacts. On the bottom floor, there was a place called the Hall of Memory, located at the center of the building. From the ceiling hung 2.5 million gold chains, in memory of the soldiers that died during the war. At the end of the hall stood a statue of a dying Russian soldier being comforted. Along the circular wall of the bottom floor were several rooms of diagrams. These are rooms that have been decorated with scenes from battles during World War II. There is a section that has been recreated as part of the battle, and there is also a mural on the wall, continuing the scene. Some of the rooms depicted St. Petersburg, the crossing of the Dnepr River, and the battle of Berlin.

Chris, Anna, and Dr. Buffington standing upstairs in the Military Museum, everyone admired the large mosaic wall that stretched across the building

On the second floor, there was another hall, The Hall of Glory, also located at the center of the museum. In the center of the hall stood another statue, this time of a soldier symbolizing Russian strength and glory. The room itself was circular, and the walls were covered with the names of soldiers who were heroes of the Soviet Union and had received their highest medal of honor. The rest of the second floor contained displays of pictures, letters, uniforms, and weaponry from WWII. One thing that caught the attention of many group members was the number of women depicted in the pictures. Apparently, women served as snipers, pilots, drivers, and aides for the Russian army.

Outside, there is a park that is situated behind the museum, with several long walkways, lined with trees and benches. As it was a warm day, we saw many people on roller-skates, bicycles, and skateboards traveling down the park lanes. Behind the museum was an open-air display of military vehicles and weaponry. They had a large number of cannons, tanks, and ground-to-air artillery. There was a replication of trenches dug into the side of the hill, and farther on, there were a large number of cars, planes and helicopters. Each piece of machinery was labeled, in English and Russian, with a brief description of its use, its maker, and its performance statistics.

Most of us spent the better part of the day in Victory Park, and still did not see everything that there was to see. It is a veritable goldmine of information about the role of the Russian people in WWII, and it also provides a unique look at Russia's contribution to history, that is often overlooked.

Seeing is Learning
Education
By Ron Westover

As part of the Russian educational experience, the American students participate in a seminar class. The seminar class is based upon weekly excursions to a variety of agricultural operations. After the visit, the students submit a report based on what they have learned and how it might affect their future. These excursions provide valuable lessons on how Russian culture affects their agricultural practices. The places that the students have visited so far have been quite diverse- a greenhouse, an extension agency, a dairy, and the office of Monsanto. Here is a short synopsis of each of the above mentioned seminars.

The Moscovski greenhouse is a large operation based outside of Moscow. The greenhouse has 280 acres under glass. This makes them one of the largest operations in the world. They produce a variety of vegetables, flowers, and mushrooms. They produce an estimated 32,000 tons of vegetables a year. The entire operation is heated through a natural gas plant that warm the water. Steam is made from boiling water, and then in turn, heats the greenhouses. The students all agreed that this greenhouse defines efficiency.

Extension service to Russia is quite new and still under development. The office we visited was located in the small town of Sergie Pasod. This agency provides educational services to farmers throughout northeast Moscow. The service provides classes to the farmers, where they receive valuable information and demonstrations that help them maintain successful operations. The office has a large number of customers, and their individual operations range in size from large vegetable producers to small personal gardeners.

Another trip to the country led the students to a state run dairy operation. This particular operation was actually started in 1929. Since then, this establishment has never left the governments hands. Due to the changes in government policies, the operation has seen its share of hard times, but in recent years has began to increase their productivity. The operation has around 300 milk-producing cows and is situated on 1150 acres of land.

Monsanto is sometimes referred to as the largest agricultural operation in the world. They have offices based on almost every continent. The most recent excursion brought us to Monsanto's Moscow office. The company focuses mainly on biotechnology. They have developed numerous agriculture products; their most famous probably being Round Up. They also perform extensive research on genetically modified organisms, other wise known as GMO's. Russia has yet to make up it's mind on GMO's. The population is somewhat split on whether or not they are safe for human consumption. The American students have yet to meet a Russian farmer that supports a genetically modified crop. Monsanto seems to be fighting an uphill battle in Russia. In recent years, they have been gaining ground in the market. Currently, they are trying to win the rights to actually grow GMO's within Russia. This is extremely new technology in Russia, but Monsanto informed us that President Putin realizes the importance and the positive outcomes that might occur from genetically modified crops.

Besides the seminar class, the American and Russian students have enjoyed the presence of Dr. Dennis Buffington this past month. Dr. Buffington is a professor at the Pennsylvania State University. He has been teaching in the Moscow exchange program for the past three years. This year, he taught a course titled Energy Engineering Management. Through this course we learned about energy consumption and methods to obtain energy. The class serves as a way to look at different sides of agriculture, more than just production. The students spend much time discussing ways to improve energy consumption at various operations.

A Night To Remember
Culture
By Christopher Rodgers

Tradition is a cherished part of many societies, and for most there is a reverence for the time of year when winter ends and spring returns. In the Russian culture, spring is a season where the old is washed away and the new bursts into full bloom. It is a season of enjoyment, celebration, festivities, and fellowship. One of the oldest Russian traditions is the celebration of Maslinitsa (or Spring Festival). It is an ancient holiday, dating back to before the beginnings of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is celebrated for a whole week, with most activities taking place on the weekend, March 16-17. For many of the Americans it was one of the most exciting experiences so far.

Saturday was Pancake Day, or Belinie Day, as the Russian's call them. That morning, the group traveled to the home of one of the Russian students, Ksenia Zhilko, for a meal of traditional Russian pancakes. The pancakes were thinner than what we are used to, and were served with different types of sauce. One type of sauce was boysenberry, cherry, a sweet cream sauce, and for the more adventurous, there was fish to place on top. We were also served a seafood salad, made with crab, rice, and corn. Everything was delicious, and we spent an enjoyable morning stuffing our faces.

On Sunday afternoon, we traveled to a large park near the edge of Moscow, to watch the traditional Russian celebration of saying "goodbye" to winter. When we first arrived at the park, we were treated to the sight of many booths and concession stands. The vendors were selling things like tea, traditional pancakes, shish-ka-bobs, and hot dogs. The site was covered with people of all ages. There were smiles everywhere and people were dancing, singing, laughing, playing, and eating together.

The park is very large, and contains several very old churches. Upon arrival, the group separated and spent about an hour and a half just wandering around, taking in the sights. It was a bright day, and quite warm, so most just strolled through the groves of trees within the park, took in a lovely view of the Moscow River, and toured the churches. Much to our delight, there was also a group of musicians dressed in traditional attire and playing sets of chimes in front of one of the churches. It was lovely music and added to the atmosphere. There was also a stage placed farther down the hill, near the river, where singers and dancers entertained the crowd.

Kristin, Yulia and Maria show off their Russian pride with flags at Maslinitsa

Just before sunset, came the end of the truly magical part of Maslinitsa. At 6 o'clock, the group gathered down near the river. To the left of the stage stood a large wooden doll, dressed in winter clothes and painted with a woman's face. In front of the stage, a mock jousting was held between two opposing forces, which represented Winter and Spring. Spring was, of course, the victor. Everyone cheered following the victory, and from there, Spring lit a torch. He then walked over and set the wooden doll on fire, symbolizing the burning away of winter and the beginning of spring. After the doll was reduced to ash, fireworks were set off. The show lasted for about five minutes, and it was beautiful.

"It was a good time and I really enjoyed the music, food, and the main ceremony", said Matt Rutt, from the University of Nebraska. After several minutes of watching the sky, just in case there were more fireworks, people slowly started to make their way out of the park. Our group was separated on the way home, but when we had all arrived back at the hostel, we agreed that it was definitely an occasion to remember.

Following the victory of Spring, a large doll representing Winter, was set on fire

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