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Imagine yourself without insurance, stability, savings in the bank, a good lawyer to get you through. That’s quite difficult as we take these things for granted. Nothing is taken for granted here – you have to truly come to terms with human nature in all of its beauty, ignorance – the imperfections. That’s part of what makes this place special – the raw reality of being alive. This is the emancipation many experience on coming here for any extended period. This is why so many find it so hard to leave because life’s safety bubble simply explodes and you are tempted to swim out to that shadow of humanity you always took for granted and experience it at first hand.

Typically, men feel an excruciating self awareness here – a sense of emancipation. For women, it’s alright to celebrate your femininity and flaunt it even. Nobody is judging you for that! The gender roles are honest to an extent which makes many disfranchised western males uncomfortable – uneasy with the fact that they are still of interest to a beautiful woman and still have something to offer. It is a ‘reality’ here that sees thousands of men head for Eastern Europe every year - in search of women? No, I would argue they are in search of themselves and a sense of intimacy which has been stripped from contemporary relationships at home. There are plenty of words brandished around by the feminist camp to beat ones masculinity down and pre-package you into a “new male’ mould, but here, in Eastern Europe you can be a man with all of your faults and still be respected, sexy and proud of it. No therapists; no prenuptials – just raw human emotion flowing freely with out apology and complexes. Of course if you’re simply an idiot in relationships, you will be an idiot here too, but if you’re yearning for more you should seriously consider going on walk about – flirt a little.

After 8 years of a passionate affair with Moscow life has become clearer, easier, also harder at times regarding things such as good service and health care, but ultimately, the most rewarding 8 years of my life.

The city has become more sophisticated and the people, hungry for change, have begun to benefit from credit, mortgages and effective careers. They have overcome the banking crisis of 98 and started to build monolithic enterprises; urban villages; elite complexes and regular houses in the suburbs. Indeed, a lot of the edginess that used to drive me emotionally has waned under the speed of progress. A middle class has emerged, but you do not see the separateness’ of say the USA or UK where we allocate ghettos to the impoverished and build ‘no go zones’ in inner cities due to crime; tattooing postal codes on exiled credit areas where banished people fall from civilized societies grace.

It is a relief that contemporary Russia is still functioning as a mass – struggling together to find a way to thrive. Of course, there is poverty, corruption and extreme wealth in what is becoming a play boy’s city, but in fairness the corruption is more sincere if that is possible. We build corporations that hide behind veneers of ‘rightness’ but in Russia everybody understands the ‘wrongness’ of their worlds without trying to justify it with hypocrisy – it’s a case of we know it’s bad but we’re trying to change it – apathy is fading. I am speaking about the average Russian on the street – the people who have no ambition to build empires but only to live freely.

Next week will see the ‘victory day’ celebrations. On every street we see a huge picture of a 90 year old woman next to an image of her in the trenches. It is a moving image – one to strike pride into any heart. Russia is a proud country rich in heritage, culture and beauty with people who are open, painfully sincere in both negative and positive aspects, but always interested in a foreign perspective.

Consider this: think of one literary figure that epitomizes the UK as a whole, or for that matter, the USA. Think of anybody yet? I expect ‘Frost’ might be in there for USA and maybe ‘Shakespeare’ or “Dickens” for the UK and smatterings of others. Now say that to a Russian from 7 – 95 years of age and you will hear ‘Pushkin’ only Pushkin!

This is where the Russian soul begins to take shape – a unified, cultured, mass awareness of humanity which has suffered gross inhumanity. If you take some of this into account, you might find a visit to Russia will shake the very foundations of your soul.

DLD: 2005