Moscow Diaries: And Here Come the Debates

I am all for discussions with a cross section of society and on my fourth day in the Russian capital I listened to a few dissenting voices.

Two years ago when I visited the ancient Silk Route city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, I was little aware of how strong its Russian heritage and resident Russian community was. Interacting with members of the community and listening to their views of the situation in Ukraine, I was reminded of how Russians were once divided over the Bolshevik Revolution. As the civil war raged on in Russia and former parts of the Russian Empire, those loyal to Lenin and those to the deposed and murdered Romanovs were at each other’s throats.

Here in Moscow, not everyone I interact with is happy with the state of the country at the moment. A friend who has studied and lived abroad and is in a safe and secure job laments the fact that the easiest way he could get to Western Europe without flying to Turkey was by using one land border crossing to Estonia. The visa was easy to get, though the days of Russians getting 2-year Schengen visas are gone for now. Such was the rush at the border that he had to wait several hours before entering and exiting Russia.

Russians face the same problem with booking hotels and shopping abroad as foreigners do here in Russia as Russian bank cards mostly cannot be used outside the country. This friend talked of carrying several Euro notes and keeping them in many pockets in case he had to deal with the continent’s favourite pick-pockets.

Another opponent of the government mentioned that the results of the recent Russia-US thaw would take a couple of years to trickle down to the common folks.

Then there are those friends of mine who talk about Western companies suffering hundreds of billions of dollars on account of sanctions on Russia and quitting the country. “When we needed them, they quit Russia, why should we accept them now when we don’t need them,” a friend who supports the government said.

“Our payment systems work fine and neither Visa nor Mastercard can make one dollar here,” she added. “Who needs German or Japanese cars when we get far better quality cars from China?”

Those who oppose the authorities admit begrudgingly that the economy has shown tremendous resilience and without the maximum number of sanctions that have ever been imposed on one country. They also agree that consolidating political and economic relations with India and China was a great and effective strategy.

Everyone is happy about the thaw in relations between Moscow and Washington, and wants peace in Ukraine.

One set of my friends believes Russian culture can evolve with links to Europe severed, while others think that for the country to meet its full potential it has to be a bridge between Eastern and Western civilisations.

I continue to walk around the city on these cold, sunny days and notice the fresh coat of paint on all buildings, and even the Kremlin walls. Everything seems to shine and sparkle here! There are way more electric buses here than there were before. This is no facade and Russia can and will once again become a place where people from all over the world will want to visit.

Just seven years ago, Russia organised the most outstanding football World Cup, and even the harshest critics of the country couldn’t say something bad about the way the world was welcomed. The last three years are not going to fade from public memory so fast and there will always be a section of people who will detest this country and society for a long time. At the same time, Russia’s goodwill among citizens of the Global South has only grown.

When I am separated from this country for longer periods of time, I always wonder whether it loves me back the same way I love it. Each time, the answer is a resounding yes.