When in Russia, keep a poker face. This is what I had planned to practise during my seven-day trip to Russia, having been fed on the cliché that Russians don’t smile at strangers.

It was bitingly cold when I landed at the swanky Sheremetyevo airport just outside Moscow on an Aeroflot flight. The remnants of the erstwhile communist regime are still visible in the form of the airline’s hammer and sickle logo.

On my first day, I faced problems with language and unsmiling serious Russian faces. I would have taken this back as one of my indelible impressions of the country had I not met my friend, Katya, an excellent portrait photographer and a good Samaritan, who came to my rescue. Katya’s hospitality supplied the much-needed warmth in the freezing cold of this vast country.

My Hindi textbook in Class VI had a chapter about the magnificent Moscow metro built during the Soviet era. Now, standing probably at one of the most beautiful Metro stations in the world, Mayakovskaya, with Katya, I decided that my Hindi textbook had been spot on.

Inspired by the station’s elegant beauty, I embarked on a tour of the Moscow Metro, a subterranean rapid transit system decorated improbably with chandeliers, marble, detailed mosaics, soaring arches and statues built on Stalin’s orders to glorify communist achievements. The metro is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year and my tour was studded with the symbols and icons of the communist era immortalised in numerous sculptures.

Then it was on to the Red Square. There are not many places in the world as steeped in history, symbolism, blood and beauty as the Red Square in Moscow and that’s where I was headed to get a glimpse of the revolutionary who was the architect of the USSR — Vladimir Lenin.

Lenin wanted to be buried next to his mother in St Petersburg, but instead his body was embalmed and placed in a mausoleum at Red Square by Stalin who wanted to use the cult of the founder of the USSR to buttress his regime. After braving the rain in a long queue, it was eerie entering the mausoleum and gazing at the wax-like body of Lenin with his famous beard and one hand clenched in a fist.

After emerging from the small mausoleum, I traversed Red Square to the other end and visited what’s probably Russia’s most famous building and also arguably the ultimate symbol of the country — St Basil’s Cathedral. The delightfully whimsical cathedral was built by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate his capture of the Tatar stronghold of Kazan.

All the photographs in the world cannot prepare you for the riot of colours, onion domes and other architectural intricacies of this building which is now a museum.

I walked back on the Red Square’s cobbled stones and made my way to GUM, which you could call a shopping mall that dates back to the 19th century. It was definitely worth a quick visit.  Walking further, I crossed the River Moscow, then looked back at the breathtaking sight of the Kremlin and St Basil’s Cathedral.  And that was only day one of my trip.

Next day, I visited the Kremlin, the erstwhile royal citadel and now the presidential residence from where Vladimir Putin implements his political will. The Moscow Kremlin has five palaces, four cathedrals and 19 towers. And each of these features is an architectural wonder. The spectacular daily changing of the horse guards at Cathedral Square is a must-watch. This imperial tradition being carried on by the guards in the rain with the splendid golden domes of the cathedrals in the background left me awestruck.

I got over the language problem in Russia with my Google app that translates the Russian language in the Cyrillic script in real time. And as the days went by, I realised that Russians are not unfriendly or grumpy. On the contrary, they’re as helpful and friendly as people anywhere in the world. I was told that in Russia, a smile is not the same as in India or the West. Russians hardly return a smile with a smile or smile at strangers. Instead, a smile is a very personal and sincere gesture.

Katya, my friend, took me to impressive exhibitions in defunct factory buildings in the former industrial district. The buildings from outside looked almost ghostly but in reality, were throbbing with life and light. There are many such factory buildings now housing pubs, discs, clubs, cafés and exhibitions — a pointer to how best to utilise an industrial heritage.

Moscow is famous for its museums, theatres and its night life and there is enough to keep you occupied for days, if not months. Also dotting the skyline of Moscow are the seven sisters — the seven skyscrapers designed in Stalinist-style that now house hotels, offices and residences.

If Moscow is the heart of the Russian nation, then St Petersburg — simply called Piter by locals — is the window to Europe. The cultural capital of Russia, it’s an enchanting city and famously known as the Venice of the North for its canals.

After a short four-hour train journey, I was in St Petersburg and could feel the energy of the city almost instantly. The city was founded by Peter the Great some three centuries ago and it has had many ups and bloody downs since then. Its name was changed to Petrograd during World War I to drop the German words ‘saint’ and ‘burg’ and then to Leningrad after the death of Lenin and finally back to St Petersburg after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Hitler wanted to annihilate the city as it was the birthplace of Bolshevism and laid siege to it for 872 days during which millions of residents died. But the city survived and its resilience is still visible today.

Nevsky Prospekt, probably the most famous street of Russia, is the main road with shopping and eating options. I had great fun roaming the street, which is criss-crossed by numerous canals with café- and restaurant-lined lanes on both sides. The most astounding of these canals is Griboyedov. The history of imperial and communist Russia is also visible in its cuisine, with Georgian cheese bread, Khachapuri, and Armenian kebabs, Shashlyk, among the tastiest attractions.

The Hermitage is one of the largest, finest and oldest museums in the world and also houses the largest collections of paintings. A day is simply not enough to admire and appreciate them as well as the interiors of the museum.

There are numerous museums in Saint Petersburg with their subjects varying from history to anthropology and dreams to erotica. But the main draw of the city remain the ballets and the operas as St Petersburg is the birthplace of the Russian Ballet.

Enchanted by The Hermitage, I also walked to Mikhailovsky Theatre to attend an opera. It was an unforgettable experience, with the rich and elegant interiors of the theatre adding to the performance.

One is reminded of India’s friendship with the erstwhile USSR whenever one talks to those born in the early Eighties or before. They still talk fondly of Bollywood movies and Raj Kapoor.

After a week, it was time to pack my bags. Holding ever-so-popular matryoshka dolls — the traditional Russian dolls that open up to reveal smaller dolls inside — smiling at me, I left with a good feeling and a great desire to
return to explore this huge and ama-zing country further.

READY RECKONER

• How to get there: There are no direct flights from Calcutta to Moscow. You can fly via New Delhi on Air India or Aeroflot.
• Where to stay: St Petersburg and Moscow have hotels at all prices.
• What to see: Kremlin, Red Square, St Basil Cathedral, Old Arbat Street, and The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The Hermitage, Russian Museum, The bridges on the Neva and the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood in St Petersburg.