The news reports are starting to pour in from Sochi, and
Russia’s looking more laughable than respectable. Sure the mountains are pretty, but people are
scratching their heads over the palm trees that also line the streets of this
home to the winter Olympics. Western journalists are also aghast at the, um,
unpredictable conditions they've found in their hotels and restaurants.
While the rest of Europe was progressing and thriving in the 20th century, Russia was under the influence of
anything-but-progressive Communists. Americans think of Russia and picture Hunt for the Red October’s floating
missile arsenal or weapons of mass destruction that could take out whole U.S. cities. But while impressing the world with its military might, Russia was letting
its citizens make do with whatever was left over, which wasn’t much. For
example, you still see a few Russian cars on Moscow roads, but most of them
broke down so often and so quickly that they were hardly worth driving.
Russia is old. Its infrastructure is old. So are its roads,
its buildings, its heating systems. Many of the students we met at tech schools
are being trained in “refurbishing.” It makes sense that you would need this skill in a country with old walls, old floors, old heat, and old chairs.
Russia wants to put its best foot forward in Sochi. I find
myself rooting for that, too. Not because I want Russian politicians to shine
in the international spotlight, but because of the real Russians I now know.
Before my trip, my 12-year-old daughter asked me why people live in
Russia. I wasn’t able to tell her, but I told her I’d find out. I
came home with a very simple answer: They live there because they were born
there, and they are proud to call Russia their home.
When the world laughs at crazy Russian toilets or poorly
translated signs (and for some reason, all
their signs are poorly translated into English), I picture the proud Russian women I saw
walking the streets in their fur coats and hats. Their faces were tired and old
beyond their years, but they still get up every morning, bundle up, and walk
two miles on icy streets to do their shopping. I picture the proud older orphans who
survived conditions none of us can imagine and are smiling and happy today. I
picture the hardships generations upon generations of Russian people have
endured, and I marvel at their strength and stamina.
I hope you’ll think of them as you watch the games in Sochi.
They are the real Russia.
