The people Russia are probably very much like people elsewhere in the world.  They are born.  They live. They marry.  They die.  The people in the above two photos and the one below could be people in Calgary, Alberta or Salt Lake City or Springfield, Illinois.

Everyone enjoys a nice warm day in April.  We notice that all the people have coats on even though it appears that the sun is shinning.  Why do people still have coats?  Probably it has something to do with the location of the Russian cities. Have you ever looked at the location of Moscow on the map and compared this location to the same latitude in North America?

Is Moscow at the same latitude as Kansas City or Seattle or New York?

Based upon what we see in these photos we can see that the population of  Moscow and St. Petersburg will be more homogeneous than what we will find in many North American cities.   Eighty-one percent of the population of Russia will be "Russian."  Color of skin, personal values, and history will tie the country together.  There are a number of ethnic minorities but these people will generally live in a concentrated area of the country.  "People of color" do not live in Russia.

The dome on the right is a sunlight for what is a major, major shopping center that is built underground. This shopping center makes shopping manageable in the middle of the winter.

The people of Russia are old and they are young.  They live in the city and they live in rural areas.  They are either male or they are female.  The description of the Russian population sounds very much like other places in the world. 

On the other hand, the older people of Russia have had to live through the purges of the 1930's when one glace the wrong way could mean a person goes to Siberia for ten years or worse.  The older people survived World War II.  They also survived until the end of the USSR and communism.  Soviet Military and Civilian Deaths.  Few countries  lost so many citizens.  It is remarkable that the Soviet-Russian people have be able to endure the massive hardships.

On a spring day Russian soldiers were evident.  An inquiry was made about why they wear uniforms when not on duty.  Two reasons were given [1] the military provides the uniforms so military people do not need to buy clothing;  [2] people in uniform are given discount prices on services that they may wish to buy. 

Seeing the two pairs of people above,  some North Americans might quickly make a judgment about the two women and the two men.  Customs in Russia are different than they are in North America.  Russians pay no attention to seeing people walk hand in hand.  Early in the morning it is very customary to see physical contact between all people.... it simply means "good morning."

Being a good Boy Scout I helped the older lady below.  I was rewarded by a big kiss on the cheek.  On another occasion I gave an older lady part of my sack lunch that I did not intend on eating.  Once again, a big kiss on the cheek.  Each kiss was not to show affection but to say "thank you."  To an American this custom of kissing total strangers seemed strange.... I refrained from kissing all the ladies and men who did their good turn to me.

With the second lady I thought it might be well to try and improve the image of America in Russia.  So I pointed to myself and said "American."  She immediately grabbed one of my hands with both of hers and said   "American ... George Bush.  America ...George Bush" and with a great smile of pride.  Now I ask you--- how many people do you know in Missouri or elsewhere who can tell you the name of the most important current politician in Russia.  [President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN]

The people in the next three photos are Gypsy people who know how to work a crowd.  The man below is the "director" who picks what he feels will be an easy target for the band of women.  Literally I saw the above women put their hands into the pocket of a male.  The intent was to relieve him of the bill fold or currency that he carried.  These people were seen about 60 miles south of Moscow.

An interesting 'international conference"  below. ... George is from British Columbia, Canada.  Barry is a retired engineer from Australia.  Val is a student at the Academy.  How time flies.  Because of his age, Val only knows about the former USSR by what he reads or what other adults tell him.

 An entire generation  is about to embark on their adult lives only knowing about the market economy.  Will they be the generation that will be able to help Russia reach the economic potential that it has? ...... Stay tuned.   [Barry and George visited Russia several years ago.  Each commented about how the city has changed... one of the major changes being an added number of cars on the streets.

What could these people tell us about life in the Soviet Union from the 1930's to the end of the Soviet Union?  The older people of Russia are the ones paying the price for the new economic policies of the country.  With one stroke of the pen that devalued the value of the ruble,  retired people lost their life savings.  They also will find it more difficult to cope with the privatization of the economy. 

 The "USSR" that they knew for so long is no longer there.  Still, as compared to American cities I saw few what we would call "bag ladies" or people sleeping on the street... Maybe I was in the wrong part of the city.

Doing all of this sweeping can make a guy tired.  Notice the close-up of the broom on the right side.   The brooms are "home made" meaning that a person breaks small branches or twigs off a living bush or tree.  The twigs are then tied to a handle and we have a very inexpensive broom.  I suspect that the design of the broom has not changed for  centuries.

Always have a camera!  The men above are repairing a pothole in the road.  OK... it must be a big pothole as we have five workers.  [Actually several were out of camera range so we had seven workers.]

 Later in the day I walked by the same crew fixing the same pothole.  The only thing that had changed was that three of the workers were asleep on the grass. [No camera in the afternoon!]   Old habits that worked during the socialism era will no longer work as the economy becomes more competitive.  The era of "workers play like they work and the government plays like it pays" is coming to an end.  Some people find it difficult to adapt to change.

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