So there's this new shopping mall that opened up in Kursk not too long ago, it kinds functions as the hang out spot for the young nowadays. I myself am not someone who indulge in his capitalistic inclination, so I don't go there to 'hang' except when absolutely necessary.

Anyway, here I present you, Pushkinskaja Shopping Mall:

Scene 1. The case of Frosty- the patriotic snow man.


Scene 2. The case of the hanging contraceptives, I meant, ornaments.


Hanging from the ceiling of the shopping mall are beautiful decorations, boughs of holly, stars, moons and angles. But from the bottom looking up, you go, what is that? Is that a bird? Is that a plane? No that's _______ (fill in the blanks with what you think you see, be creative!).



Scene 3. The case of Tina Fey- the wonder woman!

Seen in a prominent corner of the shopping mall, on display in a shop, selling spectacles.


Wow! Now Tina Fey can add 'spokesmodel for a lower-end Russian-brand spectacle company' to her long list of accomplishments (which already includes actress, comedian, screen writer, producer, mother, etc). Super Woman indeed!

In case you're interested, this is also a picture I took during my day out here in Kursk. Seen in a billboard advertisement:
Translation: Bowling, for students! Pay 50% less!

Seen in an ad for a local tour agency:


Let's zoom in closer for a look at what should be the catchphrase of the millenium:


Woo-hoo!

This is the first among the series of posts which I will be writing, about my love-it-hate-it relationship with this city that I'm currently living in...

I've been trying my best to avoid having to have to blog about this. The truth is, after nearly 6 years living here in Kursk, Russia, I do kind of have a bond with this place. As much as all of us here hate to admit it, I believe we'll all miss this town once we leave it in another year's time.

Just to think that when we first arrived, we were greeted by a very unwelcoming sight- a pure, typical, communistic brick building which we later realized (with a sinking sense of horror!) was to be our hostel. When we arrived in April, 6 years ago, it was already the end of winter, but the cold was still as bad. So dragging our 30kg luggages (packed to the last micro, nano-gram), and having spent 6 hours in transit in a horrible backward airport (Tashken, Uzbekistan), arriving to that sight was disheartening.

The sight inside almost made me want to scamper back home to my family...

The advertisement and brochures had described what I presumed would be a fairly attractive hostel. However, what greeted me and my roommate were peeling wallpaper, 2 sad looking beds, one study table, and another sadder looking cabinet. To top it off, we had to share a toilet and bathroom which looked too poisonous to use.

I ensure you at that moment, my first thought was- I GOT SCAMMED!

Thinking back, there were really a lot of moments which can only be described as bitter-sweet. There were the highs, and of course the lows.

Anyway, to better introduce you to Kursk, Russia, a city situated in Western Russia, very close to the border of Ukraine, you can do some reading up here- in this wikipedia link.

Even though I've always described Kursk as a boring, God-forsaken town (sometimes out of spite, sometimes out of fondness), really you shouldn't take my words for it. The main (some argue is THE ONLY) tourist attraction here is located not too far from the city centre, and really not too far from where my current hostel.

As you approach it, you get to see tanks after tanks lined up, serving as a reminder to the people, of the war which just passed. For your information, it is generally agreed by historians world over that the greatest tank battle in the world took place right here in Kursk, Russia, in a town called Porkhovka. And it was also widely believed that this tank battle in fact was a great turning point in the course of the history during the Second World War. You can read more here in this wikipedia link.

I also notice Russians have a certain fondness towards their-so-called 'eternal flame'. No, not the song, but literally flames which perpetually burn. Non-stop. 24/7. Period. I'd like to think it's because of their pride over the richness of their natural resources like petroleum and natural gas and so forth...

Here you can see an eternal flame, burning with the Kursk Victory Gate in the background.


This here is a picture taken of the Kursk Victory gate, in front of which is a statue of a General who led the Soviet Red Army against the German Front during the Second World War.

This here is a picture of the the upper church of the Trinity Monastery, or at least the remains of what it used to be.

Before the war it used to look something like this-
A magnificient Baroque cathedral, which looked as magnificient as the wikipedia article described it to be.

Too bad that now, only the three-storey belltower remains.

There are more storied to tell about this cathedral but I guess I will just reserve some for my next big 'Tolko U Nas V Rossii' post. Which, by the day, translates into 'You can find it only here in Russia'. Heehee!

Also, before I end this post, I really couldn't resist snapping this picture-
What do you think it looks like? Comment away!