At Home In The Wasteland Travel Blog

Although the Soviet Union fell nearly 20 years ago, symbols of the regime still remain throughout the former USSR. This hammer and sickle adorns the Russian State Duma (the lower house of the federal legislature) building in Moscow. This building formerly housed Gosplan (State Planning Committee), the agency responsible for economic planning in the Soviet [...]

Apologies for the quality of this photo, but it was taken during my first trip to Russia, when I only had disposable cameras. This is Catherine Palace, the summer residence of the Russian Tsars, and is located 25km southeast of St. Petersburg. It was originally built at the request of Catherine I, the second wife [...]

When the Soviet Union fell, the symbols of that regime – the innumerable statues of Marx, Engels, and Lenin – were brought down as well. Many were melted down, demolished, or sold to wealthy Westerners who installed them in American casinos. Some of these statues still survive throughout the former Soviet Union, however, either in [...]

Taken with a film camera (remember film?) back in July 2003, when I was studying in Moscow. In the Russian language, “Kreml” (Kremlin) means “fortress”. All ancient Russian cities had a kremlin at their center. The Moscow Kremlin served as the seat of government for the Tsars of Russia until Peter the Great transferred the [...]

The official residence of the Russian Tsars from 1732 to 1917, the Winter Palace now houses the State Hermitage Museum, one of the greatest art museums in the world. Even if you’re not a lover of art, you can’t visit Saint Petersburg and not visit this place. It really is that incredible.

Yes, located near the Lenin statue in Moscow, Russia.

In Teatralnaya Square, directly across the street from the Bolshoi Theatre stands Moscow’s last remaining monument to Karl Marx, which was erected in 1961. The inscription reads “Proletariat of all countries, solidarity!” (aka “Workers of the world, unite!”) While the Communist Party still occasionally rallies around the monument, some have suggested replacing the monument with, [...]

This is the Nikolskaya Tower (Russian: Никольская башня) which is situated on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin. It was originally built in in 1491, rebuilt in 1806, and restored in 1816 after the top of the tower was blown up by the retreating French army in 1812. The towers were originally topped by [...]

Yes, they still exist, and occasionally hold small rallies. Photo taken in the summer of 2003.

Located in Saint Petersburg, the Peter and Paul Fortress was established by Peter the Great in 1703 on a small island by the north bank of the Neva River. It was originally built to protect the capital from a potential attack by the Swedes, but eventually fell into use as a prison for political prisoners. [...]