{"id":2548,"date":"2019-10-21T21:20:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T21:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/?p=2548"},"modified":"2026-04-05T23:18:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T23:18:47","slug":"trip-to-russia-day-4-moscow-down-through-the-underground-to-the-bad-apartment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/2019\/10\/21\/trip-to-russia-day-4-moscow-down-through-the-underground-to-the-bad-apartment\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia. Day 4. Moscow. Down through the Underground to the Not Good Apartment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fourth day was the day to take care of business and renew my papers. Most of it was spent in Soviet style offices waiting on line, curtsying, smiling, providing champagne and candy to grouchy officials who didn\u2019t even notice me. Nothing changed in that department. A good amount of time was wasted in traffic traveling from one bureaucratic installment to another and the whiffs of fear \u2014 what if things won\u2019t get done \u2014 time is so limited \u2014 were coming over me.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, my family went underground on a tour of the Moscow metro. It is impossible to cover all the stations in a few hours so they had a route of a few more interesting ones. Besides the first and last stations, the girls took these pictures.<\/p>\n

Looking at them now, I remember, how, years ago, we were making fun of foreigners taking pictures of the metro. What were they admiring? It\u2019s just public transportation \u2014 what\u2019s there to look at? Trains arriving in 90 sec intervals at the most \u2014 what\u2019s the big deal? After having West 4th in New York as my hub for a while and now with 42nd\/PABT as my port of entry, I know what foreigners were looking at in Moscow metro and why trains every 90 sec seem incredible. It took me 25 years of absence to notice.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Oktyabrskaya Station of the Circle Line. My home base.<\/p>\n

The map of Moscow metro, to a certain degree, reflects the map of Moscow above the ground. There is the Circle line with 12 stations which more or less corresponds to the Garden Ring and radial lines crossing the Circle one making the metro map look like a spider. I grew up with one circle line. Now, there are two and it looks like a third one is in progress.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

On every wall of every platform there\u2019s this diagram. Top row is the list of stations of the line you\u2019re on. Drop down lists name the lines and stations you can reach with a transfer. I have to admit, it is very convenient.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

In Russian language, many words describe falling snow: almond dust \u2014 tiny sharp snowflakes that fall at the extremely low temperatures, buran \u2014 when high winds are blowing the falling snow at a very high speed and low temperatures in open areas, viuga and metel \u2014 when winds of various strengths and patterns are blowing snow and it\u2019s hard to tell if the snow is falling from the sky or it is the snow lifted off the ground, purga \u2014 when strong winds are blowing the snow high up off the ground, snegopad \u2014 snow falling down without any wind.<\/p>\n

When at my home station, New Year\u2019s Day and the snow word \u201cpozyomka\u201d always come to mind.<\/p>\n

New Year festivities is a serious business in Russia. If to combine Thanksgiving, Christmas, and The Fourth of July together, it might be close to the scale of Russian New Year celebrations. During atheistic Soviet times, this holiday substituted Christmas \u2014 a traditional tree, gifts, and Grandpa Frost instead of Santa Claus. And like Thanksgiving, it is the time for families to get together. Plus, like for the Fourth of July, people cook and eat together and go outside to continue drinking with friends and strangers, watch fireworks, and play outside, except in this case, in the snow. The outdoor shenanigans begin at about 2 or 3 in the morning after dinner is done. The streets are full of crowds, there\u2019s music, lights, champagne, sleigh riding, dancing. The excitement begins to subside closer to 5 o\u2019clock, around the time the metro opens to take you home.<\/p>\n

On January 1, I would end up at my station in the wee hours of the morning, the only time it would look like this \u2014 empty. Shivering and exhausted after a sleepless night, woozy, cold I would get outside. At this hour, above the ground transportation would be nonexistent and a 30-minute walk to my house would lay ahead. Graying dawn. -20\u00b0C. Wind. Collar up, hat brim down, one foot in front of the other. And there would always be pozyemka \u2014 a blowing wheezing snow snaking around my ankles.<\/p>\n

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Novokuznetskaya Station. The girls took over taking pictures from here.<\/p>\n

This station is all about the war heroes, military victories, and stoic Soviet people assisting those victories from the rear.<\/p>\n

An interesting detail \u2014 these marble benches were taken from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior that was destroyed on Stalin\u2019s orders. Above each bench, there\u2019s a metal shield surrounded by flags. On these shields there\u2019re inscriptions to fallen during the World War II: \u201cGlory to the defending heroes of Stalingrad.\u201d \u201c…Leningrad.\u201d \u201c…Odessa.\u201d \u201c…Sevastopol\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The ceiling murals picture military operations with pretty amazing realism. Under each panel there is a bronze floor lamp that illuminates the image with a soft light.<\/p>\n

\"88A226F8<\/p>\n

Novokuznetskaya was originally planned to be a peaceful station and there are some signs of it. Eventually, the plans changed and it became a museum of military glory.<\/p>\n

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The Square of the Revolution.<\/p>\n

Not the most exquisite and elegant, it is the most popular among tourists and one of the most impressive. Each of its two dozen arches are decorated with four larger than life size bronze sculptures of Soviet citizens symbolizing glorious past and bright future.<\/p>\n

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Altogether, there are 20 different images. Some of them repeated twice, some \u2014 four times. The sculptures are placed in chronological order, beginning from the October revolution of 1917 and ending in late 1930s, when the station was completed. Because the arches are low and the statues are large, most of the figures are sitting, kneeling or bending down.<\/p>\n

\"ECDE972D<\/p>\n

There are peasants, students, pioneers. Here\u2019s a revolutionary.<\/p>\n

\"1D6DD12B<\/p>\n

Another one.<\/p>\n

\"F32ED9D4<\/p>\n

This is a border guard with a dog. This dog is very important.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

A whole series of traditions are associated with some of these sculptures. For example, since the 1930s, during college exams, students would literally line up to rub the dog\u2019s nose, knee, or paw. They say it brings good luck.<\/p>\n

\"B7C139A3<\/p>\n

This tradition keeps on going. If you pause for a few moments next to this statue, you\u2019ll see tourists stopping by and making a point to rub the nose, and the knee, and the paw of the dog, or rushing Muscovites brushing just the nose on their way out. Of course we had to keep up this tradition.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Komsomolskaya station.<\/p>\n

From the architectural point, it is the apotheosis of the Stalinist empire. It\u2019s impressive pomp is not accidental. Above the ground, there are three major railroad stations: Leningradsky, which sends trains up northwest through Saint Petersburg to Finland, Yaroslavsky, which covers the northeast direction, and Kazansky \u2014 all the way to the Far East. With that, Komsomolskaya station was planned as a gateway of the capital to create the first impression for city guests.<\/p>\n

In the 1930s, my grandfather was the Head of Kazansky Railroad<\/a> and my grandmother was the first female train dispatcher. They lived nearby, on Davydovsky Lane<\/a> with my dad and my grandmother\u2019s sister. One day, Stalin was supposed to board a train at the station. For whatever reason, the train was late. The next night, my grandfather was taken from his apartment in a dark car to a hospital. He had no symptoms of any illness. A few hours later, my grandmother was notified that her husband passed away from the complications of appendicitis and within a few days, she was evicted from the apartment.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Can you call this magnificent landing hall illuminated by these massive chandeliers a subway platform? Such an incredible space and light!<\/p>\n

\"1A9761DF<\/p>\n

Mosaic compositions reflect on the glorious military history of the country with the images of such commanders as Alexander Nevsky<\/a>, Alexander Suvorov<\/a>, Dmitry Donskoy<\/a>, and Mikhail Kutuzov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

And of course \u2014 among all this baroque \u2014 here\u2019s our fearless leader.<\/p>\n

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Rizhskaya Station.<\/p>\n

Architects from Latvia designed this station. They abandoned natural stone and made the most of ceramics produced by Riga plants.<\/p>\n

The walls are faced with yellow and brown tiles reminiscent of Baltic amber. The flooring is gray granite. The lattice of ventilation, the ends of the station benches, the tiles on the walls of the platforms are decorated with Latvian motifs. On the brown surfaces of the pylons there are very thin, almost imperceptible, reliefs of Latvia scenery. All drawings are signed by the artists.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

There is a legend associated with the manufacturing of unique tiles for the station. A master potter from Latvia was ordered to make tiles to imitate amber. He brilliantly completed the task. During the transportation, some of the tiles got damaged. An order was sent to the master to replace damaged tiles. Outraged that his work was treated lightly, he refused claiming that the exact color could not be replicated. No persuasion worked. A worker was sent to the master to act as an apprentice and learn the secret of the tiles. The master did not reveal it. A scandal was brewing. The \u201capprentice\u201d took a risky step – he told the master the whole truth. The master surrendered and made the missing tiles, but they were still differed in color.<\/p>\n

\"853FC157<\/p>\n

Novoslobodskaya station.<\/p>\n

The main decorations here are 32 stained-glass windows taken from the Riga Cathedral where they were stored. The ideas were borrowed from the books of Orthodox priests. The station turned out to be a temple of knowledge with many secret messages hidden among the images.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Muscovites nicknamed this station an underground tale or The Stone Flower<\/a> after fairy tales of Pavel Bazhov<\/a> that took place in Ural Mountain mines.<\/p>\n

\"02DFCEB2<\/p>\n

These round arches with stained-glass windows and original lighting are simply stunning.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Some say these stained glass windows make this station look like an aquarium.<\/p>\n

\"DCC487D6<\/p>\n

But the storylines\u2026 Maybe one day, I\u2019ll go back and take my time looking at these windows to decipher the meanings they hold. Tom, will you come with me then?<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

A mosaic at the end of the platform \u2014 Peace to All \u2014\u00a0 Peace in all the World. Peace.<\/p>\n

\"6CAE30EE<\/p>\n

And a selfie!<\/p>\n

Days and days, I walked by this mosaic on my way to work. I could not imagine back then that I would be living in another country, having children there, and that one day these children from that country would be taking excited selfies in the midst of my early days\u2019 quotidian humdrum.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Kievskaya station.<\/p>\n

It is called so because right above it there is Kievsky railway station that takes trains west. There are two of these stations \u2014 Kievskaya Circle and Kievskaya Radial. This is the radial one.<\/p>\n

If you look from the side of the middle hall, you can see that the pylons are decorated with stunningly beautiful panels dedicated to the \u201cinextricable friendship between the fraternal peoples of Ukraine and Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

At the end of the pylons benches are installed. People used to sit and read books here waiting for their parties to arrive \u2014 metro stations have always been good places to meet, now these people are staring at their phones and tablets.<\/p>\n

\"82D96E0B<\/p>\n

All these mosaic murals are made of semiprecious stones. \u201cPeoples\u2019 friendship is the source of prosperity of the socialist motherland.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"5B4B2A8F<\/p>\n

“Blossoms The Soviet Ukraine, a republic of workers and peasants.\u201d And right in the center, here\u2019s the father of peoples, Joseph Stalin.<\/p>\n

\"9A20D843<\/p>\n

You know it\u2019s a tourist when a person stops and actually pays attention to the art. \u201cSoviet Army liberates Kiev. 1943.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Muscovites pass by these murals without noticing them. The architecture and works of famous artists are barely noticed by hurrying passengers. \u201cPoltavskaya battle. 1792<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BBBF7C88<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our leader in a mosaic version being quoted on the \u201cindestructible eternal friendship of Ukrainian and Russian peoples and all peoples of the Soviet Union.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

On the mosaic at the end of the hall, there is a festive gathering on the streets of the Ukrainian capital with the monument to Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky<\/a>. The hetman led national wars against Turks, Crimean Tatars, and the Polish. In 1600s, he is the one who signed an agreement with Muskovy to ally against Poland.<\/p>\n

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This is Kievskaya Circle station. Same Ukrainian motifs in the decorations.<\/p>\n

\"1D29A048<\/p>\n

Now, these chandeliers look incredible to me. Back then, I don\u2019t think I ever noticed them. I always avoided this station \u2014 because of the railroad above, it has always been so crowded.<\/p>\n

\"86F51AE9<\/p>\n

Lighting is really important in the design of the station. Crystal bowls in a bronze frame suspended from the ceiling visually reduce the heavy feeling of stalky pylons.<\/p>\n

\"FAAEA77F<\/p>\n

Ukrainian flowery patterns.<\/p>\n

\"6BC74B75<\/p>\n

\u00a0Everyday life of the Ukrainians.<\/p>\n

\"C284C4D1<\/p>\n

The idea behind all the lavish metro decorations was so that Muscovites would feel joyful and festive entering these underground palaces flooded with light after a hard day at work on their way home.<\/p>\n

Just like on this picture.<\/p>\n

\"9D083B07<\/p>\n

Decoration of the wall running along the train tracks on Kievskaya Circle station.<\/p>\n

\"690F8A71<\/p>\n

Belorusskaya station.<\/p>\n

In February of 2001, an explosion wrecked this place<\/a>. A bomb was planted under a marble bench but heavy weight of wood and marble softened the blow and the impact of the terrorist attack.<\/p>\n

The decorations here reflect the Belorussian culture. Lamps on pylons are meant to look like vases.<\/p>\n

\"3924A46F<\/p>\n

The ceiling vaults are covered with marble-mosaic panels depicting the life of the Belorussian people. Here\u2019s the Belorussian coat of armor.<\/p>\n

\"E39FF99E<\/p>\n

The Belorussian people are enjoying life and prosperity.<\/p>\n

\"A4874516<\/p>\n

The ceramic tiles of the platform are supposed to remind a carpet with Belorussian national ornaments.<\/p>\n

Art and heritage aside, I hated this station and these tiles. During summer months, at this metro station, my slog to our dacha started during spring, summer, and fall weekends.<\/p>\n

My parents owned a property and a house in a countryside, a dacha. For some, to own a dacha would be a matter of status. For them, it was an escape from their status. My mom was an editor of a major magazine with millions of subscribers \u2014 it was at some point even in the Guinness Book of Records. My dad is a scientist and he does well. On weekends, my parents would gear up for a few-hour ride from this station \u2014 crying me in tow \u2014 to slave over the land the entire weekend \u2014 weeding, pruning, digging \u2014 not much reward coming for them besides being away from the daily grind. For me, it was a place that meant the ruin of my social teenage life \u2014 most of my friends were staying in cool Moscow as they had no place to go.<\/p>\n

As long as I remember them, my mom and dad were so wrapped in their togetherness. They\u2019d forget other people exist. Whatever my mom wouldn\u2019t do to make dad laugh! Once, weeding a strawberry patch, she smothered strawberries all over her face to scare him. Dad, always consumed with his own thoughts, didn\u2019t notice. She forgot she did it. It was time to go home. They packed. Walked to the train \u2014 half an hour walk and an hour ride. Took the metro \u2014 another hour, with transfers. Bus \u2014 two stops. Short walk to the apartment. It was an early Sunday evening, time for a major mass return of Muscovites from their dachas to their city apartments.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0People were really staring at me all this ride home. I wonder why? \u2014 my mom looked in the mirror by the front door to check.<\/p>\n

Dad never noticed. She didn\u2019t get mad. They both burst out laughing.<\/p>\n

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Mayakovskaya station.<\/p>\n

Tom and I met here after my paperwork ordeal. My favorite station \u2014 I like all this air and light here. I like these steel columns much more than squat and heavy pylons other stations have. In Soviet days, compared to others, this station felt somewhat futuristic. Even now it still looks uncluttered modern and fresh. I can\u2019t even imagine how people felt here in the 1930s. The name and the design is a nod to Futurism<\/a> and poet Vladimir Mayakovsky<\/a> whose statue is right aboveground.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

A pride of the station is 34 mosaic panels imbedded in oval ceiling vaults They all were made by a famous Russian modernist Alexander Deyneka<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

At this station, people tend to walk looking up and occasional chest bumping happens here.<\/p>\n

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The colorful parachutes is my favorite.<\/p>\n

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A fragment of the Red Square, most likely during a military parade.<\/p>\n

\"69adf333<\/p>\n

After the metro tour, the girls went for another round of Claustrophobia<\/a> game. According to the costumes, that could have been Baker Street and Sherlock Holmes related theme. They really liked these escape room games and now are trying to find something similar in the US. So far, the escape rooms in the US are not the same.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

We ran into their group at this wonderful place called \u201cSOUP caf\u00e9<\/a>.\u201d To run into your children in a multimillion person city? Coincidence? Not really. The recommendation to visit this restaurant came from the same source \u2014 my friend Tanya.<\/p>\n

\"0C1B706B<\/p>\n

This place serves 44 different varieties of soup. You can order one large bowl or three small cups of different ones.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Always more for tasting than eating, Tom and I ordered three different kinds. First one is solyanka<\/a>, a traditional Russian soup made of cured meats and pickled vegetables, with addition of lemon juice. It is served with sour cream. Second one \u2014 kharcho<\/a> \u2014 Georgian, of course \u2014 is made with lamb and rice and seasoned with traditional blue fenugreek, or utskho-tsuneli<\/a>, herb that grows mostly in Georgia and Switzerland. This soup is spicy hot and comes with tkemali<\/a>, a sour plum sauce, which is somewhat similar to tamarind. The last one is a cream soup of crawfish tails and shrimp, a nod to the Black Sea. That one is accompanied by croutons.<\/p>\n

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And I could not miss beef stroganoff. The portions were small but the food was rich so it came out to be just right.<\/p>\n

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The restaurant took over a basement space somewhere in the middle between Mayakovskaya and Belorusskaya metro stations. So far, I\u2019d say it was my favorite place to eat in Moscow.<\/p>\n

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It turns dark in Moscow early. We came outside at about six o\u2019clock at night.<\/p>\n

This is Peking Hotel<\/a>. I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s still there, but back in Soviet times, there was the one and only Chinese restaurant in Moscow. Expensive and obscure, it was surrounded by rumors of Chinese cuisine horrors \u2014 snakes, worms, cockroaches, rotten eggs… <\/p>\n

A huge task was ahead of us \u2014 renting a car for our upcoming trip north. And it was on me, as the only Russian speaking person in our group. At home, in New Jersey, I am spoiled \u2014 Tom always takes care of business. He is quick, attentive, and his incredible ability to read and grasp the fine print is truly unique. I procrastinated until the last moment hoping Tom would surprise me and somehow get the car. This was the point when reality set in. Sitting next to the Peking Hotel, I made a few useless phone calls \u2014 it was too late in the day and we left it until the next morning.<\/p>\n

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This place was not on any of our planned Moscow routes. But there was no question in my mind if we were going to make it there. Three previous days we were circling close but never really making it there. Every day something would come up. This was our last full day in Moscow and we were going.<\/p>\n

Structure #302-\u0411\u0418\u0421 on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street<\/a>. Here\u2019s the apartment where most of the events of Mikhail Bulgakov\u2019s \u201cMaster and Margarita\u201d<\/a> novel took place.<\/p>\n

Bulgakov started writing this novel in 1920s and kept working on it his entire life, not really finishing. He destroyed the first version in 1930s but then returned to it again. The book was never published in his lifetime. After his death, over the course of twenty years, his widow put together and edited the drafts Bulgakov left behind. She made several attempts to publish the novel, even reaching to Stalin\u2019s personal assistant through his tailor. But the responses were \u2014 not the time. Krushchev Thaw changed things around and an abbreviated version of the novel appeared in 1966-67 issues of a monthly literary magazine \u201cMoscow.\u201d<\/p>\n

A side note on those thick literary magazines. I have not come across anything like this in the US besides The New Yorker\u2019s inclusion of a few poems and couple-of-pages-long fiction pieces is a feeble reminder. Those monthly magazines \u2014 \u201cNew World,\u201d \u201cMoscow,\u201d \u201cYouth,\u201d \u201cInternational Literature,\u201d \u201cBanner,\u201d \u201cStar\u201d \u2014 some of them up to 200-pages thick \u2014 were the gateway to the creative world. From behind the iron curtain, believed-to-be-brainwashed Soviet numbskulls were devouring the world\u2019s culture. Solzhenitsyn’s work was first published in one of them. Latin Americans \u2014 Marquez, Cort\u00e1zar, Borges \u2014 chapter by chapter, from issue to issue. Kesey\u2019s \u201cCuckoo\u2019s Nest,\u201d new chapters of Styron\u2019s \u201cSophie\u2019s Choice\u201d even before the movie came out, Stephen King in abundance, Suskind\u2019s \u201cThe Perfumer,\u201d to name a few. Just like people now wait for a next TV episode, we were waiting for the next issue of the magazine. Those magazines were treasured, bound, worshiped. In my new American home, I have some of the oldies that my dad bound at work and my mom brought here.<\/p>\n

My first contact with a novel was through \u201cMoscow<\/a>\u201d magazine. In 1976, I was in the fourth grade and 11 years old when at school I caught the buzz of the words \u201cMaster and Margarita.\u201d My classmate and neighbor Alik confided in secrecy that his folks got their hands on a used copy of the magazine. They did not allow the magazines out of the apartment. Alik\u2019s very strict mother approved my reading visits and I spent the next several days on their living room couch.<\/p>\n

Bulgakov\u2019s novel has three story lines \u2014 somewhat comedic Moscow and Muscovites, a love story between Master and Margarita, and a flashback with Pontus Pilate and Yeshua Ha-Notzri, Jesus of Nazareth, at the center. These lines of reality and fantasy, so separate at the start, come together in one story in most unexpected ways.<\/p>\n

On Alik\u2019s couch, I flipped through the \u201cboring\u201d biblical stuff and love chapters, but had a good time focusing on happenings in Moscow.<\/p>\n

When, three years later, I seriously fell in (unrequited) love, my mom had already brought home the book. Not an abridged version like Alik had \u2014 the whole deal. I skipped through Muscovites, the Bible bits were still boring, and fell into the love story. To this day, Chapter 13 \u2014 The Entrance of the Hero \u2014 is my favorite one.<\/p>\n

Understanding and appreciation of the biblical line came much later in life.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaster and Margarita\u201d is such a Moscow book. At first, I even wanted to make Ivan Bezdomny’s chase of Satan as one of our routes. But it turned out that no matter where you go, you find something related to this book.<\/p>\n

On our Day 1, we walked by Pashkov house, where Woland decided the fate of Master and Margarita, granting them eternal peace. We went through Alexandrovsky Garden where Margarita met Azazello. We saw The House on the Embankment where Sempleyarov, the conceited and unfaithful chairman of the Acoustic Commission of Moscow Theaters, lived and where Bezdomny took a dip in the river and lost his clothes.<\/p>\n

On Day 2, we went through the Sparrow Hills where Woland bid his farewell to Moscow and embarked on the Final Flight. We walked by Kievsky railway station where Uncle Poplavsky arrived to claim the apartment. We saw Novodevichy Convent where Bulgakov himself is buried.<\/p>\n

On Day 3, we crossed Pushkin Square, where the truck stopped on its way from the insane asylum and poet Riukhin evaluated the heritage of poet Pushkin. We stopped at Mayakovskaya Square where naked people were running around after “S\u00e9ances of Black Magic and It\u2019s Full Exposure” at the Variety Theatre.<\/p>\n

Today, on day 4, we finally came to the “not good apartment” itself and finished the day on Patriarch’s Ponds where, at sunset of one warm spring day, Satan descended on Moscow.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

In the courtyard of this building there\u2019s this bus that takes curious Bulgakov\u2019s fans along the book\u2019s paths. There are plenty of \u201cMaster and Margarita\u201d routes in Moscow, just like there are Murakami\u2019s \u201cNorwegian Wood\u201d<\/a> routes in Japan or \u201cThe Sound of Music\u201d routes<\/a> in Salzburg.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

These are regent Koroviev and cat Behemoth. Not sure I like this sculpture. They look tired and cheap here. In the book, they were more upbeat and classy.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

This bas-relief above the entrance to the Bulgakov\u2019s museum tried to capture it all \u2014 Satan\u2019s Ball and the staircase, The Final Flight, Moscow shenanigans.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The museum is free and run by volunteers who collect Bulgakov memorabilia. This is the Master himself. Obviously, people rub his foot. Is it for writing inspiration?<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Or his hand\u2026<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the head of unfortunate Berlios, freshly cut off by a street car after Annushka spilled oil on the tracks.<\/p>\n

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An antique typewriter. There are a few in this makeshift museum. Did Bulgakov really type on this one?<\/p>\n

It was interesting to see that now there\u2019s a museum here and check out the memorabilia. But it was not the actual apartment. The real one was through an entrance next door. And it was locked.<\/p>\n

It seems like the attendant of the museum got my vibe:
\u2014 Do you want the code? It\u2019s ******. Don\u2019t tell anyone, ok?<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

This is the staircase that leads to the not good apartment and the graffiti on the way to it. The walls here have been painted and repainted many times burying some really cool art. The pretense for repainting is that there are too many swear words \u2014 which is true \u2014 but there is more interesting stuff than curses.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

You can spend hours here reading quotes from the book and people\u2019s interpretation of them.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

And of course, there are illustrations. This is cat Behemoth with his primus stove.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

This is the door of #50 on the fifth floor \u2014 not a good apartment \u2014 where Satan lived during his stay in Moscow. The first time I came here was in high school, in the 1980s. There was no code at the entrance and it used to be a regular door with a fake leather cover. Later, after the door was vandalized and replaced multiple times, it was replaced with a sheet of steel covering the entrance. The people who lived there were forced out by an unending pilgrimage of book fanatics. There\u2019s another museum behind this door. It was too late in the day and we couldn\u2019t get in.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

More quotes.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The window out which Hella flew.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Again I thought about Charlotte\u2019s observation how, in Russia, people truly worship books and writers.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

This is Margarita with a crown on her head, Behemoth swinging the salmon he stole, and the sword Hella offered to bartender Sokov upon his departure.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Finished with the apartment, we went to The Patriarch\u2019s Ponds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A monument to a fabulist Ivan Krylov<\/a> opened here when I just started school and my grandmother used to bring me here often. In his days, Krylov was the most frequently reprinted author. When asked the secret of how many books he sold, Krylov said:<\/p>\n

\u2014 You know, I write for children, and children have a tendency to rip books apart.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

Around seated Krylov there are illustrations taken from his fables. Here\u2019s Monkey and the Mirror.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The Fox and the Crow.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The Elephant and the Pug.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

The Quartet.<\/p>\n

\"IMG<\/p>\n

It is here, \u201conce upon a time, in spring, during an unprecedentedly hot sunset, two citizens appeared at the Patriarch\u2019s Ponds,\u201d and the story began.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fourth day was the day to take care of business and renew my papers. Most of it was spent in Soviet style offices waiting on line, curtsying, smiling, providing champagne and candy to grouchy officials who didn\u2019t even notice me. Nothing changed in that department. …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooking-at-home","category-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2548"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3884,"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548\/revisions\/3884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juliacore.com\/beyondthebarre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}