Reisverslag uit USSR

[Praetorian]

Gegrepen uit soviet-empire.com forum

In 1962, my Great, Great Uncle (a teacher) traveled to the Soviet Union as part of an Education Tour. Because he had a reasonable command of Russian, he was allowed to walk around cities the tour visited without escort and get a feeling for what life was like for the average citizen. After returning to Australia, he wrote an article which was published in the Queensland Teachers Journal. I've been typing it up in order to keep a more permanent record and thought there would be a few people posting here who would be interested in reading it.

The article is quite long (in fact, it was spread over two volumes) so I've decided to divide it into sections in order to avoid readers being bombarded with a giant wall of text. It was originally divided into topics, so it should work out nicely. I will post a new section every week or two.

Part One (Introduction):

Queensland Teachers Journal, October, 1963

A VISIT TO THE U.S.S.R.

Many months ago, teachers in Queensland were informed through circulars and advertisements that an Education Tour of the U.S.S.R. was available to anyone prepared to raise the necessary £625. The writer of this article was one of three Queensland teachers who joined the tour. He devoted most of the trip to investigation of educational establishments, but had also ample opportunity to observe the people of the Soviet Union at work and at play. Since his return he has addressed numerous organisations and societies on his experiences. Interest shown by teachers has prompted this article…
Perhaps the most frequently asked question I have been asked is: “Why did you choose the U.S.S.R. as a place to visit?”

Firstly, there was the opportunity to enjoy an interesting and comparatively cheap vacation made all the more attractive by the lure of “Foreign travel”.
Secondly, any mention of the Soviet Union usually arouses heated argument and discussion. Most of us have at some time listened to the most conflicting and contradicting views on Communism and the U.S.S.R. Understandably then, Russia has become for most people “the enigma of the twentieth century”. What more natural than to wish to see it for myself?
Thirdly, public utterances by such eminent figures as Professor Messel, contrasting a disquieting state of affairs in education on the Australian scene with the great advances made in Soviet education, had become too frequent to ignore.
Lastly: When the first Russian Sputnik went into orbit some years ago, not a little consternation prevailed in the United States. Why was the U.S.A., hitherto the acknowledged leader of nations, not the first to achieve such a scientific and technological triumph? In an attempt to answer this question, a commission of inquiry was set up. After lengthy investigation, the chairman announced the committee’s findings: Soviet education had outstripped education in the United States. It was difficult to believe that a country which a bare forty years before was a sixth-rate nation with 60-70 percent. Illiteracy, and which has suffered untold devastation from civil war and the foreign invasions of World War II, could have developed, in such an historically brief period an educational system that was in advance of that of the wealthiest country on Earth. Could it be true? If so, how had it been achieved? I thought I might be able to find the answers.

As I had no first-hand knowledge of Education in the U.S.A., I limited my aim to finding the answer to three basic questions:-
(1) Is Soviet education superior to Australian education?
(2) If so, in what ways is it superior, and
(3) Why is it superior?

Fourteen Australians, twelve of whom were directly connected with education, took part in the tour. They represented a wide range of teaching activities in five Australian States: A kindergarten teacher, primary school teachers, a librarian from a denominational school, head teachers, and Education Guidance officer, teachers from secondary and technical departments, and the Principal of a Teachers’ training College.

The tour was arranged to coincide with the Australian mid-summer school vacations. All travel was by plane. Twenty-eight days were spent in the Soviet Union, as well as several days in India, Thailand, and Honkong. In the Soviet Union, the tour took us through four Republics and six cities: Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan in Central Asia; Tbilisi (Tiflis) in the Caucasian Republic of Georgia; Sochi, a holiday and health resort on the Black Sea; Kiev in the Ukraine; Moscow, the Capital of the Soviet Union; and the Baltic port and city of Leningrad. Due to the severe winter conditions (sub-zero temperatures prevailed in the north) and to the limiting time factor, our investigations were confined almost wholly to the urban areas.

Our tour of the southern regions of the Soviet Union occurred during the New Year holiday period, when most educational institutions were closed. However, our time was profitably spent in talks with officials from Universities, Training Colleges, Ministries of Education, and the Teachers’ Union. Many of these people interrupted their vacation in order to greet us and answer our questions. In Moscow and Leningrad we visited numerous educational establishments where we were able to watch students and pupils at work. At all times our questions were answered willingly and in detail.

One can express only the highest praise for Intourist (The Soviet Tourist Bureau). Accommodation was first-class and the tour, the first of its kind from Australia, proceeded with scarcely a hitch. Two highly skilled interpreters were attached permanently to our group. Charming, poised, yet refreshingly natural, with a sound University education and experience of foreign travel, these lasses smoothed the way for us and helped to make our visit a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Although organised to include visits to a large number of varied institutions, the itinerary provided ample free time. Those of us who had some knowledge of the language enjoyed ourselves immensely, wandering off by ourselves for hours at a time, seeing how the people lived, making new friends and (of course) getting lost. Everywhere I found the citizens friendly, courteous and hospitable, eager to ask questions about Australia and always willing to speak about their own country and its achievements.

To be seen in proper perspective, any discourse on Soviet education must be viewed against the broader background of historical origins and everyday activity. History, I shall leave to the text-books, but, in view of contradictory reports about life in the Soviet Union, I feel impelled to devote some paragraphs to this aspect.

Part Two:

Accommodation:
Throughout the tour, our party was accommodated in de luxe suites. We were fortunate I suppose, that it was the off-season for tourists, and the best accommodation was easily available. I particular, I recall one suite that which boasted a grand piano and original oil paintings.

Soviet hotels have often been described by English visitors as very Victorian. I think a more accurate description would be that they are typically Russian – a style that has rejected much of the modern streamlining, aseptic simplicity and strictly functional styles so much in vogue in the West. However, I was told that many of the new hotels now under construction will incorporate more of the features usually associated with Western Europe.

In Australia we are still comparatively free of the pernicious practice of tipping (Editor: this remains true in 2008). For us, India, Bangkok and Hongkong were distressing places, for there tipping was universal. In the Soviet Union we felt more at home. No one demanded or expected a tip. Had we offered tips, it is possible that they may have been accepted, but we did not want to risk offending anyone, for Russians, we were told, will generally refuse to accept tips. I saw only one example of tipping – at the National Hotel in Moscow. Tourists have been blamed for introducing the practice in some places.

It is not generally realised that Moscow and Leningrad are popular with tourists. In the summer of 1961, half a million visitors passed through Moscow alone. Sochi on the Black Sea includes 50,000 foreigners in its annual influx on one million holiday-makers. Magnificent tourist vessels ply between the Black Sea and Mediterranean ports.

The military were seldom in evidence. During the New Year holidays we saw Red Army men travelling on leave. They were more noticeable in the southern border regions than in the north.

I did not envy the lot of the policemen (they call them “militia”). Traffic is well regulated and well-behaved, but the pedestrians seem determined to make the life of the policemen a misery. I have seen them swarm across a busy street, regardless of the lights or the harassed policemen who was reduced to blowing futilely on his whistle. Urgent blasts on the police whistle are the commonest sounds to be heard in the streets. Also, the powers of the militia are evidently so severely restricted that they seem to act largely as counsellors or peace-makers. I witnessed two “incidents”, but in each case, the policeman spent so much time patiently trying to persuade the recalcitrant to calm down and go on his way quietly, that I had to move on before finding out just how the episode ended.

Exciting Theatre:
The disadvantages of winter were more than compensated for by the fact that it was also the theatre season. I think I shall always associate the Soviet Union with exciting theatre. Houses are always packed and it is necessary to reserve seats. This can be done in hotels, at booths in shops and on the streets, and at the theatres themselves. As all theatres are generously subsidised by the State, prices are moderate. At the Bolshoi in Moscow, the best seats were A35/- while admission to “the gods” cost approximately 7/-. Evening performances start usually at 6 p.m. and may last for four hours or more. In the intervals which are long and leisurely the crowds visit the refreshment rooms or, in true Continental fashion, promenade the maze of corridors and ancillary halls.

Children are conspicuous by their absence from the night life of Soviet cities. Most theatres will not admit children to the evening performances. Young people attend either children’s theatres or special matinee performances. I was present at a children’s matinee in Tbilisi. It was the ballet “Sleeping Beauty” performed by a huge cast which included famous Russian and Georgian dancers, Except for a sprinkling of adults, the audience consisted of children.

It was in Tbilisi, too, that I saw for the first time animals on stage during ballet and opera. It was exciting to see a magnificent white charger prance onto the stage with its rider. I sat anxiously on the edge of my chair in full expectation of seeing the creature leap the orchestra pit into the audience.

Here, too, we saw a moving performance of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly”. But for me the most exciting theatrical experience was the performance of the Soviet Ballet “Laurencia”. If shown abroad, it would, I am sure, create a sensation. It is sad to realise that there is no possibility yet of seeing such performances in Australia while our theatres are so small and ill-equipped.

Auditoria are, for the most part, fairly intimate, seldom seating more than 2,000. One exception is a remarkable building inside the Moscow Kremlin. This is the Palace of Congresses, a modern structure of glass and steel, with a seating capacity of 6,000. Though primarily intended as the name implies, as its name implies, for scientific and political congresses, the magnificent building is given over, for most of the year, to opera and ballet.

Theatres change their performances several times weekly, and as every large city has a number of such theatres, there is always a wide variety of entertainment both during the day and at night (Sundays included): Opera, ballet, variety, musicals, concerts, recitals, puppetry drama, and for the young at heart, a permanent circus.

Ook te volgen op http://www.soviet-empire.com/ussr/viewtopic.php?t=44311. Ik zal regelmatig nieuwe teksten plaatsen.

[Txiki]

Goh, dit is even een teleurstelling. Ik dacht dat je zelf in Rusland geweest was en nu je reisverslag gepost had...

[tomm]

Theater, opera, circus, etc. (cultuur in het algemeen) stonden en staan nog steeds op hoog niveau, behalve in de allerarmste voormalige Sovjet-republieken. Ik vond de dolfinariums van Odessa en Batumi beter dan het dolfinarium van Brugge. Leven in de stad was goed, appartementen waren comfortabel, en veel ex-Sovjet-burgers die nu in oude tochtige huizen van het OCMW leven in België klagen steen en been. Of dat ook al zo was begin jaren '60 kan ik niet zeggen, waarschijnlijk stond alles toen nog op lager niveau. De appartementen hadden meestal vuile vervallen trappen en hallen, maar binnen was alles comfortabel en piekfijn in orde, dat is nu nog steeds zo, behalve in de nieuwe appartementen voor de nieuwe bovenklasse. Electriciteit en energie waren gratis, nu moet er een symbolisch bedrag voor betaald worden. De meeste mensen hebben hun appartement nog uit de Sovjet-tijd, en wonen er samen met verschillende generaties, de vastgoedprijzen zijn zo gestegen dat slechts een minderheid een eigen appartement kan kopen. Er bestaat wel nog een systeem van publieke toewijzing, maar zoals alles (bvb. de zogezegd gratis gezondheidszorg of onderwijs) in Rusland is dit ten prooi gevallen aan overdreven corruptie. Wel heb ik zelf ook opgemerkt dat het platteland veel armer was dan de steden en veel minder ontwikkeld, met paard-en-karren, ongeplaveide aarden wegen, houten huisjes en oudjes die net zo goed in de 19de eeuw hadden kunnen leven eind jaren '80 en ook nu nog steeds.
Het grote verschil tussen 1989 en 2007 is natuurlijk de overvloed aan consumptiegoederen (reusachtige bazaars in heel de voormalige Sovjet-Unie), nieuwe moderne supermarkten, casino's, auto's met geblindeerde ruiten, reclamepanelen maar anderzijds ook veel meer bedelaars, veel meer armoede in het algemeen, veel meer alcoholici en veel meer corruptie. De winners en loosers van het kapitalisme met andere woorden zijn bijzonder goed zichtbaar in Rusland en de andere republieken.

[Pelgrim]

Naar ik me herinner is Praetorian effectief al in Rusland geweest, maar daar hebben we inderdaad nooit een reisverslag van gezien