--- Yoshie Furuhashi <critical.montages at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> The Soviets, btw, could have made a fresh diplomatic
> start after the
> Islamic Revolution, taken Khomeini's advice
> regarding Afghanistan, and
> saved themselves a great deal of trouble.
>
As you may very well know BTW, the Iranian Revolution was a major factor in the Soviet decision to deploy troops to Afghanistan. They were worried that Khomeneism would spread to Afghanistan, creating an Islamic state there and destabilizing the Muslim areas of the USSR (as it eventually did).
Anyway, on to more important matters! My summer birthday vacation is next week. As it turns out, I'm not going to China or Uzbekistan after all (too complicated); I'm not even leaving the country (it would involve bureaucratic hassles at work I don't have time for). Fortunately for me, even just European Russia is huge and fascinating. Help me out here guys. The choices I'm thinking of are:
1. St. Petersburg. BO-RING but obligatory. I have to go sometime.
2. Rostov-on-Don. I've been there twice, which is a minus, but each time I've been too lazy to travel than 20 km to Novorcherkassk, which I really want to visit. Plus, it's in the Cossackdom! Cossacks are my favorite post-Soviet "ethnic" group. Why, you ask? Arrr! That's like asking why pirates are cool. They just are. Cossacks are like pirates if pirates were an ethnic group.
3. Kazan, Tatarstan. Another city I've been to before. However, I was only there for a day, and the process of restoring the downtown for the 1000 year anniversary of the city was still in progress, so it looked like the Nazis had just gone through the city. Plus, the population is 50% Tatar, and Tatars are my second-favorite post-Soviet ethnic group. Who can beat the wild horsemen of Genghis Khan? Arrr!
4. Volgograd. It's sort of a holy sight. Everybody should visit Stalingrad at least once, AND it has the largest free-standing statue in the world. On the other hand, the city was way beyond wrecked in the war, and it is supposed to be pretty ugly.
5. Finally -- Kalmykia! Asian Buddhists in the heart (more the kidney) of Europe. Plusses are that there are lots of Buddhist temples and an entire complex devoted to chess, given that the Kalmyk president is head of the World Chess Federation. The minus is that it's in the Caucasus. Kalmys are mellow Buddhists rather than crazed jihadis, but even so I don't want to end up kidnapped in some cellar. I'm a-scared.
I've got about two days two decide. Help me out people!
Lyubo, bratsy, lyubo, lyubo, bratsy, zhit!
ËÞÁÎ, ÁÐÀÒÖÛ, ËÞÁÎ, ËÞÁÎ, ÁÐÀÒÖÛ, ÆÈÒÜ!
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