Russia
Russia is a world of its own, with 1/6th of the land on the globe. No one can claim to know Russia - it takes a lifetime to discover. When I write about Russia, I write about its European territory. Few can tell about the vastness of Siberia, the volcanoes of Chokotka and the geysers of Kamchatka. To the common European Russia is just a legend, a myth. We only know about Moscow and St. Petersburg (Leningrad - the Venice of the north). There are several other prominent cities, like Novgorod (once a Hanseatic city), Volgograd, and Kursk. When we think of Russia we can't help remembering Lenin, Stalin, Ivan the Terrible, and Leo Trotsky. Yet, we are over-politicizing. Russia is a country of contrasts. Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world, but some thousands of kilometers to the east, you can buy a tank or any armored vehicle for a bottle of vodka. It is the richest and the poorest country at the same time. Its gas provides the energy for nearly half of Europe. Its gold mines produce the equivalent of South Africa, the biggest gold exporter in the world. There are some regions in the Uralian Mountains where diamonds equal the number of stones. The former Soviet republics are still satellites to a great extent. In Kazakhstan Russians still have the upper hand over Baikonur Spaceport. They are still sending their rockets, Souz and Vostok, into space. They retain control over the nuclear trial site of Chiliabinsk 66 in the town of Chiliabinsk. They still dream of the Indian Ocean.more