St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary Prof. Veselin Kesich Summer 2003 Russia Travelog

In June 2003, my wife Lydia and I traveled to Russia, staying on a river boat and sailing from Moscow to St. Petersburg via canals, the Volga River and some other rivers and lakes. We had three days in each of the capitals, being bussed downtown to see the cities. Moscow is now a teeming modem city, with lots of traffic and capitalist verve. Western expertise has taken over the hotels and other enterprises along Tverskaya Street. Whatever the changes, Red Square and the Kremlin, evocative of the East, still are the heart of the city.

After 3 nights in Moscow we started down the canal system through the locks to the Volga, on through Uglich and Yaroslavl and across a couple of lakes, ending in delightful Kizhi, where Kolya Ozoline (now Fr Nicholas) is priest to the summer church. When he met us on the dock and threw his arms around us it excited general interest and I became the "man of the hour." He became our guide and sent heartfelt greetings to St. Vladimir friends. He especially wanted to tell us how much the seminary meant to him. His Russian wife and 6 yr old daughter were away on vacation. He seemed very happy. We noted that he exerted a dignified control, reminding visitors to the church how to behave. He reminded us of his father, Fr Nicholas Ozoline of St Sergius in Paris. It seems like a good fit, and it was a wonderful visit for us.

St Petersburg: Back to Moscow-type commercial growth, all the gold replaced, impossible traffic. On Sunday we attended the service in Alexander Nevsky Lavra cathedral, then walked over to the cemetery where we visited the grave of Dostoevsky and the "Mighty Five" musicians. We visited the Hermitage museum, where the layout is improved, and seats in most rooms made the three-hour visit enjoyable. We had a
climactic visit to a ballet performance at the Hermitage Theater, then the long trip home.

Best to you all, Veselin and Lydia.