Yesterday I go up late for a change, and went to the Red Square to try and see Lenin, but it was closed off again. Maybe I'll try tomorrow, or maybe I won't bother. Anyway, after lunch I spent to the afternoon at the New Tretyakov Gallery, which houses Russian art from the 20th century (there's an Old Tretyakov Gallery with older stuff, but I don't think I'll be going this trip). It was amazing, I was there for 3 hours, only saw one floor and was still rushing at the end before it closed. There are so many different styles, and nearly all have beautiful works in them, even the Socialist Realist stuff is pretty good. I think I should get a book on Russian art though, I'd only really heard of Kandinsky and Chagall before.
Today I also left late and spent a while at the Sculpture Park. This is where they stuck the old Lenin and Stalin statues, other retired sculptures and some new ones. It was actually very peaceful with water features and so on. Just beyond it is a massive 100m statue of Peter the Great on a ship, although my guide says some people think it's actually of Columbus but called Peter the Great because the columbus statue was refused in several US states on grounds of good taste.
From there I went to Novodevichy Cemetery, where various famous Russians like Chekhov are buried. I tried to find Kropotkin, but gave up after a while. Then I had to do a bunch of shopping for Trans-Siberian supplies, it's going to be cuppa-soup heaven for 4 days I think...
Right, this will be my last post until I get to Irkutsk. I leave tomorrow afternoon and it takes 4 days. I might not even post then, as the day after I arrive I'm off to Olkhon Island for a few days, which doesn't even have a telephone (apart from one satelite one), so maybe not until just before I leave for Beijing, or possibly even not until I reach Beijing.
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