Today we got the first data delivery from the company we're dealing with in Murmansk. A guy came to our Moscow office with the data on a USB disk this morning. I had to sign 4 copies of receipt papers. Two of them I couldn't even read, but our Russian lawyer was by my side, and said it was OK.
But my signature wasn't enough, bacause in Russia they want stamps too. So they searched around our office to find some kind of stamp, and then everything was fine. I could probably carved a stamp out of a half potato (like we did as kids), and they would be happy with it. The only important thing was to get the damned paperwork stamped.
Then my business in Moscow was completed, for this time. One of our drivers took me to the airport. The first part of the trip was nice, through central Moscow. The driver told me, in his very limited English, about the history and current use of every building along the streets; The Kremlin, the Ministry of This and That, the Bolshoy Theatre, the Pushkin monument (Lady of Spades is a good book; recommended), and Stalin's Seven Sisters.
The Seven Sisters, also known as Stalin's Cakes, are seven monumental buildings, built for the 800-year aniversary of the City of Moscow. Eight buildings were planned, but only seven were finished before the aniversary ... and the eighth was never built (drawings exist). The Seven Sisters are used for various institutions; Moscow State University, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hotel Ukraina, Hotel Leningradskaya, and a couple of apartment buildings for the rich and powerful. You can spot one of the Seven Sisters in the photo in my previous post.
The traffic was slow but steady on the first part of Leningradsky Prospekt. It's part of a federal highway that goes all the way to St Petersburg (the driver told me). At the point were 5 lanes are reduced to 3, we got stuck. Our drivers, however, are good guys, with very creative solutions. So we left the higway, and took the small side-roads, through apartment areas, sports stadiums, construction sites, junk yards and green parks ... and then back on the highway. So I made it to the airport in time, again.
Da svidaniya, Moskva.
I'll be back in about three weeks.
(I took the picture above from the highway on a previous trip to Moscow in July. It shows the Red Gates Square Building, one of Statlin's Seven Sisters)
I haven't been to Russia yet. Next on the agenda...
ReplyDeleteEvery Savage Can Reproduce
"I could probably carved a stamp out of a half potato (like we did as kids), and they would be happy with it." I love that line! That line alone says so much about Russia.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a nice trip. And got to show off your stamping skills, as well. ;)
Hope you had a good trip home!
ReplyDeleteYour life is so interesting.
ReplyDeleteI tell ya, if you need an assistant, my daughter would go. She's been wanting to go to Russia for years. You'd have to pay her enough to get her to leave Twitter, though.
That stamp issue had me smiling. How crazy. It reminds me of the wax seals they used in mid-evil times. Maybe next time, you could wear a stamp on a ring, just to seem clever.
ReplyDeleteEnid: It's become a great metropol, and they have some nice tennis courts too >:)
ReplyDeleteJayne: Sometimes (but not often) one can feel a Soviet flashback. The stamping thing is one example.
Alex: Yes, I made it safely back home.
Helen: Just tell her she can come with me on my next trip. I arrived in Texas yesterday, so I can probably pick her up one the way back to Europe >;D
Nessa: Think I have one of these stamp rings somewhere, inherited from my grandfather who have the same initials as me. I'll bring it next time >:)
I remember potato stamps. Glad you made your flight.
ReplyDeleteWow! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI've come over from Judy Croome's blog - there's something for you over at her place! Good to meet you and to hear the story of the papers .. and the potato stamps - those were so much fun (way back when).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the paragraph on Stalin's cakes .. interesting to have that extra information .. as I wrote about our Seven Sisters chalk cliffs here on the south coast of England ..
Cheers - and hope your trip is successful .. love reading the snippets on Moscow .. Hilary
Sheila: The potato stamps where quite fun.
ReplyDeleteFresh Garden: Thanks.
Hilary: Thank's. I'm glad you enjoyed it. There will probably be more Moscow snippets to come >:)
Anonymous: I actually like fat and cheating women. Now I know where to look for them >:D
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