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[quote=Anonymous]I did a study abroad program in St. Petersburg, Russia, shortly after the Soviet Union collapsed. It was the most incredible experience I had in my life, and set me on a career path I love and never expected. I got to travel to Moscow, Uzbekistan, Estonia, and it was just amazing. So amazing I sold my ticket and stayed an extra 4 months. :)

I have great stories of those times, from buying bottle of Stoli for like 25 cents to selling American nylons (which were a million times better than Soviet-era ones) on Nevskii Prospekt so that I can pay rent. You'd walk into a store and there would be an aisle full of one kind of pickled beets, an aisle full of one kind of pickles, and an aisle full of one kind of vodka. Ah, the bread kiosks! Ah, the babushkas who could say "don't touch" in 20 languages in the Hermitage to supplement their paltry pensions that they'd starve on. Ah, the mafiosos who would shake down kiosk owners in the middle of the day in the middle of the street.

Sadly these days things have changed so much in Russia that I don't think there are many programs operating there anymore. I fear the Russian Soul has been extinguished by crass consumerism, Putin's propaganda machine, and the rampant nationalism. It is so sad, and such a different Russia from the one that I fell in love with 20 years ago....the only thing that remains that same is the suffering of the vast majority of the population at the hands of their leadership.

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