Nizhny Novgorod: hero of the fete.

The 4th of November – a day to remember. At least in Russia. Some people can’t remember what exactly they celebrate nowadays (Unity Day). Just because before the feast had another date – 7th of November – and was dedicated to  October revolution. This celebration survived Soviet Union, yet was finally abandonded. As long as people got used to November holidays, state historians burried into “this day in histroy” statistics and found out that … in the beginning of 17th century it was in this autumn month that Russia firstly overcame long period of anarchy and state degradation. So, since 2004 National Unity Day has been celebrated on the 4th of November. Another official holiday in Russia needs to be spent somewhere, but not in Moscow. So we choose to travel to the birth place of super model Natalia Vodyanova – Nizhny Novgorod. And what a symbolic trip it was!

Moscow: The chances are.

I have a friend who wouldn’t dare to live or even visit Moscow. He always finds a reason to skip a trip to Russian capital. And he has been doing it successfully for over 40 years. I also was this kind of person. Thinking about Moscow, I imagine something crowded, grand and red. The same feeling I had about National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. While I was denying a single chance of studying there, a destiny had its own opinion and made me a student of “red University”. I am afraid the history is repeating, but instead of University, Moscow joins my game this time . What are my chances to win?