Russia...St. Petersburg...

As jewelers, we tend to find ourselves traveling the world in search of the next best (import) collection. Our travels take us to the United Kingdom five times a year, Hong Kong once a year and the Baltic's.

Last year, we decided to take a side trip to St. Petersburg, Russia to view a collection of Faberge. While St. Petersburg is steeped in history, it's a history, which was built upon the sacrifice of its own people. Today, history is in the making and in hands of Vladimir Putin.

There is a total distrust of Americans. Russians speak of the "new" secret police, they feel they are being watched and that there's no safe place in which to have a conversation. The level of paranoia in St. Petersburg is to the extreme. Young (Russian) adults speak of their distrust of Americans when visiting America and feel that our "secret police" follow them wherever they may go. I met a few people who actually stated "it's no different in America than in Russia, the police follow you wherever you go". I replied, "funny, the one way we find "wanted" people in our country is through America's Most Wanted".

I posted the following on February 11, 2007...

I was reading today's report of the comments made by Putin and those made by Gates. Putin can say what he wants but, he's nothing but a bully.  I was recently in St. Petersburg previewing a private Fabergé collection and I've got to tell you that it's not a place you want to visit as an American.  In fact, you felt good just leaving the city and heading over to Estonia.

St. Petersburg is ripe with poverty, people still sharing living quarter's, secret police just about everywhere you go and total "paranoia". People are afraid to talk, they think there are still microphones hidden in fountains and in street lamps (they're probably right). They know Putin has a new KGB and as such, are extremely afraid to voice their opinion of Putin and his band of merry mob men. You can see him running all over the city with his little motorcade. He makes no bones about who is boss. In fact, he makes Tony Soprano look like an angel.

Step outside of St. Petersburg and it's a different world. The people welcome you, talk with you and love Americans. Go to Estonia and they will openly speak of Putin as being a tyrant, a mobster and a bully (especially in the operation of the St. Petersburg port). Estonians celebrated when the last of the Russian troops left their territory.

Go to St. Petersburg on a cruise ship and if you want to leave the ship, be prepared to fork over up to $1,000.00 for tour. They (Putin) has a cute thing going at the port. They put up a mobile immigration van, which you must go through and if you don't pay for a tour, you can't leave the ship or walk through the city. It gets better. They make you hand over a copy of your passport and then take out the copy and tear it up in front of you and throw it in the garbage. This is their way to show you who's in control. However, at the other end of the ship, the crew is coming and going and they only have pay a $10.00 fee for a temporary visa.

Today, (August 17, 2007) the Russians resumed their long range bomber patrols on the heels of a "major" military exercise with China. In all seriousness, Putin is not going to leave office anytime soon (as his countrymen would have hoped) he's dug himself into St. Petersburg and is taking Russia down a new road.

The "warning signs" were written on the wall last year. The escalation of military posturing in conjunction with Putin's support of Iranian nuclear initiatives (coupled with today's news) is adding up to forging alliances, which will ultimately make the cold war seem like a warm bath.

The problem in St. Petersburg is that they wanted to be like America, they wanted democracy and freedom however, the Russians are still sharing bathrooms with their neighbors and the Russian standard of living is at an all time low.

Democracy, comes at a price and those Russians who resent America (today) are those who Russia left behind...