Nizhni Novgorod

Nizhni Novgorod is a big place; a sprawling industrial center with more than 2 million residents. That seems to affect the aspects of how it presents itself - from the past to the present.

The city is at the intersection of the Oka and Volga rivers, and has always been a strategic asset. One look at the massive Kremlin riding high on a bluff over the river junction will remove any doubts about that. The Kremlin is still the administrative center of the region, and is packed with office buildings and workers among the leafy parks and monuments. Its also notable in that its possible to walk along the tops of the walls and get a look at both the city on the outside, and the governmental city on the inside.

Its a beautiful place, providing sweeping vistas of the rivers and the rest of the town. Its also interesting to see an ancient power center still function centuries later as a power center. Most castles and keeps the world over have become irrelevant. But here in Russia (Moscow, Kazan, and Nizhni Novgorod anyway) the Kremlin is still the real heart of things.

Outside the kremlin, 'Nizhgorod' is a bustling metropolis of big streets and big traffic and big hurries. In all, I think its safe to say that its the most Russian city I've been to, as well. Its all a bit chaotic, a bit rundown, and a bit ... well...Russian.

So how to explain a thing like that? There appears to be very few traffic lights in this enormous city. 5-way intersections with speeding cars and weaving pedestrians are the norm in the center of town. The tram stop at my hotel is in the middle of 6 lanes of cars -it's up to you to get back and forth to the tram safely. The main pedestrian street is just that - a street, not a cobblestone walkway - where cars randomly appear and honk their horns at the crowds of people strolling along.

But for me there's one more important characteristic. In the very center of town, it's possible to buy kvas (a bread-based beverage from an old lady sitting next to an enormous yellow barrel on wheels. That's a disappearing site in most cities in Russia - but one I'll always identify with this country. And happily, too; I love kvas.

So Nizhni Novgorod is a fascinating place - and one that's gotten the short end of the stick for a long time. 'Nizhni' means 'lower' in russian - a moniker attached to distinguish it from a much older city. And then, in Soviet times, the city was named after a revolutionary writer who changed his name to Gorky - or 'bitter' - to reflect his outlook on things.

So first lower, then bitter. Unfair. It really doesn't deserve either.