As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had the fortune to take part in a Moscow State U language course in summer 2001. Among the sites our wonderful coordinator from AATSEEL arranged for us to tour was this gem of a brick building on the bank of the Moskva river. The Red October Candy Factory, originally named for its mid-19th-century German founder, Theodor Ferdinand von Einem, produces very iconic Russian chocolates. Ironically, Tsar Nicholas II was once of its biggest customer's before his demise following the event for which the company is named.

No commie sympathy here

Lest anyone think I'm "glorifying Red October," let me make an important historical note. Contrary to much popular misunderstanding of events, Nicholas II actually abdicated in following 1917's February Revolution, while Lenin was still living in exile in Zürich; the October "Revolution" was really a coup that overthrew the provisional government. The Bolsheviks forced the country to hold new elections, and when the results only gave them only a quarter of seats in the legislature, they forcefully disbanded it. 

But names stick, so what can you do? Anyway, they make delicious stuff, and have some very attractive wrappers. (But they've since relocated; see below.)

If you go

You can't get the tour anymore, as the main factory moved away from the center of town. But the place has become home to galleries and studios, and it's one of the coolest spots in town for foodies and clubbers. 

More info:

You'll find a brief overview from a language institute here.
Weburbanist.com has more detail and lots of pics.
My Destination has a good article on the current state of things.

Since I often perform bilingual songs, such as "Those Were the Days" with a verse of the original Russian lyrics, and sometimes do my own English translations of music from abroad, I just have to share this YouTuber's channel. It highlights the pitfalls of machine translation--and is just plain hilarious. This very talented singer, Malinda Kathleen Reese, runs English songs through translation software, apparently around a chain of languages and back into English. She puts the results to music, often parodying the original video. Her production standards are also very high. Here's her take on Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

In lieu of a normal text post, I'm sharing a performance of "Un Homme et une Femme," the latest song in my international repertoire--the jazziest thing I've done yet. The subtitles explain the rest. Enjoy!

 Today is the 135th anniversary of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky's death, and, as I noted in an earlier post, this year marks the 150th anniversary of Crime and Punishment's initial publication in serial form. I had the great fortune, when studying at Moscow State University on an ACTR program in 2001, and on a weekend trip to St. Petersburg, to take a Crime and Punishment tour. 

Here are some photos from that excursion. To recap the basics: Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is a college dropout who decides that a pawnbroker he's in debt to is a leech on society, and that killing her and stealing her pledges is justified. The rest is mainly psychological, moral, and religious drama leading to Rodya's eventual confession. 

Related links:

Dostoevsky's Vision Linger is St. Petersburg from The Star (Toronto

Dostoyevsky's Vision Lingers in St. Petersburg from The Star (Toronto)
In the Step's of Raskolknikov - Pics & a good, simple map of the "crime walk"
Dostoyevsky's Peterburg from Macalester College

(Images below copyright (c) 2001 by Mark Eliot Nuckols, unless otherwise noted.)

Sometimes having local connections gets you into some really out-of-the-way places with astounding local treasures. I found just such a thing in July 2014 when visiting Banská Bystrica in central Slovakia. Alena, a musician whose group I used to hang out with back in the Nineties, invited me to the nearby village of Poniky, where she'd bought and restored a small property several years ago.

She'd arranged a visit to the Church of St. Francis Seraph, which dates back to 1310, and a sixty-year-old Franciscan took us inside for a rare tour.

(All images Copyright (c) 2014 by Mark Eliot Nuckols)

It's curious that the restoration of this artwork took place in the years 1971-91, mostly during the socialist era when religious objects largely went neglected. Indeed, 1971 was the beginning of the "Normalization" period that followed the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. In this particular instance, the parish priest was apparently able to make the case for the building's historical importance.

Afterwards we had supper (on the other side of Bystrica) at a traditional koliba, reminiscent of a time when herding was a widespread occupation in the Carpathians.

NEXT WEEK'S POST: Pics from a Crime & Punishment tour of St. Petersburg. Last Friday I commented on the 150th anniversary of the novel. Now I have something more to share.

If you ever happen to be in the area and want to see the church, the contact info is:

                                Do Hája 9                                 00421 48 419 3263
                                976 33 Poniky                         poniky@fara.sk

Naturally, contributions will be appreciated. This info comes from the back of a church brochure, also the source of much of the captioning above.

Poniky is such a small town the name for some reason doesn't appear on this embedded Google map. But it's in the red area at center.