Back in the U.S.S.R.

Today, February 23rd, is the official holiday, which apparently in English is called "Defender of the Fatherland Day". Personally, I prefer the Russian version: День Зaщитника Отечества. It is a day that honors the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and more generally executed by celebrating all men. Just like March 8th is International Women's Day, February 23rd is similarly Men's Day. 

To personally honor this day, I took a trip to the ВВЦ - Всероссийский Выставочный Центр: an All-Russian Exhibition Center that is made up of many historic buildings, which now house various tourist-oriented shops and exhibits.

I spent a few hours strolling around, admiring the beautiful buildings and sculptures, and when I decided to finally investigate the inside of one of the largest, most ravishing buildings (thinking it, too, was filled with historic beauty), I was highly disappointed to find that there was nothing beautiful nor historic. Instead, there was a shark movie showing. The other monumental buildings, which looked like they would contain something of significance, were also façades for disappointing (and expensive!) souvenir shops, outdated jewelry bazaars, and obscure art exhibits. 

Союз Советских Социалистических Республик

Nonetheless, the territory of the ВВЦ was striking and historically rich - a very interesting place to discover a bit of the USSR past of the country. 

The architecture was stunning - no two buildings were the same.

This was one of the central buildings, which stood proudly displaying a lavish crown-roof, as though needing to prove its grandiosity. 

The the ribbed columns in the middle, which are holding up a canopy in front of the ornate mosaic-walled building, caught my eye because I had never seen such thin, long columns before. They looked as though they could topple over from just a small gust of wind. 

Vast amounts of sculptures depicted various aspects of soviet life. 
Left: men and women in Navy uniforms stand proudly, guarding their flag.
Right: several proletariat goddesses stand proudly displaying their wealthy crops - including wheat and sunflowers

Naturally, this golden crop glory was my favorite display. 

Finally, as I was leaving, I noticed this little fellow hidden away in a small park on the wing of the ВВЦ territory. He was so petite, camouflaged so well in the trees, and looked so lonely that I was drawn to take a picture of him - to recognize his presence in this monstrous center, as though giving him hope for a better, happier life. A sudden melancholy sight in the illustrious center evoked a short, poignant moment and I just had to capture it. 










But back in the grand, historic ВВЦ center, I was bid farewell by these two from atop a towering arch, and my visit was over. 

So happy День Зaщитника Отечества to all the Russian men (and women?) who fought for the Russian Army and who to this day are and will always be remembered for their honorable service. 

To everyone else, happy Men's Day. Go Men! 

And to everybody - men, women, boys, and girls - know that whether you like it or not, whether you agree with it or not, and whether it is directly yours or not, it is important to learn history: to be educated and to not be ignorant of what took place before you. Though personally, I was never a fan of history classes in school (I prefer the outlook that "Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, today is a gift - that's why it's called the present".), I realize its importance and try to take the necessary measures to increase my knowledge of it. From history, we learn about the mistakes not to be made again, we imitate and improve successes, and we get inspired to make the world better than it was in the past. There's no use in denying the past, so first learn about it, the learn from it, then learn with it in mind, and with that you will be indestructible: 

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” 

― George Orwell