Comparative qualities of blinis etc.

To my surprise, somebody – a Mr. M., a Swiss living in Moscow - has actually read my previous text and even left a comment. How very gratifying ! So my first words go to him – yes, blinis in « Troika » are at least as good as in « Margarita » or may be even better !

Talking of blinis, there will be more of those in Geneva this summer. Ten days ago the Geneva Tourism office and the Government of Moscow signed an agreement about Moscow’s participation in the Fêtes de Genève (31 July-10 August) as guest of honour.

In addition to blinis, pirojkis and perhaps even borsh served à la louche, there will be live music – classical, folk and jazz, expansive exhibition on Moscow’s historical center and the city’s surroundings… And, the last but not the least, a team of Moscow rowers will participate in the race on the lake.

But one thinks of Moscow and of Russia at large, it is not rowing that comes to mind but the golden dômes of the Kremlin and the attributes of the country’s power and might.

While a declared democracy, Russia cherishes – more and more so – its csarist past. It is a valid idem of export, too.

“Impressing the csars”, a ballet created by William Forsythe, an American genius of dance, was the central piece in the « Steps » dance festival which just ended in Zurich.

But as a Russian saying goes, « a sacred place is never empty ». To prove the point, the Zurich opera offers a new production of « Boris Godunov » - première on April 27 – under the masterful baton of the famous Russian maestro Vladimir Fedoseev.

And three days later, also in Zurich, the Orlando galery will present an impressive array of works by Russian painters of the first part of the 20th century – Alexandra Exter and Natalia Goncharova, Marc Chagall and El Lissitsky … any decent museum would be proud of this selection.

To the Swiss expats in Russia and Russian expats in Switzerland, I recommend to read this tragi-comical book http://www.nashagazeta.ch/article/1202 – comparatively speaking, times are still better now !