OUR TRAVEL TO RUSSIA
INTRODUCTION:
Marriage ceremony of my youngest son, Mr. Eisa Bin Bashir Khadim was concluded with the youngest daughter of Mr. M. Ishaque Awan (ex Director General Pakistan T&T/PTCL) on 11th and 12th of August 2007. Most of my relations including my eldest son Mr. Murtaza Bashir Khadim and his wife Madeeha participated in this marriage ceremony. If you already have read “MY TRAVEL TO INDIA” you perhaps remember that our eldest son ( Murtaza Bashir Khadim and his wife Madeeha who are Russian nationals) wanted me and my wife to go with them to Russian Federation for a few months on a visit visa. I had told them that we would like to go to India first of all provided we were granted Indian Visit Visa which had been refused several times before on one reason or the other causing an immense frustration in our minds. We wanted to visit India only to see our places of birth and some Muslim shrines. With the grace of God Almighty and through special help of some great individuals we were very lucky to fulfill our long nourished desire of visiting India in the months of November and December 2007. We were now fully satisfied and happy and could visit any other country.
WE START OUR JOURNEY ON 5TH OF JUNE 2008 (FRIDAY) FROM ISLAMABAD TO LAHORE AND THEN FROM LAHORE TO TASHKENT NEXT DAY ON 6TH OF JUNE 2008:
Just after the end of our visit to India in November and December of 2007, our eldest son and his wife again insisted that we should visit them at their newly built bungalow of Saint Peters berg which is located in the northern part of Russia at an approximate distance of 800 kilometers from Moscow. Due to some personal problems we wanted to defer our program of visiting the Russian Federation. Despite our repeated refusal, however, my eldest son Murtaza managed our required visa within minimum possible time and we started our journey on 5th of June 2008 via Lahore and Tashkent reaching our destination at Saint Petersburg airport by the midnight of 6th June 2008. We had to change our flight at Tashkent airport of Uzbekistan where we had to wait for about five hours to catch our next Uzbek next flight to Saint Petersburg. We were not only tired but very hungry as there was nothing to eat in the transit hall of Tashkent International Airport. There was only one shop on the ground floor which contained numerous varieties of wines but no fruits or anything else worth eating.
WE REACH SANT PETERSBURG AIRPORT AT MIDNIGHT ON 6TH OF JUNE 2008 (FRIDAY):
After a continuous air travel of six hours from Tashkent airport of Uzbekstan to Saint Petersburg of Russian Federation, it was very interesting to see the sunlight at midnight when we arrived at Saint Petersburg when people of Pakistan would be mostly sleeping soundly. This indeed was the most amazing experience of our life as it is an eternal wonder of God Almighty to show us his greatness and an incredible diversity of his creations in the universe through an innumerable variety of races, climate, terrain, human colors and multiplicity of languages etc. The airport of Saint Petersburg is very vast and beautiful. It is particularly very attractive during the months of June and July when heaps of heavy snow have mostly melted and dense jungles and green fields normally clad with heavy white snow reappear. It was drizzling when we came out of our aero plane. The climate outside was very pleasant for our hot bodies which had been tortured by the unending loadsheddings of electricity in Pakistan. We were told that the temperature outside the plane was almost zero degrees centigrade and hence we were advised to save ourselves from the shrill cold winds blowing at tremendous speed. I ignored repeated advice of my son to wear fur coat he had brought for me. I cooled my burning body with the cool wind of Saint Petersburg till we reached our destination at the grand bungalow of my son located in the most beautiful outskirts of Vasevalask at a distance of twenty five kilometers from the airport in the north eastern direction. Next day I was caught by severe cold resulting into frequent sneezing and watery eyes with slight fever. It was however a very little problem as compared to the pleasure I had enjoyed through the cold winds of Saint Petersburg soothing me immensely. It was nothing as compared to long durations of painful power gaps with profuse perspiration and suffocating heat in addition to burning stings of mosquitoes.
WE WERE RECEIVED BY THE CHARMING MADAM ALEXZENDERA SASHA AT THE PASSPORT CONTROL SECTION OF SAINT PETERSBERG AIRPORT AT MIDNIGHT ON 6TH OF JUNE 2008:
After landing from the plane we were first of all taken to the Passport Control section of Saint Petersburg airport where we saw perfect discipline despite many long rows of passenger crowds. We thought it more appropriate to wait till the end of rush which was increasing with the passage of time. We were extremely tired and hungry unable to stand in the long rows of the passengers waiting for their turn to get their passports examined by the smart and efficient staff of the immigration wing which is called Passport Control section. We were enjoying the healthy and charming looks of various passengers when a very charming charismatic girl came to my wife apologizing for the delay in receiving us. I forgot my hunger and tiredness to see her magnetic personality. It was very strange to see my wife very effectively communicating with our charming guide and helper although she did not know a single word of Russian language. The charming magnetic lady came to me and told me that her name was Alexandra Sasha and that she had been hired by my son to help at our arrival at the airport. I told her that her name did not matter much to me as long as she was so much pretty and charming. After introducing myself I asked her if I could be of any service to her. She laughed at my nonsensical remark totally ignoring its inner meanings. She told me that she had been hired by my son to help us avoiding any problems or inconvenience. At that moment she perhaps considered me an old goof whereas I considered myself a genius old wizard who could perform all thinkable and unthinkable wonders of the world. At least at that particular moment of great historical significance I thought so. At the end of our trance she again told me that she had been hired by our son to save us from any possible inconvenience at the airport. I thanked her for her timely offer of help and she took us to the front end of the first row in the Passport Control section which was being entirely handled by four efficient young lady officers. Our guide announced some words in Russian at the top of her voice and all the passengers in the first row receded backward a few steps thereby allowing us to stand at the front end of their row near the passport control counter where a very sober lady officer was checking the passport entries and their authenticity. I instantly came to know that we had been given priority as we were foreign senior citizens. This was an impressive gesture of great good will to us for which we had no words of Russian language to thank them. So very loudly I thanked them in English language and I instantly saw an immense pleasure on their faces. We have no specific rules in Pakistan to respect our senior citizens allowing them some essential concessions or preferential treatments. Let us learn good lessons from others as mush as possible as ordained by our religion.
THE FEMALE IMMIGRATION OFFICER AT SAINT PETERSBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FACED SERIOUS PROBLEM IN VERIFICATION OF OUR PASSPORTS AND MY EXPERT SERVICES TO SOLVE THE COMPUTER PROBLEM WERE TURNED DOWN:
I instantly presented our passports to the concerned lady officer of the passport control section. She seemed puzzled in the verification of data and information contained by our passports. She was constantly grumbling in low Russian tones. She either did not know the working of computers or she had some other unknown problem. In all cases of her confusion or embarrassment we were vulnerable and I started having some unknown apprehensions. After sometime I offered my expert services to solve the computer problem if any. Regarding any other problem obviously I had no capability at that critical moment. She smiled at my gracious offer of helping her but she politely turned it down. There was no alternative for us except to wait and see the end result. Many negative thoughts came to my mind but I kept silent lest my wife might be demoralized. After about ten minutes I politely asked the immigration officer if we could relax on the adjacent sofa as we were extremely tired. The passengers standing in the long rows also started grumbling due to the delay in their turn. After a few minutes she suddenly uttered some Russian words beyond my comprehension and stamped our passports indicating that all was O.K. So along with our charming guide and host we went to receive our unaccompanied luggage which had not yet arrived. We sat on the adjoining comfortable chairs and waited for arrival our unaccompanied luggage. After about five minutes someone extremely resembling Mr. Putin ex President of Russian Federation who has been recently made PRIME MINISTER very enthusiastically met our charming lady host who introduced us to him. He seemed very happy to meet us and we felt much honored. After his leaving us shortly I greatly appreciated the simplicity and greatness of their Premier who was kind enough to honor us so warmly. She cleared my misunderstanding telling me that he was not Mr. Putin the Prime Minister of Russian Federation but someone else who was of course his ditto copy. It was a great surprise for us. He was of course an effective senior officer of the airport as all officers and officials of the airport were paying special attention to him when he was inspecting various sections one after the other. He was totally bald-headed and he was all the time smiling in a very pleasant manner. He was keenly looking at all passengers and the airport staff. He was perhaps the Inspector General of the airport. He took us along with him and without any further checking guided us outside the airport building where our son and his wife were waiting for us. We all got seated ourselves in the grand new and costly car of our son with the brand name of «infinity” which really has infinite number of modern luxurious facilities. It was indeed a moment of great pleasure for all of our family members to meet at a historic moment in foreign country like Russian Federation which was much superior to America in all respects only a few years ago. Let us pray for an early revival of its past glory which has to happen sooner or later.
WHEN WE REACH THE BUNGALOW OF OUR SON A BAR-BE- QUE PARTY WAS IN FULL SWING:
When we reached the bungalow of our son a grand bar-be-queue party was going in full swing. A few years ago my son along with an Indian and a Pakistani partner bought a vast piece of fertile land in the north eastern outskirts of Saint Petersburg called Vasevalask. It is a lush green area surrounded by many dense forests and water channels. My son and his companions constructed their beautiful grand bungalows side by side on their newly purchased fertile land. Mr. Naveed who is also a Pakistani by birth and now a Russian national got married to a charming Russian colleague called Julia and their bungalow is located on the left side of my son. Mr. Vikas who is an Indian Hindu by birth got married to an attractive Russian class-mate named Sveeta and they live on the right side of my son. They have built a common boundary wall around their grand bungalows. They are living like real brothers and royal princes with perfect understanding and harmony for the last many years. In fact they seem to be a single joint family living together. Their Russian neighbors are wonderful too. Some Russian couples were also enjoying the bar-be-queue party in their premises inside their compound when we came home from the airport. They all greeted us on our arrival and we shrugged them all. It was a great moment of joy and excitement for all of us. We were tired and very hungry. So we entered the grand bungalow of our son. It was a moment of great amusement to see the inner wonderful design details of the magnificent residence which is not less than a small palace. We thanked God Almighty who had showered his blessings not only on us but also on our offspring. Our grand son, Mr. Aymen is a very charming baby only one year old. He was initially a little shy in meeting us with some hesitation. We wanted to kiss him but he was avoiding us. His mother Madeeha and his father Murtaza Bashir Khadim were trying their best to familiarize him with us.
WE IMMEDIATELY START OUR MEALS ON OUR ARRIVAL AT HOME AS WE WERE VERY HUNGRY:
I asked Madeeha to set the cooked food on the dining table so that we could satisfy our extreme hunger without any further delay. She instantly complied with my instruction and we started to eat. It was a wonderful tasty dinner and we really enjoyed it. It was already past midnight although sufficient sunlight was still visible. I asked my son about the exact time of sunset and he told me that the sun was just setting in and we could offer our sunset (Maghrib) prayers. We offered our sunset and Isha prayers one after the other. After about one hour of our isha prayers we offered our Fajar or morning prayers and then went to sleep. We woke up after about four hours of perfect rest and took our delicious breakfast and once again started our mutual chat exchanging our views on numerous important matters of great interest to us. After the breakfast and general gossip most of our family members started to take rest once again but I switched the TV on to see the vital proceedings of 12th annual International Economic Forum starting with effect from 7th of June 2008 for three days at Saint Petersburg. Reportedly more than eight thousand international delegates had already arrived at Saint Petersburg to take part in the proceedings of this international historic event. We were very fortunate to visit this historic city at this historic moment. I was enjoying the live coverage of the President of Russian Federation Mr. Dmitry Medvedev who was announcing very startling new economic policies and reforms influencing the entire global world. European and American blocks looked worried and embarrassed extremely at these proceedings and at very interesting analysis of international economic experts and correspondents worried to see the possible revival of Russian supremacy within very short period of time. The European and American heads of states were expressing their reservations and the third world countries were enjoying their embarrassment and fears. It was a strange unexpected moment of great historical significance which would change the direction of history from American side to the Russian Federation side in near future.
Very close to the bungalows of my son and his friends Naveed and Vikas across the road are located the famous camping sites for the young. The camping site has various living units for the groups of young people who stay here for some days. They play and roam about here and there to enjoy themselves in the lush green fields and wild forests spread over hundreds of square miles in the surrounding areas of Vasevalask which forms an important part of Saint Petersburg and its outskirts?. It appears as if a grand fair is being held here and there round the clock.
IN THE AFTERNOON OF 7TH JUNE 2008(SUNDAY) WE VISITED THE HISTORIC “ROAD TO LIFE” AND THE FAMOUS LADGA LAKE BUYING SMOKED RED FISH ON RETURN
During the Second World War, German forces surrounded major portions of USSR including Saint Petersburg and its outskirts. Vast parts of lands and localities were completely encircled by the aggressive German forces depriving its inhabitants from all types of supply of food and other essentials. The aim of these German subversive activities was to kill the Russians through starvation. Russians loved one another from the core of their hearts particularly during the ordeal of German aggression. They helped each other through visible and invisible means. During the blockade of Saint Petersburg city by the German aggressive forces during the World War 2 residents of Ladga Lake and its surrounding areas, helped their confined Russians brethren living inside Saint Petersburg city through secret means resulting into a great relief through constant food supplies. Many of the confined Russians in the Saint Petersburg city became victims of tragic death due to severe starvation but many were saved by the timely secret help of their brethren from other parts of the area. Ladga Lake is located at a distance of approximately fifty kilometers from the city centre of Saint Petersburg. To commemorate the old hard times of German occupation many historic monuments have been constructed on both sides of the road and on the banks of the Lake. Many graveyards of the old time are spread at many places in the city and along the road to the Lake Ladga which has been designated as “The Road to Life”. We visited all important localities of this historical area. The climate had become very cold due to drizzling and cold winds and hence we started our return journey. On our way back we bought some smoked red fish which is very popular and tasty. On our return home we took hot tea with sweets to get rid of the cold waves which had frozen us during our visit of the Ladga Lake and “THE ROAD TO LIFE”. It was a wonderful outing.
WE VISITED LAKE SHALAS AND SAINT PETERSBURG CITY ON 8TH OF JUNE 2008 (MONDAY):
Next day on 8th 0f June 2008 we took complete rest before noon. After taking our lunch we started our journey towards the famous lake called Shalash located in the northern side of Saint Petersburg. It is a very big lake surrounded by thick forests and numerous summer resorts. It is very close to the Scandinavian Highway going to Finland, Denmark and Sweden. It was drizzling and cold winds were blowing but the weather was tolerable. It took us one hour to reach LAKE Shalash by means of ring road of Saint Petersburg. Many men, women and children were enjoying the wonderful area around the lake. Many old persons were fishing in the lake. I also joined them but we could not catch any fish. After some futile efforts for fishing I came back to my family members who were enjoying the swings of strange structures. After playing with my lovely grand son Aymen I thought of going to the famous Asadba Restaurant located on the bank of a river. The Restaurant was already full of young boys and girls who were absorbed in one another after taking Vodka and Balteka wines. The smart girls of the Restaurant got vacated a cabin for us and we ordered hot cob chino coffee and ice cream with dried fruit. After some time we left the Restaurant and went to enjoy the river bank where cherry trees were spread everywhere with wonderful flowers. I enjoyed various charming trees which cannot be ordinarily identified by common people. After some deep scrutiny I could easily recognize them with their Pakistani names. Their structure, size, colors, flowers, seeds, leaves, trumps and smells have totally changed due to extremely low temperatures peculiar to this region.
After our excursion of the Shahlash Lake and the adjoining River we decided to have a complete round of Saint Petersburg. We saw all important roads and historical buildings. The famous Neva River coils everywhere and there are very famous long bridges built on it which open when big ships have to pass under them. It is an interesting event to see the long bridges opening slowly and then closing when the ships have passed. After about two hours of detailed but hurried survey of Saint Petersburg we felt hungry. So we returned home. After saying our asar prayers we went to sleep as we were somewhat tired. We got up after some time to offer our sunset prayers. Then we enjoyed hot tea with the sweets we had brought from Pakistan. Edibles are normally forbidden everywhere to be taken to other countries without detailed examination and proper permission. Our heavy packing of Pakistani sweets was examined at many places but nobody objected to it. It was very strange for me. I thought that our huge packet of Pakistani sweets would be confiscated somewhere but fortunately nothing untoward happened. My son was extremely glad to see all types of Pakistani sweets in the huge packing. He was also surprised at it as such edibles are not allowed anywhere.
OUR ACTIVITIES ON 9TH OF JUNE 2008 (TUESDAY) DURING BAD WHEATHER AND HAILSTORM:
During the previous day and night it had been drizzling constantly. In the morning of 9th June 2008 it started raining heavily with shrieking winds and at noon there was a hailstorm. Weather became chilly and it was not advisable to go for any outing. We were therefore remained mostly confined in the house. I used the spare available time in reading the Russian history and consulting the world atlas to familiarize myself with the overall concept of this vast region of Russian Federation which was previously called USSR (United States of Soviet Russia). In fact it is not a country but a continent. It is surrounded on one side by the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway and Finland) and by the Central Asian States on the other side. This vast region has typical extreme freezing temperatures and numerous languages are spoken in various parts of the region. Northern parts are more severely cold as compared to the southern parts. Duration of days and nights varies abnormally depending on the relative location of the region with respect to the North Pole. There are some cities where days are for two months continuously. Central Asian States have Islam as the majority religion and most of the Russians are either conventional orthodox Christians or atheists but no serious importance is given to the religious dogmas and beliefs. Overall setup is similar to that of Europe. Extreme climatic conditions prevailing in different parts have played important role in shaping the typical habits, culture and means of earning. USSR used to be biggest power of the globe only a few years ago and America used to be inferior in many respects. It was only after the defeat of Russian armed forces in Afghanistan a few years ago that supremacy of USSR suddenly dwindled. An iron curtain obscured USSR from other parts of the world for a very long time. Communism dominated the region for decades with a very irrational economic and political system. Real blood relations used to spy against each other creating a terrific awe and fear. Mistrust prevailed everywhere. Everyone had to work per force and the concept of private property and ownership did not exist. Administration was mostly dictatorial with no room for any personal freedom or belief. Advanced scientific research and technical achievements were incredibly high particularly in the fields of defense and space exploration. The concept of quality industrial products was non-existent. This strange pattern of general life is unthinkable for a free world order. But gradually drastic changes rather revolutions started happening in all the fields bringing unthinkable sudden changes resulting into a totally different Russia over a relatively small period of time. If the pace of progress is maintained and the drastic changes continue as before in the recent past the new picture of modern Russia would very shortly startle the entire globe. This is my conviction after a very deep and critical analysis of Russian life in general. I am repenting seriously on my belated arrival in Russia which has unlimited opportunities for all sections of masses for all times to come. Islam appears to be the topmost acceptable religion of future to suit the typical circumstances of the region provided extremism and fanatics are excluded. It would be very interesting to predict the overall pattern of life in Russia.
After detailed critical study of many interesting books and after learning some basics of Russian language I thought it more appropriate to contact my friends and relations through internet wonders of the modern revolution which has very invisibly interwoven the entire global brotherhood of humanity. We are now living in a totally new age and a totally different world order is expected in a decade or so. Let us girdle our lions to face the unthinkable challenges of the near future which is in fact is the invisible present of our times. Let us prepare ourselves and be ready in all respects to catch the fast moving train in right time. Let us predict the desired requisites of near future to perfectly match its challenges. Let us promote love instead of hatred among the global community so that our race in the arms production and warfare is totally gone for ever. Let the nuclear possible wars not dread us to destroy our peace of mind and tranquility. Human beings are different from other species on this globe because of their will and rationalization which are vanishing day by day with a possible catastrophic destruction of the entire humanity in very near future through mutual clashes or nuclear wars.
In Pakistan we have laid more stress in the past on learning English thereby ignoring totally other important languages of the world. I am unable to understand as to why vitally important languages like Russian and Chinese have been totally ignored. It is high time to compensate for the huge loss of the past and start a campaign to make it up within minimum possible time. I assure you with hundred percent personal guarantees that it would certainly provide more opportunities to our future generations as compared to the education of pure science and technology. Let us rise to the occasion before it is too late and lest we miss the train.
Every day I spend at least one hour to watch numerous TV channels most of which are very obscene and nude. Most of the Russian TV programs are non-productive and nonsensical. It is sheer wastage of time to watch them. I felt an urgent necessity to improve the programs to make them productive and useful. A large scale complete review and reformations are essentially are desired to lead the nation in proper direction to meet the present and future challenges. Similar reformations are also necessary for India and Pakistan. All forms of modern media must be properly controlled to the nation towards targeted goals. Imparting of true purposeful education should be our main aim. I firmly believe that media can play an effective role in the harmonization of our globe which is inevitable if humanity has to survive.
At noon there was a rain and hailstorm which disrupted the power supply for about three hours. It was a power breakdown and not the power load shedding as is frequently done in Pakistan without any advance notice or warning. Serious fluctuations of voltage and current damage electric and electronic equipment for which the government bears no cost or responsibility. There has not been any addition in the generation of electric power during the last eight years of our dictatorial rule. The present civil government has also utterly failed so far. It has totally dropped the construction of Kalabagh Dam on which millions of rupees have already been spent. Our industrial production has been stopped and other important sectors like agriculture and commerce are seriously suffering. This sad state of affairs has increased the poverty to alarming levels never thought of before. Price hike is causing starvation and suicidal deaths at alarming level. Total collapse our economy seems right on our heads until and unless speedy remedial steps are taken without delay. There apparently seems no hope at present. But let us pray that God Almighty shall pardon us for our collective negligence and criminal lethargy in all walks of our life. We must however remember that God helps those who help themselves.
OUR ACTIVITIES ON 10TH OF JUNE 2008 (TUESDAY):
It was raining constantly and cold winds did not allow us to go out for most of the time. There was enough time to read Russian books and watch a large number of TV channels containing purposeless absurd and obscene programs. Some useful time was spent in downloading useful programs and desired news through internet. All TV channels here in Russia are completely silent about Pakistan and internet is the only means of effective communication. International telephone calls are very costly. I fail to understand the underlying cause of exorbitant costs in this respect whereas the landing of first man on moon and original research for exploration of space were basic contributions of Russia. This extremely important modern field must be given top priority otherwise serious harmful effects would follow. Thanks to the biggest miracle of last century in the shape internet which has revolutionized everything and compensated our deficiencies in other fields like telephony.
WHITE NIGHTS OF SAINT PETERSBURG AND CONFUSION IN DTERMINING THE EXACT TIMINGS OF FIVE DAILY PRAYERS FOR MUSLIMS OF THE AREA:
Sun never sets here at Saint Petersburg in our Pakistani sense where the twilight prevails a little time after the sunset and then it becomes fully dark indicating real night. But here in Saint Petersburg the twilight after sunset continues continuously throughout the night due to refraction and reflection of sunlight after striking the surface of earth and other surrounding objects making the night white throughout its duration. It is therefore not possible to discriminate different time periods of the night due to continuous twilight resulting from refraction and reflection of sunlight. Thus constantly continued twilight of the night even after the sunset makes the entire night white and the darkness in the real sense is never there. I had read about the white nights of Saint Petersburg but could never understand as to what it really meant till I personally came here and witnessed the real meanings of white nights. For the first three nights of our stay at Saint Petersburg we were extremely confused about the exact timings of our sunset (maghrib), isha (night) and fajar (morning) prayers. Fortunately our son had the International Prayers Announcing Clock called “Alfajar” which very loudly announces the exact timings of our five daily prayers depending on the particular city fed into its inner program. We followed the announcements of this international clock for the first four days of our arrival here and when a written annual schedule of prayer timings issued by the administrative committee of the local mosque was consulted an appreciable difference was noted between the two. This created an immense confusion in our minds as to which mode of prayer timings for our five daily prayers should be followed. I have thought over the enigma and finally concluded after deep considerations that the sunset (maghrib), isha (night) and fajar (morning) prayers should be offered consecutively one after the other at small equal or appropriately inter-gapped periods. A detailed research must be carried out scientifically on immediate basis by our Islamic scholars to clear the confusion without further delay. My personal research and analysis of this complex issue is concluded as under which are subject any scientific changes deemed fit:
Sunset time, sunrise time, midnight time and midday time are very accurately known for every place of the globe as per universal scientific calendars easily available at all places. The sunset or maghrib prayer may be offered after only a few minutes of the sunset time of that particular place or station. Fajar or morning prayers should be offered half an hour before the sunrise time. Zohar prayers should be offered after half an hour of the midday time and asar or evening prayers should be offered one and half an hour to two hours before the sunset time. Isha or night prayers should be offered after one and half an hour to two hours of sunset time. This would greatly facilitate the residents of all places wherever these may be located. In the olden times of holy prophet peace be upon him, there were no scientific watches or methods of determining accurate timings. Mere common sense and obvious means of finding sunset, sunrise, mid day or midnight timings were invariably used by the Muslims of that time located in different parts of the world. Some sailors also used the position and movement of stars to determine the timings. Routines of daily regular working and sleeping times should also be kept in mind while fixing the prayer timings which would slightly vary with the passage of seasonal variations over the period of an annum. One very important point should also be kept in view that the religion of Islam implies facilitation and not any unnecessary restrictions or obstacles. God has made the night as a period of rest and relaxation to re-energize ourselves for the routine working of next day. It is therefore not desired that we should keep ourselves awake all the night long to offer our night prayers. These are the guiding rules which should help us in fixing our prayer timings keeping in mind any particular local abnormal or extreme conditions.
INDEPENDENCE OR RUSSIAN NATIONAL DAY IS CELEBRATED EACH YEAR ON 12TH OF JUNE:
Russian National Day or Independence Day falls on 12th of June every year since 1991 and it is commemorated for the declaration of Russian sovereignty. After three days of confinement at home due to rains and cold winds with hailstorms it was not convenient to go for any outing. Available time was spent in watching various TV channels and reading some books of interest. Some time was spent every day on electronic mailing to friends and relations. Short strolling was also resorted to within the boundary wall on the walking/jogging track which has been especially made for this purpose. The jogging track is extensively used.
It was a clear day right from the morning. It was therefore considered more appropriate to go out for some excursion and shopping after our lunch and zohar prayers. We went straight to the city centre where all the roads and streets were extremely crowded with men women and children of all ages who were enjoying the National Independence Day of Russia. Everyone was in a very happy mood. Some young boys and girls were busy in the break dance which was being enjoyed by huge crowds of people. There was no space to park the cars. Thousands of foreigners were visiting the historical places of interest and in taking memorial photographs of their companions. I had to buy some road maps and books but there was no space to park our car. My son Murtaza had to find some suitable parking space which consumed our more than one hour. We bought some books and maps and roamed here and there to see numerous historical places on the famous Neva River. Numerous shopping centers and parks were visited. Famous cathedrals and the mosque were seen. Historic warship Aurora was seen for which the ticket per person is rubles. Then we came to the glorious Fountain installation in the Neva River where we enjoyed the ice cream and relaxed on the bench of a park. In the meantime heavy rain started and we to rush to our car to take shelter. After some waiting we went to see the museum of navy and armed forces adjoining the historic fortress of Saint Peter and Paul.
During this period an urgent telephonic message of Mr. Tejendar and Mr. Soojan was received informing us that they and their family members along with some friends wanted to meet us at home soon. We were extremely tired by this time and it was also raining heavily. Hence we decided to come back to home immediately. When we reached home our guests were already there. We chatted for a long time and in the meantime delicious meals were prepared and served by Madeeha. We enjoyed our food and offered our asar prayers after which another session of gossip and chatting started which continued for about one hour. Different issues of India and Pakistan including the vital problems of the globe were discussed. Our guests then asked our permission to leave us till next day for which detailed program had already been finalized. We relaxed on our comfortable beds after saying farewell to our guests. This indeed was a hectic day of outing and general chatting with our guests after our confinement in our house for three consecutive days due to heavy rains and cold winds followed by occasional hailstorms. Some our common guests were coming from India and we all wanted to receive them at airport. Among the expected guests was our respectable host of India named Mr. V.K. Pehalwanji who had done wonders for us during our visit of India in the months of November and December 2007 as described in “MY TRAVEL TO INDIA” which has already been published in English and Urdu languages. It was great news for us that he was coming to see us here.
IMPORTANT NATIONAL HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION:
First of January each year is the most loved holiday celebrated by the Russians. It is observed and enjoyed here much more than any other holiday such as Christmas. In fact the New Year’s Day is celebrated twice on first of January and also on 14th of January of each year. Before 1918 the orthodox Christian calendar also called the Julian calendar was used by the Russians and according to this calendar the New Year’s Day falls on 14th of January and not on first of January. It is therefore very interesting to note that most of the formal Christmas traditions observed in some other countries at Christmas are observed on new years’ Day in Russia. For example sprucing of a tree and exchanging of gifts are observed by almost every Russian family on the New Year’s Day. On thirty first of each December most of the Russians are busy in various parties till midnight when the new coming year is ushered in by striking the Kremlin clock and opening a bubbly bottle of wine with clinking of the glasses and drinking to welcome the New Year. Many Russians attach special importance at such occasions to the Chinese symbols like Year of the Dragon and Year of the Horse etc. Russian equivalent of Santa Claus is called “ Dayed Moroze” which means Grandfather Frost” who is normally accompanied by his granddaughter called in Russian as “Snegurochka” which means “Snow Maiden
It is also very interesting to note that the Russian Orthodox Church observes the Christmas Day on seventh of January each year as per old calendar. In fact USSR was officially atheist and it is therefore a new holiday which is very widely observed now. Many changes have taken place.
Soldier’s Day which was previously called the Soviet Army Day falls on 23rd of February each year and it is celebrated with a holiday to honor all men whether they are real veterans or not. Actually it is the male counterpart of International Women’s Day which falls about two weeks later on 8th March of each year. On this formal holiday women are given special attention through compliments, cards, gifts, loving kisses and flowers particularly by offering yellow acacia. Numerous meetings and banquets are held by many organizations to honor women. In fact it is the only day each year when men may even wash the dishes for women. All female colleagues are congratulated on this important holiday by men and women both. Please note that a male colleague may feel insulted on congratulation of this day interpreting it as a disgrace to his manhood. All are therefore warned to remain careful in this respect.
First of May each year is celebrated as the International Labor Day to honor the workers of the world. In Russia this International Labor holiday has been renamed for some political reasons as the spring and labor holiday shifting attention from the political philosophy side to the celebration of spring. Meetings and some demonstrations of the labor organizations are held on this day all over the world. Russian orthodox Easter is called Paskha which normally falls very close to first of May each year. Easter being an important religious day was not formally celebrated openly in the old days of Soviet atheism but it is now very widely celebrated all over Russian Federation but there is no official holiday. Russians celebrate Easter with colored eggs, traditional Easter bread called Kulich, cottage cheese dishes, flowers and special services in the churches. Victory Day is a holiday which falls on ninth of March each year to commemorate the veterans and victims of Second World War when flowers and wreaths are laid on the graves of the victims and the veterans wear their medals and awards. This is considered as an important patriotic holiday for all Russians. As already told twelfth of June is celebrated as an important holiday each year as the Independence Day or the National Day for the Russian Federation commemorating the declaration of sovereignty for Russia since 1991.
Seventh of November is celebrated as a holiday each year through grand military parades at the Red Square near the Lenin’s mausoleum. This national holiday is celebrated to mark the anniversary of great socialist of October 1917 resulting into establishment of communist power. This holiday has been officially renamed as the Day of Accord and Conciliation. Twelfth of December is observed as the Constitution Day of Russia each year with a holiday but without much celebrations. All government offices and most of the business organizations are closed on holidays. Fridays are also considered holidays if the holidays fall on Thursdays. If some holiday falls on weekend then the coming Monday is declared a holiday.
WE RECEIVE INDIAN GUESTS COMING FROM NEW DELHI VIA MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL:
We decided to go straight to the Saint Petersburg airport from Pushkin town to receive them. Pushkin is a very beautiful town located on high earthen hills where very attractive grand royal palaces have been built. Thousands of foreigners visit these royal palaces each day. Pushkin town has been attributed to the famous Russian poet called Pushkin Alexander whose forefathers had migrated to the old Soviet Russia from Africa in the nineteenth century.
We tried to contact Mr. TeJindar and Mr. Vikas to find the timing of the arriving flight from Half of our day on 13th of June 2008 was consumed for four of our important Indian guests coming from New Delhi via Moscow Internal airport where their flight to Saint Petersburg airport was changed twice. After taking our lunch and offering our zohar prayers it was learnt that their flight to Saint Petersburg from Moscow would arrive at half past five in the afternoon. It was decided that we should have an excursion of Pushkin royal palace which is a very important historic place. It is located at about fifty kilometers from the bungalow of our son in the south western direction of Saint Petersburg. We thought it more appropriate to make use of spare available time in visiting the Pushkin Royal Palaces and at the arrival of our guests we Moscow but their telephones were either busy or off. When finally we were able to contact them it was learnt that the guest have landed at Saint Petersburg airport. So we to receive them but they had already boarded the cars and going to the home of Mr. Tejendar. We followed them closely till we all reached the destination. We met the guests at the door of vast and grand bungalow of Mr. Tejendar. This bungalow is not less than a palace. Grandfather, grandmother and all the family members of Mr. Tej were there. Our guests had brought very tasty sweets from India which was fully enjoyed with hot tea. Baloushahi and fruit burfee types of sweets were particularly of special fine taste. A lively interesting chat continued with the guests for about one hour. Our guests were very tired and hence we asked their permission to leave and see them again the next day. We were extremely happy to meet our great friend Mr. V.K. Pehalwanjee and Dr. Sanjeef who is the husband of Dr. Sonita, a research scholar of Agriculture University of Haryana at Karnal where we had stayed one night and taken our wonderful breakfast prepared by Dr. Sonita. She also gifted us a big packing of mixed spices with wonderful taste which is very economically being used by us in Pakistan. Third guest from India was Mr. Parmindar alias Neeloo who is the younger brother of Mr. Tejendar and who has recently retired from Indian army as a Major. Our fourth Indian guest was an uncle of Mr. Tejendar and he is called Mr. Raj Kumar. They all are these days doing property business in India. I requested Mr. Tejendar to arrange our daily meetings with the honorable guests. He was kind enough to make the desired promise of arranging our daily meetings.
Mr. Naveed and his total family including his in-laws were going to visit their dacha which is a rural resort in the green fields located at about one hundred kilometers from their residence at Saint Petersburg. We wanted to join them but could not do so as we were to receive our guests arriving from India. We therefore deferred our program to next day. Most impressive thing which has surprised us here is the incredible love and friendship among numerous Pakistanis and Indians who live like real brothers. The Russians envy them as it seems something very strange and rare. We should be proud of this ideal brotherhood. All the friends of our son are married to lovely Russian girls who are very loyal to them and it is a matter of great pride. Mr. Mithoo who is the brother- in- law (hamzulf) of Vikas came to see us at noon of 14th June 2008 along with his youngest lovely daughter called Parrya which literally means lovely in Hindi language. She is only seven months old but she has eight newly grown teeth which is somewhat abnormal but a healthy sign at this young age. I asked Mithoo about our guests from India and he told me that they had been gossiping till very late last night. They may be sleeping now and hence we did not want to disturb them through personal telephonic calls or meetings.
WE WENT TO SEE DACHAS LOCATED IN THE REMOTE RURAL AREAS OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION:
We waited for any contact with our newly arrived Indian guests but they were relaxing as per latest report of Mr. Mithoo. So after taking our lunch and saying our zohar prayers we decided to visit various rural localities in particular the dacha of Mr. Naveed’s in-laws which is located at about one hundred kilometers in the north-western direction of our residence at Vasevalask in the outskirts of Saint Petersburg. It was a clear wonderful day and it took us about two hours to reach our destination at the dacha. On our way we enjoyed various attractive stations. When we reached our final destination it was learnt that Mr. Naveed had gone to a nearby lake for swimming along with his Russian father- in-law and his brother-in-law. We were very warmly received by the sweet and lovely wife of Mr. Naveed who was waiting for us at the dacha ( grand rural dera ) of her grandfather and grandmother who are about one hundred years old but they are still very strong and sturdy. Their dacha is surrounded by a wonderful orchard where all types of fruit and vegetables are grown. I was surprised to see very rare varieties of tulip and narcosis. We were shown all places including a steam and ice cold bath where alternate bathing with steam and shrill cold water is done to ensure proper level of human resistance. This is a very strange Russian concept of enhancing human resistance through alternate shocks of hot and cold bathing. It is in clear violation of our concept in India and Pakistan where sudden exposures of heat and cold are considered extremely harmful to human body. After some time we were called by the grandmother of Mr. Naveed for snacks and fruit to be served. We entered their grand wooden bungalow donated by the old Soviet government to the grandfather-in law of Mr. Naveed who retired as a colonel from the Soviet army long ago. He told me how the Second World War was fought ending finally at Berlin which was eventually divided into East and West Berlin. Grandfather and grand mother of sweet Julia, wife of Mr. Naveed, were originally employees of Soviet railways but later on they were inducted into Soviet army where they were posted at many places including Vladivostok (located near the western bank of the Sea of Japan) where they served for twenty six years. We were fully explained the details of the Second World War. They also told us details of snowfall and hard life during the chill temperatures going much below thirty degrees Celsius. They have their winter home at Saint Petersburg where they shift when the snowfall becomes extremely intolerable. The grand dacha or the rural house has been built by the parents and grandparents of Julia who is a lovely girl speaking some working Urdu language. It comprises two stories containing kitchen and bed rooms along with other essential facilities of storing essential supply of goods etc. Power and gas facilities along with TV programs are available here abundantly. Proper water supply is also available. It is a very attractive area with lush green fields and dense forests. Many beautiful rivers and lakes are also located here. We wished to stay here for a day or so but the abundance of poisonous mosquitoes terrified us and hence we decided to return to Saint Petersburg as soon as possible. Grandparents of Julia were angry at our early return to Saint Petersburg. We were also taken to some other adjoining dachas of the locality and we met some local inhabitants who greeted us very warmly.
On our return to Saint Petersburg we lost our way and tried to relocate the proper route which took much time. We were however very lucky to visit numerous places of unique beauty. We had to retrace our path till we caught the right road going to our destination. On our way back we stopped at some very beautiful places. Some photographs of a beautiful church adorned with golden domes were taken for our memory on return to Pakistan. Our return journey was very sluggish due to traffic jamming as a large number of persons was going back to Saint Petersburg for the celebration of some important festival which falls on this particular day. Our son Murtaza wanted to drive his infinity luxurious and very costly new brand car at tremendous speeds but we warned him to remain careful and avoid the crossing of other cars. He got annoyed at our repeated warnings but we also became harsh and he had to slow down his dangerous speed. It took us more time for our return but with the blessings of God Almighty we returned home quite safe and sound after enjoying the dachas and wonderful rural life of the Russians. On our way to return home our lovely grandson Aymen started seriously vomiting perhaps due to sudden high speed turnings of our son. We all got worried but Alhamdo lillah (God be praised) he recovered soon and after some time he again started his usual naughty activities. We were greatly relieved and thanked God Almighty. It was a wonderful excursion in the rural attractions of Russia for which I was very keen from day one of our arrival at Saint Petersburg. I wish to see here more and more of rural life.
GENERAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF RUSSIAN LIFE AND ITS PEOPLE
I have been trying to understand various economic activities of Russians but I frankly admit that so far I could not understand much. They live very luxurious life in all respects but their means of earning seem invisible except some business and commercial activities. Vast portions of fertile land are lying totally idle and unutilized. According to my rough guess hardly half of the fertile land has been exploited for normal essential products. Various food supplies and fruits are imported from abroad and the local agricultural produce is almost nil except some potatoes. Their industrial production is not much impressive. How are they leading a very luxurious life without the proper agricultural and industrial bases? This seems a paradoxical enigma for me not yet solved but my research is still continuing. I have discussed the enigma with many learned persons from different walks of life but nobody could satisfy me so far.
There are is no doubt at all that Russia is regaining its lost glory and supremacy of the past very quickly. The Americans and the Europeans were extremely worried at the wonderful agenda of recent International Economic Forum which was very well conducted by the Russian President Mr. Dmitry Devefed who startled the entire world with his new economic and political global policies. In near future it seems that Russians would again lead the world in all respects. America and Europe have already started receding seriously particularly their exaggerated and irrational stress on terrorism. It seems that their doomsday is not very far away. It is high time for Russia to totally remove its long and old iron curtain obscuring itself from the other nations. It must use the toiling idle labor of third world starving countries to progress fast. No Russian was seen by me doing any real hard work which is mostly being done by some poor nations and not on a large scale. Russian economy must progress fast in very huge volumes particularly in the fields of agriculture and industry otherwise it would suffer much in the long run with irreparable losses. They must invite the poor nations of the third world to help them to do their hard manual work on a very large scale. They must open more channels of immigration and international trading and more stress should be laid on learning important modern languages such as English. This is also true for China which remains language-locked for other nations. Russia is a very large continent spread over vast lands of different climates and terrain. It has eleven different time zones and long distance remote areas located at many thousands of kilometers away from one another. It must improve its relations with its neighbors most of whom happen to be its parts and parcel in the past and who are now being antinogstically treated. I have seen the poor state of people at Tashkent which can be immediately improved if they are helped in some fields and mutual help would reciprocate to help Russia in its fast progress and development which are indispensible without delay. How long can you live long in isolation from others? Immediate mutual co-operation with India and Pakistan on a large scale basis can also do wonders for Russia which must shed off its old iron curtain as soon as possible.
WE VISIT THE SURROUNDING AREA AND OUR NEIGHBORS ON 15TH of JUNE 2008 (SUNDAY):
It was a clear day without any clouds or cold winds. First of all we strolled inside the boundary walls on the jogging/walking track for about one hour with the perambulator of our grandson Aymen who all the time wanted to get out of it to walk with us. The pair of healthy rabbits belonging to Mr. Naveed was seen for some time and the workmanship of his brother-in-law to fix a very huge speaker in his car was keenly observed. I knocked the back door of Mr. Naved who was busy in fixing new curtains. I hurriedly examined his big library full of many useful books and his wife Julia took me to their open kitchen located in one corner of their spacious Drawing and Dining room where she was cooking something. She offered me a cup of tea and some vegetable and chicken soup which was not accepted by me as I do not like chicken soups. We had a very long and lively conversation on a very large number of topics. She can also speak Urdu and English fluently. She has studied Hindi language as an optional subject during her M.B.A. (International business) course at the University level. She recently returned from Ireland where she was working on some practical assignment. Mr. Naveed was still busy in fixing the curtains and we wanted to go out for some excursion. I got permission of Julia and came out of their bungalow to join our family members who were waiting for me.
We decided to go out for a long stroll of the adjoining streets of the area. After sometime a telephonic call was received from Mr. Soojan inviting us to visit him at his grand and luxurious bungalow at a distance of three furlongs from our residence. Madeeha wanted to do some cooking and washing and hence we left her at home and took Aymen with us in the pram. Some landscaping work was going on in full swing when we reached the vast and very grand bungalow of Mr. Soojan who is a very wealthy trader of Saint Petersburg. He welcomed us and for sometime we examined his front, back and rear lawns where special Korean grass and tulips were grown. I suggested some changes to be incorporated in the environments which were very gladly accepted. After imparting suitable instructions to the workers we entered the grand bungalow spread over some acres of land. It has three stories the uppermost is yet empty being used for some storing purpose. There is a spacious lobby with costly sofa sets and magnificent multimedia equipment. In one corner of the open kitchen a spacious dining table is placed. Wife of Mr. Soojan had gone to visit her Russian mother who lives about three hundred kilometers from Saint Petersburg on the main road going to a famous and large city called Moroz where nights and days of two months each are observed. Mr. Soojan himself prepared a very tasty ginger tea for us serving with some sweets and other snacks. Aymen was very happily playing with the heaps of different toys lying on a carpet of the Drawing room. After about two hours we asked Mr. Soojan to grant us permission to leave him and go back to our residence where Madeeha was waiting for us. When we got up to leave Soojan his wife and grandmother along with his youngest daughter Seema entered the bungalow and we had to wait a little more to converse with them. Their eldest daughter had gone to a camping site for her gymnastic course. After half an hour of our mutual gossip we parted from Mr. Soojan and his family members. It was very cold outside the bungalow and we had to hurry up to our residence where our evening meals were ready to be served. After the delicious meals we watched some TV programs and then went to sleep till sunset at twelve O’clock of midnight. We offered our sunset prayers and relaxed on our beds for about two hours. After saying our isha prayers at one O’clock after the midnight we again went to sleep. The fajar prayers are offered at three O’clock after midnight. I have told you earlier that the duration of the entire night remains white due to twilight resulting from the refraction and reflection of sunlight. It is a very strange phenomenon for strangers like us who are totally unaware of such phenomena in our countries.
IN THE MORNING OF 16TH JUNE 2008 MURTAZA TOOK MADEEHA TO RENEW HER NATIONALIZATION DOCUMENTS AND AYMEN REMAINED WITH US AT HOME:
After taking the breakfast Murtaza took Madeeha to get her Nalization Documents renewed. This formality is continued for sometime after which a clearance is issued for permanent immigration without any further requirements. This annual renewal of the nationalization documents is reported to be a very long and cumbersome process for the foreigners but what cannot be cured must be endured. Madeeha is therefore enduring this formality for the last many years. Aymen was born here at Saint Petersburg of Russia and as such he is a Russian by birth. He is therefore fortunate enough not to endure any formality. At such moments the original home sweet home is missed much where no such formality is needed. Going abroad and settling there permanently is an ambition of many young Pakistanis. The implied problems particularly some serious illness or fatal accidents are totally ignored in the beginning but gradually new bonds and relations replace the old ones resulting into logical compensations. The global trend of immigration has spread like an epidemic to our younger generations for which there seems apparently no cure for a long time to come. This has mostly been caused due to poverty and unbecoming conditions prevailing in the poor countries. The younger generations want to improve their standard of life by all means and none can convince them to remain contented among their kith and kin. When they face any problem abroad we tell them frankly that they asked for it. So why should they grumble?
Aymen remained happily playing with us for about four hours and after that he started missing his parents who were busy in the long and cumbersome process of annual renewal for the documents of Madeeha’s nationalization. We tried our best to comfort him but he did not like our convincing of him. After sometime we handed him over to Natasha who is responsible for the upkeep and care of the house routines. She also tried her utmost to console him but he seemed to be a typical obstinate Russian. His grandmother took him to the Russian children of our neighbors where he forgot his Pakistani grandparents and stopped weeping. This proves that Russians appear to love Russians only and not Pakistanis even if they happen to be their grandparents. It is strange to note that most of Pakistanis hate other Pakistanis. Can we explain this paradoxical phenomenon? Let us rethink our mutual behavior and try to control our negative responses by curbing our negative inborn instincts inherited by us from our forefathers. Jealousy and irrational competition dominate our societies.
Immigration process in some countries is called naturalization meaning perhaps that a man or woman is first familiarized with the prevailing traditions and particular conditions of the country before allowing him or her to reside there permanently. But what should be the normal and logical limits of this naturalization process is an important factor to be deemed properly and to be decided with extreme care. This naturalization process does not inordinately long cumbersome procedures with delaying techniques which tantamount to virtual refusal of immigration. In most cases the red official tapes and prevailing lethargic procedures take away the very charm of immigration resulting into sheer frustration and an utter disappointment. After a tiring procedure of six hours standing in the long rows of waiting crowd you are told that the scrutiny of your submitted documents would take another six months to get the results. What natural and logical reaction would be created in the mind of the concerned man or woman? It is therefore imperative to fix a realistic limit to such lengthy procedures to avoid the resulting logical frustration otherwise disdain to such lethargic process becomes natural.
No other country can surpass Pakistan or India in official red tape prevailing everywhere which is resorted to mostly for ill intentions. Some exceptional cases of inordinate delays may be due to strict adherence to principles or laid down rules of business. In Saudi Arabia official tape depends on the mood of the official who would waste one hour in irrelevant argumentation for doing a work of one minute. The western nations in general are more efficient in quick disposal of official cases but cases of huge bribery and very tactful means of eliciting money in processing of big transactions have reported there particularly where third world nations are involved Russian official tape is very subtle and much time consuming until and unless you do not avail the services of an adept who knows all ins and outs of the environment. Agents have primarily been invented to legalize the irregularities and corruption through indirect invisible means for getting all types of complex tasks done in very short time at nominal commissions saving much precious time and struggle. Red official tapes are basically employed for exploitation of helpless needy persons and to extort money through delay tactics and lame excuses.
Our Indian guests V.K. Pehalwanji, Leelu, Dr. Sanjeef and Raj kumar were brought to us in the evening by Mr. Tejindar who is showing them all around. They wish to see as much of Russia as they can before leaving for India next week. Many interesting topics of mutual significance were discussed for about two hours during the long session of tea taking. We invited them on next day evening meals getting another chance of long meeting and mutual discourse and dialogues on various topics. We all were happy to recall the long and high promises of our top leaders to abolish the visa formalities between Pakistan and India to facilitate the mutual visits.
SOME PRECAUTIONS AND DONTS FOR THE FOREIGNERS WHILE DEALING WITH RUSSIANS
Through books and discussions with numerous people I came to know the following prohibitions and precautions to be kept in view by the foreigners while in Russia:
(1) Do not smile on strangers particularly while in public places or streets.
(2) Do not make jokes about Russia or Russians or their customs and habits.
(3) Do not shake hands or pass anything through a doorway or a window.
(4) Do not provide your address to strangers or irrelevant persons.
(5) Do not sit with or ankle placed on your knee or with crossed legs in the formal meetings.
(6) Do not say “hello” twice in a day to one and the same person.
(7) Do not keep on eating or talking while you are being proposed a toast by someone.
(8) Do not eat alone in the formal collective meetings or banquets.
(9) Do not discuss any political matter with Russians if you are not a very close friend.
(10) Do not offer or gift an even number of flowers to a Russian.
(11) Do not eat your own food or drink your own beverage during business meetings.
(12) Do not propose a toast for nonalcoholic beverages.
(13) Do not wear winter clothing or coats in the offices or restaurants. These items should be checked in at the wardrobes of the offices or restaurants.
(14) Do not show indifference to ladies but show them proper courtesy.
(15) Do not forget to offer greetings or gifts to your friend at birthdays and festivals.
!7TH OF JUNE 2008 (TUESDAY) WAS A HOT DAY AND WE HAD INVITED OUR INDIAN GUESTS:
It was a very clear and hot day right from the sunrise. Weather was very pleasant in the morning till midday but then the temperature started to rise slowly till it shot to twenty two degrees centigrade which is considered a very hot day here. We had invited our Indian guests on evening meals. My wife and Madeeha remained busy in cooking of food and I played with Aymen who has become very naughty after our coming here. After about two hours I started reading some books and watching some TV programs most of which were very vulgar and obscene. National Geographic channel was very good. BBC NEWS and CNN programs were very informative and some Russian programs were also excellent although their language was very difficult to understand. After midday (zohar) prayers we had a nap of about one hour and then I sent and received some electronic mail. Aymen again came and disturbed the computer system taking away some of my books. He actually wanted that I should play with him but I was very much busy in consulting the World Atlas which had been bought by my son Murtaza for about two thousand rupees. It is very useful and I consult it often to grasp an overall geography of this vast region comprising almost half of the world extending to North Korea and the Sea of Japan.
!8TH OF JUNE 2008 (WENESDAY) IS AGAIN A VERY COLD AND RAINY DAY
It had been unusually hot the day before particularly in the afternoon. It started raining last night and when we got up for our morning (fajar) prayers weather had become wonderful but after our breakfast it became windy and very cold. Murtaza was able to get the nationalization documents of his wife Madeeha admitted in the concerned office but unluckily they had forgotten her recent photographs at home. They had been asked to submit the photographs within two days which was a very great concession and courtesy on their part. When the photographs of Madeeha were searched for at home nothing could be found there. Hence after the breakfast they went to the professional shop of a photographer and in few minutes they returned with the photos for submission in the concerned office. I remained at home all along watching TV programs and supervising the cleaning work being carried out by Natasha who comes thrice a week for this purpose and she is paid Rubles one hundred per hour for a total of six to eight hours each day. She is a very attractive young and hardworking Russian lady. She does all types of domestic duties with pleasure and great interest.
It rained all the daylong quite heavily and it was not considered appropriate to go out for any excursion or long stroll. For a few minutes before the sunset the rain stopped for about half an hour and we walked on the jogging track. Madeeha and her aunt had prepared spicy snacks of gram powder (pakoras) which were enjoyed with hot tea while sitting inside the drawing room and watching the torrential rain through the large window panes. Weather became chilly cold outside the room and our program of taking tea in the rear lawn could not be materialized.
BEHAVIOR, EMOTIONS, REACTIONS AND GENERAL LIFE OF A TYPICAL RUSSIAN
So far I have been describing various characteristics of Russia and not of the Russian men or women. If you know general behavior, emotions, reactions and life of a typical Russian man or a woman, you would feel as if you have personally seen Russia and its inhabitants. Russia is inhabited by a great variety of people comprising original Russians, Ukrainians, Azeris, Tatars, Jews, Armenians and Georgians etc. They all apparently look living together in one and the same country called Russia but internally they have some subtle differences and prejudices against one another. The communist ideal of abolishing all ethnic differences and clashes could not be achieved so far completely. Original Russians consider themselves as more cultured and civilized than others who have arrived here later. Migrants from Armenia, Georgia and other southern countries of former USSR are called black Russians due to their typical black colors and other emotional characteristics. They normally do inferior jobs of selling vegetables and fruits or they work as general labor. There is one typically important class called new Russians who own a lot of money and live luxurious expensive life in all respects without much care or regard for others. This class is naturally loathed and despised by the general masses. There is another significant class belonging mostly to the senior citizens and pensioners of old USSR who live a modest and humble life and consider all the wealthy Russians as corrupt and crook. They think that the previous life of old USSR was much better and the reformists of the present day have destroyed every good thing under the bad influence of the West and Westerns. The younger generation of Russians blames the old ones making them responsible for all troubles being faced by them at present. Despite the multitude and big diversity in the composition of Russians there appears no overt or apparent clash among them which should be appreciated much.
In old times we used to hear that the East is east and the West is west meaning that The East and The West are two totally different and distinct entities or categories of the global nations. Examined from this angle Russia is neither East nor West. Russia may be considered something in between the two as a third distinct entity dissimilar to the eastern and western countries in many respects and similar in many. It would be more appropriate to classify the world into rich, poor and very poor classes of people. This would be a more valid classification after the complete globalization of the world within a few more years to come. Of course one hundred percent globalization would never happen even within next one thousand years. Different parts and people of the globe would be tantalizing and shifting from one place to the other due to numerous reasons and causes. The equilibrium of migration would signify many drastic changes which cannot be properly conceived now.
Gender discrimination is also prevalent here in different forms and at varying levels in different sections of the Russian society. Most of the men consider their women devoid of real wisdom and inefficient due to much reason such as pregnancy, child care, passion of fashion, cooking, cleaning shopping, weakness of body strength and hypersensitiveness etc. Women have many prejudices against men but it is a fact that both sexes have good and bad points which should be accepted by both of then as normal. It is also a fact that both the sexes are enjoying full freedom in many aspects of the Russian Federation. Why men should consider their women inferior to them here in Russia is not understandable. Men and women have created by God Almighty with some similar and with some dissimilar characteristics. Men however consider the prime duty of their women to serve their husbands and breed their children. This appears to be a universal practice. This is very much similar to our concept in Pakistan and many other Muslim countries of the world. Sexual harassment of women and dating rapes are considered here blunders and fallacies of the women themselves for men should not be blamed.
Russia is full of contradictions in all aspects of its life and personal thinking. Old values and original culture of Russia and its inhabitants as depicted in the old books of fame are not accepted by the modern Russians There are innumerable groups of Russians differing in their accepted values of culture and general Russian life but no two groups have identical or similar accepted values or views. Summary of Russian values may be described as their national characteristic of having a common quality of pride which is universally agreed upon and evident here in everyone and everywhere without any exception. Some Russian men and women may appear to be very humble but if you penetrate them deeply you would find a deep rooted sense of built-in or an inherent superiority over foreigners in all respects. This can be termed as a characteristic pride in being Rousskiy or a pure Russian by birth or origin.
Russians are basically very tough and struggling bearing all types of extreme and abnormal conditions with real fortitude and tranquility. Grumbling is not their inherent characteristic habit although they may occasionally complain against something or someone. They firmly believe that whatever bad or worst has to happen would certainly happen at all costs. They do express modest pleasure and pride on recognition of their virtues and merits. Russians look as self-sufficient but internally they do believe in their collective survival as established by their past history. They do not invite problems or any suffering but if something inevitable falls on them they face it very boldly with collective force and without any grumbling.
19TH OF JUNE 2008 (THURSDAY) WAS A VERY CLEAR DAY BUT I HAD A TOOTHACHE
Last night it rained cats and dogs but at about sunrise the rain stopped and the sky became very clear. It was a wonderful day for a long outing. I wanted to take the start right after my breakfast but my toothache became severe. In fact I was suffering from a mild attack of toothache for the last two days but I ignored it totally thinking that it would vanish automatically but its pain increased gradually till it became almost intolerable after the breakfast. I had to cancel my confirmed program of long outing. I took some medicines I had brought from Pakistan and the pain subsided after about three hours but I was still afraid of it lest it may become serious again. So I remained at home watching some TV channels and improving my knowledge of Russian language. After a small lunch I consulted the world atlas to improve my geographic knowledge of Scandinavian countries of Finland, Sweden and Norway. We intend to visit the northern parts of Russian Federation on coming weekend going to Karelia and beyond. Most of this area originally belonged to Finland and my son Murtaza has done his Master of Hotel Management from the University of Finland at Helsinki. It was a two years degree course for which he had to go thrice a week for attending his classes. He therefore knows the area very well. He has also purchased some fertile agricultural land adjacent to this lush green area. It is at least a five hours continuous journey. So we have to stay at Karelia for one or two days. I am therefore solemnly praying for my toothache to vanish otherwise I shall have to miss the important scheduled program which would be a very big loss.
BRIEF HISTORY OF RUSSIA TO UNDERSTAND ITS PAST PRESENT AND EXPECTED FUTURE
It is essential to study the vital events of history to know the past and expected future of a country. Moscow is the largest city and the capital of Russia located at about one thousand kilometers from Saint Petersburg which is the second largest city of Russian Federation with about five millions of population. Both the cities have important historical background. Moscow is about one thousand years old and Saint Petersburg is about four hundred years old. Saint Petersburg being closer to the northern pole is very cold whereas Moscow is relatively hotter.
ON 20TH OF JUNE 2008 (FRIDAY) WE OFFERED OUR FRIDAY (JUMA) PRAYERS TOOK OUR VEGETARIAN LUNCH VISITED THE SAINT PETER AND PAUL FOTRESS AND MANY OTHER PLACES
(1) WE OFFERED OUR FRIDAY PRAYERS IN THE CENTRAL MOSQUE OF SAINT PETERSBURG
It was a very clear and busy day without any rain or cold winds. Atmospheric temperature outside car was about thirteen degree Celsius which is considered somewhat hot here. Murtaza and Madeeha had to go to the immigration office and my wife also went with them to attend Aymen in the car. Mr. Akhtar of Mandi Bahauddin took me to the Central Mosque of Saint Petersburg. We reached there at quarter to two in the afternoon and it was very difficult to find parking place near the mosque which is called macheet in Russian language. A long and earnest duaa (begging from God Almighty) was going on in full swing when we entered the mosque. A long row of destitute and disabled persons including Muslim men and women were begging at the gate of the mosque. After about ten minutes of duaa in Russian language the first calling (azaan) was announced by the conductor of the prayers and the Khateeb (religious speaker) climbed up a fifteen feet high wooden stair decorated in wonderful designs. The Khateeb was a strong and sturdy Russian with long religious robe and a typical turban on his head and a short trimmed bear. He took out about one dozen of written sheets comprising the formal address to be delivered to the audience who were sitting in the rows on good quality thick carpets. There were about five thousand men and women along with some children gathered there in the mosque for offering Friday prayers. The mosque is very magnificent and excellently decorated.
The religious speaker took more than one hour in reading the written address contained in one dozen of A-4 sized paper sheets. He recited some Quranic verses and explained them in Russian language to the audience. This process of reciting the Quanic verses and explaining them in Russian language was repeated continuously at regular interval for more than one hour. When all the written sheets containing the formal religious address to the audience were finished the speaker climbed down the wooden stairs and all the audience offered tasbihat (admiration of God Almighty) following the speaker. Then the speaker and the audience recited Ayatul kursee simultaneously in loud voice and then the conductor of prayers announced the second calling for the Friday prayers. After that all the audience and the speaker stood up and offered their nafals or sunnats. After about five minutes a third calling was announced for the Quranic address to be delivered once again by the speaker after climbing to the top of the wooden stairs. The speaker read Quranic verses and explained the text in Russian language. It took about ten minutes to finish the sermon after which another calling for prayers (aqama) was announced by the conductor of the prayers At the end of this final calling the speaker and the audience got up for offering their collective Friday prayers with the speaker leading the prayers and the audience following him, Half of the Quranic Sura Motaffefeen (about those who increase or decrease the weights and measurements for selfish gains) were recited in very good Arabic tone which appeared strange and unexpected from a Russian speaker. After the collective prayers the individual prayers of nafals and sunnats were offered and the congregation dispersed after embracing one another. I wanted to see the wash rooms which were found in good condition. The places of ablution while sitting or standing were also found in very good condition. Sufficient washing soaps and towels along with mirrors had been adequately provided and proper discipline was scrupulously being observed by all concerned.
(2) WE TOOK THE VEGETARIEN LUNCH WITH MIXED FRUIT AND BLACK AMERICAN COFFEE
Mr. Akhtar decided to take our lunch first and then for going to visit the Gorky Square and other places leaving our car parked near the mosque. We walked about one kilometer to a famous Restaurant of Saint Petersburg to take a vegetarian lunch with mixed fruit and apple pie. We also wanted to order cob china but it was not available there. So we ordered American black coffee but it was too bitter to be taken. I requested the service girl to bring a lot of milk and sugar and she instantly complied with my instructions. After our tasty vegetarian lunch and tasty mixed fruits I started putting more and more sugar and milk in the cup of American black coffee which proved as bitter as the Americans themselves rather even bitterer than them. I took a few bitter sips and then left it unutilized. The American apple pie was however very sweet and tasty and too much in quantity which totally eliminated the bitterness of American coffee. Mr. Akhtar wanted to order much more to eat but I had already overeaten. So we came out of the restaurant and walked for more than two kilometers surveying grand buildings and markets. We went to some bookstores to buy some English books but found nothing useful there except an atlas which was purchased that too in Russian. Then we roamed here and there enjoying interesting places till we reached the Gorky Square near Gorkyskaya railway station where a nice park is also located. We strolled across the park and crossing a road reached the NEVA RIVER where thousands of visitors were moving towards the Saint Peter and Paul Fortress which is the most famous place of Saint Petersburg where all the zars, emperors, kings and their family members are buried in the cathedral which is a masterpiece of architect. This is the first and foremost fortress built by King Peter the great to protect Russia primarily from the Dutch aggressive forces. This is the place where Peter executed his own son for his misdeeds and treason in connivance with other rival groups. The fortress is a very vast island containing numerous museums exhibiting the Russian culture and history of various periods. Thousands of foreigners were visiting this historic place. We roamed about here and there seeing various portions of the fortress and the charming visitors of all types and tastes from all over the world. Most of the girls and ladies are too charming to be described in words. Some of them mesmerize you totally and it is not possible to take away your eyes from them. You totally forget where you are and get extremely absorbed in your object of sight. God Almighty has been extremely generous in blessing the white races with beauty and charms of all kinds whereas the poor colored races are not only poor but mostly ugly at least in their bodily manifestations. It seems a universal truth that real beauty cannot be hidden behind anything, The Russian ladies do not believe much in hiding anything worth seeing. Ninety nine percent of our people would turn totally mad if they happen to be here seeing what cannot be described in words. The remaining one percent would be stunned with wonders of God Almighty who has been so generous in bestowing numerous blessings on these human creatures most of whom are non-believers and atheists. I stop here lest someone may not condemn me to be a non-believer myself.
I have seen a very large number of foreign countries of the world covering more than half the globe. I have had serious contentions with my Almighty God who was extremely generous to the white nations and not so generous to us who are colored. It is his wisdom that must not be challenged as per our faith. So we keep silent and start thanking him for whatever has been given to us irrespective of whether it is sufficient or not. What cannot be cured must be endured and we are enduring it very happily. I often recall the famous masterpiece of Allama Iqbal titled as “SHIKWAH AND JAWABE SHIKWAH” which means: “The complaint and response to the complaint (of the poor Muslims)”. It is more than true and let us make imperative to recite it daily along with some portions of the holy Quran. We must make it our motto and the objective to be achieved as soon as possible with real honest efforts and through superfluous zeal or mere emotional expressions.
When we exhausted ourselves by seeing the grand cathedral of Saint Peter and Paul and after watching the magnificent graves of the Russian kings and their family members we came out of the cathedral and relaxed on a bench for about five minutes. We now wanted to go somewhere else but we suddenly glanced at a newly wed bride and her groom accompanied by half a dozen of their charming companions getting their video film prepared in the grassy lawn of the fortress. The bride and her groom were extremely glad and glistening with charm and pleasure. Mr. Akhtar asked their permission to get me photographed with the bride and her bridegroom to which they happily agreed. A few snaps were taken and we left them after thanking and wishing them a happy new life. They rather thanked us for sharing their happy moments. It was told that as a normal tradition the bride and her bridegroom along with their close friends go to various famous places of the area before they are formally married in a congregation.
We returned to the Mosque where our car had been parked. After getting into it we started our journey to the Lenin Square located in front of the Finland Railway Station of Saint Petersburg. It was the peak time for the traffic flow and we wanted to avoid all types of congestion and traffic jamming but we had to face for some time but we soon reached our destination at the Lenin Square. There is a small beautiful park with grand water fountains where hundreds of the gay and happy students were dancing here and there with great joy and excitement. It was the end of their academic year after declaration of their results which are announced on the same day at the end of the examinations. At this important moment a sort of festival is celebrated which is called Alee Parusa. Students had come here in the Lenin Park in the form of groups of many hundreds each and they were expressing their happiness in many strange ways totally unknown to us rather despised by us in Pakistan. Some of them male and female were embracing each other totally engraved in each other and to our surprise nobody was heeding to them. It was a very strange scene for us as it was so different as compared to our atmosphere in Pakistan where even the kissing of the wife and her husband in the open is entirely banned. How do express our love and emotions is very well known to all of us so I must keep silent lest I am condemned by someone beyond my tolerance and I am totally doomed for ever.
A grand live program of loud music and dance was going in full swing in the Fountain Park and hundreds of visitors were there to watch the show. A grand stage adorned with strange patterns of balloons and a heavy load of the musical instruments was lying on the stage and all around it. The music was so loud that it thumped my heart and arteries and it could easily restart the breathing of the dead without any effort for artificial respiration. After about half an hour of enjoying the loud rather too loud music we suddenly glanced my son Mr. Murtaza coming towards us. My wife and Madeeha with Aymen were sitting in Murtaza’s car adjacent to the fountain park. We greeted them and took my purchased and the informative material from Mr.Akhtar and after thanking him for his kindness I shifted to our car.
My son Murtaza wanted to buy some necessities for our trip to the most famous picnic resort called Lesnoe ozero (Lesnoe Lake) of the Republic of Karelia which is located at a distance of about four hundred kilometers on the Murmansk Highway which is further located in the north east direction of Saint Petersburg at a distance of one thousand kilometers. Murmansk is very famous city of Russia as it is almost the last big city located at the north Russian boundaries near the Finland border where the days and nights are for two months each throughout the year. The working and sleeping schedules are fixed by means of watches and clocks on twenty four hours basis. all the watches and clocks there indicate am and pm hours for the sake of discrimination otherwise there is no evident difference in the days and nights which appear equally bright or white making it impossible to identify them. It is a very strange and interesting phenomenon for us who have no such thing in our countries. It may even be somewhat difficult for some of our countrymen to grasp it as nothing similar exists in our country.
Murtaza took all of us to a very big and grand covered market called Megamall shopping complex having a large number of wonderful shops built on the first floor; the ground floor being exclusively used as a very vast parking lot for many thousands of cars having absolutely no charges for the parking. We climbed up to the first floor by means of a lift in the vicinity of a sliding stair which was not used by us as my wife was afraid of it. We went from one garments shop to another as our son wanted to buy some special dresses for us. Initially we refused his attempts of shopping for us on one excuse or the other. Actually there were two main reasons for our refusal. The first reason related to the exorbitant costs ranging from ten to one hundred times as compared to the prices in Pakistan for similar items. The second reason was that the pants and coats being bought for us had long ago been discarded for use by us as there was no necessity for them in our old age of retirement. He however insisted for purchasing for us the above described items at any cost. We had to yield finally to avoid the resulting unpleasantness. He forcibly bought two pants one jacket and one shirt for me at prices for which I could easily buy at least twenty of such items. It was getting late and the Megamall market started closing and hence we left it and climbed down to the parking place where our car had been parked. We all got into the car and came to our residence after our complete exhaustion and also as we were extremely hungry. The Megamall shopping complex would need a couple of days to complete its hurried survey. We took our meals and made complete preparations for our long and exciting trip of the picnic resort located at Lesnoe Lake of the Republic of Karelia which had been a part of Finland about a century ago and for which there was a very long and harsh clash between the previous USSR and Finland. The long and harsh clash ended finally in favor of USSR but most of the Finnish people still visit this charming area very frequently for their excursions. The wooden palaces of this famous resort are booked many years in advance due to extreme demand from all corners of Russia and neighboring countries.
ON SATURDAY MORNING OF 21ST OF JUNE 2008 WE GO TO VISIT THE IMAGINARY WONDERFUL REPUBLIC OF KRALIA FOR AN EXCURSION OF TWO DAYS
To save time for the start of our next day trip to the Russian Republic of Karelia we had already made advance preparations. So we left for our destination as early as we could via the Murmansk Express Highway which was partly reported to be under renovation and periodic repairs. Our journey to the destination would take at least five hours of constant travel without any stop. We wanted to enjoy some very important places of great interest on our way and some stops were also inevitable for fueling and relaxation. Hence it took us about eight hours to reach our destination at the famous Lesnoe Lake of the Republic of Karelia. The route of Lesnoe Lake branches from the main Murmansk Express Highway towards the North West direction and our beautiful resorts located on the bank of the scenic lake are at a distance of 13 kilometers from the Murmansk Highway. Our Indian guests had already gone there one day ahead of us along with four Russian families in seven cars. We had to contact them many times while passing through a very dense forest of pines for correcting our route covering thirteen kilometers from the Murmansk Express Highway to our destination. This is basically a sandy area with thick lush green forests and beautiful lakes. All were happy to receive us and they had prepared a sumptuous lunch for us. We enjoyed our lunch and relaxed for some time after our prayers. Then we got up and went to the bar-be-queue party going on in full swing on the lake bank. Ladies were cooking and the gentlemen were eating with a lot of noise and excitement. We also joined them although we had already taken our lunch. Men started drinking and playing cards while we climbed down the wooden stairs to a very grand wooden tier where some luxurious steamer boats and resting places had been arranged for the guests. We had some photography with the Russian families and started chatting. After about three hours we came to our wooden palace having all essential modern facilities. There are a total of eight wooden palaces fully furnished and decorated in all aspects. Their novel structure is the rare masterpiece of modern architecture. We were given two separate suites; one for our son and his wife and the other for me and my wife. Both of them were adjacent and on the first floor for a clear and vivid vision of the scenic surroundings.
Extremely famous picnic and excursion spot of Lesnoe Lake is very popular all over Russia and surrounding countries. Its importance can be judged from the fact that it has to be booked many years in advance. Its charming environments with complete tranquility and availability of all modern amenities of life make it a unique excursion place for everyone. Many people come and go without availing of its villas which are already booked in advance. Very few people who get the chance to reside here for a day or two are considered very fortunate. Very close friends of our son are intimately related to the owner of this picnic resort and it was due to this close relation that they could get the chance with one year‘s advance booking which was also availed by us and our Indian guests who were very happy to visit this charming area.
INCREDIBLE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REPUBLIC OF WONDERFUL KARELIA
The famous Republic of Karelia has many unique characteristics of charm and vastness. Its area is one thousandth part of Russia but it has sixty one thousands of very beautiful lakes and twenty seven thousand of rivers. From this magnitude proportional number of lakes and rivers for the entire Russian Federation can be very easily interpolated. Russia and Pakistan have almost equal populations. Pakistan is a big country but Russia is the biggest country of the world in terms of area. Most of the population in Russia is confined to a few big cities only whereas major potion of the population in Pakistan, at least seventy percent of the total, resides in the rural areas. Major portions of the rural areas of Russian Federation are lying idle and almost totally un-exploited for any crop growth except very few fields of wheat and potatoes. Almost all the vegetables and fruits are being imported from other countries where appreciable subsides or cheap labor is abundantly available. But for how long would this dependence on others continue? I think it is high time to shift the emphasis to agriculture at least to a reasonable extent. Russia has a very vast industrial base and it is also rich in its oil and precious mineral resources but proportional importance has not been given to the agricultural sector which forms the most basic need of all countries big or small. Most of the rural dwellings and agricultural resources have been abandoned by the large scale migration of the rural population to bigger cities where more and better means of earning with essential necessities of life are abundantly available. This has created a great vacuum in the rural life and a serious congestion in the cities totally disturbing the proper balance in various sectors of social and economic life of the Russian Federation. In my honest opinion, overall national policies and plans of Russian Federation need to be reviewed and readjusted to maintain the balance among various sectors of Russian life. Russia has been playing an important role in maintaining the global balance of power which has been seriously disturbed by the American block during the recent years. Russia must regain its old dignity and supremacy to maintain the global balance of power otherwise the world would become a hell gradually through wild global policies of America. Every sensible person must play his or her role in this regard otherwise we would continue suffering till the end of our lives or the day of judgement.
After enjoying for two days in the best lands of the Karelia Republic of Russia we returned home as there was a continuous torrential rain not permitting us any longer to go out for excursions of the surrounding resorts and scenic spots. On our way back to Saint Petersburg we stopped at numerous important places for rest and recreation. There was a caravan of eight deluxe cars now containing Russian and Indian families including our one Pakistani family as well. It took us seven hours to reach our destinations at Saint Petersburg where we started our usual routine life after an excursion of two wonderful days at a very remote but attractive area of the Russian Republic of Karelia which would always be missed by all of us in our future lives. Such happy moments are very rare and we should have them as much as we can afford
There twenty one Russian Republics enjoying different levels of autonomy. Their salient features are similar except their population and area along with some variations in the topography and climate. General economic conditions and levels of literacy also vary to some extent from one Republic to the other. Chechnya which happens to be mostly an Islamic region is also a Russian Republic. The Chechens are relatively more illiterate and economically backward as compared to the inhabitants of other Republics of Russian Federation. They have not set good examples as Muslims and their bad habits have greatly damaged the true image of Islam as a universal religion to follow in the present and future ages. It is the duty of all Muslim countries and Islamic organizations to help the Chechens economically and for improving their educational levels in all respects so that they attain a respectable Islamic status which should serve as an ideal example for others to follow it. They must be taught not to tarnish the true image and concept of Islam and that of the Musims.
The main characteristic and salient features of the Republic of Karelia are as under:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Karelia#Rivers)
Republic of Karelia (English)Республика Карелия (Russian)
Location of the Republic of Karelia in Russia
Coat of Arms
Flag
Coat of arms of the Republic of Karelia
Flag of the Republic of Karelia
Anthem: Anthem of the Republic of Karelia
Capital
Petrozavodsk
Established
July 16, 1956
Political statusFederal districtEconomic region
RepublicNorthwesternNorthern
Code
10
Area
Area- Rank within Russia
172,400 km²20th
Population (as of the 2002 Census)
Population- Rank within Russia- Density- Urban- Rural
716,281 inhabitants67th4.2 inhab. / km²75.0%25.0%
Official language
Russian[1]
Government
Head
Sergey Katanandov
Prime minister
Pavel Chernov
Legislative body
Legislative Assembly
Constitution
Constitution of the Republic of Karelia
Official website
http://www.gov.karelia.ru/
The Republic is located in the north-western part of the Russian Federation, taking intervening position between the basins of White and Baltic seas. The White Sea shore line is 630 km.
Area: 172,400 km² (66,600 sq mi)
Borders:
internal: Murmansk Oblast (N), Arkhangelsk Oblast (E/SE), Vologda Oblast (SE/S), Leningrad Oblast (S/SW)
international: Finland (SW/W/NW) (border line length: 723 km)
water: White Sea (an inlet of the Barents Sea) (N/NE/E), Lake Onega (SE),
Lake Ladoga (SW)
Highest point: 576 m (1,890 ft), the Nuorunen peak.
Time zone
The Republic of Karelia is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD).
UTC offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD).
Rivers
There are about 27,000 rivers in Karelia. Major rivers include:
Vodla River (149 km)
Kem River (191 km)
Kovda River
Shuya River
Suna River with Kivach Waterfall
Vyg River
Lakes
There are 60,000 lakes in Karelia. Republic's lakes and swamps contain about 2,000 km³ of high-quality fresh water. Lake Ladoga (Finnish:Laatokka) and Lake Onega (Ääninen) are the largest lakes in Europe. Other lakes include:
The Regions of North and South Karelia lie in Finland and the Karelian Republic in Russia. The Karelian Isthmus is now part of Leningrad Oblast
Nyukozero (Nuokkijärvi)
Pyaozero (Pääjärvi)
Segozero (Seesjärvi)
Syamozero (Säämäjärvi)
Topozero (Tuoppajärvi)
Vygozero (Uikujärvi)
Administrative divisions
Demographics
Population: 716,281 (2002)
Urban: 537.395 (75.0%)
Rural: 178,886 (25.0%)
Early 20th-century photo of a bridge across the Shuya River
Male: 331,505 (46.3%)
Female: 384,776 (53.7%)
Females per 1000 males: 1,161
Average age: 37.1 years
Urban: 35.9 years
Rural: 40.6 years
Male: 33.9 years
Female: 39.9 years
Number of households: 279,915 (with 701,314 people)
Urban: 208,041 (with 525,964 people)
Rural: 71,874 (with 175,350 people)
Vital statistics (2005)
Births: 6,952 (birth rate 9.9)
Deaths: 12,649 (death rate 18.1)
Ethnic groups
According to the 2002 Census, ethnic Russians make up 76.6% of the republic's population, while the ethnic Karelians are only 9.2%. Other groups include Belarusians (5.3%), Ukrainians (2.7%), Finns (2.0%), Veps (0.7%), and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. 4,886 people (0.7%) did not indicate their nationality during the Census.
census 1926
census 1939
census 1959
census 1970
census 1979
census 1989
census 2002
Karelians
100,781 (37.4%)
108,571 (23.2%)
85,473 (13.0%)
84,180 (11.8%)
81,274 (11.1%)
78,928 (10.0%)
65,651 (9.2%)
Finns
2,544 (0.9%)
8,322 (1.8%)
27,829 (4.2%)
22,174 (3.1%)
20,099 (2.7%)
18,420 (2.3%)
14,156 (2.0%)
Veps
8,587 (3.2%)
9,392 (2.0%)
7,179 (1.1%)
6,323 (0.9%)
5,864 (0.8%)
5,954 (0.8%)
4,870 (0.7%)
Russians
153,967 (57.2%)
296,529 (63.2%)
412,773 (62.7%)
486,198 (68.1%)
522,230 (71.3%)
581,571 (73.6%)
548,941 (76.6%)
Belarusians
555 (0.2%)
4,263 (0.9%)
71,900 (10.9%)
66,410 (9.3%)
59,394 (8.1%)
55,530 (7.0%)
37,681 (5.3%)
Ukrainians
708 (0.3%)
21,112 (4.5%)
23,569 (3.6%)
27,440 (3.8%)
23,765 (3.2%)
28,242 (3.6%)
19,248 (2.7%)
Others
2,194 (0.8%)
20,709 (4.4%)
29,869 (4.5%)
20,726 (2.9%)
19,565 (2.7%)
21,505 (2.7%)
25,734 (3.6%)
The Karelian language is close to Finnish, and in recent years, it has been considered by some authorities as a dialect of Finnish. Nevertheless, Eastern Karelian is not completely mutually intelligible with Finnish and could be considered a separate language. Russian is currently the only official language of the republic, but there is a motion in the republic's government to make Karelian official as well.
Ethnic Russian and other Soviet-era immigrants in the republic rarely speak Karelian. Russification of Karelia is still ongoing.
Vital Statistics for 2007: Source
Birth Rate: 10.40 per 1000
Death Rate: 15.90 per 1000
Net Immigration: +1.8 per 1000
NGR: -0.55% per Year
PGR: -0.37% per Year
History
Historically, Karelia was a region to the northwest of Russia, east of present-day Finland, controlled by the Novgorod Republic. From the 13th century and onwards, various parts were conquered by Sweden, and incorporated into Swedish Karelia until they were lost to Russia by the Treaty of Nystad in 1721.
In 1923, the province became the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Karelian ASSR). From 1940 it was made into the Karelo-Finnish SSR, incorporating the Finnish Democratic Republic created during the Winter War. Annexed territories were incorporated into Karelo-Finnish SSR after the Winter War but after the Continuation War the Karelian Isthmus was incorporated into the Leningrad Oblast. Its status was changed back to an ASSR in 1956. During the Continuation War in 1941 Finland occupied large parts of the area but was forced to withdraw in 1944. Though Finland is not currently pursuing any measures to reclaim Karelian lands ceded to Russia, the "Karelian Question" is still a topic present in Finnish politics.
The autonomous Republic of Karelia in its present form was formed on November 13, 1991.
Politics
The highest executive authority in the Republic of Karelia is the Head of the Republic. As of 2007, the Head of the Republic is Sergey Leonidovich Katanandov, who was elected in May of 2002.
The parliament of the Republic of Karelia is the Legislative Assembly comprising 50 deputies elected for a four year term.
The Constitution of the Republic of Karelia was adopted on February 12, 2001.
Culture
View of the old town of Kem in 1911
Karelia is sometimes called "the songlands" in the Finnish culture, as Karelian poems constitute most of the Finnish national epic Kalevala.
Religion
The Karelians have been traditionally Russian Orthodox, known in Finland for their small chapels called tsasouna (variant spelling of Russian "часовня" "chasovnya", chapel) associated with villages or graveyards. However, first Catholicism and then Lutheranism was brought to the area by the Finnish immigrants during Sweden's conquest of Karelia and some Lutheran parishes remain in Karelia.
Notes
1. ^ Russian is currently the only official language of the Republic of Karelia. Although the Karelian language does not have official status at present, a motion has been set in place to grant it a place alongside Russian in the republic's government.
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