The trip to Moscow
Staying with Don Courter
Pepe Escobar and I under the statue of Karl Marx
Don Courter at the RT studio in front of RT’s numerous awards
The Studio at RT
June 3, 2025 Commentary by Ray McGovern
On May 7th, I visited the iconic park VDNKh
The Iconic Fountain in the center of VDNKH, Friendship of the Peoples, which honored all the former Republics of the Soviet Union.
The Kazakhstan Pavilion
Victory Day at a Dacha
Had interesting discussions with visitors to the dacha.
And on Victory Day, Lena, my friend Nicholas’ fiancé sang with another visitor at the Dacha party. Here, they are singing ‘Victory Day’.
At my request they sang this song from the 1985 movie, Guest from the Future. Some of the lyrics are:
I hear a voice from a wonderful distant future—his voice calls me not to heavenly lands. I hear a voice, the voice asks strictly What have I done today for tomorrow?
I swear that I'll be cleaner and kinder. And I will never leave my friend in trouble. I hear a voice and I rush to the call as soon as possible On a road that has no trace
Subway Station in Moscow. Workers of all types on the left, soldiers on the right, Lenin at the center.
Visiting Volgograd
The Georgian Restaurant
Visiting Mamayev Kurgan, the Stalin Museum, the small private museum of WWII relics
If 5 million hostile soldiers invaded your country, would you want a lady like this urging you on to defend yourself? This statue of Mother Russia is on the hill Mamayev Kurgan, which has literally tens of thousands of dead soldiers buried in it soil. Along with tons of shrapnel and bullets.
The Small Stalin Museum
Stalin has been vilified for decades. And for good reason. Probably the way the US signers of the Declaration of Independence have been vilified as traitors to the ‘Glorious British Empire. ‘
The movie, Mission to Moscow, a chronicle of US Ambassador to the USSR and his work in 1930’s Soviet Union, pointed out that large scale sabotage was taking place. That, plus the stated intention of Nazi Germany to invade and destroy the Soviet Union and its people resulted in imprisonment and mistreatment in some cases. Indeed, the Soviet General Rokossovsky was imprisoned and allegedly tortured. However, he was exonerated and proved to be one of the greatest Generals in not just Soviet but Russian history. He personally told Nikita Khrushchev, “Nikita Sergeevich, Comrade Stalin is a saint for me!"
So why did Churchill vilify Stalin? Because Stalin called out Churchill’s treachery in planning Operation Unthinkable. Russia’s unwillingness to bend to the will of the British Empire was then and is now, intolerable.
“Not later than April 1945 Churchill instructed the British Armed Forces’ Joint Planning Staff to draw up Operation Unthinkable, a code name of two related plans of a conflict between the Western allies and the Soviet Union. The generals were asked to devise means to
“impose upon Russia the will of the United States and the British Empire”.
The Saturday Flea Market at Volgograd has Soviet era medals and relics
At the private museum, the guide showed Andre, Nellie, Irina, and me relics of Stalingrad.
The guide asked us why women volunteered for the hazardous job of combat nurse. The answer: To find a husband. The only problem was that life expectancy of these young people in late teens or early 20’s was maybe a day or week.
German supplies from Stalingrad. Nivea was used back then, as well as Coca Cola and Fanta drinks
The US supplied the Soviet Union with various items, from airplanes, to trucks to food. Not gifts. On credit. Russia made the final payments on the loans in 2006
Surgery in Volgograd?
In the end, I decided to postpone surgery, which cost more than expected, and recovery time, longer than expected.
Yalta
My dear friends, Regis and Tanya at the New Chersonese Park
One of several buildings built recently at the New Chersonese Park
Regis (on the left) admiring the Central Fountain of New Chersonese
The influence of Russian Orthodoxy is far more evident than at The Friendship of the Peoples fountain.
No signs of Soviet soldiers, instead a mythical Gryphon protecting Russia.
Museum of Religions of Russia, Protected by two Gryphons, mythical Eagle/Lion creatures.
The first Vladimir, who brought Christianity and the Cyrillic alphabet to Russia.
Old Chersonese
2500 Year old ruins of Old Chersonese
Ruins of a Basilica at Old Chersonese
My Time in Downtown Yalta
Statue of Lenin at the Promenada along the Yalta beach
Pensions are still pretty low in Russia, although much improved. But still retirees bring flowers, homemade pickles and other items to be sold at the main bus stop.
My guide, Nastya at the Yalta Cultural History Museum
Ancient relics at the Yalta Museum
Relics of WWII at the Yalta History Museum
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