Although Russia is usually classified as Europe, there is definitely something different about it. St. Petersburg was a good place to explore this, as it’s the city where Peter the Great introduced and implemented European culture on Russia. The city was founded and built up by Peter the Great, following a tour of Europe’s great cities. He admired European culture and he wanted to bring Russia into the fold, beginning with his new capital. Although originally built on swampland, canals crisscross St. Petersburg, reminiscent of Venice. Many of the buildings were designed by Italian architects, which is why much of the city resembles Western Europe. St. Isaacs scale and architecture is comparable to St. Paul’s in London or St. Peter’s in the Vatican. The Hermitage looks like its straight out of Paris- it’s on the water, built symmetrically, and enormous in scale. Not surprisingly, it’s the second-largest museum in the world, after the Louvre. The interior was unsurpassed though. It’s like Peter decided to model his new capital after Europe, but he surpassed it. The Hermitage and Peterhoff Palace were more impressive than the Louvre and Versailles. The rooms were bigger, the gardens nicer, and the extravagance unbelievably higher- Peter trumped King Louis XIV! In this sense, the czar went over the top in transforming wild Russia into a European state.

But during the day, I noticed some things were very different from Europe. The cars were older on average and more beat-up. The buildings were dirtier. It didn’t take long to learn that wages were lower. The major brands were foreign, rather than domestic. People dressed different and spoke different. The signs were totally unintelligible, as the Russian alphabet is totally different. And while the city looked mostly European, the soviet legacy can still be seen in the many industrial and monolithic buildings, found throughout the city. It was European, but not.

While Joylani attended a ballet, I went to watch a folkloric show at what is known as St. Petersburg’s best entertainment hall. The theater was huge and while the seats looked normal, they weren’t much more than wood boards covered with red velvet. The show was awesome, way surpassing my expectations. I’m not sure what it was that I enjoyed so much. Obviously, the music and dancing was very good. But beyond that, I think I liked the energy of it all. The few traditional shows that I do see are usually European or Japanese and, consequently, are pretty slow and boring. But this show was lively and energetic. Some of the dancing had elements of the Afghan dancing I’ve seen in the past. Most of the dance routines utilized central Asian dress, rather than European-looking costumes. The show reminded me that Russia is not European. Its culture has its roots in central Asia.

And I learned that even today, Russians debate what Russia is. Is it European? Is it something different? Which direction should Russia go?