Uglich - Day 9

And the heavens opened again as we started our visit to the ancient city of Uglich on the Volga River.  Founded in 1148, it was favored by Ivan the Terrible.  After Ivan's death, his son Dmitry, just a child, joined his mother there, only to be murdered by the agents of Boris Godunov who was seeking to seize the crown.  On the spot of the child's death was built the Church of St. Demetrius on the Blood.  Beside the magnificent icon wall, the church floor was made of metal tiles which could thus be heated from below.  Also in the complex of buildings in the old fortress area was a church museum wherein we were entertained by a quartet of Russian male singers.  Their voices were magnificent.  Unfortunately, by this time the rain was really intense, so we cut short our walking tour of the rest of the Uglich town center and headed for the bus which took us to the Hydroelectrical Museum.

Uglich is at the foot of a large dam, one of a series built during the time of Stalin to raise the level of the Volga so that larger ships could carry war materiel and later, regular cargo.  The newly-built Hydroelectrical Museum was developed to tell the story of how the dams were built, what was the human cost both in those served in the prison camps which built the dams and in the homes and villages lost when inundated by the waters behind the dams.  The museum was modern, interactive and chock full of information about hydroelectric development not only in Russia but throughout the world.

We returned to the ship in the rain, mercifully avoiding the avenue of vendors on the way back.  At noon our ship started up through the locks at the Uglich dam, now on our way to Moscow.

The informational session in the afternoon focused on "Putin, Medvedev and the Russian economy".  Our resident guide gave us an average Russian's understanding of how Putin came to power, how he and Medvedev have now switched roles, and some of the accomplishments of the current regime.  She also shared with us some of the Russian humor about the politicians.  One example: There is a new mausoleum being built in Red Square.  Why?  Putin and Medvedev will be taking turns lying in state there.

The day has ended with the Captain's dinner.  Tomorrow we arrive in Moscow and begin our tours there.  More will come...