Living in the Evil Empire

Moscow, Russia  - February 2017

When most people think about Russia they envision a cold, dark and grey place defined by a troubled history. This is possibly caused by horrible self-branding as well as more complex and morose factors.
However, as anywhere else, there is more to it than what the news and Hollywood make of it.

Me and a handful of compatriots have travelled here to what was once known as the capital of the Evil Empire, the fortress of communism. A lot have clearly changed. Work has summoned us here and we have now taken up the dubious roles as expats. We share an apartment located right in the middle of the city, provided to us by the grace of our workplace.

All of us hail from Denmark, a country only two and a half hours away with plane, nevertheless we feel like we have entered a new dimension. The language, however similar, appears like an incomprehensible caricature of normal words. The supermarkets are stocked with goods that makes us marvel, both in delight and disgust judging from the conservation method.

While the others are innocent in their experience with Russian culture, people and general behavior, I come armed to the teeth with a bachelor's degree in Russian studies. That makes me the translator of both language and customs in our little ragtag entourage. This is a vital role in a span of interesting situations ranging from paying the phone bill to getting a cab at 4am in the morning (Without being ripped off, or killed and not necessarily in that order).
So far everything has run smoothly. Our work keeps us occupied in the week days, confining us to realize ourselves and explore the largest city in Europe only in the weekends.

Moscow offers cheap thrills, mainly thanks to the low oil prices. Running a western budget in an eastern state has its voluminous advantages. We eat good, especially when we buy the right things in the jungle of Russian food products. Just the trip to the grocery store over here is really an adventure in itself. The vast shelves of exotic products are awe-inspiring and just buying everyday products usually ends up in a surprise (For example when we learned that our hotdog sausages were wrapped in plastic - after we had fried them).


This short post has only been meant as an introduction to the new life I have started. I am planning to add more concrete descriptions of my adventures over here when I get the time for it.
A month has already passed without me really noticing it, which is only a testament to how easy it is get used to a completely new life.

I will continue to ramble on here in the city that never sleeps and hopefully write something coherent and entertaining about it that resembles the truth in a morally responsible way.