tikistitch

Today we toured the Pan Russian Exposition park. It was evidently constructed by proud Soviet bureaucrats eager to show off the economic successes of scientific socialism.

Today, it's a flea market.

Oh, and did we mention the kitsch?

If you thought there were limits, if you thought there was actually something too out there, too damn glorious for optimistic Soviet propaganda, think again.

BTW, what's up with the obsession with wheat?

You might say, "How much more gold could this monument possibly be?" And the answer would be, "None golder."

Lenin looks a little forlorn. They also have a dandy graphic of the periodic table of the elements. Why? Dunno.

The best is saved for last. It's at the very back of the park, literally a couple miles from the entryway, and appears to be a pavilion meant to salute the Soviet space and aeronautice program.

We weren't sure whether this was just another Aeroflot jet, or maybe the premier's plane, "Air Forsky One."

Here's the deal: in this glorious dome, they were selling weed whackers and fertilizer. Literally, their glorious salute to Soviet aviation is now the garden department at Home Depot.