American Agriculture and Russia Meet

Today we had the opportunity to speak to representatives from the USDA that are currently working in Russia. This offered an interesting take on Russian agriculture and the relationship between the two countries. As fellow foreigners in Russia it was neat to see their take on the Russian way of doing things.

Through our conversation I learned quite a bit more about Russian agriculture and the influence of American imports. The US exports about $2billion worth of agricultural products to Russia with the bulk of that being meat products. Russia lacks a large enough meat industry to satisfy domestic demand, especially the demand for higher quality meat products. According to the USDA representatives, around 90-95% of the beef in Russia comes from non-beef cattle, aka culled dairy cows. The majority of steaks and other high quality cuts are imported and affordable, high quality beef is hard to come by. There are only an estimated 600,000 head of beef cattle in Russia. It may seem like a lot of cows, but that is the equivalent of one cow for every 237 people. Compare that to the over 90 million beef animals in the US.

In response to this, several American farmers have begun the process of building up Russia's beef production. This past year one rancher from Montana began the process of shipping part of his Angus herd from the US to Russia. November marked the arrival of the nearly 1500 animals that were transported on ships and planes to Novorossiysk and settled into their new home in Voronezh, 290 miles south of Moscow. The Stevenson Sputnik Ranch is a 14,500 acre joint venture between the Stevenson Angus Ranch of Hobson Montana, Holden Herefords in Valier and the Russian company, Sputnik. Together they hope to change the Russian beef market and supply a superior product to Russian consumers.

If you would like some more information about the ranch here's a general overview -
http://www.theindependentobserver.com/Latest/stevenson-ranch-holden-herefords-ship-herd-russia.html

Also, technical, but informative http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/New%20Joint-Venture%20Brings%20U.S.%20Beef%20Cattle%20Ranch%20to%20Russia_Moscow_Russian%20Federation_12-27-2010.pdf

Or some pictures, always fun to look at - http://www.flickr.com/photos/54451217@N07/sets/72157625920400222/

And of course, the ever present Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stevenson-Sputnik/161144153937749

So What Exactly Was I Expecting???

One of the questions we get all the time was if, prior to our arrival in Moscow, did we believe there were bears roaming the streets. The first time I was asked this I found it quite odd and relatively random. I had no preconceptions that bears would be wandering around Moscow (except during Maslenitsa, when I was informed that there is bear wrestling, which there wasn't and I was upset, however not as upset as when I was lied to about getting to ride a camel, but that's another story) and I also don't expect koalas and kangaroos to be chilling in Sydney whenever I make it that far south of the equator. However I'm not opposed to having a pet koala, but I'm under the impression that kangaroos are slightly meaner than most realize, so in summation hold the 'roos bring on the koalas. But I digress, at no point in time did I expect there to be bears wandering around the capital of Russia, or even Irkutsk or Vladivostok for that matter. And yet, for some reason time and time again we are asked about it.

As that question is repeatedly asked, I find myself wondering what I did expect to find in Moscow, and actually, I have no idea. I expected it to be cold, no disappointment there although I was expecting more extreme temperatures but it's not something I'll complain about. I expected the buildings to be all grey, blocky, and Soviet-esque (although every guidebook for Moscow features St. Basil's I kind of figured it was a singular explosion of color, as if all the paint available in Russia went into painting that building. I was wrong on this account, however I have not been to a hardware store to make certain.). I expected things to be less expensive than they are, and for there to be an inexpensive clothing store of some sort, but most of all I didn't expect anything.

Don't get me wrong, I had this idea that I might get to rub elbows with some oligarch's progeny (if you know of any, let me know) and the kind of vague notion of what life would be like in Russia, but looking back I can't remember my predetermined notions of everyday interactions with Moscovite's and what Russia would really be like.

I think it's better to avoid having any preconceived notions. It kept me from being disappointed, or truly experiencing culture shock. It allowed me to see Russia as it is being presented to me, here and now, not the Russia presented in a history lecture or via the History Channel. It allowed me to form my own opinions, to not get upset when things aren't as I thought they should be (except for bear wrestling), and to not continuously compare the Russia I experience to the fairytale Russia in my imagination.

Not having a set of preconceived notions and expectations has made this trip more enjoyable and a more accurate representation of what Russia is today. Sometimes it's better to go into things unprepared. Winging it is way more fun anyway, plus you get some awesome stories to pester people back home with (for instance I have now spent the night riding around Moscow in a limo) and they are easier to pack than a bunch of souvenirs from Izmailovsky, although I have those too.

Metro Roulette

I have found that the best way to discover Moscow is through trial and error. Guidebooks only go so far in exposing you to the real daily life of a foreign place, leaving the rest up to you to discover. Like in other cities, some of my favorite areas of Moscow are those I have stumbled upon by chance. 

While guidebooks are useful for finding information about the main sights of a city, I have a hard time taking instruction from a book that was written for an audience of which I am not really a part. My interest lies away from the typical scene of museums and nightclubs, which can be entertaining and interesting at times, but does not hold my attention for long. This has led me to pursue other areas of entertainment, primarily Metro Roulette.

Perhaps it is important to explain the premise of Metro Roulette, the main method by which I explore Moscow. With Metro Roulette a metro line and station are chosen at random and the surrounding area is then traversed with no destination in mind and no objectives. This method of exploration has led to the discovery of working class neighborhoods, historical sections of the city, business districts, small neighborhood parks, good food and most importantly, good times. 

My favorite areas of Moscow are just off the beaten path. If you travel three blocks away from Tverskaya Street you can find yourself in quiet little neighborhoods with apartment buildings arranged around small parks, corner grocery shops, and small restaurants and cafes that cater to the local crowd. It was here that Katie Moore, Katie McKee and I found a delicious Italian restaurant, Mamma Pasta, several weeks ago. 

This past week we happened to stumble upon Kitai Gorod, perhaps the most beautiful area of Moscow I have uncovered so far. While Red Square is awe-inspiring, the quiet streets of Kitai offer up a different version of Moscow. Many of the buildings are of a different era than the remainder of Moscow. Kitai is a historic area of the city with beautiful architecture, bold buildings and quaint streets that seem so far removed from the rest of Moscow. Here even the pace seems slower, life is calmer and cleaner. It is mainly a business district now, housing large banks and shops, however small cathedrals dot the streets and add to the homey, lived-in feel of the area. Two of the most beautiful churches in Moscow are located here, St. Nicholas at Nikitniki and St. Nicholas the Great Cross, both built during the mid to late 1600s. Like many churches, the Great Cross was destroyed under Soviet rule but has since been rebuilt. Most of the area around Kitai was destroyed from 1930 to 1960, with only those buildings deemed historic left standing. This led to one of the highest concentrations of medieval churches in Moscow, and one of the most breathtaking street-scapes in the city.

Perhaps it was the weather, which was by far the best we have had since arriving in Moscow, or perhaps it was the fact that we “discovered” Kitai Gorod, but I find it to be the most beautiful and breathtaking area of Moscow, with a different atmosphere than the rest of the city.