An Abundance of Green

Russia's environmental track record is anything but exemplary - indeed the horrific forest fires that threatened Moscow this summer and destroyed much of the buckwheat harvest (causing kasha prices to skyrocket) can be traced back to poor deforestation and environmental policies.  Perhaps it is unavoidable for a country where the economy is built around energy, as Russia is unquestionably the largest producer and exporter of natural gas in the world, and ranks among the world's top three oil producers.  Fossil fuels are not clean (clean coal is a myth), and preserving the environment and exploiting those valuable resources is a delicate act - as we in the United States well know.  But this is not a political post (cue sigh of relief).  

No, this is about the green spaces of Saint Petersburg.  For when I arrived in this city, I was immediately struck by how green it was.  Parks litter the landscape of the city, and many are quite sizable.  Though the green is already starting to fade into a beautiful array of autumn colors and will soon give way to just the gray of the trees, the parks, the spaces themselves, will remain, and will remain as remarkable as ever.  

Saint Petersburg boasts a large number of lovely parks and gardens, most of them beautifully landscaped and maintained.  They are pleasant places to amble about, admiring the fall colors and enjoying the crisp autumnal air.  Unfortunately, what my guidebook describes as Saint Petersburg's "loveliest" park, the Summer Gardens, is closed until at least 2012 for major reconstruction, denying myself and my fellow students to enjoy it while are here.  

But no matter.  To the north of Petrogradskaya, the island on which I live, is a delta of smaller islands which are still within city limits.  The smallest of these is Yellagin Island, which in the absence of an accessible Summer Gardens, I will crown as the city's loveliest park.  The park is accessible only by foot, bike, or in-like skates: it is off limits for motorized vehicles.  It has an almost surreal quality to it, being an oasis of calm in the bustling metropolis.  In New York's Central Park you can enjoy the lush green fields, the zoo, and the tennis courts but can still see the towers of midtown Manhattan towering over.  Yellagin Island is much the same.  Though Saint Petersburg lacks New York's high rise buildings, while wandering along the shady paths watching the ducklings paddle to and fro on the island's network of ponds and streams you can still hear the sirens, the wails, and the general soundtrack of the city.

One of the most striking parts of Saint Petersburg is the abundance of palaces.  Seemingly every block has at least one palace, and while these run the gamut from the incomparable Winter Palace to relatively pedestrian looking buildings, a palace is still a palace, such buildings are inevitably impressive.  Yellagin Island is indeed home to one of the cities' many palaces, a handsome, understated building admirable for its elegant simplicity that fits the island's relaxed atmosphere perfectly.  It is not as flashy as many of it's counterparts in the city, but it's austere white exterior seems an ideal match for the lush fields and forests of the park.  

The day which I visited Yellagin Island was a chilly one, with a fairly steady breeze pushing temperatures into the lower 40s.  No matter.  I was content to find a secluded park bench and finish my book (see below), sipping a glass of hot apple cider and listening to a group of musicians play a haunting version of "Yesterday."  

Life is good. 

(As for the book - Don DeLillo's White Noise - it is strongly recommended.  DeLillo's prose manages the rarest of feats, being terrifying and hysterical at the same time.  Not to mention the book has perhaps my favorite line in recent memory: "It's the rainbow hologram that gives this credit card a marketing intrigue."  Don't ask me why I love this line, I can't explain it.  I think it's an electric bit of writing in a book full of electric moments.  An outstanding example of postmodern literature, it manages to be readable while retaining it's complexity.  If you haven't read it, then do so.  If you have read it, then...I don't know, try Gravity's Rainbow or something.)