Kronstadt

So down to the last few weeks of my stay in Russia, already! As it is so far, I leave for Germany on the 27th. I think I'll be sad to leave this city, I wouldn't call it home but it's hard not to get attached to somewhere after living there for nearly half a year, especially such a fascinating and beautiful place. Then again, I doubt I'll stay sad for long since I am leaving it to travel through Europe for two months so I think I'll get over it! More on my travel plans soon.

Last weekend I went out to Kronstadt, an island town and major naval base 29km east of the Petersburg in the middle of the Gulf of Finland. Just a year after Peter the Great founded his new capital he built the fortified port at Kronstadt in 1704 to defend it against Swedish naval attack. The military threat posed by Sweden was soon extinguished with the crucial Russian victory at Poltava (endlessly commemorated in almost every Petrine palace, church, or fountain here!) but Kronstadt continued to grow and became one of Russia’s main naval bases.

My interest in naval history, especially Russian naval history, is pretty limited however. The real reason I wanted to see the place was because this was the site of the famous 1921 Kronstadt Mutiny, an event that had major implications for the then-fledgling Soviet Union. The sailors in the garrison out at Kronstadt had been some of the Bolsheviks’ most loyal supporters during the October Revolution and subsequent Civil War, so it came as quite a shock to Lenin and his comrades when these men (once called “the pride and glory of the Russian Revolution” by Trotsky) rose up in mutiny against them, declaring their independence and opposition to the Soviet government.

The Bolsheviks immediately realized the danger that the mutiny would spread and so moved quickly to crush it; 50,000 Red Guards were ordered across the thick winter ice on the Gulf of Finland and take the rebellious island fortress by storm. After several failed attempts and some desperate fighting, the base was taken and the mutineers wiped out. Although the rebellion had been successfully crushed, the Bolsheviks were still sufficiently shook up by the mutiny of some of their most trusted to realize that the hectic pace with which their policies to build Communism in Russia could not be maintained; such radical change and sacrifice could not be expected of a resentful population already hungry and poor after seven devastating years of war. Rather than risk another major rebellion, Lenin decided on a tactical retreat and scaled back the demands, allowing greater freedoms and even a degree of private business to return. So thanks to the Mutiny, the Soviet Union briefly enjoyed a time of comparative freedom and tolerance in the 1920s, known as the NEP (New Economic Policy) period. It’s a really culturally fascinating era for me, such a diverse flourishing of ideas about what this new socialist world should look like – lots of bizarre experimental art and wild ideas floating around, before the stifling repression of the Stalin period.

I hope you don’t mind the history lesson too, too much! I realize I tend to get carried away sometimes but I think it’s good to know a little of what went on at these places, it makes the experience of visiting them (or reading about visiting them!) so much more meaningful.

So on to the actual Kronstadt trip! It was quite the journey – first I took the Metro up to the far northwest suburbs of the city, and then another 30 minutes by marshrutka minibus. Unfortunately the man sitting right behind me ate a huge, garlicky shvarma (a gyro-donair type thing) just before getting on board and then did a lot of talking with his wife, who also ate a garlicky shvarma just before! One can’t take Russian transport without expecting some sort of adventure, even if it is a rather pungent adventure. I noticed with some worry that there was a fairly large hole in the windshield directly in front of the driver’s field of vision, with radiating cracks moving out towards the edges! Then I noticed that the hole had been repaired quite sufficiently - filled with yellowy glue, hmm - and since it seemed like an old repair and the driver had obviously been driving for some time without full front vision and didn’t seem to mind, I decided not to worry about it!

The drive was picturesque, or rather the part after we escaped from the suburbs, which in Russia are always depressing places with nothing to break the monotony of concrete slab living structures that line the road except for the odd stomatologia (dental/medical clinic I think), beauty salon, or 24-hour grocery. Riveting places. But onwards! The frozen Gulf of Finland looked incredible as we drove along the long causeway connecting Kronstadt to the mainland, like endless white fields. We passed by three small islands strewn with the ruined buildings of old fortresses, sunlight coming through the gun slits of squat turrets and machine gun nests. Although obviously derelict, the new glinting razor-wire fences that surrounded these crumbling installations reminded me that this was still military ground; in fact, it was only in 1996 that foreigners were even allowed to set foot anywhere on the restricted grounds of Kronstadt.

From here on, I’ll let my photos take over. Enjoy!