EDITH KURZWEIL
459
I can only call a grownup's most outstanding, memorable
Nutcracker.
Afterwards, our driver-a military man who works in space communi–
cation, and drives a taxi because he does not earn enough at his job to
support himself and his family-suggested another excellent restaurant.
He, as well as a few of his peers, told us that many Russians miss com–
munism, not because they had been happy with its system, but because
they had had more financial safety, better access to health care, and
could look forward to a more secure old age.
I had spent that day being driven to Peterhof, Peter the Great's sum–
mer palace, about an hour out of town. This neo-Versailles on the
Baltic, with its 1,500 acres of impeccably kept gardens, opulent smaller
palaces, and cascading Roman fountains, was built to celebrate his vic–
tory over Sweden in 1709, and was completed in 1723.
While sitting in a posh cafe on Nevsky Prospect-sipping Perrier-on
the Sunday morning of our departure, I reflected on the Russian propen–
sity to recall their history, which often stresses, also, the continuing
rivalry between Moscow and St. Petersburg. (Remember, it was
Leningrad until recently, our driver remarked more than once, pointing
to name changes here and there.) I noted the many uniforms, green,
black, and gray, and the black suits of Secret Service men-there were
so many of them, due to the presence of Bush and Putin. But their job
was complicated further because this happened to be the 299th anniver–
sary of the founding of St. Petersburg. Despite closed-off streets, and
what we would call "profiling" by police, Russians came out in droves
to secure a good view of the parade. Macy's Thanksgiving Day event
cannot compare to the elaborately decorated floats and vehicles that
began to pass by early on, and which, I was informed, would last well
into the afternoon. I was sad to leave, if only because there was so much
more to see, and so much more to understand, about this lapsed super–
power, and about the experiences and ability of all its citizens to absorb
the changes due to Westernization.
