Putin Souvenirs, Stalin, Camo, Slavery, and Me. Russia.

For the folks back home, there are a great number of souvenirs you can buy with the tough guy or man glam image of Russian president Putin. Haven’t seen anything joking about him or criticizing his policies, but there are items you can buy such as T-shirts, phone cases, coffee mugs, traditional Russian nesting dolls, and many other things.

You can see him in Camo. He looks tough riding a bear with an assault weapon, perhaps to assault bears or others on this t-shirt.

Not sure what an assault weapon is, but they talk a lot about it back home.

He is sophisticated in a suit, looking like James Bond.

Even at his age he appears shirtless on coffee mugs invoking an image of someone who could tough it out in the woods without his mother to take care of him.

To the right is everyone’s friend, Lenin.

A lot of people in the US like Lenin these days and may want their morning Jo with his image.

He’s in aviators. Putin, not Lenin. And stylish Camo with fur on this t-shirt.

Useful Phone case.

There were a couple items making fun of the American president showing Putin and Stalin as his superiors. And there were also other souvenirs treating the US president as an equal to Putin.

But I like these best. Traditional Russian Nesting Dolls. Culture. History. Tradition. This is why we travel.

But I decided to compete with President Putin for who could wear the most Camo. I am in two layers of it, but I forgot to put on my Camo leggings, and left my Camo backpack in America.

You know when I post photographs, they usually don’t entail the commonplace my selfie, my selfie, and my selfie, but here I am in camo about to take on Russian… wait for it… wait for it… museums.

I think the goal is to wear me down and assault me with too much Putin and uncle Joe Stalin paraphernalia.

But on a more serious note I saw this man handing out flyers warning America to stay away from Kievian Rus. I didn’t research the topic, but I’m assuming he means the US shouldn’t assist Ukraine.

There was also a young woman defiantly holding a sign with two burly police officers that appeared about to arrest her.

I didn’t know what the sign said. It was about 18” x 12”. So much for free speech.

Maybe it said something insensitive. Hurtful. Yes, Americans are fainting now.

My study of history got me thinking about how America and Russia handle their past of slavery. I don’t feel that Russia is stuck in its past. I wonder if it has any advice for Americans to explain how Russia was able to move beyond centuries of slavery instead of staying immersed in a quagmire of self-criticism like Americans.

The nearly parallel time frames of abolition are interesting. Serfdom was outlawed in 1861 and the new ruling was to be implemented by 1863. The serfs could hardly believe it and were incredulous at first.

They suffered all the indignities common to this institution popular throughout the world and time. As a serf you could be sold, stripped and beaten, forced into marriages, and transferred with the land to the next buyer.

Your job was to serve the nobility because even as a fellow Russian you were an inferior person and you belonged in slavery because that was your rightful place. Nothing new under the sun, I guess.

But there are many things more beautiful than Putin souvenirs and thoughts of slavery.

The streets were damp and slick but invigorating and refreshing. The Hermitage Museum and lovely architecture fed my spirit with beauty. Then I walked in the dark for an icy vision of the cruiser Aurora. More about these things later.

It was a remarkable day. And the Camo kept me warm as I progressed forward through icy surfaces, stepping carefully in trail running shoes, and tonight I’m thinking my country needs to move forward. It needs to stop looking back, moving back, getting stuck, slipping, and step away from its entrapment in the past of slavery and indentured servitude.

Anyway, don’t forget to place your orders soon. I recommend the president Putin nesting dolls, even in camo. But then there is always the Lenin coffee mug. Or…