Replies

Down in the Kuban, somewhat close to the Black Sea. You're absolutely correct in your understanding - it's quite a different way of life than I'm used to seeing here in the West, but it was truly a pleasant experience. :)

My first trip to Russia was in 2000, and I was shocked. This was not the communist country I had heard so much negativity about. My best friend is a UMC pastor, who spent a couple of years in Moscow during the later eighties, and now returns almost yearly to teach in a seminary. I asked him about Russia being communist, and he laughed. He said, "Gary, things have changed radically since I attended school there in the eighties. Russia is not communist." Now, you cannot tell that to the Russianphobes on Free Republic. They are determined to have their conspiracies.

We have an apartment in Volgograd, and every time I return I see major improvements. My last trip was in November and December of 2003, and I was stunned at the number of large new warehouses around Moscow. That told me the economy was booming. I checked, and it had been clipping along at 7%, and so I looked for a mutual fund which targets Russia, and invested in it. I was not disappointed.