Primary day

Everytime you go to vote it's a little democratic adventure, especially when it happens in an unlikely place. Today the Russian chapter of the "Democrats Abroad" held their primary, giving me a chance to drop a ballot in this year's fierce race. There are 22 delegates up for grabs to be decided by Democrats living outside the U.S., and we'll know the results sometime midweek. Here are some pics...



First a word about getting out an about in Moscow: there are always adventures. The nearest Metro stop to the polls was at Paveletsky Station, which has you can see is undergoing a major round of renovations. Specifically, this interesting train station used to have a big public square in front of it, which is now a vast construction sight. The current thinking in central Moscow is that empty space is useless space. So they are putting up a mall, because you can never have too many places for bored New Russian housewives and mistresses to buy shiny baubles and whatnot. We've been promised that the new mall will somehow reflect the train station's design -- which judging from this awful, recently built clocktower on the right, is almost certain to be yet another architectural catastrophe.

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The view looking up Kozhyevnichyeskaya Ultisa from the station.

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A view of the Vodootvodny Canal

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"Business centers" in Moscow have a lot of things in common: soulless, cookie-cutter modern architecture that appeals solely to 'biznesmen' who grew up in soulless, cookie-cutter Soviet architecture; lots of entrances, car-parks, and gated courtyards; and a battalion of security guards to give former security service personnel something to do with their day.

So I admit I was unsure about finding the place, let alonw what hassles would await to get inside. Turns out I needn't have worried: Russian media interest in the primary and American politics in general has been very high. So I knew when I saw the satellite trucks that I'd found the place.

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Ballot box, Moscow-style.

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You never really get far from the past in Moscow. A detail of the decorative plates atop the columns in the Paveletskaya metro station as I was heading home.