Russia wrap-up

Not entirely a “wrap-up,” because if the timing works out I may still get a few more hours in Moscow today. But this is a good point to wrap up the Perm experience, which has been excellent.

Yesterday the conference was over and we did some sightseeing. They first took me to an open-air Soviet weapons museum, which they correctly guessed I would find fascinating. The two decommissioned nuclear missiles were the showcase, but some of the older equipment was fascinating to look at as well.

We also went to Khokhlovka, a hilltop near a Stalin-era hydroelectric dam/reservoir complex where (in the 1980’s) numerous old wooden village structures from the region were gathered, giving the feel of a unified Russian village from the 1700’s. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but this was a compelling open-air museum, beautifully sited.

The remainder of the evening was spent back at the bookstore, in conversation, trying to get a better sense of the philosophical landscape in Perm and elsewhere in Russia. It’s clearer to me now than it was, but still, this is not only a geographically vast country, but one with numerous different philosophical orientations. This was just a quick sampling of the available wares. But especially interesting was to learn more about some of the “non-official” dissident speculative philosophies during Soviet times.