Exploring Russia diary :: 23 November, Vladivostok

One of the things I've enjoyed most about my trip across Russia has been the chance to look through the local newspapers. I've learnt all kinds of amazing things.

This week's top story is one about an eagle with two heads which was spotted flying over a Russian village. There was no photo of the beast. But the paper which broke the story quoted a number of villagers as saying they had really seen it.

Vladivostok looks eastwards

Whether or not you believe in bi-headed birds of prey, it's a tale which is bound to get Russians talking.

You see the double-headed eagle is this country's national symbol. And there couldn't be a more appropriate one.

For centuries, Russia has been looking in two directions - to the West and to the East - and struggling to decide which way to fly.

Chinese traders

Vladimir Putin likes to talk of Russia as an integral part of the West. He obviously doesn't make it to Vladivostok too often.

This part of Russia only has eyes for the East.

Map of Steve's route Your questions answered

Japan, China and North Korea are just across the water. Moscow is a long, long way away.

Most of the cars on the road are right-hand drives imported from Japan.

Russian-produced cars, like Ladas, are almost as rare here as eagles with two heads.

At the local market, Chinese traders tussle for space with the locals. We even found some North Korean labourers beavering away on a building site.

We were told they were here illegally. As soon as we went up to try to talk to them, they scuttled away, too terrified to chat.

Forgotten by Moscow

One of the best ways to feel just how big the difference in the distance is between Moscow and Vladivostok is to hop on a ferry and sail out into the Pacific Ocean.

The ferry I got on was called "The Storm" - happily named because by the time we set sail it was blowing a gale.

Leonid says people are nostalgic for the past

The Storm's captain was a man called Leonid. He was a seasoned shipman, storms didn't battle him. He had spent the last 40 years sailing around the world.

Over that time, Leonid had lost most of his teeth. He had so many gold fillings, whenever he smiled, it looked like "Fort Knox" staring back at you.

"We are a long way from Moscow," Leonid chuckled with his 21-carat smile. "And Moscow has forgotten all about us."

As we sailed out of the port and into the ocean, we passed fishing trawlers, merchant ships and naval boats.

Power cuts

Then Captain Leonid began telling me about how tough life was in Vladivostok.

He told me about the water crisis. He had had no hot water at home for a month. Other people in the city had no water at all.

Sometimes, Leonid said, heating and electricity went off too.

Few people in Vladivostok are expected to vote in the election

"People here are so nostalgic for the past," he added. It was clear Leonid was. Next to the window he had put bronze statutes - one of Karl Marx and the other of Lenin. They were looking out to sea.

I asked Leonid about next month's parliamentary elections. Were people in Vladivostok interested? Would they be voting?

Maybe 20% of the population would, he replied, but most of the electorate would be staying at home.

"We've lost our faith in democracy," he explained. "It's the people in power who will decide who gets elected not the ordinary people."

It's an opinion I've heard so often since leaving Moscow.

But if life is so tough, I asked, why don't people go onto the streets and demand action, demand change?

Leonid gave another of his sparkling smiles. "Because Russians have so much patience," he replied.

Then he turned away and steered us back to the port.

1. Leave Moscow: 9 November 2. Yekaterinburg: 10 November 3. Omsk: 11-13 November 4. Novosibirsk: 14-15 November 5. Krasnoyarsk: 16 November 6. Irkutsk: 16-19 November 7. Vladivostok: 20-24 November