Thursday, March 17, 2011

A Sea of Soldiers...

Ever been walking down the street and got the sense that someone was right behind you?  Then turned around to find hundreds of Russian soldiers engulfing you on the street?  A British friend and I were exploring Red Square and the surrounding area.  As we looked over our shoulders - this is what we saw...



and over the railing...  



There is a slight undercurrent of an authoritative presence in Moscow. I come from a military family and have been around soldiers all my life but this experience caused me to give pause....for a split second. Unexpected, the image of a sea of soldiers was a bit daunting...until we realized - these young guys were fairly relaxed and quite human.




Found the officer’s hat in this photo fascinating - so very Russian.


Noticed 3 stars on the lapel of what appears to be a Naval officer in this photo...


These uniforms have such a “throw back” feeling - as if these soldiers just stepped out of war time.  Young men (ages 18 - 27) are brought into the Army via conscription (draft) in Russia in two call-ups each year.  Their term of service is 12 months then remain in the reserves. The Russian Army, 1 million strong, is the third largest behind China and the U.S.