Across Russia: A world of its own

As campaigning started for the parliamentary elections in Russia, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg journeyed across the country to discover what changes it has undergone in the last 15 years.

Exploring Russia diary :: 25 November, Vladivostok

There are good hotels, there are bad hotels and then there's the Hotel Vladivostok. I'm not saying my stay here hasn't been comfortable.

Admittedly there were a few problems with the hotel water when we first arrived - there wasn't any at all in the taps - but it did eventually come back on.

The journey included dancing with babushkas

Sure, we kept getting midnight phone calls from ladies asking "Do you want nice sex woman?" - We didn't.

Oh, and have I mentioned the cockroaches scurrying around my bathroom? They weren't that big and hairy though.

On the plus side, security in the Hotel Vladivostok was second to none. Even I couldn't get into my own hotel room and I had a key.

On my final evening in the city, when I tried to open the door, the key got stuck in the lock. "Don't worry," said the floor attendant, "I'll call the plumber".

I had visions of a man with a rubber plunger trying to break into my room.

Cracking Russia

The plumber turned up. Instead of a plunger, he had a giant toolbox. Then another plumber arrived. Together they fiddled with the lock for 15 minutes. Then out came the heavy artillery - a hammer and a crowbar - and after a few whacks they finally managed to break the lock and force open the door.

"I'm very sorry," said the floor attendant, slightly embarrassed. "But after all, these locks are made in China."

Map of Steve's route Your questions answered

But the incident with the door hasn't spoilt my trip. Travelling across Russia from Moscow to Vladivostok had been a fantastic experience.

It's one I've shared with two wonderful colleagues: Producer, Alan Quartly and cameraman, John Landy. Together we've experienced the very best in Russian hospitality and the very worst in Russian bureaucracy.

We've danced with singing babushkas; we've drunk tea with lumberjacks; we've taken the train to deepest Siberia and sailed on a ferry out into the Pacific Ocean.

And what have I learnt about this vast land which is covered in such a cloak of mystery? Have I succeeded in cracking Russia's code? If Russia's the question, what's the answer? Beats me.

Nearly 150 years ago, the poet Fyodor Tyutchev had this to say: "Russia cannot be understood with the mind. It cannot be measured by a common rule. It has its own special pride. The only thing you can do with Russia is to believe in her."

Unanswered questions

My journey across Russia has proved to me that a century and a half on, very little has changed. There are still so many things I just cannot understand about this country - things which seem completely illogical.

Why in a country blessed with so many natural resources, like oil, gold and diamonds, are so many people living below the poverty line?

Russia is rich in natural resources but suffers infrastructure problems

How can it be that in a country which suffered so much at the hands of Joseph Stalin, there are still so many here that crave an iron hand?

Why is it that in a country which still likes to think of itself as a superpower, there are rusting water pipes, crumbling power stations and pot-holed roads?

Why do so many people have so many problems but no-one goes onto the street to complain and no-one seems to blame the man at the top - the Russian president?

So often on this journey, I've heard people blame local officials for their woes or the president's "bad advisers". No wonder Vladimir Putin's been dubbed the "Teflon president".

Many people appear to trust President Putin

Tyutchev was right - Russia cannot be measured by a common rule. This country doesn't fit conveniently into any hole marked "western democracy".

It's not like America, France or Switzerland. Russia is different. It spans two continents, 10 time-zones. Its culture's different, its history's different and its people are different.

However tough life gets, however much people may criticise their government or their parliament, they still appear to trust their president, just like they used to put their faith in the Tsar and they still hope that some day, somehow, their lives will get better.

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: 20-25 November

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