Russia, 2014

Hotel Kyznetskiyi Inn, Moscow – [name] and I arrived in Moscow yesterday and were met at the airport and delivered to our hotel by our host for the next few days, [name]. After checking in, we discovered a charming vegetarian café – apparently the first/only in the city – where we enjoyed a hearty meal and delicious sweets (both rather more inspired by India than Russia). Our rather stylish hotel, which is decked in marble, furnished with gilded chairs and swathed in theatrical drapes, is unfortunately also located right next to a nightclub. Needless to say, it was ‘all about that bass’ and we were kept awake by a dull throbbing soundtrack until the early hours.

Today, we had a sumptuous architectural & cultural eye-feast at the Kremlin, Cathedral Square, Lenin’s tomb and the Pushkin gallery. At 10 am, somewhat bleary eyed from the 3-hour time difference with London, not to mention a general lack of sleep, we were met by [name] at the hotel and set off on foot to see the Kremlin. It is a vast complex and it is hard not to be impressed by the cathedrals with their scalloped roofs, bell towers and golden domes (or in the case of Saint Basil’s Cathedral, its smartie-box coloured turrets looking like something out of a fantasy candy-world).

We stopped at the local, exclusive shopping centre and I had a hot chocolate, which, I must add, was like melted chocolate with no more than a drop of milk, so thick and rich it was. Then we walked the 3 km or so to the Pushkin Museum and Gallery, and discovered that not only did it have nothing on Pushkin, it had no Russian art either. So we whisked around the Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian display halls and paused briefly in the European section to admire some beautiful Rembrandt portraits (of an old man and an old woman).

[Name] then took her leave and we had a scrumptious late lunch at The Academy restaurant – cream of broccoli soup and spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and basil for me. I then had a quick peek in the adjacent cathedral (spectacular, yet a bit same-old same-old), after which we strolled back to the hotel, as the setting sun turned golden turrets brilliant and factory smoke pink against the fading sky.

Another sleep-deprived night of bass-beat torture. In the morning, we were met by [name], who I have only previously met virtually as Russia’s contributor to The World Guide to CSR. In fact, it was [name] who recommended me as a keynote speaker for tomorrow’s conference. After a coffee, we took the subway (which seems perfectly efficient, albeit rather noisy) to visit the art gallery of Zurab Tsereteli.

I kept shaking my head in awe at the volume of work, the audacity of ambition and the incredible diversity of styles, themes and subjects. He is a true artist – a creative spirit who could express himself in virtually any medium, should he choose to do so. Afterwards, we travelled to the Venetsia restaurant for an excellent lunch, before returning to the hotel (and a quieter room, we hope).

En route Moscow to London. A misty, frosty morning (-8 degrees C) as we leave Moscow behind on a delayed flight home. Yesterday’s conference was more typical of an academic colloquium than a commercial seminar, with an over-packed agenda, much pontificating and little real discussion or audience participation. It presented a mixed picture of the state of CSR in Russia, with some clearly stuck in philanthropy mode and others excited about social enterprise.