Izhevsk

A city of perhaps 500,000 located about a 3 hour drive to the north of Nizhnekamsk, home to the Kalashnikov munitions factory and a few other military-related industries. This city would have been - and was - closed to westerners in the Soviet times. Eight of us took a van and toured the Kalashnikov museum and tried out the shooting range in the basement (first rifle I'd shot since I was a kid). The city was otherwise interesting with its soviet architecture and theaters. This was no longer in Tatarstan but in Uudmert - people of Finnish descent.

The drive to Ishevsk

First to Chelny to cross the Kama river and head north. Through birch forests, looks like Alaska driving through these. Many cars are stopped alongside the road, out to gather mushrooms. I remember a bicycle ride I took with my cousins in North Germany. They had to stop along the way to gather mushrooms. Apparently a traditional Russian thing to do.

Now out of the forests into the rolling hills and farmlands. I've been on this trip many times. In eastern Nebraska, Ohio, Indiana, many places in the U.S. Wheat fields, mile upon mile of planted rows of pine trees for windbreaks. Many of our American farmers came from here, why shouldn't they do the same things in the states that they did here?

This road is sooo bouncy, no shocks in this van, will my spleen survive this? A two lane strip of asphalt with no shoulder, right through the villages. There are traditional log houses with their white window frames of ornamental carved wood. Women are carrying water from the wells.

Finally back into the forests, now crossing into Uudmert from Tatarstan. More fir and pine trees now, fewer birch trees.

On the way back, we take the main highway. No villages, but this is still not exactly the autobahn. Two lanes, pot holes. We stop at the truck stop gastinista (hotel) for the driver to eat. It's Ramadan, he is muslim, and it's sunset. He hasn't eaten all day and must break his fast. The truck stop is clean and lively. I wouldn't want to be a trucker here though. Imagine going cross-country in this huge place with 10 time zones. It would take weeks.

Spasskaya Fair

Once more in Elabuga. Like a county fair, with folk singers, craft booths, carnival games, pony and camel rides for the kids. Our client was kind enough to supply a bus.

Isn't this the coolest picture ever? Double-click on it for a neat close-up

More Spasskaya Fair

Sawadee kap!

Thai food at Somsong's. I think four Thai's on this project. These folks go back to my days in Thailand. They like to cook, and we love to eat. All the ingredients you can get locally except the peppers, which they bring from home. We even had Tom Yam Gung.

An Evening at the Berloga

The Berloga is one of the nicer restaurants in town. It was Saturday, the next day being a Russian (seudo) holiday called "Construction Day". One of our cost engineers, Olga, suggested we get together as a group and have a small celebration. She knew where we could rent a private room on the third floor of this restaurant where we could sit and eat, with a pool table and a karaoke setup. Olga, coincidentally, had married a Russian man, lived for years near San Jose, California and has been with Fluor for five years. She speaks fluent Russian and English.

I asked Katherine to see if she could set it up. She sent out the invitations, I reminded everyone to try and be there.

About 12 of the Project Controls group showed up and we had a wonderful time. The Karaoke was most fun, with Olga singing Russian songs, the balance provided mostly by myself and Bobby, who used to sing and play guitar in the honkeytonks in Southern Mississippi. I started off with Moon River, which brought a good round of applause, later Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens, a few others I don't recall now, then a duet with Bobby of For the Good Times by Ray Price, a duet with Olga of Midnight in Moscow (in Russian of course). Great fun that one was, I must get the lyrics so I can sing it again. My final rendition of Love Me Tender by Elvis was deemed "the best of the night."

It was a great team building event. We had a few toasts, and decided this was something we should do on a regular basis.

Nizhnekamsk On The Map

The Water Services

The water services are a bit different here. We are used to having water coming from the treatment plant underground then heating it in our water heaters for cooking, washing and bathing. I believe the cold water still comes the same way, but the hot water is heated at the central heating stations, then distributed above ground to the individual apartments. No water heaters. This creates a few problems we don't normally see in the states. First of all, the lines need to be insulated. People step and children sometimes play on them, tearing up the metal cladding and the insulation below, so it is in constant need of repair. The lines themselves corrode, so regular system shutdowns are needed for repairs. Each summer, people should expect several stretches of up to two weeks without hot water. We had one stretch at the hotel I stayed in. When we see a small plastic tub and a ladle setting in our bathtubs, we know its time for the 'ole sponge bath, where we heat our own water in the electric water pots provided.

Secondly, since the pipes are subject to corrosion from the hot water/steam mixture, the water coming from the hot water faucet is inevitably filled with rust. Running the bath water for about 15 minutes cleans the majority, but not all, of this.

At the Mendeleeva apartments, Fluor has done a great thing, putting a small water heater into our bathrooms. Yes, we are the privileged class.

Where People Live

99% of the population in the city lives in apartment buildings consisting of pre-cast modular concrete construction. There are primarily three classifications: Five stories means built during the Stalin era, now quite decrepit. Kruschev expanded their horizons and offered a seven story variety. Modern buildings are stretching to nine stories, and have added curved balconies and tinted glass. Those are for the elite. I live in one of those. Buildings can stretch for a mile with thousands of residents. Sometimes they are painted different colors or with murals (mine has sunflowers - the logo of the Tatarstan Oil Company), but for the most part they are all very much alike. No effort is made to hide plumbing, and electrical is often surface mounted, with a dearth of electrical outlets. Hallways are not lit - no need to waste electricity. The city was planned around major thoroughfares spaced widely apart, the apartments placed between them. There is usually no parking at the buildings themselves since, until recently, people did not own cars. The trolley and bus system is adequate. People walk from their apartments to the trolley or bus stop with plastic bags laden with groceries. For those who now own cars, there are parking lots sometimes adjacent or sometimes a few blocks away. Between the apartments exists a labyrinth of walkways, grassy areas (actually "weedy" areas) and rusted playgrounds for the kids. On a summer evening the pathways are filled with young couples pushing baby strollers, babushkas gossiping, and shoppers returning from the market.

A feature we don't see in the states is the floor lady, well actually only one for the building. She is responsible for keeping the entryways clean, maintains the flower garden in front of the building, arranges housekeeping or maintenance services if needed, and keeps out the rif-raf. They work in shifts and are there 24/7. At this complex they provide the added benefit of keeping an eye on the residents and reporting them when they come in too late. The client has a complete record of comings and goings on each of us. If anyone comes in after midnight, they automatically qualify for "the list". Questions have been asked as to how us ex-pats can be productive at work if we are out until midnight. So far no expulsions have occurred, but we know we are being watched.

The Workers

The workers here get paid when their management wants to pay them. Seems to be common in Russia. If they stop working, they are out of a job. So they just keep working until someone takes pity on them and pays their salaries.

Meeting at the project. Not really a meeting, more like a communist Duma assembly. Seven guys sit in front with television monitors, facing the audience sitting in theater seats. The major players make their presentations in Powerpoint on a big flatscreen, followed by tough questions and discussions. Mainly questions like "are you on schedule", "why not", "will you finish on time". The answers are always yes, no one admits failure here until just before the execution. This time the question was "who here is not paying their workers". A few embarrassed hands went up. Its been a known fact for some time. The way contracts are awarded here is to award a month's worth of work, after which the contractor calculates how much material he needs, then submits a request for advanced payment. When the month is over, he applies for payment for actual work performed, using Russian Standard prices. The advance is taken and who knows where it goes. Not to the workers, and apparently not to the suppliers. Someone's getting the money. Who? Anyway, this time the client threatened to call the media if these workers weren't paid "today". So that night the grocery store next to our apartment was packed beyond belief. The workers finally got paid.