Bet you’ve never heard that one or how about Khabarovsk or Bust? Yep, I’m talking about the two largest cities located in the Russian Far East.

I just finished a book, “The Other Side of Russia”, and my eyes have not only opened but crossed. The non-fiction narrative is the account of an American couple, husband/wife, Tom and Sharon Hudgins, who went to Russia in early 1993 to teach in Siberia and the Russian Far East.

It was shortly after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the two were among the first Americans to live and work in the Asian part of Russia. The couple worked out of Maryland University but they soon found Maryland was only a distant memory.

Prior to reading the book, I suppose my best comprehension of Russia could be found in Doctor Zhivago (movie and book), or President Reagan, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” But there is more, much more and I only know a bit.

But after reading the Hudgins’ book, I am astounded, more than that, I am shocked.

Vladivostok is a city of 600,000 located on the Pacific Ocean and reached from Moscow by the Trans-Siberian Railway within eight days. Khabarovsk has a population around 577,000 and consists of a six day trip from Moscow. Again the main mode of transportation is the railroad. The two cities are considered “top-shelf” Russian Far Eastern lifestyle.

Back to the Americans, in early 1993 their first teaching assignment was in Vladivostok. She said, “… we arrived to a dilapidated nine story building that would have been considered a slum in America.”

The place was used for dormitories and home for faculty. She and her husband hauled their many boxes up two flights of dirty stairs to their one room (measured 10 by 15 feet) which was their first home in Russia.

A later teaching assignment for the couple was Khabarovsk where they arrived via the Trans-Siberian Railroad across a 1.5 mile bridge, which crossed the frozen Amur River and there again when they arrived in Khabarovsk, the couple found living conditions deplorable.

But I must remind that the time was 1993. Is it better now? I don’t know but I’m hopeful. Tom and Sharon Hudgins finished their assignment and returned to America in December, 1994, perhaps older but definitely wiser.

The above describes city-life in the Russian Far East. Now we’ll take a peek into rural life.

Recently I tuned into a documentary on Netflix. There was a traveling salesman in rural Russia. He reminded me of the ones my paw paw told me about who traveled Newton County in the 1940s but this documentary was current time in Russia. The salesman’s old, beat-up truck was loaded with clothing items, pots and pans, cloth for sewing and always one special item – a bubble maker.

He was an enterprising salesman after all, because the bubbles called the kids from near and far as well as their parents and grandparents. But the most surprising and perhaps saddest part is the currency was only potatoes, not even cash.

It was a potato-growing community. The land was flat and rich. As the farmers arrived, the salesman immediately asked. “Are your potatoes large or small this year?” Then the shopping began.

One lady grabbed a brightly colored shawl and asked. “How much?” She was given the price and returned with a large sack of potatoes, which the salesman weighed and the lady walked away with a big smile knowing she had a beautiful shawl to wear to church on Sunday.

And so it went, item after item sold, and the salesman left with his truck loaded with potatoes. The next scene was a big market place located many miles from the potato fields, where he sold the potatoes. Next the salesman is shown shopping in a dirty space which served as a shopping center. He filled his truck with items for his next trip out.

It was really sad that in today’s world, a rural community in Russia is so limited for their needs but at the same time, if the potato crop is abundant, the people know the salesman will come. And as well the living accommodations in the city offered American college instructors were so primitive. They should have been an embarrassment to the Russian officials, but probably not. I mean was this the best available?

There is so much more in the book and it is a must-read. It can be ordered online.

I have researched and written all of this to say:

To: The Americans who hate our wonderful country

Become proficient potato-growers and, y’all, we’ll wave you goodbye and wish a happy long, long, long trip on the train, where the potty is a hole in the floor.

Anne McKee is a proud, native Meridianite and Mississippi historian. She is the author of “Remembering Mississippi” and “Historic Photos of Mississippi.” Anne is primarily known as a Mississippi Storyteller and as well the Director of Rose Hill Cemetery Costumed Tour. See her website: www.annemckeestoryteller.com