Russian College of Heraldry Gulgowski m AIII

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A TRAVEL TO RUSSIA AND POLAND

Commodore Dr. Paul Count Gulgowski-Doliwa

Commodore the Chevalier
Prof. Dr. Paul William Margrave Gulgowski-Doliwa
GCEG, GCDA, RCST, etc.

Impressions on Traveling in Russia and Poland

by
Chev. Commodore Prof. Dr. Paul W. Margrave Gulgowski-Doliwa
GCEG, GCDA, RCST, etc.

     During our journeys through Russia and Poland, we were content with observing everyday life as it unfolded in its normal routine. My wife being my constant traveling companion, we visited museums, art galleries, cathedrals and university campuses. We deliberately did not seek out the darkest and most destitute corners of towns, nor did we look for the high glamour of the rich and extravagant. We were delighted to walk among the average population, looking at all the sites available to us, storing memories that will last us for a lifetime, as a few of our pictures and postcards may convey.

     Arriving at Moscow Sheremetyevo-2 airport, my wife and I immediately noted the fast and dynamic pace of the city, so fast a pace that we were unaccustomed to keep up with it. As a world traveler, I have personally driven in Paris, Rome, New York and Mexico City; however, right then and there, I resolved to never operate a motor-vehicle in Moscow.

     Our transportation problem was satisfactorily attended to by highly knowledgeable, college-educated tour guides and their professional, business-suit attired drivers. Intermediate travel was arranged through taxi drivers. Eventually we selected one individual in Moscow, on whom we bestowed our special trust and confidence to drive us to places the mini tour buses would not take us. This particular taxi driver was chosen, because he maintained a beautiful display of religious icons in his vehicle, with the Most Holy Mother of God occupying an elevated central spot on the dashboard of his car. How could we have gone wrong with such a good, friendly guy driving us around? He never disappointed us.

     In Moscow and St. Petersburg we were awe-struck by the elegant, beautiful and simply breathtaking architecture of the entire Czarist period of Russian history. Whatever the Bolsheviks had produced afterwards paled in comparison to the Czars' tremendous achievements, which represents, of course, also the attainment of the Russian people. A similar statement could be made about the Polish cities of Wroclaw, Katowice and Krakow. Here too, whatever was achieved by the various royal dynasties was never outdone by what followed the three partitions of Poland, starting in 1772. Who would have thought, that what connects the current Russian and Polish nations most is their past monarchist history and its applied values of spiritual thought and philosophy, as well as its artistic forms of expression.

     I can only trust that Western ladies will not take offense by the following statement. As a soldier and sailor I have visited or lived in 35 nations. However, nowhere did I encounter as many strikingly beautiful women as in Russia and Poland. Could that possibly be the reason why so many potentates and armies of the West were so frequently motivated to attack the East? I am trying to be humorous here, please stay with me. Of course, that is not the answer. It is glaringly obvious to any visitor that the natural resources, the abundant physical wealth and the skills of hard-working populations were the primary targets of the invading nations.

     Still, viewing the splendid sites of a foreign country is never the only reason for such a visit. Human beings possessing curious minds like to know more, desire to look deeper, and being politically astute are inquiring to find out, how they and the people of other nations, sometimes with opposing points of view, can live side-by-side and cooperate with one another.

     The people of Russia and Poland are, and this is apparent everywhere, deeply religious. However, in Poland more so than in Russia. In Poland, the churches cannot absorb all the people who want to attend Mass. So, they cluster around the entrances of their churches and cathedrals in a determined effort to hear the word of God. They stand on the sidewalks and remain there even during torrential rains. Russia's churches and cathedrals, I noted, are nearly 80 percent filled to capacity during Sunday worship. Many people, young as well as old, enter church to pray basically during any time of the day. In Western Europe, when churches and cathedrals show a 25-30 percent attendance rate, the clergy jumps for joy. Of course during Easter and Christmas services, we encounter a different picture, because then the houses of God are also filled up to the rear doors. Attending church at Easter and Christmas represents for the Western populations sort of a spiritual fail-safe insurance policy. Could it be, that they think this to be enough of a premium payment, allowing admittance into heaven after their spirits' departure from earth?

     By and large, the people of Poland and Russia were exceedingly generous, kind and helpful to us. In Poland we hardly saw any police officers. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, police officers could be spotted everywhere and were the least accommodating of everyone we encountered. Even when they spoke English, the only utterance the treasure of their vocabulary seemed to have possessed was the word "No."
    "Sergeant, may I snap a photograph of you in front of Lenin's tomb?"
    "No!"
    "Captain, do I have your permission to take a picture of you with the Cathedral of the Assumption as a backdrop?"
    "No!"
And that was that.

     Talking about politics, the people of Russia and Poland equally harbor deep-rooted resentments against their politicians. The Kaczynski twins in Poland inspire as little confidence as Vladimir Putin in Russia. However, the Russians appear to be more afraid of Putin than the Poles of the Kaczynskis. The fear factor about President Putin probably stems from his KGB past. Yet, everyone in Russia seems to secretly pray that his at times strong-arm methods will eventually carry the day for all of them. Needless to say, the Poles currently do not entertain such hope.

     If I may take the Germans into this equation, I feel confident in saying that the German, the Polish and the Russian people have learned more from the mistakes of their common history than their current-day political leaders. Especially in conversations with younger people, I was able to ascertain that the younger generation is eagerly looking toward the application of some adhesive substance that will glue the basic existential interests of the German, the Polish and the Russian people together for their common good. Whatever injustices Germany and Russia have visited upon Poland, the Polish youth sincerely seeks friendship with Germany and Russia to enjoy an ever increasing prosperous and reliable, peaceful future. They know only too well, that without Russia's and Germany's help and good will, this can never be accomplished. NATO with all of its military muscle, cannot alleviate their anxiety, justified or not, of Russia and Germany dividing up their homeland one more time.

     The chauffer who picked us up from St. Petersburg railroad station gestured to us that Germany and Russia had to become good friends again, as it used to be under Peter the Great and Katharine the Great. When questioned how he felt about the Polish people, he replied that the Poles had fought on Napoleon's side and for that reason, could not be entirely trusted to this very day. It seems to me, that all of us in this equation need to transcendent our historical prejudices, even though they might not have been entirely incorrect, when they were initially conceived. Interestingly enough though, our St. Petersburg driver in suggesting this, never contemplated in his mind the two German attacks on Russia, one of which included the merciless blockade of St. Petersburg, then Leningrad. Sometimes, there is just no accounting for what a person is willing to forgive and forget and what not.

     I asked our Moscow tour guide what people on the face of the earth she liked best. Americans, she replied immediately. And she said so, not because I am an American, of this I was certain. However, she utterly disliked the current American president, a sentiment echoed in other quarters of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Everybody likes America best when it stays out of their affairs, recalling the Monroe Doctrine in reverse, as this proviso also applies to the USA. Although, Poland through NATO is currently closely allied with America, most Poles instinctively know that their national security needs ultimately depend more on Russia's good intentions toward them than on America holding its nuclear umbrella over them, however welcome that feeling of protection may be at the present. Not totally unlike our St. Petersburg chauffer, our university-educated Krakow tour guide, who preferred the friendship of the United States over the friendship of Russia, has never known or has conveniently forgotten that Great Britain and the USA had sold out Poland's future after World War II to the Soviet Union during the course of the Yalta Conference. By the way, no country is limited to only a few national friendships. Concentrating on only a few of such friendships maybe convenient, but is never wise.

     Possibly the time has come for the last major military alliance to reorient itself to the threshold of the 21st century. The overall sentiment among the people I have visited and spoken to, is that confrontational alliances must be terminated and that friendship and enduring trust among the nations of the earth must absolutely be given a new and long-lasting chance. The desire to achieve this is abundantly clear everywhere. My wife and I can only hope that the politicians in their high and mighty ivory towers eventually hear the shouting of their people for peace. The governments of North Korea and Iran should not be permitted to douse this hope by gaining the upper hand in their struggle to gain domineering power, forcing other heads of state to possibly resort to pushing the red button.

     There remains one uncertainty constantly beleaguering the minds of the Russian people, and that is in what direction to face. West or East. Peter the Great knew the answer to that question. I think Vladimir Putin knows it, too. Still, do not let us forget to be kind to China. Ignoring her, her desire for advancement across the entire spectrum of human endeavors, and her security needs would be the greatest mistake any nation could make, either individually or in unison with others.

     On the large scale of immediate human concerns, internal security worries, however, seem to still outrank external security consideration. While in Russia, our escorts were fearful of us being kidnapped for ransom, even while being inside the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, where we admired its awesome and precious biblical mosaics. On the other hand, our Polish friends constantly worried about our rental car being stolen from us.

     One can justifiably say, the peoples of Russia and Poland are hard-working. It can very likely be that Russians work harder than Poles. The visible overall progress these countries have to offer after the end of communism supports this suggestion. Looking at the other side of the coin, Poles show a happier disposition, while Russians, at times, seem deeply depressed about something. Marriages, on the average, endure longer in Poland, so we read. One of our lady tour guides in Moscow indicated, that she now was married to husband No. 4 and not expecting this arrangement to last much longer. Based on this information, it is probably safe to think, that happiness built on marital bliss is easier to achieve in Poland than in Russia. Needless to say, we mention this assumption not entirely without hesitation and reservation.

     I know this to be a not too well-balanced report, but then again, my wife and I have spent only three weeks in each country. Obviously, we have to go back and visit them many more times to gain greater insight. May the reader please remember, the words in this travel account constitute impressions and not ultimate poured-in-concrete judgments. Beyond that, even though it may appear that we have compared Poland with Russia or vice versa, nothing could be further from our intentions. How could anyone dare to attempt this, given their vast differences along the lines of many issues. Nevertheless, some similarities do exist, and one does well to recognize them.

The Coat of Arms of Chev. Commodore Prof. Dr. Paul William Margrave Gulgowski-Doliwa
can be seen HERE

The Coat of Arms of Chev. Captain Paul William Margrave Gulgowski-Doliwa II
can be seen HERE

One Very Necessary Addition
April 2011

RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT

VLADIMIR VLADIMIROVICH PUTIN

ENJOYS MY FULLEST RESPECT AND CONFIDENCE

     In retrospect, my statement about now former President Vladimir Putin, next to the photograph depicting five exceedingly well-trained and disciplined looking Russian Army Soldiers with red guide flags attached to their rifles, requires a serious revision.
     Having looked at the current Prime Minister of the Russian Federation through the objective eyes of a world-savvy historian, I have arrived at the conclusion that America's reservations regarding Vladimir Putin are only to a very small extent related to his past career as a KGB Foreign Intelligence Officer. Much more so, Americans do not favor him to serve more than two terms as Russian Federation President.
     In my judgment, this is a very strange and totally illogical opinion to hold on to, especially in view of the fact that American Presidents always possessed the Constitutional right and privilege to serve more than two terms in office, even though, following President George Washington's example, they privately elected not to do so until the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was elected four times to America's highest national office. This was proper and right, because no one else could have achieved the giant milestones for his country such as conquering the Great Depression, giving us Social Security and contributing in a major way to defeating Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan during World War II, no small feat by any standard.
     After the untimely death of the Great Franklin Delano Roosevelt shortly prior to the victorious conclusion of the most deadly war this world has ever witnessed, Amendment 22 was added to the Constitution of the United States of America, legally limiting the presidential terms to two. It is my gut-reaction type feeling, that this change to our Constitution was rammed through this Nation's various Legislatures by a bunch of mediocre minds, who, out of self-pity, just could not stand being once again eclipsed by a truly great achiever.
     On the state level in the U.S.A., Governor Tommy Thompson has served four terms as the Chief Executive of the Midwestern, beautiful Dairy State Wisconsin, extensively contributing over his sixteen years in office to the wellbeing, financial security and personal happiness of Wisconsinites. Now, after the distasteful debacle with the current Governor, Tommy Thompson is painfully missed.
     Looking at this historical phenomenon from a higher plateau, great national deeds absolutely demand great men/women to achieve them, and they, in turn, require naturally a longer period of time to accomplish them.
     A few additional cases-in-point in no particular national order may be: Pericles, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Charles V, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great, Queen Victoria, Otto von Bismarck, Carl Gustaf von Mannerheim, Charles de Gaulle and the Great Pope John Paul II, just to drive this point home.
     Returning our readers' attention to Vladimir Putin: Absolutely no one can say that he has not been a great charismatic leader of Russia, achieving myriad things for his nation, where others before him had not done too well. His personal honor, integrity and devotion to duty have always been beyond reproach. His academic and personal intelligence is certainly miles ahead of his many international contemporaries, and his physical fitness can serve as an example for the old Greek proverb that "only a healthy body can provide a home to a capable mind."

     Consequently, we can quite safely conclude that KGB Colonel Putin never had to resort to brute physical force to achieve his duty assignment's objectives, because great minds have most assuredly no need to stoop that low, and, as a matter of recorded fact, despise such immoral/unethical action.
     Concluding this short discourse, I, Professor Dr. Paul W. Margrave Gulgowski, Chief of the Princely/Ducal House of Gulgowski-Doliwa, wish Prime Minister Vladimir Putin many more terms of office as President of his mighty and wonderful nation, not necessarily for his own edification (he does not need that, knowing full well who he is) but for the greater good of Mother Russia and her diligently and hard-working people such as our highly esteemed and much appreciated St. Andrew's Herald Master and President of the Russian College of Heraldry (RCH), Commander Valery Yegorov, Master Mariner (Retired). This praise definitely also includes his lovely and most industrious and talented wife Natalie Yegorova, who serves as the RCH Principle Artist of Heraldry.

The World Leaders' Approval Ratings as per 2008

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