A printed card or sheet listing Seth Baker's mailing address and contact details while based in Leningrad: care of Professor Ilya Kruzhkov at Leningrad State Technical University, with telephone, fax, and telex numbers.
contact informationmailing address
February 3, 1991 · Brochure
USPS International Mail Manual — Country Conditions for Mailing to the USSR
Five photocopied pages from the U.S. Postal Service International Mail Manual (Issue 9, dated 2-3-91) covering mailing conditions to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: prohibitions, restrictions and admissible quantities, postage rate tables, special services, an English-French glossary of typical items for customs declarations, and Express Mail International Service details.
international mailUSSR postal regulations
September 1991 · Brochure
RUSSIA: Land of the Czars — East-West Tours 11-Day Moscow & St. Petersburg Brochure
A printed tri-fold tour brochure from East-West Tours and Travel Consulting, Inc. (New York) advertising an 11-day/10-night package to Moscow and St. Petersburg. It lists tour-price inclusions, booking/visa/deposit terms, a responsibility note, and a full day-by-day itinerary (Day one through Day eleven). No handwriting; this is ephemera Seth collected or received during his time in the USSR/Russia.
tourismtravel brochure
Postcard from St. Petersburg: "This world is so confusing"
A picture postcard of Architect Rossi Street in wintry Leningrad/St. Petersburg, sent by Seth Baker to his parents on Sept 20, 1991. He apologizes for not yet writing a proper letter, saying the world there is too confusing to get his thoughts straight, and notes he is too lazy to change his return address since the old Soviet/Leningrad signs are still up.
writing homehomesickness
Postcard of Leningrad: the special grey of St. Petersburg
Seth sends his parents a picture postcard showing St. Isaac's Cathedral over the Neva, chosen because it captures the misty grey skies he has come to love. He notes the card was mailed two blocks from the cathedral, defends the city's overcast charm, and remarks that the clouds keep the city warm in winter as the cold sets in.
weather and climateLeningrad/St. Petersburg cityscape
Greetings from Estonia (Constitution Day weekend, Haapsalu)
Seth sends a postcard from Estonia where he is spending a 3-day weekend for the USSR's 'Constitution Day', noting it is probably the last time the holiday will be celebrated. He admires the Baltic coast, compares Estonia to neighboring Finland, and says he prefers Tallinn to Leningrad because it is smaller and easier to navigate.
Soviet Constitution DayEstonia travel
October 7, 1991 · Postcard
Postcard to Mom & Dad - Alexandrinsky Theatre & Catherine II Monument, Leningrad (Oct 7, 1991)
Seth writes to his parents Don and Jan Baker from Leningrad on Oct 7, 1991. He reacts with surprise to news of their trip to New Zealand, urges them to consider visiting the Soviet Union, and rhapsodizes about the beauty of Leningrad and the Baltics, the genuine antiquity of European architecture and art, and the palaces and royal estates.
travel encouragementEuropean vs American antiquity
October 8, 1991 · Postcard
St. Petersburg, the 'Venice of the North' — collecting currency
A handwritten postcard from Seth Baker in Leningrad/St. Petersburg to his parents Don and Jan Baker in Bloomfield, CT, telling his mother about his hobby of collecting currency from every country he visits — noting it is all Rubles since the former Soviet states still use the central money supply — plus an Estonian interwar-period coin, and describing St. Petersburg as the 'Venice of the North,' built on 44 islands linked by bridges.
currency collectingpost-Soviet economy
Picture postcard of St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin clock tower lit at night on Red Square, Moscow. Seth writes to his parents Don & Jan Baker, identifying the landmarks in the photo and announcing this is the first in a series of three postcards describing his Moscow experience.
Moscow sightseeingRed Square landmarks
Seth writes from Moscow (Oct 25) describing arriving sick with the flu after a stuffy night train, hotel troubles, a luggage-laden bus tour in the snow, and his miserable first impression of the city — which then improves as he eats at McDonald's and Pizza Hut, walks Red Square, and sees St. Basil's, the Kremlin, and Lenin's body.
arrival in Moscowbeing sick while traveling
Seth writes to his grandparents Joyce & Charles Garrod in Zephyrhills, Florida from Moscow, describing a couple of days exploring the city, seeing Lenin's tomb and Red Square at night, and contrasting the snow in Russia with the warmer Florida weather.
Moscow sightseeingLenin's Mausoleum
November 1991 · Letter
Another Letter from Siberia: The Boy Jean at Lake Baikal
Seth writes to his parents from a hotel high above Lake Baikal, recounting his friendship with a Russian boy (~age 8, whose name he renders 'Jean'/'Shena') who keeps gifting him cherished pins, a key chain from Petrodvorets, Tsarist banknotes, and hand-painted wooden spoons. He reflects on Russian gift-giving culture, the family on holiday, a taxi-driver conversation about the Hartford Whalers, and his frustrations learning Russian, before flying back to Leningrad.
Russian gift-giving culturebefriending a Russian family
November 1991 · Letter
Letter from deep in Siberia: Irkutsk & Lake Baikal
Seth writes to his parents from a hotel overlooking the Angara River in Siberia, describing his flight on Aeroflot with friend Brian and a man named Vitaly, the Intourist hotel in Irkutsk, the famous Hotel Baikal by Lake Baikal, a long cold walk to the village of Listvyanka, a generous Russian family next door, and his reflections on the 'two extremes' of Russian life. He closes with travel plans (Latvia, Lithuania, Yalta) and a packing wish-list.
Siberia travelLake Baikal
travel plansLithuania
Irkutsk — view from the Intourist hotel on the Angara
A picture postcard of Irkutsk showing Yu. A. Gagarin Boulevard from the Angara River. Seth writes to Mom & Dad that this card depicts the Intourist hotel where he spent his first night in Irkutsk; he was on the 4th floor with a beautiful view of the Angara and the snow-covered park. He notes the hydrofoil in the photo is out of service due to the icy climate, and signs off 'Siberia is great this time of year!'
Siberia travelIntourist hotels
gratitudefamily
Postcard from Irkutsk / Lake Baikal, Siberia to Grandma & Grandpa Garrod
Seth writes to his grandparents Joyce and Charles Garrod in Zephyrhills, FL, from Irkutsk during a holiday break from school. He took an 8-hour flight to Lake Baikal, Siberia, describing the snow, the icy blue water, hazy mountains, and frigid temperatures, and says he is having a great time and finds the country fascinating.
travelSiberia
A picture postcard of Lake Baikal (captioned Irkutsk) on which Seth lists facts about the lake — 400 miles long, more than a mile deep, holding one fifth of the world's fresh water and the world's oldest lake — and gushes that it is wonderful, crisp and beautiful. Mailed to his parents Don & Jan Baker in Bloomfield, CT.
Lake Baikalgeography
A November 1991 picture postcard from Seth Baker to his sister Rachel, sent from Irkutsk in Siberia. Seth describes the cold, fur hats, and his plans to spend a few more days enjoying the scenery of Lake Baikal before returning to school, and asks how Rachel's classes at Loomis are going.
travel in Siberiacold weather
Seth writes to his sister Jessica from Irkutsk, Siberia, describing the extreme cold (-10 below 0 and snowing, with 2 feet of snow in November), being near one of the world's largest lakes (Lake Baikal), and joking that the New Kids on the Block and Michael Jackson are still popular in Russia.
Siberia travelextreme cold
Postcard from Lake Baikal: "the most beautiful place I have ever seen"
Seth writes to his parents Don and Jan Baker from his trip to Lake Baikal near Irkutsk, describing the lake's unique wildlife (1200+ species, seals), its extreme winter (freezing to 2-3 feet thick at -50C), and the storms and waves. He calls it the most beautiful place he has ever seen, watching the sunset over the lake from his hilltop hotel balcony.
Lake BaikalSiberia travel
Seth writes from Leningrad on Nov 17th asking his parents to mail $7.50 to the Ashford, CT postmaster for his PO Box 72 (due Dec 1st), and mentions AIFS is blocking his attempts to change his plane ticket through Finnair in New York.
travel logisticsplane ticket changes
Postcard: The truth about Russian "going verbs" (Bilibin "White Duck")
Seth writes to his parents from Leningrad at 3 AM on Nov 20, 1991, lamenting the dizzying complexity of Russian verbs of motion and joking that they justify his extra semester. The card is a reproduction of Ivan Bilibin's 1902 illustration for the folk tale 'The White Duck'.
Russian language studyverbs of motion
Postcard from Seth to Jessica: Russian fairy tale, hamster Houdini, and 3 o'clock darkness
Seth writes from St. Petersburg to his sister Jessica on a Bilibin fairy-tale postcard, asking about high school, telling her about his escape-artist Russian dwarf hamster named Vassenka, and noting it gets dark at about 3 o'clock.
family correspondencepet hamster
Seth writes to his parents from Leningrad on Nov 26, 1991, recounting how his coffeemaker broke and he ended up filtering coffee through a T-shirt, startling his neighbor Brian who came over asking for coffee.
daily life in Leningradimprovisation under shortages
Postcard to Rachel: "It's real dark here now" (Bilibin / Marya Morevna)
Seth writes from St. Petersburg to his sister Rachel about how dark it gets in late November (the sun sets by 3:30) and gives her language-study advice, urging her to take German rather than Spanish in college because hardly anyone in Europe speaks Spanish. He closes that he'll see her soon, in January or June.
northern winter darknessforeign-language study
December 1991 · Newspaper clipping
The Baltic Independent, Pages 5-6: 'People on the street' (Tallinn, New Year 1991/92)
Two pages clipped from The Baltic Independent, an English-language weekly. Page 5 carries the tail of a Moscow/Baltics political article (Yevgeny Kogan's Interfront picket; Shaposhnikov on the Soviet troop pull-out), Bank of Latvia and Bank of Lithuania rouble exchange tables, and advertisements for the Viktoria hard-currency shop and the Astoria restaurant in Tallinn. Page 6 is a vox-pop feature, 'People on the street,' in which Tallinn residents and visitors say what they hope for in the new year amid Estonian independence, inflation, and currency reform.
Baltic independenceEstonian currency reform
Postcard from Leningrad to Jessica Baker (Bronze Horseman)
Seth writes to his sister Jessica from Leningrad, describing Russia as a strange and beautiful place, his 25-hours-a-week school schedule, hearing New Kids on the Block on the radio, and his ongoing (unsuccessful) search for a pen pal her age. Picture side shows the Bronze Horseman monument at sunset.
study abroad in the USSRsibling correspondence
Postcard to Jessica: "greetings from St. Petersburg!" (Lenin monument, Leningrad)
Seth sends his sister Jessica a Leningrad postcard depicting a Lenin monument, describing the deepening polar darkness (only 3 hours of sunlight by Dec 22) and the nightly lightning explosions from high-voltage physics-experiment towers behind his building.
Postcard from St. Petersburg with Pasternak/Dr. Zhivago quote on revolution
A picture postcard of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Leningrad/St. Petersburg, sent by Seth Baker to his parents Don & Jan Baker on Dec 1, 1991. The message is a verbatim quotation from Boris Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago about the genius and unscheduled suddenness of revolution, which Seth notes was written about 1917 but feels particularly meaningful amid the collapse of the USSR.
Russian literatureSoviet collapse
December 1, 1991 · Postcard
Postcard to Mom & Dad: please copy the Cyrillic fonts disk for Jeanne
An illustrated Soviet art postcard (Bilibin's illustration to Pushkin's 'Tale of the Golden Cockerel') from Seth in Russia to his parents Don & Jan Baker in Bloomfield, CT, dated Dec 1, 1991. Seth asks them to copy his FONTS disk (with the Cyrillic character set) and mail it to his friend Jeanne M. Camiña in North Bethesda, MD, because he promised to get her the Russian font for her Mac as thanks for keeping him well fed.
favor requestCyrillic fonts
December 8, 1991 · Postcard
"Recent events may cause me to rethink that" — the police phone call
On a Soviet illustrated postcard (Leningrad scenes), Seth writes to his parents about an unsettling incident: while visiting Russian girls he'd met who had spent the summer in Bristol CT, the police phoned the apartment asking to confirm the address, then hung up. He half-jokingly revisits his old quip that the KGB was reading his mail, guesses a neighbor reported them for speaking English, reflects on how strange and different the country feels, notes the un-Christmassy quiet, and gives computer instructions about his disks and SAM software for Heather.
surveillance and the KGBpolice incident
December 10, 1991 · Letter
Letter from Mom (Jan Baker) to Seth, December 10, 1991
A typed letter from Seth's mother Jan wishing him Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year while he is in the USSR. She reflects on past Christmases, reports that she is typing his letters into the computer and sharing them, discusses sending him his repaired camera, a money deadline at Ashford Post Office, asks him to find dolls or statues from foreign countries for her collection, warns about alcoholism and vodka, explains how American Express in Leningrad can cash personal checks, and expresses hope he finds housing and doesn't get too homesick. Twice she handwrites a Kinko's fax number (203 232-3402).
familychristmas
December 12, 1991 · Form
Kinko's Fax Cover Sheet from Jan Baker to Seth Baker c/o Prof. Ilya Kruzhkov (Dec 1991)
A Kinko's fax cover sheet sent by Jan Baker (Seth's mother) from Hartford, Connecticut to Seth Baker in care of Prof. Ilya Kruzhkov at Leningrad State Technical University in St. Petersburg/Leningrad, USSR. The fax was a 3-page transmission (including cover sheet). The second page is a reduced copy of the cover sheet plus a fax machine transmission report confirming the send on 12-12-91.
On his birthday, Seth writes to his parents from Leningrad/Saint Petersburg describing his exhausting commute to teach an English class at an institute, the misery of overcrowded trolleybuses and the metro, a compliment on his Russian, a detailed list of food prices versus the average salary, fears of riots and the breakup of the USSR into the SNG (CIS), and observations on Hare Krishnas and Russians' devotion to their children.
teaching English abroadSoviet daily life
daily life abroadSoviet appliances
Postcard to Grandma & Grandpa Garrod: white Christmas in St. Petersburg
Seth writes to his grandparents (Mr. & Mrs. Charles Garrod of Zephyrhills, FL) on Dec 22, 1991, reporting nonstop snow guaranteeing a white Christmas, his move to his own apartment, and his transfer to the more prestigious St. Petersburg State University for next semester. He notes Russian Christmas is Jan 7th, that travel has gotten harder under new regulations, and signs off with love.
white Christmassnow
teaching English abroadMonopoly board game
December 23, 1991 · Postcard
"Remember when I said the KGB was reading my mail?" — a police call during dinner (Leningrad postcard)
Seth writes to his parents on a Leningrad picture postcard, recounting an unsettling evening: while having dinner with Russian girls he'd met (who had spent the summer in Bristol, CT), the police phoned the apartment confirming the address and then hung up, leaving everyone shaken. He half-jokingly ties it back to his earlier suspicion that the KGB was reading his mail, reflects on how strange and different the country feels, notes the un-Christmassy quiet, and gives his parents instructions about giving Heather the computer (new disks, install SAM).
surveillance and fear in the late USSRKGB / police
A picture postcard sent Dec 24, 1991 from Saint Petersburg by Seth Baker to his parents Don and Jan Baker in Bloomfield, CT. He recounts walking into an open manhole while hailing a taxi, escaping with only bruises, and realizing that Russians walk with bowed heads partly to watch their step.
daily life in St. Petersburgminor accident
A December 27, 1991 postcard from Seth Baker in Saint Petersburg to his parents describing the wave of price increases scheduled for January 1st and the mass panic buying he witnessed at the large department stores.
A two-sided 1992 Soviet pocket calendar card. The front bears a full-year 1992 calendar grid in Russian for the Soviet Cultural Foundation, Irkutsk Branch, with publisher credits. The back is a color photograph from the series "Old Irkutsk" showing a weathered wooden two-story house and gates in Irkutsk, Siberia, photographed by A. Froydberg.
A small 1992 pocket calendar card from the USSR. The front is an embossed '1992' over a color photograph of an autumn larch forest with fallen driftwood logs, part of the 'Baikal' series. The reverse is a full 12-month grid for 1992, captioned for the Soviet Culture Fund, Irkutsk Branch, with photo credit to A. Froydberg and publisher line from Soyuzreklamkultura (1991).
Soviet ephemerapocket calendar
1992 Lake Baikal Pocket Calendar (Irkutsk, Soviet Culture Foundation)
A small 1992 Soviet pocket calendar card from the 'Baikal' series. One side prints the full year's twelve-month grid in Russian with the imprint of the Irkutsk branch of the Soviet Culture Foundation; the reverse is a color photograph of a rocky crag rising from the frozen, cracked-ice surface of Lake Baikal in winter, with the year '1992' embossed in the sky.
Lake BaikalSiberia
1992 Pocket Calendar — "Baikal" Series (Lake Baikal beach with rowboat)
A two-sided Soviet pocket calendar card for the year 1992. One side prints the full 12-month calendar grid in Russian with the imprint of the Soviet Culture Foundation, Irkutsk Branch; the reverse shows a color photograph of a wooden rowboat on a sandy Lake Baikal beach from the "Baikal" series, photographed by A. Froydberg.
pocket calendarLake Baikal
1992 · Calendar card
1992 Pocket Calendar Card — Lake Baikal (Irkutsk Branch, Soviet Cultural Foundation)
A small two-sided 1992 Soviet pocket calendar card. The front shows a full 12-month calendar grid with the year 1992 and the issuer 'Soviet Cultural Foundation, Irkutsk Branch.' The reverse is a color autumn photograph of a rocky crag above Lake Baikal, embossed with '1992', from the photo series 'BAIKAL' by photographer A. Froydberg. Printed in 1991 by Soyuzreklamkultura, edition No. 366, price 20 kopecks.
A small Soviet pocket calendar card for the year 1992. The front is an abstract color close-up of cracked blue-and-white ice from the 'Baikal' photo series by A. Froydberg; the back carries a full 1992 monthly calendar grid issued by the Irkutsk branch of the Soviet Culture Fund and printed by VRIB 'Soyuzreklamkultura' in 1991.
A small printed Soviet pocket calendar for the year 1992, issued by the Irkutsk branch of the Soviet Culture Fund. The reverse bears a color landscape photograph of Lake Baikal in autumn (golden birches reflected in still water) by photographer A. Freidberg, with an embossed '1992'. The author has added a single handwritten note, 'BAIKAL', next to the printed series caption.
Soviet ephemerapocket calendar
1992 · Calendar card
1992 Soviet Pocket Calendar — Lake Baikal (Baikal series), Irkutsk Branch of the Soviet Cultural Foundation
A two-sided 1992 Soviet pocket calendar card. The front is a color photograph of a ship surrounded by ice floes on Lake Baikal (from the 'Baikal' series, photo by A. Freidberg). The back is a full-year 1992 calendar printed by VRIB 'Soyuzreklamkultura' for the Irkutsk Branch of the Soviet Cultural Foundation, priced at 20 kopecks.
Soviet ephemerapocket calendar
1992 · Calendar card
1992 "Baikal" Pocket Calendar Card — Irkutsk Branch, Soviet Cultural Foundation
A small 1992 Soviet pocket calendar card issued by the Irkutsk branch of the Soviet Cultural Foundation, part of the 'Baikal' photo series. The reverse bears a color photograph of cracked ice on Lake Baikal by photographer A. Froydberg. Seth annotated the card by hand with the word 'BAIKAL' (in Latin script) above the printed credit line.
Soviet pocket calendarLake Baikal
1992 Soviet Pocket Calendar Card - Lake Baikal (Shaman Rock)
A small two-sided Soviet pocket calendar card for the year 1992, issued by the Soviet Culture Foundation (Irkutsk Branch). One side is a full-year 1992 calendar grid; the reverse is a color photograph of Lake Baikal's Shaman Rock (Shamanka Cape) on Olkhon Island, from the 'Baikal' photo series by A. Froydberg. Printed 1991 by Soyuzreklamkultura, price 20 kopecks.
Soviet ephemera1992 calendar
1992 · Calendar card
1992 Soviet Cultural Fund Pocket Calendar — Lake Baikal Series
A small printed 1992 wallet pocket calendar (kalendarik) issued by the Irkutsk branch of the Soviet Cultural Fund, part of a 'BAIKAL' series. The front carries the full twelve-month grid for 1992 in Cyrillic with Sundays in red; the reverse shows a color photograph by A. Froydberg of a vessel on Lake Baikal among spring ice floes. The only handwriting is the word 'BAIKAL' added in ballpoint beside the printed Russian caption, likely a translation note by Seth.
Soviet ephemeraLake Baikal
1992 · Brochure
Saint Petersburg PREMIER — Advertising Fact Sheet & Rate Card (English + Russian)
A two-page bilingual (English and Russian) advertising fact sheet / media kit for "Saint Petersburg PREMIER," billed as Saint Petersburg's first monthly English-language journal for foreign visitors. It outlines the publication's readership, distribution plans (launching January 1993), format, advertising specs, and a rate card with prices in both US Dollars and rubles.
Estonian Leaders: Jaan Kross, Lennart Meri & Marju Lauristin (Page 22)
A printed magazine page (page 22) profiling three prominent Estonian figures of the early-independence era: novelist Jaan Kross (a Nobel Prize candidate), Foreign Minister Lennart Meri, and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Marju Lauristin. Each entry gives a biographical sketch, 'Other Facts', and an office telephone.
Estonian independenceBaltic politics
Collection of Soviet Ruble Banknotes (1961 & 1991)
A set of five Soviet ruble banknotes scanned front and back across ten pages: a 10-ruble note (1961, State Bank, with Lenin portrait), a 5-ruble note (1961, State Treasury, depicting the Moscow Kremlin Spasskaya Tower), and three 1-ruble notes (two State Treasury notes dated 1961 and one State Bank note dated 1991). Kept by Seth Baker as currency souvenirs from his 1991-92 stay in the collapsing USSR.
Soviet currencyrubles
Seth writes from the shores of Lake Baikal on a second visit, describing a cruise on the Angara river and his evolving Siberian travel plans (train turned plane), with Vladivostok as his next stop.
Siberian travelLake Baikal
Seth writes from Saint Petersburg (still printed 'Leningrad' on the card) to his parents, asking how to grow bean sprouts after his attempt rotted, and begging them to meet him in Boston on June 30th with multiple large vegetarian pizzas loaded with cheese.
food cravings abroadgrowing bean sprouts
January 1, 1992 · Ephemera
Estonian "Dieet-Pepsi" bottle label / 1992-1996 calendar card
An Estonian-language Diet Pepsi ("DIEET-PEPSI", "SUHKRUTA" = sugar-free, "NUTRA SWEET") product label, printed by A/S Tallinna Karastusjoogid (Tallinn Soft Drinks) from PepsiCo concentrate. The card is laid out as a perpetual calendar with a top row of month Roman numerals (I-XII) and a bottom row of years 1992-1996, kept by Seth as ephemera from the early post-Soviet period.
Diet PepsiEstonian consumer products
Seth writes from Saint Petersburg (Leningrad) on a postcard of the Birzhevoy Bridge, amused by the local radio weather forecasts that come down to only two options: 'Big Snow' and 'Little Snow'. He says all is fine, he loves the snow, and the days are getting longer.
weatherwinter in Russia
April 1992 · Letter
The Trip to Siberia Finally Begins: Flying to Irkutsk and the Great Hotel Hunt
Seth narrates the start of a two-week Siberia trip in April. With the Trans-Siberian Railroad on strike and a 96-hour nonstop rail trip ruled out, he flies from Pulkovo Airport (Saint Petersburg). He describes Russian luggage-wrapping, cocker spaniel puppies in the airport, drunk Arab journalism students on the Aeroflot flight, a refueling stop in Tiumen, and arrival in a sunny Irkutsk. The bulk of the letter is a comic ordeal of trying to find an affordable hotel (Intourist, Angera, Baikal, Siberia), being quoted 1,500 roubles a night for foreign students, being thrown out of the Angera, and having three local kids steal his jug of (undrinkable Leningrad city) water thinking it was juice. He ends with a riff on the 'appeal to pity' as the best strategy for Soviet 'service.'
Siberia travelAeroflot flight
Seth writes to his grandparents (the Garrods in Zephyrhills, FL) from Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan during a trans-Siberian trip, noting the city's Korean/Chinese/Japanese influences and his route via Irkutsk toward Novosibirsk, needing to be back in St. Petersburg by the 16th.
trans-Siberian travelVladivostok
May 1, 1992 · Postcard
Greetings from Vladivostok — visa trouble on the Far East travels
A postcard from Seth in Vladivostok (May 1, 1992) to his parents Don & Jan Baker in Bloomfield, CT. He is enjoying warm, sunny weather on the Sea of Japan but is having visa problems with local authorities, so he has decided to skip Kamchatka and will reach Novosibirsk on Sunday. He notes travel is exhausting and a square meal is hard to find on the road, but the trip is worth it; the Far East is heavily influenced by Japan, China & Korea.
travel across post-Soviet Russiavisa and bureaucratic problems
June 2, 1992 · Postcard
Leningrad / Nevsky Prospekt — "Russia always delivers the unexpected"
A picture postcard of Nevsky Prospekt in Leningrad/Saint Petersburg, written by Seth Baker to his parents Don & Jan Baker in Bloomfield, CT. Seth recounts an eventful week of translation work: he and peers met visiting American/British music acts, translated an interview for Super Channel, threw a private party for the rap-pop group Technotronic, met Denny Laine (of Wings and the Moody Blues), worked as translators for a group of British journalists, and saw Samantha Fox.
translation workWestern music in Russia
Brochure
Russian Commercial-Industrial Bank (РТПБ) promotional brochure
A bilingual (Russian/English) promotional brochure for the Russian Commercial-Industrial Bank (Русский Торгово-Промышленный Банк, РТПБ), located at 15 Hertsen St., St. Petersburg. The front cover shows the bank's columned interior; the inside describes the bank's 1889 founding and 1989 refounding as a joint-stock company, its services, hours, departments, and how to reach it by metro/bus/trolleybus. A handwritten 'FYI' note suggests Seth enclosed it with a letter home.
bankingmarket economy transition
Ephemera
Travel itinerary notes (Moscow / Leningrad / Helsinki) + repurposed Sister City petition form
Two loose pages of Seth Baker's working notes: page 1 is a pencil-written travel itinerary covering a March departure routed Moscow (Hotel Cosmos) to Leningrad (Aeroflot flight SU-2419) to a Leningrad hotel (Hotel Pulkovskaya, or Pribaltiskaya as 2nd choice), then leaving by train to Helsinki, with a reference contact 'Mark Michelli at Consulate in Moscow' and an Intourist car note. Page 2 is a printed Hartford-Ocotal (Nicaragua) Sister City Project petition form repurposed as scratch paper, with a few handwritten lines noting the 'Presid.' (president) of the 'Russian Commercial & investment Bank' and a joking message: 'Tell him thanks for skis, but no snow!'
travel planningitinerary
Brochure
Useful Addresses and Telephone Numbers / Planning Another Trip? (page 16)
A single printed page (page 16) from a U.S. Department of State / Government Printing Office 'Tips for Travelers to the USSR' brochure. The left column lists U.S. Embassy (Moscow) and U.S. Consulate General (Leningrad) addresses and phone numbers; the right column, 'Planning Another Trip?', lists other travel pamphlets available for $1 from the Superintendent of Documents.
U.S. diplomatic missions in the USSRtravel reference information
Brochure
Saint Petersburg PREMIER — Introductory Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
A printed introductory letter from Jane Maynard, Editor-in-Chief, presenting 'Saint Petersburg PREMIER', a new free monthly English-language magazine for English-speaking visitors and residents of Saint Petersburg, listing its regular features. Page 2 is a full Russian translation of the same letter.
English-language press in post-Soviet RussiaSaint Petersburg city guide
Typed Address List of Six People (AIFS-era peers / contacts)
A single typed page listing the names, U.S. mailing addresses, and telephone numbers of six individuals: Nadine Slavinski (Tarrytown NY), Lisa Vogt (Staten Island NY), Kira Wattenburg (Davis CA), Kylie White (Woodbridge CT), Sara Jane Gibson (Hoboken NJ), and Ken Carrier (Berlin MD). Likely a contact/address roster of fellow students or program participants kept by Seth Baker.
address listcontacts
Postcard
Greetings from St. Petersburg - Cold, Dark Winter & Teaching English
Seth writes to his grandparents from wintry St. Petersburg, describing the brutal cold, a 2:30 sunset, his triple-glazed apartment, teaching English to small classes (and the puzzle of explaining idioms and Monopoly business terms), Russians 'hiding indoors' and searching for food, plans for a Russian Orthodox Mass, and a failed search for a Methodist church in Tallinn.
winter in St. Petersburgteaching English abroad
Interfaith Refugee Ministry Board Agenda (Tuesday, June 16)
A typed one-page board meeting agenda for the Interfaith Refugee Ministry (a division of Episcopal Social Service, Ansonia, CT), for a Tuesday June 16 meeting from 5:30-7:30 PM at Diocesan House. Lists eight standard agenda items including approval of minutes, treasurer's and committee reports, and a consideration of a salary increase.
nonprofit governancerefugee ministry
Form
Prepaid Hotel Voucher - Mrs. J. Baker, Hotel Okhtinskaya, St. Petersburg
A printed prepaid travel voucher issued by East West Tours & Travel Consulting, Inc. (New York) instructing the guest to present it to Konnect Travel Agency. It reserves a single-occupancy room for guest BAKER J/MRS at the Hotel Okhtinskaya in St. Petersburg, check-in August 27 and check-out August 31, with travel via Czechoslovakia Airlines.
travel logisticshotel reservation
Postcard from Moscow (Stone Flower Fountain) — "Moscow sort of grows on you"
Seth writes from Moscow to his parents Don & Jan Baker in Bloomfield, CT. He finds Moscow an interesting city that grows on him but lacking St. Petersburg's style, notes the many foreigners (especially Vietnamese), reports his flu is fading, and excitedly mentions his trip to Siberia in two weeks. Marked #3 of 3.
Moscow vs. Saint PetersburgSoviet travel
Seth writes to his sister Rachel from St. Petersburg describing his visit to a Russian bathhouse (banya): alternating super-hot sauna with plunges into ice water, repeated 5-6 times, plus standing under waterfalls. He reassures her that everything is okay and hopes things are going well at home. The card front shows Moscow's Novodevichy Convent.
Russian bathhouse / banyasauna culture
Postcard
Vladivostok S-56 Submarine Postcard — Seth's note about mailing his travel journal
A picture postcard of the S-56 submarine memorial in Vladivostok. On the back Seth writes to his parents that he is enclosing/mailing his travel notes (about 30 pages), apologizing that they dwell mostly on airports, hotels and bribes because those were the practical survival concerns of Soviet travel. He also mentions sending a book on Kazan, joking that the church would have preferred a book on Vladivostok or Irkutsk but, by 'Soviet Logic,' the least interesting town was the only one with a picture book printed about it.
Soviet travelhard-currency economy
A picture postcard of the Moika 12 (Pushkin Apartment-Museum) in Leningrad/Saint Petersburg, on which Seth tells his parents Don and Jan Baker that he arrived safely, that the semester looks great, and that they should phone or fax him because the Soviet mail system is not running smoothly.
safe arrivalstudy abroad
A Planeta photo postcard of the Lion's Bridge in Leningrad/Saint Petersburg, mailed by Seth to his parents (D & J Baker) in Bloomfield, CT. The brief handwritten note gives Seth's new mailing address in Saint Petersburg (written in Cyrillic) plus new telephone, fax (via Jane) and ARAPC numbers, signed 'Seth.'
new addresscontact information
Postcard from Leningrad: Disney on Soviet television
A picture postcard of Nevsky Prospekt (the Singer Building / Dom Knigi) from Leningrad/Saint Petersburg. Seth writes to his parents Don and Jan Baker about how Disney airs every Sunday night on Soviet TV, with the familiar 'Wonderful World of Disney' opening and surprisingly good in-character dubbing of cartoons like Uncle Scrooge and Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers, which he watches as good Russian-language practice.
Disney on Soviet televisiondubbing quality
Postcard: "This is my dorm in Leningrad" (Winter Palace / Hermitage)
A picture postcard from Seth Baker to his parents Don and Jan Baker, showing an aerial view of Palace Square and the Winter Palace / State Hermitage in Leningrad. Seth jokingly claims the palace is his dorm, saying they occupy the east wing and retire to the library for tea, before admitting earnestly that it is a fabulous city and he is enjoying himself fully.
study abroadLeningrad sightseeing
language learningSoviet television
Postcard from Seth to Mom & Dad: Soviet TVs explode if you don't unplug them
A picture postcard of the Peter and Paul Fortress at sunset in Leningrad/Saint Petersburg, on which Seth tells his parents an amusing, telling observation about daily Soviet life: Soviet-made televisions and appliances have a tendency to explode or catch fire, so people always unplug everything when finished.
A Soviet souvenir postcard depicting the Odessa Musical Comedy Theatre, mailed by Seth Baker to his parents Don and Jan Baker in Bloomfield, CT. The handwritten message gives his updated St. Petersburg / Leningrad State Tech. College mailing address (care of Nina Meleteuna) and notes that Krushkov left for France in October, leaving Nina as the new boss.
A commercially printed, unused souvenir postcard from Saint Petersburg showing the snow-covered colonnade of the Admiralty building with the gilded Peter and Paul Cathedral spire behind it. Captioned in four languages; published by Trading House 'The Bronze Horseman' (P-2). No handwriting — the card is blank.
Saint PetersburgAdmiralty
Postcard
Samarkand Bus Station postcard — sending Soviet coins home to Mom
A photo postcard of the Samarkand Bus Station (Uzbek SSR) that Seth mailed to his mother, Jan Baker. He writes that since it may be a while until he gets home he thought he'd send a few Soviet coins ('Koneeks'/kopecks, 100 to a rouble), noting that all the money carries only two dates, 1961 and 1991, and that he has sent both. He adds that the postcards depict Samarkand, one of the warmer spots in the USSR, and hopes things are going well at home.
Soviet currencykopecks
Postcard from Kiev to Rachel — "Just wanted to say Hi!"
A picture postcard depicting the ruins of the Dormition Cathedral at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, sent by Seth Baker from Saint Petersburg to his sister Rachel Baker in Bloomfield, CT. He reports all is well, that it is cold and snowy but his new apartment is warm, and asks how she likes Loomis Chaffee and whether it is hard to keep in touch with her Bloomfield friends.
sibling check-inwinter in Russia
A Soviet tourist postcard of the Admiralty Tower in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg). The back carries trilingual printed captions and a brief handwritten note from Seth reading 'Some Samples of Soviet currency!', evidently accompanying enclosed banknotes/coins sent home.
Soviet currencyLeningrad architecture
Postcard
Greetings from St. Petersburg — St. Isaac's Cathedral postcard to Grandma & Grandpas
Seth writes to his grandparents from St. Petersburg describing the bitter winter cold, the early 2:30 sunset, his triple-glazed but drafty apartment, his English-teaching classes (he plans to bring Monopoly to class), life mostly spent indoors searching for food, hopes to attend a Russian Orthodox Mass, and a failed search for a United Methodist Church in Tallinn. The card depicts St. Isaac's Cathedral.
