Bazar-Barakholka-Vernisazh
All these words are Russian terms used to denote the same thing – the flea market.
Visiting the flea market is not just shopping, it is rather a kind of excursion, cultural plunge into unrefined Russian life. Flea market is always unpredictable. The locals are coming to sell a great variety of stuff, from used kitchen utensils and retro electronic devises to musical instruments, nostalgic badges and posters from the Soviet times. For most vendors the weekly visit to the flea market means the chance to communicate with each other and share their concerns. For them, events like that seem to create the sense of belonging to the place, where they spend much of their lives.
One such market is located in northeast Moscow, just a 10-minute walk from the Partizanskaya metro station. The sign “Vernisazh” marks the start of the street leading to the multicolor domes of the Izmailovsky Kremlin – a miniature Disneyland-style imitation of the Kremlin. First section is dedicated to tourists: a souvenir market offering a wide variety of Russian kitsch. The good stuff though is in the back. Endless rows of military form of the last two centuries, dresses, knives, lighters, oil lamps, dishes, silverware and toys, samovars, old books and postcards, old coins, boots, flashlights, lace, masterpieces of wood, leather, stone, bark and fur, carpets and more… It is endless! Everything and nothing that you ever wanted is here.
The second place that I visited was a flea market situated in the north of St Petersburg, just next to the railway station in the direction of Finland. This is Udelnaya – the most famous market in Russia. Udelnaya market is as rough as it gets. Hundreds of square meters of dusty surfaces are covered in trash and rubbish with everything being sold mostly on the ground. Many of the vendors are elderly people selling interesting junk and bric-a-brac including old furniture from noble former Leningrad apartments.
Flea markets could be as value in understanding of a country’s history as museums. Rummaging amongst the piles of dusty books or looking through vintage postcards could tell a different side of the story that cannot be found anywhere else – especially in post-communist countries and altogether create a different metaphor for life and history.
Bazar-Barakholka-Vernisazh
All these words are Russian terms used to denote the same thing – the flea market.
Visiting the flea market is not just shopping, it is rather a kind of excursion, cultural plunge into unrefined Russian life. Flea market is always unpredictable. The locals are coming to sell a great variety of stuff, from used kitchen utensils and retro electronic devises to musical instruments, nostalgic badges and posters from the Soviet times. For most vendors the weekly visit to the flea market means the chance to communicate with each other and share their concerns. For them, events like that seem to create the sense of belonging to the place, where they spend much of their lives.
One such market is located in northeast Moscow, just a 10-minute walk from the Partizanskaya metro station. The sign “Vernisazh” marks the start of the street leading to the multicolor domes of the Izmailovsky Kremlin – a miniature Disneyland-style imitation of the Kremlin. First section is dedicated to tourists: a souvenir market offering a wide variety of Russian kitsch. The good stuff though is in the back. Endless rows of military form of the last two centuries, dresses, knives, lighters, oil lamps, dishes, silverware and toys, samovars, old books and postcards, old coins, boots, flashlights, lace, masterpieces of wood, leather, stone, bark and fur, carpets and more… It is endless! Everything and nothing that you ever wanted is here.
The second place that I visited was a flea market situated in the north of St Petersburg, just next to the railway station in the direction of Finland. This is Udelnaya – the most famous market in Russia. Udelnaya market is as rough as it gets. Hundreds of square meters of dusty surfaces are covered in trash and rubbish with everything being sold mostly on the ground. Many of the vendors are elderly people selling interesting junk and bric-a-brac including old furniture from noble former Leningrad apartments.
Flea markets could be as value in understanding of a country’s history as museums. Rummaging amongst the piles of dusty books or looking through vintage postcards could tell a different side of the story that cannot be found anywhere else – especially in post-communist countries and altogether create a different metaphor for life and history.
