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Off to Russia

Tomorrow I'm flying to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia... Nope, me neither.

It will be my first trip to Russia, and it's a big one - I'll be working there for about six months. To be perfectly honest with you, I really don't know what to expect. Here's what I've found out about Krasnoyarsk from a little bit of snooping around:

  1. It's a city with a population of about 1 million inhabitants.
  2. It's on the Trans-Siberian railway, every gap yah student's wildest insta dream.
  3. It was a big part of Stalin's system of gulags - the labour camps where political prisoners were sent.
  4. It's currently one of the worst cities in the world for air pollution. A month ago, it was the worst in the world.
  5. Some guy I met at a festival had been there and affectionately referred to it as 'kiss my arse'.
None of this bodes particularly well. 

But everyone I've spoken to there seems very friendly. Plus I've always been a big fan of snow, and I like to think that it'll be an adventure. So I'm going to suspend judgement and see what Krasnoyarsk has to say for itself.

I know what you're thinking. 'He's just going to get there, take a few edgy photos which make this city look good, say it's beautiful and that the people are friendly, and try and turn his trip into a sensational story about how prejudice is bad and Russians are awesome.' Well... No guarantees that this won't be an absolutely banging read. And you're right, I am pretty edgy. But I solemnly swear that I will not prettify my experience in any way. If you stay with me, I promise to give you the whole story, warts and all. Because if we've learned anything from Love Island, it's that it is what it is.

Oh yeah, and the name's funny because the Russian equivalent for Theo is Fyodor. Plus it kind of rhymes.

Wish me luck!
Location: London, UK

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