Travel Notes

Icon Museum Opens

A museum of Russian icons has opened in Clinton, Massachusetts, 35 miles west of Boston. It hosts the largest private collection of Russian icons in North America and its  260 icons span six centuries of Russian icon painting.

The museum is the brainchild of American businessman Gordon Lankton, 75, who is also chairman of Nypro, Inc., a Clinton-based plastics company with operations around the world, including in Russia. 

Lankton became obsessed with Russian icons after his first visit to Moscow in 1989. His interest started with a $20 icon he bought as a souvenir in an open-air flea market in Izmailovo, but he has spent much more on his passion since then. 

“Once you get hooked,” Lankton said, “there’s no stopping.”

Lankton has traveled to Russia over forty times since 1989. He began to augment his collection through purchases from Western Europe after taking icons out of Russia became illegal. 

Lankton used to keep his collection at home, but then realized that his children would have no place for it after he died. He approached local museums about taking the collection, but was unsatisfied by the prospect that it would, at best, be rotated into museums’ displays every few years. In the end, Lankton decided to set up his own museum, spending just under three million dollars on the building’s purchase and on its “green” renovation.

Lankton said he sees his museum as a gift to a town where he has done business for decades, and also as a tribute to Russians, whom he came to admire during dozens of business trips there, the AP reported. 

russianiconmuseum.org

Tea Room Too

Meanwhile, a few hundred miles from Boston, in the heart of Manhattan, the renowned Russian Tea Room reopened on November 3 after a $19 million takeover and makeover by real estate developer Gerald Lieblich.

The famed restaurant’s over-the-top décor remained virtually untouched from when it closed in 2002, with 28 antique samovars, crimson leather banquettes and vivid green walls, the AP reported. New chef Gary Robins is seeking to please nostalgic clientele, but at the same time is “bringing in a more vibrant, more contemporary palate” with a taste for healthier and less buttery foods.

The Russian Tea Room was first conceived in 1926 as a gathering place for Russian expatriates by former members of the Russian Imperial Ballet. 

The golden age of the Tea Room began in 1955, when it was acquired by the colorful Sidney Kaye, a businessman of Russian descent. His wife, Faith Stewart-Gordon, became a close friend and confidante to some of the greatest names in the entertainment industry, making the restaurant a magnet for New York glitterati. Patrons included Leonard Bernstein, Woody Allen, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Baryshnikov and others. In 1979, Madonna worked at the restaurant as a coatcheck girl.

In December 1996, Stewart-Gordon sold the restaurant for $6.5 million to Warner LeRoy, who closed it down for four years and $36 million in renovations. The restaurant struggled and was shuttered shortly after LeRoy’s sudden death in 2001 and eventually sold to the U.S. Golf Association. 

Hermitage in the Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin is hosting an impressive “Gallery of the Hermitage Treasures” exhibit in its Dormition belfry. The exhibition, which will run through February 15, is the last in a series of exhibits in the Moscow Kremlin this year to honor the Kremlin Museum’s 200th anniversary (based on Alexander I’s 1806 decree establishing the Armory Chamber).

The Hermitage brought to Moscow some of the finest treasures from its imperial collection: Petrine Scythian gold, presents given to Russian emperors by Oriental rulers and shahs, a copy of imperial regalia from the workshop of Carl Fabergé. The highlight of the exhibit is 18th-century boxes, jewelry and exquisite flasks from Catherine the Great’s Chinese collection.

Pricey Rails

For many years, rail was the preferred means of travel for Russians, because of its low cost and reliability. But that may soon change. 

In January, railroad ticket prices were raised again, this time by 12 to 20 percent, depending on the class of service. What is more, ticket prices will continue to rise – by an expected 37-61 percent over the next three years. 

This may make some train trips more expensive than flying, particularly over longer distances. Meanwhile, many Russian airlines are introducing low-fare flights, and international budget airlines are looking at the Russian market.

Already, flying is cheaper to some destinations. Off-season airfares from Moscow to the Black Sea resort of Sochi start at R2,000 one way. The high season fare is R6,000. At the same time, a 30-hour train ride costs R1,300-2,000 for a third-class ticket, R3,100-5,100 for a spot in a four-person compartment (coupé) and R6,250-10,000 for first class.