Blog: First impressions of Russia

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (CNN) -- Unlike almost everyone else in the CNN "Eye on Russia" team, I had never been to Russia before.

This is a nation I studied in history, read about in literature, watched in the sporting arena and followed in the news, but I had never actually stood on Russian soil and seen this country for myself. And, to be totally honest, I was excited but not entirely sure what to expect.

In many ways, Moscow offers no surprises. The city is not unlike any other major European capital, with busy streets, plentiful shopping, international brands, ancient sights, night clubs and restaurants. It represents the kind of affluence you would expect of the capital of a developed country with a booming oil industry.

But then you remember that 20 years ago this was still a Communist country -- while only 10 years ago it may have found political freedom but was struggling for any kind of prosperity.

You only need to speak to people to realise that, within the lives of most young adults, things have been very different.

Soviet days may now be history, but they remain in the collective memory of most people in this country. Even more so are the post-perestroika years of the Yeltsin government. Russia may have acquired a new freedom in the 1990s, but for many there was a high price to pay for this liberty. While today's billionaires have seized the opportunity to buy up shares in firms liberated from state control, most people seem more likely to remember rising prices, tough living conditions and few benefits that resulted from their new freedom.

But things are very different today. As someone who grew up in the shadow of Communist Russia, I would never have imagined that one day I would be walking out of a luxury mall, full of designer stores -- and Japanese tourists armed with credit cards -- onto the legendary Red Square.

Gum, built in the 1890s and subsequently Communist Russia's leading department store, is now an up-market shopping arcade overlooking Lenin's mausoleum. I couldn't help but ask myself what the founder of Communism would make of such blatant Capitalism located right at the heart of his capital city.

You cannot fail to be enchanted by the historic buildings of Moscow and St Petersburg. But it was not St Basil's Cathedral, the Kremlin or the Hermitage that really caught my imagination. It was Stalin's architectural legacy, his "Seven Sisters" that entranced me. These magnificent tall buildings with gothic spires and decorated with Communist stars dominate the Moscow skyline.

Some people call them "the ugly sisters" but they will remain my defining vision of Moscow. They are a group of seven buildings commissioned by Stalin after he became concerned that Communist Russia would be condemned for its lack of sky scrapers. Strategically located along the Muskovar River, they include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the enormous Moscow State University and the tallest hotel in Europe, the Ukraine Hotel, as well as apartment buildings and offices.

I visited the Ukraine Hotel, located near the CNN bureau and facing the Russian White House, hoping to see the interior of one of these edifices. To my huge disappointment, it was closed for refurbishment.

The down side of my trip to Russia has been the difficulty of obtaining basic information. I understand the importance of protecting your own language but it has been frustrating that all signs seem to be written only in Cyrillic. Linguistic challenges also meant that I did not find the confidence to hail a taxi in the street or to take the famous Moscow Metro for fear that I would be not able to find my destination.

Nor has the service culture developed to match the new prosperity. Service is generally slow and you get the feeling that you should be grateful for what you have been offered -- rather than expect any more.

From my very arrival, there were no luggage carts available at the airport and staff did not seem in the slightest concerned by the problem this caused me with four heavy bags.

Having said that, I must give credit to the man in the supermarket who insisted on carrying our shopping bags across a very busy road even though we could have managed them ourselves!

Like so many in the west, I was curious -- and possibly even suspicious -- about the emerging Russia of today. But it all makes so much more sense once you come here.

After years of struggle, life has, without doubt, taken a turn for the better in the two major cities that I visited. The majority seem optimistic and happy and there is a very clear prosperity, with young people enjoying a quality of life their parents would never have dreamt of at their age.

Will I go back to Russia? Almost certainly. I am curious about what changes lie ahead and how the country will continue to develop and reform.

I would like more free time to explore Moscow and St Petersburg than is possible on a work trip -- and even to have the opportunity to travel beyond these 2 major cities. And next time I really have to make sure I go inside one of the Seven Sisters. Hopefully the renovations at the Ukraine Hotel will be completed by the time I come back and I will be able to go inside and order myself a cocktail in an interior that befits its phenomenal exterior and fascinating history. E-mail to a friend