Now that the Soviet Union has rebuilt the cities that were devastated by the German army in World War II, and now that the Cold War tension of the Stalinist era has eased, Russia is becoming an increasingly popular target for tourists. In 1956, fewer than 500,000 foreigners were adventurous enough to travel through the U.S.S.R.—one-eighth the number that visited France the same year—and about three-quarters of them were from the Communist countries of Eastern Eu rope. This year, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Revolution, Russia expects more than 1,500,000 tourists. At least half of them will be dutiful European Communists. But there will be many French and British, a few Arabs and Africans, and about 25,000 Americans (up from 2,000 a decade ago).
If the Soviets have come relatively late to the realization that tourism is an excellent way to win friends and earn foreign exchange, they are rapidly making up for lost time. At the moment, hotels in Moscow are booked sol id. But new hotels are going up everywhere, including Moscow's vast Russia Hotel, now partly open, to be completed this fall. It will be the world's largest, with 3,182 air-conditioned rooms. Imitating the U.S.'s interstate highway system, Russia is building 39,000 miles of two-and four-lane paved roads—punctuated by 40 new motels. Formerly closed cities are being opened up, and internal flight schedules are being expanded. This fall, Pan Am and Aeroflot expect to commence direct flights between New York and Moscow (9 hr. 10 min., $548 on the 21-day excursion plan). And to make sure the tourist flow keeps up, Intourist, the state-run travel agency, is now priming the pump in good capitalist fashion with a $1,000,000-a-year advertising budget abroad.
Beating the Queue. The Russia that Intourist offers, according to recent visitors, is long on art, buildings and the accomplishments of the Soviet Union (see color), but short on contact with the people. Still, as Mrs. A. Barnett Blakemore, wife of the dean of the Chicago Theological Seminary, found, "there's hardly a place where you can get more for your travel dollar."
Almost inevitably, the first stop in Moscow is the Kremlin, which was opened to tourists nine years ago. Within its massive crenelated walls is a dense microcosm of Russian history, from lovely churches and 17th century palaces to its most recent addition, the modernistic 6,000-seat Palace of the
Congresses. Though the Russians themselves silently queue up for Lenin's tomb outside the Kremlin in a permanent line stretching halfway across Red Square, Intourist guides slip foreign tourists in near the front, and waiting time rarely exceeds 20 minutes. Due decorum is advised: one U.S. tourist was asked by the guards to take his hands out of his pockets to show respect.