Later in the day we went over to the Sportivny cove, a tiny stretch of beach and the home of the Vladivostok yacht club. While the name sounds grandiose and conjures up images of "novi Russki"- the name Russians use to describe the nouveau riche, literally new Russians- sipping champagne while lounging on forty foot seacraft, in reality it is more like a club for boating enthusiasts that has existed since the Soviet days.

A group of young Russians that were hanging out on a modest little boat explained that the yacht club still works the way it always has. They pay only 50,000 rubles (a little over $10) a year to the club organization and in return they get their own boat to sail and care for. But they realize that those days are numbered. Several privates boats have begun to occupy the harbor and they can foresee the day when they will no longer have access to the harbor and a boat for such meager fees.

They introduced us to Kostyawho the boys described as one of the of the "novi Russki" yacht owners. Well tanned, dressed in new Levi's, Nike tennis shoes and smoking Winstons, Kostya invited us on deck of his newly acquired Polish made boat. He described himself humbly as an ex- architect who was now working as a manager for a construction firm. Surprisingly, like most of the people we meet, he spoke about how difficult the times are now and how life was better before. I can easily understand this attitude from older people but I had a hard time swallowing this from a man like Kostya. When pushed in the conversation he admitted that life was probably better today than ten years ago.

I'm really struggling with the question of just how difficult is life in Russia for the average person? I see improvements everywhere I look but maybe that's just from a material perspective. Almost all of the people we speak with are nostalgic for the security of their past, even many of the younger people. They may not have had a lot but at least there were some basic goods and services they could count on. They seem to easily forget the past and cast it off as unimportant in comparison to the economic hardship and social upheaval that they are currently living with. I just wonder if given the choice, would they would really prefer to go back to the old system?

Back at the festival thousands of people, had come out to stroll on the beach and take in the folk dancing and entertainment. We wandered around the beach and met a young couple Marina and Ildar He is a marine biologist living out Sakhalin islands and his girlfriend Marina a telegraph operator. Later Lisa spoke with an older woman named Valentina- we seem to be on a run of Valentina's - who was sitting on a bench playing her accordion. The day ended with a fireworks show.