St. Petersburg Nights

"What in blazes am I doing here?!" ~ My first St Petersburg night was spent on a filthy train, sleeping in a cold compartment with three strangers who probably were smugglers. I was asking for it. thieves were everywhere, and tourists were a major target. They would think nothing of cutting off your finger for a gold ring, worth a year's pay... Why on earth would I want to spend a year living in the 'evil empire?" Believe me, friends and colleagues asked me that countless times.It was passion, pure and simple. A love affair with a city I first saw in 1965. Back then, she was dark, gray, ugly, and stooped under the weight of communism. But even under her slave name, Leningrad, she was still glorious.Primarily, I went to Russia for a reason you may find hard to believe. My pursuit of alternative treatments that heal was increasingly frustrated by our American medical "system." I was amazed to realize that physicians in other parts of the world -- even in Russia -- are freer to practice, research, and learn than right here in the sweet land of liberty.In particular, I knew the Russians are light-years ahead of us in their advances with light therapy -- something that always fascinated me. I wanted to learn all I could from these dedicated healers, working under such appallingly austere conditions and yet quietly accomplishing miracles of healing unmatched by the West.Actually, there were many reasons I went to St. Petersburg: The romance of Russian history; the paradox of brilliant scientists working under seemingly impossible conditions; being at ground level during tumultuous times, in a strange country that is both lovable and frustrating.In St. Petersburg Nights, I try to convey someof the mystery, majesty, hope, and beauty of this terribly abused place and tragically abused people. Please travel with me and experience the grandeur and glory of this magnificent land and its unforgettable people. - Dr. William Campbell Douglass.