Russian tourists heading to Cuba for the nostalgia

Interesting report about how Russian tourists are arriving in ever increasing numbers on holiday in Cuba. Many are people who had been based in Cuba in the 1980s as technical and military advisors. It should be added that during that time there were also large numbers of advisors and experts coming from other Eastern Bloc countries, in paricular the GDR, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. It was also at that time that Cuba (along with Vietnam) became an exotic destination for some Eastern bloc tourists. One aspect that this report touches on that I can personally testify is the nostalgic and time-warp element to it all in Cuba in seeing the 'Pioneer' schoolchildren wearing their red kerchieves and the thousands of impeccibly-maintained 1980s Ladas on Cuban roads. It's also quite amazing to see the same type of highrise flats so common throughout Eastern Europe amidst the tropical setting, or 1970s and 80s Russian technology, complete with Cyrillic markings, still in use, such as air conditioners and tractors, or the same traffic posts used by the police at busy intersections once common in the Eastern bloc and still in Cuba. It's also very interesting to meet Cubans who had spent time, either as students or guest workers, in Eastern bloc countries up until the early 1990s. Plus, it's freaky to meet Cubans (born in the 1960s usually) with names like Iván, Vladimir, Lyudmila and Svetlana. The one thing I also insisted in seeing in Cuba was the huge bust of Lenin at the huge park named after the Soviet leader - I felt like I was 5 years old in Bulgaria again! When watching the BBC report, check out the Cuban woman who conducts tours for Russians - her Russian is great!