Through the Camera Lens, Part 2
The Place of Meeting in Moscow
A Photographic Essay by Scot Facer Proctor

How was I to capture this grand event in Moscow in digital images? The outside air was full of smoke from the fires that have been burning nearly all summer long around Moscow. The meeting place, a conference center in The Cosmos Hotel (an old Communist Hotel), was dark inside and really provided few good settings and no decent light whatsoever.

As we walked from the underground to the hotel I thought to myself, “How will I ever recognize who the members are?” We came around the corner past a small fruit stand and approached the hotel. Within a moment I spotted our first Latter-day Saint family. They looked like they were walking around with 10K spotlights shining directly upon them. Actually, more accurately, they looked like 10K’s were radiating from them. They truly were beautiful people and I photographed them on the spot.

It wasn’t long before I could see great people shots everywhere. I loath using a flash but had to use it a great deal this time. Come with me as I show you the place where the Saints met the Prophet and begin to show you some of the Saints themselves.

Many of the Saints within the city of Moscow traveled by the metro or subway from all points north, south, east and west to come to the Cosmos Hotel for the meeting. Many of these underground stations are more like museums than train stops.

A number of the Saints stopped at little fresh fruit stands like this one to pick up a few items for their families to eat while they stood in line for three or four hours to get good seats in the large gathering.

Here is the marquee of The Cosmos Hotel. The left side is certainly in Russian.

This was the first Latter-day Saint family we spotted as we walked towards the place of gathering. I know we showed you a similar picture yesterday but this family was so happy and so full of joy I had to show them to you twice.

This is the view so many of the Saints saw as they walked up the hill to see the pre-determined place of meeting.

As we got closer in, Olga, our guide and translator, started seeing friends everywhere. We would learn as we went through the night that this was not only a place of meeting, it was a place of reunion for the Russian Saints.

As I looked around the enormous hotel lobby my eyes had to focus a bit but then I started seeing copies of the Book of Mormon being studied and people dressed in their finest dress for this marvelous occasion.

These sisters not only had their scriptures, they also had their sweaters and blankets just in case the weather in Moscow took a turn for the worse. Sure enough, soon after the meeting was over, the temperature plunged very quickly and added rain.

One large hall was rented from the Cosmos Hotel and two overflow rooms were also obtained and wired for closed-circuit broadcasting. The three together had a capacity of about 1,500 people. It is estimated that about 2,000 came.

I was in the great hall some hours before the meeting started and couldn’t help but photograph this. Look closely at the lyrics of the music. “We’re not in Kansas any more, Toto.”

Click here for Part 3, The Faces of the Saints in Russia

 

Come every day to Meridian so that you too can follow the Prophet through Europe. And please…spread the word about Meridian to your friends and family around the world.