Thread by @mplstvguy

Mile 0: 3 of my passions are (post) Soviet culture, cycling and hip-hop music. Today I intend to combine the three by riding my bicycle, while listening to hip-hop music, and traveling to various local sites related to Soviet/Russian culture. Follow along, won't you? #SovietMN

Mile 5: Booth Manor, Minneapolis. Nearly one-third of the residents in this @salarmynorth senior living facility speak Russian. Two of its residents are among the 37 Soviet WWII veterans who live in Minnesota, 75 years after the Великая Отечественная война ended. #RussiaInMN

Mile 11: The @MuseumRusArt is the only museum in the United States dedicated to Russian & Soviet art and culture. It is truly a gem, just of off 35W in South Minneapolis. #RussiaInMN

Mile 35: This fourth generation farm, settled by German immigrants, is just south of the Twin Cities, in Farmington. In 1990 the Brand family and @HudsonWCCO were stood up by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during his Minnesota visit, due to bad weather & time. #SovietMN

Stupid flat. Rim tape shifted and spoke punctured tube. Ну дальше.

Mile 85: At the height of the Cold War, between 1959 and 1972, St. Bonifacius was home to Missile Base Battery C, designed to protect the Twin Cities from Soviet bombers. The only remaining Nike-Hercules missile in MN is here, in the city park. #SovietMN

Mile 115: Located in Brooklyn Park, Nasha Shkola is a K-8 charter school for students interested in Russian language and culture. Nearly all pupils at the school have at least one Russian speaking parent. #SovietMN

Mile 125: SMAK, in Anoka, is one of several wonderful Eastern European grocery stores in the Twin Cities. Here you could find delicacies such as сыро́к (sweet curd snack), квас (fermented rye bread drink) and холодец (meat jello/Aspic) #SovietMN

Mile 144: This stunning Baroque-style Ukrainian Orthodox church in Arden Hills was consecrated in 1997. Its cupolas peak above the tree tops along Hwy. 96. St. Katherine’s boasts a magnificent Iconostasis and strict etiquette for visitors. #SovietMN

Mile 152: This modest cemetery in St. Anthony was established in the early 1900s for the families of Eastern European immigrants. The cemetery is maintained by St. Mary’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, established in the 1880s, predominantly by Slovak families. #SovietMN