Cirque du cruelty

Our Year 11 school trip to Moscow was advertised to our parents as a ‘Cultural Learning Experience’, but the trip’s notoriety as a vodka-fest always ensured it was a hit with students. But no one ever anticipated that we would come home so culturally enlightened.

On the second night in Moscow we had the option of visiting the circus. This excursion had never been offered before so we were all eager to go.

The ringmaster opened the show as he led a spectacle of dancing and acrobatics, followed by an amazing display of magic; this was far better than the previous night’s opera.

It was impressive to watch six acrobats spinning chairs on their feet in unison. That was until eight-foot poles were brought into the arena with two small dogs on perches at either end of the pole.

Each acrobat had one of these poles placed on their feet and they did the unthinkable, and began spinning the poles, and dogs around.

This was then followed with a tiger display. The sad-eyed creature was made to tackle an obstacle course. The ringmaster whipped the beautiful creature and as it slalomed through the course its ribs poked out.

In my naïve excitement about clowns and acrobats, I had forgotten that Russian circuses were famous for their animals but infamous for the way they treated their animals.

The cruelty we were confronted with was a real shock to us all. The animals were completely passive to it all, and our imaginations ran wild with the conditions these animals were being kept in. What was most shocking was how some locals were indulging in the cruel displays.

We returned to our hotel that night and sat in shock after our experience. We had come face to face with a cultural experience that we had never imagined possible.

Amy Harrison