Afterward, the Soviet officials went on to see Dodoma and other East African cities. Overall, these cities were not far apart in terms of development, differing from Mogadishu, Arusha, and Bosaso only slightly in scale.
But the Soviets had clearly yet to fully emerge from their shock.
Minister Litvinov adjusted his glasses and said, "I previously thought I had overestimated East Africa, but now it seems my former self was still somewhat conservative. Our country still has many lessons to make up before we can reach East Africa's current level of development."
One Soviet commissioner also sighed with emotion. "East Africa's cities and villages are all built to an extremely high standard. This is simply the blueprint of development we dream of for our country's future."
Spiridonov said, "Throughout this journey, East Africa's national construction has given me a peculiar impression, one utterly different from our own country. Their cities were not rigid copies of European and American models in design, but were carefully planned according to local terrain and climatic characteristics, adapting measures to local conditions to map out room for urban development."
"They put tremendous care into urban greening and road design. Every city seemed to have been designed as a 'garden,' balancing efficiency, beauty, leisure, and other comprehensive functions."
"By comparison, our urban planning, as well as that of Europe and America, places greater emphasis on the stacking of efficiency and practical functions. Our country's cities in particular value practicality, and their design and construction are far rougher than East Africa's."
The Soviets—or rather, the Slavs—believed in one thing: if it worked, that was enough. The Soviet Union had taken this a step further than the Tsarist era. The nobles of Tsarist Russia had still possessed some artistic sensibility, while the Soviet Union regarded such things as