Introduction

I've created this blog as a sort of electronic journal of my trip(s) to Russia.  I hope that this will be an easy way to keep friends and family informed of the process, and my experiences.  I very much appreciate all the support and excitement that people have expressed.  I don't want to assume that everyone is interested in all the details, and I will keep this blog as sort of a travel journal.  I will share my more private and personal thoughts in a more private and personal manner.
The title of this blog comes from my very favorite book of all time, Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita -- The novel is set in Moscow in the 1930s.  Behemoth is a giant, decidedly unfriendly cat that arrives in Moscow as part of a strange and supernatural entourage (no spoiler here!!) -- and he wreaks havoc on the city.  I first read The Master and Margarita in high school, and it's one of those books I re-read every few years, and always find something different in it.  I am looking forward to walking the same streets that served as the setting for Bulgakov's masterpiece.