TOWARD KRASNOYARSK KRAI - THE SECOND LARGEST PROVINCE IN SIBERIA
Three Days is a Very, Very Long Time Between Showers.....
Our Chechen-Ingushetian travel guide Abdullah loathed trains. Accompanying us across the North Caucasus just prior to our Trans-Siberian trip, he would dread our train trips. "I simply hate Russian train travel!" he would complain sourly.
Abdullah's intense dislike of trains was somewhat amusing to us. Initially, train travel had sounded like an ideal, if rather romantic way to travel. Perhaps we had watched too many great train trip documentaries....
But after our disappointing experiences in far western China, the North Caucasus and now the Trans-Siberian for three days without a shower, we were beginning to agree with his sentiments. And as Alan reminded me, even in Train-Travel-Perfect Japan, our bullet train from Fukuoka to Kyoto had been held up for 21 hours because of a typhoon.... Maybe, it was us? Perhaps we are the Angel of Death Train Travellers?
We woke at 7:00 am, just as our train sped past the township of Kashtan. It was late for us. Our usual waking time is around 5:30 am. But there was not a lot of point in getting up early. By then I had read almost three books on my Kindle and we had tired of looking through the grime-ridden windows at monotonous views of mostly birch forest and muskeg. And after all, the breakfast car didn't open until 9:00 am. Nevertheless, it did feel tacky. And definitely not helped by being unwashed and unkempt. After an overdose of dry shampoo, my hair was glued to my head in a sticky, greasy mass. Furthermore, sitting about with no exercise and eating three hot meals a day was not doing much for my waistline....
I was poisonous. And my poor humour was contagious. There was no point in repeating the bleeding obvious but of course I did "I just need to wash my hair and have a shower" I moaned. "Well, you can't. Imagine how you will feel tomorrow...." snapped my friend. "At least tomorrow, we will be able to shower in Irkutsk" I offered. Alan obviously unconvinced, didn't bother to dignify my comment.
On the way back from the toilet, to my delight I noticed the extension power lead to our neighbours' cabin had been disconnected - most probably by another aggrieved passenger. Up until now, these selfish young men had commandeered one of only two working electrical points in the carriage to power their computers. Infuriatingly, we could hear the music and videos from our cabin.
Now it was my time to be selfish. Hoping I wasn't blocking a desperate passenger from using the toilet, I hastily washed my hair in cold water in the hand basin. But there was such little water pressure, it was impossible to rinse out the shampoo... Thankfully however, the power point was still free so greedily I plugged in my hairdryer and to the amused surprise of other passengers, I sat on the corridor floor to dry my cold, wet hair. Sadly, it was not a good decision.... The power was so weak that the hairdryer would barely work. And with the merest groan, the tiny breath of air it emitted was freezing cold....
What we had Missed the Night Before. Our Stop at Novosibirsk - so Close to Our Beloved Mongolia....
In the final rays of a late sunset, the last settlement we saw the previous day was the imposing cement station of Barabinsk where our train stopped for 30 minutes. By then we were 3,000 km east of Moscow.
And once again, it was no wonder we missed witnessing the huge station of Novosibirsk, another 300 km east along our route. As for Yekaterinburg, the train arrived in the very early hours of the morning at what should have been an interesting destination to explore. Of course however, we would not have seen much from the station but it would have been nice to testify we had seen the city, even if it was from a distance. As mentioned, our trip schedule was tight and sadly, we had no time to visit cities other than Irkutsk along our route. Perhaps another time....
Novosibirsk is a thriving large modern city. The administrative capital of the Novosibirsk Oblast, it is a key Russian centre for science, commerce and industrialisation. Often referred to as the "Chicago of Russia", Novosibirsk is the fastest growing city in the world. It is now the third largest city in Russia, housing a population of over 1.6 million. Novosibirsk is also a famous cultural and sporting centre. Situated on the famous Ob River, it is renowned for its beautiful large parks and interesting local attractions.
Nostalgic Memories of our Horse Trek to Mount Tavan Bogd, Mongolia
Whilst Novosibirsk was obviously an attractive destination, it was particularly interesting for us that it was only about 1,000 km north of the remote mountainous border regions of Mongolia. And so very close to the magnificent Mount Tavan Bogd where we trekked by horse almost to the summit, during our Mongolian travels in the northern summer of 2016
It was here that we experienced one of the more extraordinary and memorable moments of our life travels.
Having ridden some 35 km through stunning scenery, we sat on the mountain grasslands with our guides, horses and pack camel at the base of one of Tavan Bogd's massive glacier. We were in fact, right on the very apex of the borders between Mongolia, China, Russia and further west to Kazakhstan. Theoretically we were looking across onto four different countries*.
It was a unique and hauntingly beautiful experience. And one that we will never forget....
*The Kazakhstan border does not quite meet the boundary of Mongolia, but it is very, very close.
Note: Alan would agree totally that the trip was memorable, mostly because he hated the horse trek almost as much as the camping....
Toward Krasnoyarsk City
Even I had to admit that my hair washing attempt was somewhat amusing. Mind you, it did take me quite some time to see the funny side.... And I must say that it didn't make me feel much better either. My undried hair, still dirty and full of shampoo was a disaster. Shaking his head, Alan looked at me disdainfully. There was no need for comment.
Our trip from Kashtan toward Krasnoyarsk took us through varied landscapes from the more familiar moist birch and spruce forests, and muskeg to open woodlands and then cleared pastures. Occasionally we would sight large gravel quarries, presumably utilised for road works. The curious thing was that we didn't ever see any livestock. The grass was luxuriant and looked like good grazing. Perhaps the boggy muskeg was too difficult underfoot for livestock or horses to handle?
Nameless insignificant villages became blurs in the distance. Most of the station names we missed because of either numerous freight trains blocking our views just as we passed by, or because the train was travelling too fast for us to read the names. Those we did see however, were written in Russian with English sub-titles.
As we sped past tiny non-descript Kozlovka Station with its lonely gravel streets and bare level crossing, I noted there was nothing to indicate why the little village existed. There was not a person nor even an animal to be sighted. Was it an agricultural settlement? Or were mining or wood processing the main industries?
Some villages housed sad abandoned factories and timber yards - so familiar to us after our travels through the far east Russia. Who lived in these villages and what did they do for a living? Or more to the point, how did they make a living? Did their sons and daughters leave the villages for a tertiary education in one of the larger cities? We guessed they would. After all, education is a priority in Russia and people are amazingly well educated - even in the remotest parts of Siberia and the Arctic north. Did the children return? Or was the village, like so many in Siberia, doomed to a certain death?
It was anyway, a good opportunity to absorb the scenery - and indulge my imagination to run free....
Closer to Krasnoyarsk, the country looked much more fertile and the farmlets and settlements considerably more prosperous. Pleasant rolling hills housed attractive peaked-roofed wooden cottages. Vegetable gardens looked well-tended with healthy crops of potatoes and beets. Many properties had substantial greenhouses. Was it colder here and plants needed extra protection? Or were the owners better off and could afford to build artificial housing for their crops? Whatever the answers, the scenery was attractive and a welcome change.
KRASNOYARSK
Alan's Allergy Attack OR Maybe I'm having a Stroke.....
It's hard to imagine, but coming into Krasnoyarsk we once again forgot about the "Locking of Toilet Doors Rule". Fortunately, passengers were allowed to alight at Krasnoyarsk and thankfully, I had no difficulty this time in locating a toilet without having to pass through security.
It was just as well as Alan who was having a massive allergy attack and difficulty with breathing, remained on the train. A frightening experience, it has happened to him on quite a few occasions in Russia as well as in the ex-Soviet states of Armenia, Georgia and Central Asia.
Alan is particularly allergic to Plane (Platan or Sycamore) Trees which are used extensively in these countries to line streets and provide attractive shady places for parklands. That day, we could actually see billowing clouds of air-born fluff-covered seeds and swathes of pollen blowing around the station - a real danger sign for Alan who can readily suffer a potentially life threatening anaphylactic attack.
After buying some ice creams, I met and chatted to my friend from the Chinese carriage section. To my concern, I realised that my speech was slurred and I had difficulty enunciating words. And my vision was blurred. Like Alan's allergy attacks, I had suffered these symptoms before as a result of rare-for-me migraines. But there was always that nagging doubt. "Am I having a stroke - or is this just a migraine?" My Chinese friend looked at me with surprised concern, while I hastily retreated back to our train carriage. By the time I reached our cabin, I couldn't speak at all; my speech a garbled mess of meaningless and unrelated words.
How frigg'n wonderful, I thought. Here is Alan having an anaphylactic attack and I'm having at stroke - on the train at Krasnoyarsk in the very geographical centre of the Russian Federation.... Even if I could have spoken sufficient Russian, it wouldn't have helped.... Interestingly, while I had lost my speech and some of my vision, I could still think quite clearly. Thankfully, my anaphylactic friend appeared to understand, trying to calm me down and explaining that it was just a migraine. It took a good hour before I regained my speech and clear vision. By that time we had departed the Plane Tree laden Krasnoyarsk railway station - and thankfully, Alan had recovered too....
A Little About Krasnoyarsk Krai and its Administrative Centre of Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is the largest city and administrative centre of the massive federal subject of Krasnoyarsk Krai. It is in these wilds of Siberia, that you really come to terms with the size and scope of such vast lands. The relativities are mind blowing....
Krasnoyarsk Krai lies in the geographical centre of the Russian Federation. Almost splitting the country in half, it stretches 3,000 km from the Sayan Mountains in the south along the Yenisey River (the 5th largest river in terms of length and volume, in the world) to the Taymyr Peninsula and Kara Sea in the north. It is the second largest federal subject in the Russian Federation (after neighbouring Sakha Republic to the east). Spanning an area of 2.34 million square kilometers, it covers a land mass roughly equal to a third of the size of Canada, the second largest country in the world after the Russian Federation. Similarly, massive neighbouring Sakha (Yakutia) Republic is roughly the size of India!
Located 4,065 km east of Moscow, Krasnoyarsk is dissected by the great Yenisey River. One of the largest rivers in the world, the mighty Yenisey flows 5,539 km south to north from Mongolia to the Arctic Ocean. Krasnoyarsk, with a population of more than one million, it is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk and Omsk, and is an important transport hub for the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Founded as the Fort of Krasny Yar on the left bank of the Yenisey, Krasnoyarsk became the main town of central Siberia after the Great Siberian Post Road reached the settlement in 1735. In the 19th century, the development of the gold industry and later construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway further stimulated its growth. By the late 1890's Krasnoyarsk had expanded to the right bank of the Yenisey, where it now extends for more than 30 km along the river.
In the Russian Empire, Krasnoyarsk was a place of exile for political dissidents. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, during the Russian Civil War, Siberia east of Omsk was controlled by white forces under Admiral Alexander Kolchak who in December 1919 retreated east to Irkutsk. Like Omsk, Krasnoyarsk was taken by the red army military wing Bolsheviks (refer previous post).
Likewise, during the Stalinist years, Krasnoyarsk was a major centre of the notorious gulag forced labour system with gulag sites also located in Reshyoty to the west and Kansk to the east. Interestingly, all camps were operational during World War II.
Krasnoyarsk's development like other major Siberian cities, was further stimulated by the evacuation to the town of many factories from the west during World War II. In the 1960's, the largest hydro-electric stations in the world was constructed on the Yenisey River.
Today, Krasnoyarsk is a major industrial complex and one of the largest producers of aluminium in Russia. Key industries include manufacturing of large agricultural machinery, lumbering equipment, synthetic materials production and white goods.
In the Footsteps of Anton Chekhov..... Krasnoyarsk: "The Most Beautiful City in Siberia"
Krasnoyarsk is renowned as being located in one of the most beautiful natural geographical settings in the Russian Federation. Nestled along the banks of the majestic Yenisey River, the city is cradled by the fortress-like, heavily-forested Sayan Mountains. The city itself is also very beautiful with long promenades, flanked with large trees, walking paths and parklands.
And much-famed Russian writer and playwright Anton Chekhov certainly thought so too. On his epic 9,656 km overland journey to the penal colony of Sakhalin Island in 1890, he stopped for a short time in the city of Krasnoyarsk**.
The city obviously left a strong impression upon Chekhov. Judging it as "the most beautiful city in Siberia", he was struck with what he describes as the "original, majestic and beautiful" natural landscape surrounding Krasnoyarsk; his description of the Yenisey River occasionally - and unusually for Chekhov - giving way to lyrical flights:
"Not to offend Volga enthusiasts, but over my lifetime I have never seen a river more majestic than the Yenisey. Yes, the Volga is a modest and mournful beauty decked out in her finery. But the Yenisey is a mighty, furious bogatyr, a larger-than-life elemental hero who has more strength and youth than he knows what to do with..... On the Yenisey life began with a groan, but will end with a reckless ambition, the likes of which we haven't seen even in our dreams. This is at least what I thought when standing on the bank of the great broad Yenisey, gazing greedily at its water, which with terrible speed and force rushes onward to the severe Arctic Ocean." Excerpt from Chapter IX, From Siberia.
Today, at the place of the Chekhov's writings and where he then caught a boat onward to Irkutsk, is a bronze figure of the great writer and a monument inscribed with "....What a full, smart and courageous life will illuminate these shores with time".
**At the time Chekhov, a qualified medical doctor and member of the Russian upper class, was best known in the west as the author of plays about Russian gentry. In 1890, despite being diagnosed with tuberculosis, Chekhov undertook an extraordinary overland journey and riverboat to Russia's far east. Here he spent three months on the island of Sakhalin, carrying out a census and writing a huge amount of reports about the shocking conditions of the Sakhalin penal colony. His works were described by sources such as the New Yorker as the greatest works of journalism of the 19th century. Refer blog entry "Omyakon: Reconnecting with the Road of Bones" http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog-entry/crowdywendy/14/1623988438
TO KANSK
A Conversation with Our Two Australian Friends.....
Following our unpleasant allergy and migraine attacks, we spent a quiet afternoon mostly in the buffet car, just watching the scenery go by.
Carmel and Keith (real names withheld), the Australian couple we had met the day before joined us for short time. If we were feeling jaded, they were at the far end of the bell-shaped curve of depression! Like us, they were certainly not inspiring company and after hearing more of their story, we could well understand their disappointment. But not the rationale for their travels....
As mentioned, from their home town on the south coast of New South Wales, they had travelled via Sydney to Paris where they undertook a tour with which they were not at all happy. They then flew to Moscow where they had boarded the Trans-Siberian, stopping for a few days in Kazan. Their final train destination was Beijing, where they would spend a few days touring before flying back via Doha to Paris to resume another tour before flying back to Sydney.
They had hated Moscow. They hated Kazan. In fact, by the time we met them, they hated all of Russia.... And no matter how much we told them of our past wonderful experiences travelling in Russia, there was no convincing them otherwise. When we asked them what they had planned for Beijing, a city we had visited on a number of occasions, they just replied that the travel agent was organising "something". We shuddered....We didn't see the couple again. And often wondered how they fared.
Pleasant Bucolic Scenery Toward Kansk
The 230 km train trip from Krasnoyarsk to Kansk, our final stop before nightfall, was very pleasant. Rolling green, partially-forested hills were interspersed with wide open pastures and quaint villages; the steep pitched roofs a dead give-away of harsh, snowy winters. We even saw a few horses but again, no other livestock at all.
We arrived in the early evening for a short stop in Kansk, a rather non-descript station where we alighted for a few minutes and a few passengers embarked.
Kansk is a coal mining city still located within Krasnoyarsk Krai on the Kan River. Housing a population of around 100,000 people, it is the administrative centre of the Kansky District, even though it is not part of it. We had come across this unusual situation in other Russian towns we had visited where a settlement is not part of a District but incorporated into it as a Krai Town - in this case as Kansk Urban Okrug - if you can work that out....
Good Night Krasnoyarsk Krai....
Another half an hour east of Kansk, we were travelling through the heavily timbered Ilanskaya region. Almost twilight, the silver birch glimmered in the last rays of a glorious sunset. A welcome scotch made for a very enjoyable last hour of daylight.
The next day we would arrive our first destination of Irkutsk, before heading off to the Lake Baikal district for four days.
That hot shower was edging just a bit closer....
Bold
2022-11-18
Alan and Wendy, you had truly extensive journey through Russia. just admired how large it's territory is..
londone7
2022-11-18
You have good memory after 3 yrs, I was in NE Russia in 2019 too, reminds me of my time
Valeriya
2022-11-20
I love your story and your style. You have a talent for writing, Wendy! as well as a rich and beautiful vocabulary. Very interesting to read! Greetings from Russia!