Approaching Omsk |
4,681 Miles GMT +7hrs Temp -16
A lot of the buildings are nondescript, presumably
built in the soviet era, one or two very old timber typical Siberian buildings
remain, but looking slightly the worse for wear. We took refuge from the cold
briefly in the Dostoyevsky literature museum. Lena and Anya were allowed in but
I’m not because I have a camera, and the museum keeper is obviously a stickler
for rules, as its in a my bag. “But you have camera, not allowed in with
camera” Lena interprets. He won’t allow me to give him the bag either, so I
told them to go ahead, while I walk up and down outside. They weren’t in there
for long. When I asked if there was anything interesting Lena told me they had
some drawings by Dostoyevsky, but quickly adds “It’s a good job he could write,
because he couldn’t draw”
We did the local art gallery, which looks a little
tired but there are some really interesting paintings, all by Russian artists.
Alas no photographs and no postcards. We then move to the Liberov Centre, which
celebrates the life and works of a Siberian artist A N Liberov, a folk painter
who was I’m informed is the master of the Siberian landscape. I liked his work
but again, no photographs and no postcards.
Omsk Station |
Lunch was in one of the bars that appear to occupy
one in three of every building, in the area. Apparently Omsk is kind of a
dormitory town, with many people working out in the mines, forests and oil
fields further away, its quiet during the week but at weekends it becomes the
wild East.
We walked through the park and the military hardware
as Lena described it in her childhood is still in evidence here too, a tank
here, a rocket launcher there, even a fighter plane. This city was closed to
anyone but residents and military staff here, due to the concentration of
military enterprises. This is a city with the population and the land coverage
of the whole of Tyneside - and they closed it. It’s inconceivable to me.
Uspensky Cathedral, Omsk |
Cathedral interior |
Our final stop was at the Cathedral. The original
building, consecrated in 1896, was demolished during the Soviet era, but was
rebuilt in the 1990’s although I would never have guessed. We had a look inside
and priest appeared, he was very welcoming and told us about the building and
the icons.
2* discomfort |
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