russia: tayshet and bratsk

I'm going to put two cities in this post, for a couple reasons. One, because they are small cities and I didn't stay in either of of them for very long; and two, because I stopped in them more because I needed to than I wanted to.

From Krasnoyarsk I took a train to a town called Tayshet. Google maps tells me the distance by car is just under 400 kilometers, and driving it takes about 6 hours. The train was a little slower, taking nearly 7 hours. I was not thrilled to wait in the train station for hours until daylight, but I was able to sit near a plug, so it was something.

Tayshet looks small on a map, and Wikipedia tells me there are only 35,000 or so residents. It was founded right at the end of the 19^th century, as a supply point for the building of the Baikal on Amur branch of the Transsiberian Railway. Town status was granted 40 something years later, in 1938.

Wikipedia tells me a large portion of the 'workers' who built this first leg of the Baikal on Amur (often called BAM) railway were Japanese and German POWs, and that enough of them died to 'joke' about one of them under every train car. Eeek. We so often hear about the horrible conditions of the camps run by Nazi Germans during WW2, but a number of other countries are responsible for doing the same kinds of things.

After hanging out in the train station for a while, I put my bag into the storage room, then started walking. I was happy to find my first Lenin just off to the side of the train station. It was a head, painted in gold.

Not too far from the Lenin head was a steam train on display, I'm sure the sign had interesting information if only information about steam trains was of any interest to me.

Also not far away was an old water tower. I was able to take a decent photo, but I wasn't able to get very close, as it was in the middle of a fenced in area.

Even though this town doesn't have a whole lot of people, it felt as if there were just enough people out on the streets that someone was looking at me. I'm all for going behind fences, as long as no one is looking at me while I do so.

The next part of my walk was totally random. I knew I had quite a few hours to kill, and almost nothing to fill the time. I decided to walk the outer edges of town, or at least as close as I could while staying in the grid pattern on which most of the city is built. I was surprised at the number of roads that weren't completely sealed, they must turn into swamps when there is a lot of water or slush. 

It didn't take me all that long to get to Park Pobedy, which I think translates to Freedom Park. At the back of the park, (which wasn't big,) there was an obelisk, with a hammer and sickle on top. The Soviet Union has been over for quite a long time, I'm surprised this obelisk is still standing. I understand why this symbol hasn't been removed from government buildings and the like, but how hard can it be to take down an obelisk?

Near the obelisk was a city sign, one of those with a checkmark and a heart. I love Tayshet, according to the sign.

I doubt anyone feels that strongly about the town, I definitely don't, but who am I to assume how others feel?

After leaving the park I wandered a bit more, coming close to the grounds for where a church was being built. I also noticed several appartment buildings with propaganda on their sides: 60 years of Victory, 40 years of the CCCP, (the west would say USSR.) I'm guessing Tayshet was built in the height of the USSR, and hasn't really been touched since.

From there I walked back to the train station, and over a pedestrian bridge to the other side. My map was showing me that there was another Lenin somewhere over there, it didn't take long to find. This one was a full statue, on top of a pedestal, covered in silver paint.

I tried to find a supermarket after that, but it didn't happen. I guess Tayshet is too small for a proper supermarket. I ended up finding two small shops, thank goodness both of them had ice cream. I don't remember it being that hot, but at the same time I felt like I was boiling alive, if that makes sense. I wanted liquids, and I wanted cold.

My last sight in Tayshet was a museum, the one with local and regional history. For such a small town, I was surprised at the variety of exhibits. It wasn't big, but it did represent the area well, at least from my perspective. There were some religious items, items from the railway construction, 'famous' people, etc...

From there I went back to the train station and got my bag back out of storage. My train departed around 1600, and at 2100 or so I arrived just outside a town called Bratsk. The drive would be about 5 hours, and 300 kilometers. Bratsk is a city of nearly 230,000 people, though I haven't got a clue where all of them are.

I most certainly did not see all that many people during my visit. Certainly not enough to think the city was that big.

Bratsk was 'discovered' by European colonizers in the mid 17^th century, they wanted to collect taxes from the local Buryat population. A fort was also built during the 17^th century, this is what started permanent settlement in the area. In WW2 a Gulag camp was built nearby, a pretty big one. The Angara prison labor camp could hold up to 44,000 people! I don't know if this was a typical size for a camp, but it seems like a lot of people to me.

I don't know if there are any remains of the camp, and if so, if it is open to visitors in any way. 

Much of the growth of Bratsk came later, as industry grew. In the 1950s a huge damn and hydroelectric plant was built on a waterway that eventually feeds into Lake Baikal. The city is now shrinking, as it is basically in the middle of nowhere, and young folks aren't likely to stick around if they don't have to.

The train station has a completely different name, you pretty much have to take a taxi to get into town, and yandex taxi doesn't have a lot of cars available then and there.

That being said, I think all the local drivers know when the train comes in, so they are there at the station, waiting for random passengers like me.

It was nice to be dropped off right at my accomodation, which had the best music ever for a domophone. The domophone (house phone) is the little keypad on the front of apartment buildings that allows you to 'call' the apartment you are visiting, and for them to open the front door for you. After you dial the apartment number there is sometimes no sound, sometimes a ring, and sometimes a song. I loved this one so much I later made a video of it, hee hee.

After checking in I walked back out to get to the closest supermarket to pick up breakfast and snack for the next day, then went to sleep.

The next day I took my time as usual, as Bratsk is another one of those towns without a huge list of places to go and things to see. Not surprisingly, if you've read anything I've written previously, my first intended sight of the day was a statue of Lenin. He was bigger than normal, standing tall on a pedestal in front of what I would call city call. City Hall was a big, boring building, totally typical of government administration built in the Soviet period.

The second place I wanted to see in Bratsk was a giant war memorial. Giant war memorials are a dime a dozen in Russia, but I still love seeing them, and honouring those who fought for a few minutes. This one was indeed huge, and really photogenic. The place where it sat also offered a beautiful view of the water not too far away. The weather was not great for wandering through grass and mud, otherwise I would've gone right down to the water.

After the memorial I figured out how to get to the last sight I wanted to see: an outdoor, wooden architecture museum. I don't know if they are as common as some of the other types of museums, but it sure felt like it this summer.

Getting to the museum involved a walk, a bus, then another longer walk, totalling a bit over an hour. The sun kinda came out when I finally got there, which was nice, except that I was covered in sweat.

This museum had a rebuild of an old fort, as well as examples of totems of the Buryat people who have been in the area for eons. There were also homes to visit, showing different jobs that needed to be done for a community to survive and flourish. There was also a small church, which looked as if it could still hold services regularly. I'd love it if one of these museums showed a school, but I have yet to see that sort of building.

After leaving the museum I felt like I was off to the races. I sped walked back to the bus stop, then waited (not very patiently,) about 10 minutes for the next bus to come along. The bus took me back to the center of town, from which I sped walked some more back to the flat to collect my bag. The hostess had called a taxi for me, so it was waiting as I walked out.

The ride back to the train station was just as long as it had been the night before coming into town, but a whole lot more interesting now that I could see. That being said, I'm pretty sure I don't need to come back to Bratsk.