russia: tobolsk

Tobolsk was the last city I visited during my winter mini tour of Siberia. (And I've already decided that I'd like to see all the cities again in summer, or at least warmer weather, just to see how they look different.) Tobolsk is in the Tymen oblast, and has nearly 100,000 residents.

Wikipedia tells me Tobolsk is one of the traditional capital cities of Siberia, though I'm not sure what exactly that means. The city was first founded in 1590 by a group of Cossacks. It was the second city founded in the region, not long after Tyumen.

In 1708 Tobolsk received its first school, theatre, and newspaper; all of these were the first in Siberia. After the Battle of Poltava (now in Ukraine,) in 1709 some members of the losing Swedish Army were sent to Tobolsk as prisoners. There were so many of these prisoners that they made up 25% of the city population, some of them ended up staying for good, even after repatriation was possible.

Tobolsk became the residence of more prisoners after the Decembrist revolt in 1825. Some of these exiles also ended up staying in Tobolsk permanently.

Tobolsk lost some regional power when the main route of the Transsiberian railway built between Tyumen and Omsk didn't pass through Tobolsk. You can arrive in Tobolsk by train, but the train station is not at all close to the city itself, not even my crazy definition of walking distance would consider the distance between the train station and Tobolsk as walkable.

After the February revolution in 1917, the tsarist empire of Russia ended. The reigning tsar abdicated, and with his family went into exile in Tobolsk for a few months. (From Tobolsk they went to Yekaterinburg in 1918, where they were brutally murdered in July of that year.)

Wikipedia tells me the economy of modern Tobolsk centers on a major oil refinery and the petrochemical industry. Some traditional crafts, such as bone carving are also preserved. Tourism is also part of the economy, because of its historical importance, architecture, and natural landscapes.

I arrived in Tobolsk, and wanted to walk to town, only to realize that it really wasn't walking distance. That in addition to this being Siberia and it being winter made walking a no go. Even waiting for the bus in front of the train station was quite cold.

When I booked my hostel in Tobolsk, I decided to book a cell in what used to be a wing of the prison in the kremlin area. The address listed on the booking wasn't quite the actual location, but when I found the actual location I discovered that check in was in a completely different hotel, in a completely different location/building. Since I was cold and tired, I was annoyed by all this.

Several of the cells in the prison had been converted into hostel dorms, I think I was the only person in the whole thing during the night I slept there. 

Another of the former cells had been made into the kitchen, though it had only a kettle and a table. No real cooking facilities. Yet another former cell was the bathroom and toilet.

After resting up for entirely too long, I went out to walk. The prison I was sleeping in was in the wall surrounding a church and museum. I thought about trying to go in them, but discovered the entry fees and just wasn't in the mood for paying entry fees. Sometimes I'm happy to do this, sometimes not so much.

Not too far away from the prison gates was the main platz in the old city center. This is the part of Tobolsk that is in the middle of the old kremlin walls. I assume it is normally a rather empty area, but at this time of year it was filled with ice sculptures and a giant Christmas tree. I had fun looking at the different sculptures and loved that there weren't too many other people around. There were a couple ice slides, making me regret (yet again,) that I didn't have something to slide on. 

I really should've bought something in Kurgan or Chelyabinsk when I saw things available.

One side of the festival had giant bears, just like the ones I'd seen in Tyumen. I guess Siberian bears are a major stereotype of the region, and Russia in general, sooooo....

Also in the area is the Assumption Cathedral, which was the main church in the old kremlin area. I think part of it is under renovation, but I was still able to go inside, and I loved the interior. Lots of brightly coloured frescoes, a gold iconostasis, tall columns. 

The interior area wasn't very big, but there weren't too many other people around, so it didn't feel crowded.

After wandering all over this area, I decided to wander up one of the bigger streets in town and just see where it went. By this point it was already dusk, with total darkness coming fast. Obviously I'd wasted too much of the day relaxing in my hostel, oh well. What can I do to change this habit of mine, as I've lost way too many hours when I should've been exploring. 

While walking I saw the main WW2 memorial, complete with eternal flame. Due to the lack of sunlight, I decided to wait until the next day to take photos. I also decided to wait in taking photos of two giant murals on the sides of buildings. More photo waiting happened when I walked past some painted snow sculptures.

I walked all the way to the end of a cemetery, marked with a gazebo. The gazebo was covered in holiday lights, which were absolutely lovely in an otherwise dark area. I normally like to explore cemeteries, but I wasn't about to do that in the dark and cold. 

After taking photos in the gazebo I turned around and walked back to my hostel, with a stop at a supermarket along the way.

Getting back into my prison was more of an adventure than I wanted it to be. When I'd checked in, the lady told me that the main gate closed at 1800, effectively closing the museum and church to visitors. She gave me a code to open the gate if I needed to go through after hours. When she did this, the gate was open, so I assumed the code system would be easy to work.

It wasn't. I tried the code over and over again, but the gate didn't budge. I admit I got really frustrated, and started crying. I was cold, tired, and not able to get into my accomodation, argh. Fortunately, a guard inside the gate heard me trying over and over, and came out to see what was happening. He showed me how to open the gate with the code, and it included lifting up on one section, which I'm pretty sure the earlier lady hadn't mentioned. Phew. I wonder how long the security guards stick around after closing hours?

I slept like a rock. Even with the long sleep, and the knowledge that daylight was short, it still took me a while to get going the next morning. I packed up and checked out, leaving my pack at the luggage area of the hotel that had handled my check in.

I started my sightseeing on a gorgeous day (still quite cold, but a blue sky instead of dark gray,) with a walk around the old kremlin walls. The view at one end was out over part of the city, it was a lovely view.

My next sight was a memorial at one end of a park area. I'll admit I didn't pay attention at the time to the sign telling me what was being memorialized. Later on I looked it up, Google reviews told me the memorial is dedicated to the Ermak victories of the 16^th century.

I walked up Oktober street, past a monument to Dostoyevsky to Peter and Paul Church. It was small, but I don't skip many churches if I can go in. The inside wasn't very interesting, but the lady inside decided I needed to learn a bit about the church, so she gave me a few dates, as well as showing me the baptismal bath.

After leaving the church I went back to the main street I'd walked the day before, so I could take the mural photos and the war memorial photos and the snow sculpture photos. They were all way better in daylight, as expected.

Last night I walked to the gazebo, then turned around. This day I kept going, by walking around the traffic circle. Not much further along I found a small bakery which had tasty treats and a warm interior. I stayed in there for at least an hour, warming up my phone, my camera, and the batteries for both.

Not long after I left the bakery I noticed some runners coming up the pavement on the other side of the street. Not only were they running outside in -16C weather, they were in fancy dress (costume.) The ladies were wearing Snegurechka costumes, she is the granddaughter of Ded Moroz. The men were wearing Ded Moroz costumes.

After seeing the runners, I remembered that while riding the bus into town I'd seen a random building with unique architecture. I'd marked it on the map and decided to go back later. 

This seemed like a good time to do that, so I kept walking. A while later I got to the building, it was actually a government building! A state committee for something, I don't think there is an equivalent in the States, so the name didn't mean anything to me.

At this point it was sunset, which was a completely different experience with a non cloudy sky. Absolutely beautiful, and really quiet, if that makes sense.

I walked into every supermarket I passed on my way back to the hotel to pick up my pack, at least three of them. I can't help it, I'm always looking for yogurt or other snacks.

I picked up my pack, then found the bus stop to catch the bus back to the train station. There was a schedule posted, but it wasn't accurate, argh. I ended up having to wait more than thirty minutes for the bus I needed, but at least I had the time to wait. When I got to the train station I had a few more hours to kill, then boarded my train as soon as it pulled in.

Finding a place to put my pack in my area was a challenge, as one of the other passengers had a fake Christmas tree as his luggage. The tree took up the entire area above the beds, annoying me. He offered me the space below his bunk, which is the normal thing to do, but I was nervous because I was going to get off the train at 0230, and I knew he'd have to stand up at that hour for me to get my pack. Thankfully, he understood when I told him this, and it ended up being no problem at all.

I'd like to see Tobolsk again, in warmer weather.

russia: tyumen

I did not plan my New Year's holidays very far in advance. Despite having a three week break, I stayed in Russia for the first couple weeks, because there is so much to see and do in the country. I didn't get the first week and some sorted out until just a couple weeks ahead of time, whoops!

My first destination was Tyumen. Almost 2150 kilometers east of Moscow, Tyumen is a rapidly growing city. Though the 2010 census had just over 580,000 residents, Wikipedia tells me the current estimate is just short of 770,000 residents.

Tyumen became part of the Tsardom of Russia in 1585, when a Cossack leader annexed the area from the Siberian Khanate. Sometime after this the city was completely destroyed, along with a city called Sibir. While Tyumen was later rebuilt, Sibir wasn't. Sibir ended up being the name for the entire region instead.

Wikipedia goes on to say By the beginning of the 18th century Tyumen had developed into an important center of trade between Siberia and China in the east and Central Russia in the west.

Tyumen had also become an important industrial center, known for leatherworkers, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen. In 1763, 7,000 people were recorded as living in the town.

By the end of the 19th century Tyumen's population exceeded 30,000, surpassing that of its northern rival Tobolsk (which I visited later on during this trip,) and beginning a process whereby Tyumen gradually eclipsed the former regional capital. The growth of Tyumen culminated on August 14, 1944 when the city finally became the administrative center of the extensive Tyumen Oblast.

World War II saw rapid growth and development in the city. In the winter of 1941, twenty-two major industrial enterprises evacuated to Tyumen from the European part of the Soviet Union. These enterprises went into operation the following spring. Additionally, war-time Tyumen became a "hospital city", where thousands of wounded soldiers were treated.

Possibly the most interesting part of the recent history of Tyumen is what happened during WW2 in 1941. The body of Lenin was secretly moved from Moscow to a secret tomb in what is now the Tyumen State Agriculture Academy. 

I don't know why his head wasn't moved as well. As far as I know, locals had no idea this happened until well after the war was over.

Regarding the current economy of Tyumen, Wikipedia says Tyumen is an important service center for the gas and oil industries in Russia. Due to its advantageous location at the crossing of the motor, rail, water and air ways and its moderate climate Tyumen was an ideal base town for servicing the oil and gas industry of the West Siberia. 

As a result, today Tyumen is a center of industry, science, culture, education and medicine. Many large oil and gas companies such as Gazprom, LUKoil, Gazpromneft and Shell have their representative offices in Tyumen.

There are numerous factories, engineering companies, oil industry service companies (KCA DEUTAG and Schlumberger,) design institutes, shipyard and other oil servicing companies located in Tyumen. Schwank, market leader for industrial heaters, has its subsidiary, SibSchwank, in Tyumen, holding market shares of about 25%. UTair is also based in Tyumen.

As Tyumen is not an easy train ride from Tyumen, (the train would be direct, but it would take 35 hours,) I chose to fly instead. My flight landed in the early morning, which is acually my preferred time to arrive somewhere new.

As Moscow has had a very warm winter this year, I knew I would be in for temperature shock as soon as I set food outside the airport, and that's exactly what happened. I went from temperatures above freezing, to -20C or so that morning. Big difference, to say the least. It was easy to catch a public bus into the city center, then walk about 15 minutes to get to my hostel. 

I wasn't able to check in straightaway, but I was able to leave my pack, which was enough for the time being. After leaving my pack the first thing I did was find a supermarket to pick up snacks and drinks. Am I the only weirdo who wants ice cream even when it is quite cold outside?

One of the few things that is no fun about traveling in the cold is related to photography. Camera batteries don't last nearly as long in this kind of cold. You can keep the batteries in your gloves or pockets, but that means you can't set up your camera nearly as quickly every time you want to take a photo. 

The cold also makes touching your camera not so fun, as the metal picks up the cold and holds in. Same goes for the tripod. Argh.

I walked along one of the main streets in the city, seeing a whole lot of holiday decorations. There were quite a few snowflake decorations, which I suppose makes sense in terms of the weather. My first official sight had nothing to do with anything, it was a quirky monument, dedicated to janitors.

Not far away I found a WW2 memorial. There was an eternal flame, named engraved on plaques, and fake flowers. 

Part of the memorial was also a giant sculpture that I think was supposed to be a torch with a flame on top.

I kept going along the main street, eventually coming to a statue of Lenin. Big statue, on a big pedestal, nothing different from what I've seen previously. He stood in front of the government building that holds the administration for the oblast. This government building also had holiday decorations.

After walking another couple blocks, I followed another street for a quick detour, to find a church. 

The outside was a boring white, but the inside was nicely painted with frescoes and a great rotunda. I am always a sucker for a church with a rotunda that is painted on the interior side.

Eventually this main street followed the lines of the Tura River, which runs through the city. I wanted to take a whole lot of photos of the pedestrian bridge that goes over the river at this point, but it was just too cold and windy to keep it up for long. Almost directly across the street from the bridge was another war memorial, this one also had an eternal flame.

After looking at the memorial for a minute or two, I knew I had to get inside for a bit to warm up. Thankfully there was a church visible not too far away, so I headed in that direction. It felt so good to step inside the church, and I appreciated the lovely gold iconostasis in front.

After getting feeling back in my fingers, I walked home. All the way home, with three stops. The first was to take nighttime photos of the giant bear decorations set up in a central park area. The other stop was in a donut shop, for dessert after the dinner I hadn't yet eaten. I stopped for the third time in the same supermarket as the morning, to pick up dinner (salad,) supplies.

The next morning was my normal routine of waking up early but not getting moving as fast as I should. That being said, this was also the shortest day of the year, meaning sunrise comes later. It was also hard to get up because my body was still mostly on Moscow time, making it feel like the middle of the night.

The weather my first day in Tyumen was cold, but completely sunny. Not so much on my second day in the city. It was just as cold, windy, and snowy for much of the second day. Not nearly as much fun in terms of randomly walking around the city.

I walked to the train station from my hostel, which wasn't a short walk, but gave me a chance to see the non touristy parts of the city. I found luggage storage and left my pack there for the day, then walked out again. On the other side of the parkplatz in front of the station was a large Soviet style mosaic mural, honouring the science cities in the area.

Walking straight up the street in front of the train station brought me back to the bears I'd seen the night before. They weren't nearly as interesting in daylight, but I took my photos anywho.

From there I went back to the main street I'd walked the day before, walking even further than I had the day before. I walked all the way to a monastery marked on the map, and listed as a sight worth seeing. The holy trinity monastery ended up not being all that impressive, mostly because the main church within the walls was under renovation. I was only able to visit the smaller church, which wasn't nearly as interesting aesthetically, though I think it did have the more interesting history.

After leaving the walls of the monastery, I walked back in the direction from which I'd come. 

This took me past the second war memorial I'd seen the day before. Less than a block away was the city museum, which seemed like a good place to visit.

Joy of joys, another Russian museum with multiple ticket options. Argh. And shoe covers, which I really don't like. I chose a couple ticket options that had to do with Soviet times, and WW2. Neither area was particularly large, but oh well.

On my way into the area about WW2 I slipped and fell on the stone steps, as they'd been worn smooth and my shoe covers made them even more slippery. If you put those shoe covers on while your shoes have any water with them (snow, ice, stuck to the bottom of your shoes,) they don't do much. The covers are pretty cheaply made, meaning holes come along quickly, and before you know it you're still bringing water/dirt all over the building you're in.

Anywho, after falling down the stairs I took off the shoe covers and refused to put them back on. I really don't like those things.

By the time I left the city museum it was dark outside, so the powers that be had already turned on all the lights. Street lights, lights on the pedestrian bridge, holiday lights, etc. By that point it had (finally) stopped snowing, so I could see everything clearly and it was lovely.

After that I killed several hours by stopping in three food places. First a cafe for dessert and a drink. Then a pizza place for dinner. Then the donut place again for second desserts. YUM all the way around.

From there I walked back to the train station, picking up my bag plenty of time ahead of my train. I only had to wait about thirty minutes to board, and as expected, the train left exactly on time.

I'd like to come back to Tyumen in late spring or summer, just to see how the city looks, as I'm sure it would be completely different.