Yekaterinburg

 

 

An industrial city with a few million inhabitants, the gateway of Siberia at the foot of the Ural mountains, this city has nothing special except, in my opinion, the lurking shadow of the Romanovs prowling the city. We know of their life in the Villa Ipatiev, the slow disintegration of the Tsar's position, the forced abandonment of the servants, the princesses covered with jewellery and molested by the Bolsheviks, the creeping fear that reigned. The Tsar had left Moscow with large sums of money which allowed him to survive decently for some time, and then, in Yekaterinburg things changed. The Bolsheviks had to face the armies of the white Russians, they were frightened and began to treat the imperial family harder. The Tsar stood up. The army of the white Russians arrived with the Czech regiments to liberate the Tsar and, int he end, this is what determined the massacre. You will visit the place of the massacre where an Orthodox church has been erected. The interior is dedicated to the worship of the imperial family but also the monastery where the bodies have been preserved. About twenty kilometers from the city the religious people maintain the worship of the Romanovs which, by the way, constituted the obsessive fear of the Bolsheviks. Today, with the return to grace of the Orthodox Church, we observe the fascination of the Russians by their emperors and their respect for the annihilated family. Yekaterinburg is a concentrate of mysticism and the oddities of the Slavic soul. Apart from that, nice people, shopping malls, streets, chichas ...

 

 

 

Lake Baikal

 

A wonder of nature!  The largest natural water reserve in the world, an inland sea, a lake during summer, a massive ice highway in winter, fabulous scenery, sunsets, boat rides, a small village of gold searchers. Hotel? I recommend - Legend of Baikal. In addition the staff was very kind.

 

 Do visit the small town of Listvyanka, a sort of Russian riviera with its local market and once again nice people. A cable car will allow you to admire the panorama once again. There’s also a small village by the lake, which you reach after a nice boat ride : Bolshie Koty, magnificent view, a rather strange museum and a weird homestay lunch if you’re up for it.

 

 

Irkutsk

 

The last step of my trip is the city of Irkutsk, located halfway between Moscow and Vladivostok, which is the heart of Siberia. It is at the same time the north of Mongolia, and among the population there are people, who are clearly not of Russian origin. The Russians are very conscient of this. They don’t mix at all, as far as I can tell. The city is quite beautiful and romantic. Lovely old wooden houses, of mixed style between Siberian Baroque and Russian Austere. Worth seing: The houses of the Decembrists: people of the Russian bourgeoisie and nobility, who had revolted to incite the Tsarist regime to be more open in order to avoid what finally happened. They were exiled and severely punished. Living in Irkutsk in the nineteenth century, after the splendour of St. Petersburg, can’t have been that charming! Don’t forget Rassolnik, an incredible restaurant with retro charm and a waiter worthy of Monsieur Hulot - the film not the ecologist. The interior is that of a private apartment from the Soviet era. We also saw beautiful outdoor markets, friendly people, churches of course, and an general impression of the end of the world. 

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