HSE International Students Explore Russia: Laura Gather in Siberia

Laura Gather came to the HSE to study Social Science. She is from Germany and studies in Cologne. This May, her friends and she travelled by the Trans-Siberian railway. From Moscow, they went by train to Ekaterinburg, then to Omsk, Novosibirsk, Ulan Ude, and Irkutsk. Laura spent two nights on Olkhon Island and one night in Listvianka before she finally returned from Irkutsk to Moscow by plane. She has shared an account of her travel experiences with Read Square, HSE online student magazine run by Russian and international stuents.

Feelings and Expectations

‘It has always been a big dream for me to travel by the Trans-Siberian Railway through Russia to Siberia and Lake Baikal. So when my friends and I decided to plan such a tour, I was very excited. I expected a great landscape, different cultural experiences and exposure to a different Russia than the one I’d seen for the last four months in Moscow.

I was quite impressed to see that many cities that I encountered, like Ekaterinburg, Omsk and Novosibirsk, preserved the soviet style. There is no space for contemporary architecture in those, because of the atmosphere that reigns there.

The difference between Moscow and the rest of Russia is reflected not only in the architecture, but also in the tangible difference in people’s behavior. Just as we entered the train I could feel it. Everywhere we went, people were nice. They were interested in our stories. In every city, we felt very welcomed and Russians always helped us with finding places or with picking the right busses – even in English. I was often quite surprised about this kindness that I rarely experienced in Moscow. Sometimes we were also invited to some people’s houses. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit them.

My only honest regret is a lack of time. For instance, we were in Omsk for just one day, which was why we didn’t have time to see some museums. In general, Omsk was an easy city to explore. Perhaps, the main reason for this was that we had already become used to Russian life. Similarly, in Novosibirsk, we arrived in the morning and left in the evening. So we didn’t have enough time to “feel the atmosphere of science and new opportunities” that we had been told a lot about. I had recently read an article regarding Novosibirsk as “the research center in Russia”.  So I imagine that when one spends more days there and sees more of the culture that maybe one becomes more innovative.

In Ulan Ude, one can still feel the influence of Russian culture, while seeing other influences as well. We were there on Victory’s Day. There was a big parade as well and all people were very proud to be a Russian. As the capital of Buryatia, Ulan Ude also has a big Buryatian influence in food, language, and so on. Since Ulan Ude is close to Mongolia’s border, there are also Mongolian influences, so that we were able to meet Mongolians there as well.

Irkutsk is typically considered to be just a “one-day-visit”-city. But you need more than one day to discover it because there are so many churches, monuments, and other sites to see. What I would recommend to do is the “Green Line” there.

On Olkhon Island, the most impressive was the landscape with the huge lake and many animals. Also very interesting was the Shaman Rock. Unfortunately, we didn’t meet a Shaman and get to know the culture by listening to traditions or legends. I wish we’d had more time!

Reality and Infrastructure

We were very surprised by the infrastructure in Ekaterinburg, which we experienced by taking the tram from our hostel to the center of the city. The trams there were quite old and looked like they were at least 40 years old. The most surprising thing during our tour by tram was when the lady suddenly stopped the train, went out of it and had to change the switch on the street by hand. It was a very new experience for us.

Irkutsk was the most welcoming city for foreign tourists. Since it is close to Lake Baikal, many tourists come there through the whole year. Irkutsk has many English-speakers and offers many guided tours to Lake Baikal.

Travel by the Trans-Siberian Railway through Russia to Siberia was awesome, and exceeded all expectations. I would love to see more of Russia. It is such an interesting country with so many several kinds of landscapes, people and culture.

Source: Read Square, HSE online student magazine. Contact the editorial team via Facebook if you wish to become a contributor.