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GEOGRAPHY: RUSSIA - The Siberian

Siberian

Siberian . It 's not a train as it might have been the legendary Orient Express, Trans-Siberian and' the rail network connecting Moscow with the Far East, Eastern Europe through Asia to the gates of China. From Moscow to Vladivostok are nearly 9,300 km , and 'the most' long railway line world entirely in Russian territory, important from a historical point of view, economic and military. Commissioned by Tsar Alexander III and 'just as he would have imagined, a tape from one end to join his immense empire. In 1891 began its work, and at that time to reach the capital St Petersburg, from the shores of the Pacific a year would also not have enough. Siberia was connected with the European Russia uncomfortable and inconvenient from a dirt road and railways stopped due east to the Urals. The track was opened in the steppe and taiga with just human power, the arms of convicts, soldiers and labor Chinese binaries advancing 650 km year but between floods, disease, war, attacks by bandits, schedules Malfatti and poor quality materials, it took 26 years to complete this feat Pharaonic . The main line and 'was then further frayed; the BAM, the Baikal-Amur Mainline, and' an extension that extends north of Lake Baikal to reach the Pacific coast, from Novosibirsk, the Turkestan-Siberian line down south , Ulan Ude is separated from the Trans-Mongolian and a little more 'on the Trans-Manchurian , different pathways that are reunited in Beijing, Beijing.

A Mosca abbiamo il nostro appuntamento; qui dobbiamo assolutamente ritrovarci poiche' ciascuno di noi vi arrivera' per conto proprio e da vie diverse. E un martedi' sera eccoci finalmente riuniti, a ventiquattro ore dall’inizio della nostra avventura in treno. La curiosita' ci proietta subito a scoprire la citta'; una giornata mi e' bastata per amarla. Nella Piazza Rossa lo spazio si distende, e' immensa. Palcoscenico di colpi di stato, insurrezioni, esecuzioni pubbliche, parate militari, e' imponente. Poi davanti a me e' l’immagine di un sogno, il simbolo della Russia, la cattedrale di San Basilio , un gioiello che nessuna illustrazione ne' fotografia potra' mai rendere nella sua extraordinary beauty. E 'apotheosis of shapes, colors, domes and chapels; phantasmagoria at sunset.

The Kremlin and 'a complex of buildings of great charm, palaces, Orthodox churches, museums and gardens, encircled by walls with round towers and gates. The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin and 'regarded as the national church, and there all the Tsars were crowned, from Iva'n the Terrible on, and elected and consecrated the patriarchs of the Orthodox Church, many of which are buried inside . The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael and 'the burial place of the czars, hidden from view, near the altar is the tomb of Iva'n the Terrible. The exterior of the church, which mixes the Italian Renaissance style with the traditional Russian art, and 'an example of the variety' architecture of these buildings, in fact, between the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century, Tsar Iva'n III the Great call 'many Italian architects to design the Kremlin on the European model.

stroll in the gardens and squares you meet the Tsar bell , over 200 tons in weight, the most ' largest in the world. It was still sealed in its form of chalk when he came in contact with the spilled water to control a fire nearby, broke away and a large piece jump 'on. This bell never sounded. A little 'as the Tsar Cannon, 40 tons, the world's' largest in the world, was cast with the intent to defend the walls of the Kremlin. Symbol of Russian patriotism, do not shoot 'never a stroke. Big, beautiful, very decorative, proud and totally unnecessary, a bit reminiscent of 'certain popular characters who want to look, without being.

Signs, signs advertising the names of the streets and squares, subway stations, everything is 'written in Cyrillic , the' Russian alphabet. Cyrillic and 'based on Greek and Latin characters and replaced the previous Glagolitic alphabet used in the first translations of liturgical texts from the greek. Originally consisted of 43 letters, reduced to 32 in Russia today, every language uses the Cyrillic still retains its small variations.

Yaroslavsky Station. Let us train number 10, the Moscow-Irkutsk Baikal Express Direct, one of the most 'beautiful railroad tell us. Our berths are booked on the coach number zero, well, we immediately meet the 18, 17, 16. 9 and 'the dining car and so' we go up the long train with luggage on their shoulders. It 's a second-class-only train, 19 cars strong and essential, nine compartments per carriage, four berths per compartment, all the same cars at each end with a toilet and a small shelter for the 'controller'. Or more wagon-head controller 'assistant, also couples to the female, with the task of keeping the most of' their 'car. The uniform change in the role of time as a hostess on the plane, and 'the officer in a dark blue suit, or apron for cleaning every day: paper in the bathrooms, dust and vacuum the carpeted corridor and into the cells of travelers.

1777 Kilometers , a white obelisk indicating the passage from Europe to Asia, we enter into Siberia through the Urals.

in the hallway and 'hanging on a table with the path of the train and the estimated times of arrival at the stations, between two windows and the green shoots of ivy sagging, fake. You make a couple of stops per day, 20 minutes or less if the train brings delay, take a stroll, a run, or to buy something to eat from vendors improvised ahead along the tracks of the station: boiled eggs, yogurt , smoked fish, meatballs and potatoes, tomatoes, apple, berries in paper cups, or a drink, del pane, grossi würstel molto agliati, spaghetti coreani liofilizzati in scatola di polistirolo, dove basta aggiungere un po’ d’acqua bollente ed in cinque minuti riprendono a vivere. Sono poche le bancarelle, ma e' un formicolio di donne e bambini, un tovagliolo a ricoprire i cestelli ripieni di povere cose. Tenerezza e tanta pena per questa gente ingegnosa che arrotonda cosi' le misere entrate.

Poco prima di Novosibirsk incrociamo l’ Ob , uno dei fiumi piu' lunghi al mondo.

E’ stranamente bello, eccitante, disorientante, sapere di non aver altro da fare se non leggere, chiacchierare, look through a window, eat and sleep, like children. The rocking of the train and 'a cradle and you wake up late in the morning, then lunch and' snack. And so we let ourselves go 'so that' our 'watch stara. We are no longer 'in sync with the outside, but as we were in total isolation, we follow our rhythms of wakefulness, feeding and sleep, completely disconnected sleepwalking on days without a date.

Krasnoyarsk ; cross the long bridge over the Yenisey River .

Meanwhile, on our small screen slide larch and birch forests, terre pacifiche, piccole fattorie, sentieri fra prati fioriti, contadini al lavoro, un albero appena tagliato, mucche al pascolo, un side-car.

La Siberia può riservare incontri inaspettati...

E finalmente Irkutsk , la capitale culturale della Siberia meridionale. Siamo a terra con quasi 5200 chilometri alle spalle. Sul fiume Angara – unico emissario del lago Baikal – Irkutsk fu fondata dai cosacchi nel 1651 come avamposto militare. Grazie alla sua posizione strategica si sviluppo' as a market, crossroads of trade in furs, gold, te ', silk, and another, between Russia and China. City 'of merchants and aristocrats, was place of exile for political prisoners and Decembrists. The Decembrist revolt - from the Russian dekabr ', in December - was a protest movement led by a group of revolutionaries in December 1825 in St. Petersburg. They were mostly 'tsarist army officers, hoping to establish a constitutional monarchy or a republic. The revolt was quickly suppressed, but hundreds of rioters were exiled or sentenced to hard labor. After serving his sentence, some Decembrists decided to stay, and their beautiful homes, now restored, are museums and you can visit. The architecture of the compound housing the neoclassical style with wood, typical of the original houses of old Siberia.

I always like to recall that was born in Irkutsk Rudolf Nureyev (Russian ballet dancer of great 900).

station Irkutsk

I never loved the caviar and vodka even the , unaged liquor, fragrance, flavor too soft. I let myself gain more 'easily from bruschetta and prosciutto rather than oysters and champagne. Pero 'dinner for the caviar and vodka Nostalgia Kafe, with a passionate voice that sang' Caruso '- in Siberia! - Do not leave me completely indifferent.

is terrific and 'the feel of a village festival on the river, on Sunday evening with the youth' dressed up for the rub, cotton candy, cleats, smiles, transparencies, lipstick, perfume of grilled meat and chasing us smoking.

about seventy miles along the river and arrive at Baikal, the lake more 'deep in the world.

Lake Baikal

Its shape recalls a thin crescent moon. It stretches over 620 km , roughly ten times more 'than' my 'lake, the Lake Como. At the Baikal Limnological Institute (from the greek limn, lake), a movie tells us about the transparency of its waters, the wide variety 'of flora and fauna, endemic animal species, salmon and sturgeon, freshwater seals .

freshwater seals

We are close to Listvyanka, lovely marina, a village between the sea and the countryside where the lifestyle and 'remained unchanged for centuries. A church, a delightful little wooden houses with a garden in front of a fence. Maria takes us to visit his house: an explosion of cross hedges with raspberry and green flowers and potato plants. In the kitchen the brick oven for bread and 'off the precious and miserable things are in order, neat, clean, and lace, white lace on the pillows of the bed on the couch. She and 'burnt cardboard, deep furrows in the face, spider webs around the eyes, old eyes, glassy or blue, the color is blended by a mouth that smiles, a smile that sucks. E’ l’immagine del tempo che e' da sempre, che non c’e' piu'.

A Ulan Ude solo il tempo di una sera. Catturo immagini: una grande statua con la faccia di Lenin , enorme e nera; i primi visi mongoli dei buriati, uno spiedino, poche ore di sonno e via, nuovamente. La mia irrequietezza oggi e' troppo forte.

Sdraiata su una panchina mi appisolo nella piccola stazione di frontiera di Naushki; la giornata e' calda e afosa. Siamo fermi gia' da qualche ora ad aspettare; passeremo dieci ore cosi', sotto il sole cocente di questa estate siberiana.

Sulla Trans-Mongolian There are no rules, reserved seats will never be ours, on the train cleaning is never done, it becomes one of the bathrooms 'private', occupied by a shabby pair 'assistant-controller' with a succession of husbands, lovers and friends, maybe . The entire convoy 'was dismantled and removed, but even we realized, and' remained only our coach, the one for foreigners, and we foreigners. The afternoon 'sleepy. Everyone, even those who were more committed to 'I can not play cards, to sunbathe, to brush your hair or doing the laundry, all, we stroll up bored. Meanwhile, new people arrive, strange movements, heavy cardboard boxes and dozens of eggs are loaded on the wagon, come out egg ravioli! But it 's time for dinner now for the architects of metamorphosis, sitting on the floor in a circle, content, impregnate their soup with bits of chives.

fishermen in Vladivostok, the Russian city on the Pacific Ocean,

terminus of the Trans-Siberian