The Ice Caves at Kungur gave an insight into the frozen subterranean world. Descending some 27m to where the ground is permanently frozen and a constant -5 degrees year round. Similar systems are common throughout the Urals which also act as the geographical boundary between Asia and Europe
This piece of street art took our fancy for originality
In Perm while stopped to read
our map we were approached by a local who was keen to help guide us to the
outskirts of the city. In the process Alexander offered to show us the sights
of Perm in his car, an event that lasted 6 hours and included an impressive
display of weapons manufactured in Perm. Alexander’s spontaneous kindness
without any expectation of reward was typical of what we experienced on many
occasions throughout Russia. This included the Russian police who for us were
always helpful; the greatest example was when our traveling companions, the
Rob’s had to return at short notice for a family bereavement; after we flagged
down a police car the two officers spent the rest of the day checking customs,
storing their vehicle and getting them to the airport, all without any
expectation of gain. We were very impressed
A part of Alexander’s tour
included this restored pioneer village with this old log church which had been
shifted on sight. The timber poles dated back to 1694!! Now that’s good timber!
I wish I knew what it was??
Perm also included some R&M
on Roadee who suffered a bad windscreen stone impact. It was well repaired for
$40
An infamous period in Russian
history were the ‘gulags’ or political prisons established by the communist
government from the 1920’s until the mid-1980’s. Established to put out of
sight those citizens who dared to speak out against the system or in most cases
were just caught up in the frenzy of purges which climaxed in 1937. This camp
known as Perm 36 is believed to be the only one that escaped being erased by
the security forces after the last prisoners were released. It now remains as a
museum and memorial to all those who perished and suffered from political
imprisonment
The graph shows the increase of
prisoners held from the 30s rising to nearly two and half million in 1941. The
last prisoners were only released from Perm36 in 1986. The total prisoners who
died in captivity numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The most notorious
camp was Kolema in the far east of Siberia where hunger, torture and a cold
environment of minus 40-50 degrees resulted in a life expectancy of only 5
months. To date this part of Russian history is side stepped in school and
means that the manic Stalinist years remain largely untold
Oil, liquid gold! The great cash provider which has helped Russia, to a large degree, survive the GFC. It has also led to a dual economy as with Australia; regions with oil and gas have boomed while dry old Soviet towns with no free world contracts have suffocated in a market economy
Kazan sports one very
impressive kremlin (an early period city administrative area) which was built firstly
in the 10th century by the Tartars until it came under Russian
control when Ivan the Terrible took it in the 16th century
The Kremlin has been well
restored with working administrative buildings which now attract tourists,
mainly Russian Muscovites on their way to the Black Sea
At Kazan we met the mighty
Volga River. It has been dammed in a number of places during the 50s providing
a great source of water storage, transport, irrigation and hydro power. While
crossing a minor tributary we were stopped by the police as the bridge was
restricted to 3.5 tonne. After engaging in our well-rehearsed drill where
Marina doesn’t acknowledge her Russian background and I push the innocent, ‘I
don’t understand spiel’, the officer after trying to explain which road we
should take waved us on over the bridge while saying to himself, that we would
get lost whichever way we go! :) :) :)
One other benefit the Volga
provides is a place to fish. I think that Russia rivals Australia as a nation
of fishermen – they are everywhere taking every opportunity to wet a line
Ulyanovsk, the home town of Lenin
but also home to the famous UAZ van which is better known by the locals as a
‘boohunka’ based on its appearance as a, loaf of bread.
The two Marinas. A reunion
after 30 years in the city of Engels with an old school friend and her now
grown family and grandchildren. Again we
were treated to some warm hospitality
MED or honey can be bought
adjacent to the hives which have been set up alongside the road
The 1st of September
marks the first day of the school year and is a big day for all the new
children. Dressed in their finest and always flowers for the teacher, this
family are headed off for the first big day!
Volgograd or Stalingrad as it
used to be known before Stalin fell from grace is to me the city of sadness.
The siege of Stalingrad lasted for 200 days and completely destroyed the city.
This building in the city centre has been retained as a memorial, exactly as it
was at the end of the war
Adjacent to the ‘destroyed
building memorial’, is the last remnants of Pavlov’s house, the Russian sniper
which the film, ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ was based on
Mamai Hill and the Statue of
Mother Russia stand as the present day protector of the city. Standing 102
metres high it’s an impressive statue in any bodies view. The hill being the
highest point in the city was the scene of bitter fighting where a reported 34,500
Russians died
A reported 600,000 Russians and
760,000 Germans lost their lives in one of the bitterest fighting of WWII. Here
the eternal flame burns in remembrance of those Russians who lost their lives
On a less somber note the
railway station has been rebuilt with a touch of magnificence – but more with
the appearance of an opera house or cathedral
Family of Marina’s in Volgograd
with whom we stayed looked after us with nothing other than the greatest
of Russian hospitality! Escorting us in
and then out of the city after showing us the sights – to Oktay, Nadya and Ellya
a big thank you!
From Kursk south of Moscow to
Rostov near the Black Sea was the scene of the biggest tank battles the world
has seen and in many locations are memorials noting certain parts of that dark
history
After 6,322klm through Russia
and 26,444klm so far, on the 8th of September we crossed the border
into Ukraine.
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