Hello from Omsk, whose only claim to fame is that Dostoevsky wrote Buried Alive in Siberia here during his imprisonment. After seeing the town, I can understand any aesthetic elements which may have motivated his desperation. The town is... not pretty. However, perhaps I exaggerate. There is a huge new Russian Orthodox Church with a golden onion dome, and two major rivers, the Irtysh and Om, intersect here making it not unaesthetically pleasing.
One highlight of the day occurred when Cliff and I happened into a Communist rally around the town Lenin statue (every town has... multiple). The protesters were holding red banners and had old communist 'hymns' blasting from a circa 1945 army green bus with a huge red hammer and sickle on the hood. Cliff got so excited he started singing along! Did anyone else know he knew all the words to communist songs? And as we passed the protest, he solicited the literature they were passing out. Supposedly, someone had desecrated the Lenin statue last month, and the town communist party was holding a rally to oppose such actions and rally support for the 'Party' (yes, party with a capital P--which other party deserves one?). As Cliff explained it, anything that picks away at Putin's power is probably not bad for us, and the Communist party does that effectively. So, perhaps we should all be a little red at heart?
Much love,
us
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