Читать онлайн "Behind Putin's Curtain: Friendships and Misadventures Inside Russia [aka Couchsurfing in Russia]" - Orth Stephan - RuLit

^{In Crimea, I watched warships in Quarantine Bay, near Sevastopol.}

^{The promenade at Yalta. Tourists are slowly returning here; visitors from Western Europe, however, are extremely rare.}

^{Sweet-tasting Yalta onions only grow in Crimea; these ones were on display at the market in Sevastopol.}

^{I spent some very happy days in a small village with Alisa, Konstantin, and their three children.}

^{Many locals complain about rising prices in Crimea since the reintroduction of the ruble.}

^{In many of the larger cities there are “time cafés” like this one in Saint Petersburg. Guests pay for the time they spend there, not what they consume.}

^{Saint Petersburg from above. Every day the sky is different, but the city is always enveloped in its own special melancholy.}

^{Tourists not prone to vertigo can get a good view from a rooftop tour.}

^{Golden grandeur. Peterhof Palace is one of the best-known attractions in the area; the playful water features show that the czars had a sense of humor.}

^{A fishmonger in Makhachkala. At the market you can also buy illegally fished sturgeon, famed for its meat and as a supplier of caviar.}

^{A statue of Lenin in the Altai Republic. In the center of almost every Russian city there is a monument to the über-revolutionary.}

^{I spent eight days traveling through the Altai Republic with Nadya—our rented car had to endure a lot.}

^{Accommodation in Aktash. It took time to adjust to the diversity of visual attractions in the room.}

^{In the southern Altai Republic you can come across wild camels. It’s only a few miles from here to the Mongolian border.}

^{The guide at the Roerich Museum. The much-traveled landscape painter liked using vibrant colors.}

^{Vissarion’s church in Siberia. The leader of the sect claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus.}

^{He managed to gather a following of some five thousand believers. Every Sunday they celebrate a service lasting several hours in “Sun City.”}

^{Minna from Finland was writing her thesis on the religious community and spending a couple of months in Siberia.}

^{Statues of riders in Kyzyl. Scythian heritage shapes the city’s culture. A site with finds of priceless gold figurines is nearby.}

^{A concert for the “Followers.” My host, Alex (left), organized a show in the community hall of the village of Zharovsk.}

^{Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal. Shamans have decorated wooden posts with colorful ribbons.}

^{The village of Khuzhir is becoming a popular tourist destination, but parts of it are a bit run-down.}

^{The Skala Shamanka is the most famous landmark on Olkhon. The local shamans believe it to be the home of the god Khan Gutababai.}

^{Couchsurfer Kirill (middle) with family. He dreams of soon having his own parcel of land in Yakutsk.}

^{The harsh winters in Yakutsk are particularly difficult for children. The youngest ones are often confined to the apartment for weeks during the coldest months.}

^{Commemorating the Great Patriotic War. There are memorials everywhere: in the Altai Republic…}

^{…Volgograd…}

^…Elista…

^{…and Mirny.}

^{A statue of Lenin in Mirny in an unusual pose.}

^{A gigantic crater with a viewing platform. Locals have nicknamed the disused diamond mine the “asshole of the world.”}

^{Thanks to warmhearted people like Igor, Marina, and Juliya (left to right) I got to know Russia not as a lone tourist, but as if I were visiting good friends.}

^{A sculpture recalls the discovery of the diamond mine, with a reindeer breeder leading geologists to the site.}

^{In Mirny I stayed in teachers’ accommodation. An impromptu party in the neighboring room.}

^{A political statement: “We’re still a bit Communist here,” said Marina.}

^{The houses in Mirny are pretty drab; the playgrounds, on the other hand, are more colorful.}

^{Russians sure know how to party. Above: the owners of a bar in Khabarovsk. Russians sure know how to party. a couchsurfer meet-up in a banya in Vladivostok.}

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Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada

ISBN 978-1-77164-367-2 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-1-77164-368-9 (epub)

Copy editing by Paula Ayer

Proofreading by Alison Strobel

Cover and text design by Nayeli Jimenez

Cover photograph by Gulliver Theis

Photo credits: © Stephan Orth, except for the photos on pages 40, 48, 52, 56, and photo insert pages 1, 2 bottom, 3 top, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 16: © Gulliver Theis

Map by Birgit Kohlhaas and Marlise Kunkel

Every attempt has been made to trace ownership of copyrighted material. Information that will allow the publisher to rectify any credit or reference is welcome.