The day train from Omsk to Novosibirsk (Siberia's largest city and Russia's third largest) is one of excited anticipation for me. My first experiences of Russia in the 1980s had been a pair of one month study visits to the city, and I am eager to see what has changed (and what has remained the same) since the economic reforms of the 1990s.
We are back in the hotel in which I had stayed on my previous visit, although the spartan facilities have now been embellished with refurbished rooms (minus cockroaches) numerous bars and restaurants and a "gentlemen's club". We take an evening walk down to Lenin Square, where the designer brands and sushi bars have replaced the state-run providers of essentials. No kvas sellers to be seen on street corners nowadays.
The following day requires a visit to the West Siberian railway museum, a 50 minute journey away by local train. Highlights of this snow-covered outdoor museum include one of the former high speed trains, in which excited enthusiasts can sit in the cab and pretend to be the driver. More exploration of the city by public transport, and we round off the day in a pleasant beer house in the student quarter, although declining the opportunity to participate in the karaoke singalong to Russian translations of Elvis songs.
By the next day we have a free morning before joining the next train, however the temperature has dropped to -25 (plus windchill), and strolling round the city is a less than comfortable experience. Although well wrapped up, the nose and face still feel the effects of the cold, and frozen internal snot is a strange sensation. Still, we manage a visit round the city squares where the residents are enjoying their Sunday morning distractions.
Overall, Novosibirsk very much feels like the city it was 25 years ago, and I get the impression that the economic changes, although marked, have only a superficial effect on the day to day lives of the majority.
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