Day #29: Novosibirsk, an archetypal Russian city

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Apart from a couple of days in Tomsk, I will be spending the next 2 and a half weeks in Novosibirsk, so we made an effort today to get to know it better.

Novosibirsk is a new, unpretty, industrial city which developed from an unremarkable village because of the Trans-Siberian railway, part of which crosses the river Ob, around which Novosibirsk has grown. It is now the 3rd largest city in Russia. There is not a lot to do here in the sense of traditional sights, so most foreigners here are visitng for specific reasons (learning the language, work or, in the case of one English person I ran into, learning Russian martial arts) but Novosibirsk is interesting because it is a very typical Russian city, with everything you could expect to see in any Russian city you visit (excepting, perhaps, St Petersburg): large bustling plaza, surrounded by relentless traffic, with enormous statues of Lenin and a couple of forboding Communists for company; huge theatre (the biggest in Russia, bigger than the Bolshoi Theatre); vast river crossed by a few uncompromisingly engineered bridges; assorted state museums (locomotives, art, telecommunications). The industrial areas are bleak wastelands and the Soviet-style suburbs seem endless. If you wanted to see a city that typifies all others in Russia, Novosibirsk would be a good place to start.

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