Celebration bells

Day #39: Kolyvan

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May 21st 2013
Today we had an excursion to the town of Kolyvan, my first experience of small-town Russia, which was a bit of an eye-opener. Very different from the cities - most houses are wooden, have outside toilets and rely on wood (sometimes coal) for fuel. The shops, dotted around the town, were tiny and sparsely stocked, and the place felt very conservative, though that may be Kolyvan in particular, as it ... read more

Europe » Russia » Siberia

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Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynas... ... read more