ULAN UDE

Ulan Ude is the captal city of the Buryat Republic. It is located about one hundred kilometers southeast of Lake Baikal. It is the third largest city in eastern Siberia. The first people to live in the area before the Russians came were the Evensk, Buryat and the Mongols. After the Transiberian Railway was installed the city grew rapidly and became an important trade center connecting China and Mongolia with Russia. There is much culture and history in this city.

CAFE

Our next stop was lunch in a little cafe in the city. Entering the dimly lit cafe we were greeted by waiters and waitresses dressed in the festive traditional costumes of their ancestors. Not long after we were seated the first course arrived. I was soup served in rustic fire-baked clay bowls. The soup was a beef broth with ham stips and sections of lime, green and black olives, pickles, sour cream and other things. It was very unusual but good. The main course was chicken.

Ethnographical Park Museum

After that we went to the Ethographical Park Museum that has many of the early buildings the people of this part of Siberia lived in. At first we were shown the graves of some prehistoric people called the Gravestone people. They used stones to cover their dead mostlikely so wild animals wouldn't dig them up.

The Evensk people made their homes from the skins of animals and tree bark similar to the way American Indians made their teepees.

There were also examples of the way the Buryats made their homes. In Mongolia they called their home gers. In Russia the same homes made of felt are called yurts. The Buryats also made a five sided yurt out of logs to keep them warm in the severe winters of that area.

Home of early dwellers in Siberian Region



Along with these exhibits there were many examples of houses made by the early Russians that came to the area. These houses are much the same as the ones many of the poor Russians live in today. They are simple logs houses. Some large and some small.

Storage Shed on stilts



There is a group of people who came to Ulan Ude a few centuries ago. They were exiled to Siberia by Catherine the Great because they would not conform to her new rules regarding worship in the Russian Orthodox Church. Because the wouldn't conform they were no longer welcome at the services and eventually they came to Siberia and settled in the Ulan Ude area.

In the middle of the park is one of their beautiful old churches made of logs and has onion shaped domes. It now stands empty.

Old Believers

After spending some time in the park we were invited by some Old Believers to have lunch at their village. First we would meet them on a sacred mountain as was their custom. The name of the mountain was 'the sleeping lion'. The bus stopped at the foot of the mountain and we had to climb to the top where they were waiting. When we got there they sang a few songs and welcomed us to Russia. We stayed at the top of the mountain for a little while and admired the fantasic view of the surrounding area.

Old Believers in Traditional Dress



After that we descended the mountain and were off to their village which was about an hours drive away.

When we got there we at first went to a community center where we were entertained by them again with songs and then they gave us a history of there plight; first of being transplanted to this area and then their struggle in keeping their faith under communism. This involved hiding their icons in their furniture and burying some of the treasures of their church. Finally when communism fell in the early 1990's they were again given the freedom to worship openly as they pleased.

Lunch with the Old Believers



After listening to their stories we went to the appointed house. When we arrived we were shown their garden where they grew things like: galic, onions, tomatoes, kolarabe, water melon, berries and other things.

After this we went into the house where there was a table in the dining room with all kinds of food on it. There was a large pizza sitting on the middle of the table. Other things included; cucumbers,tomatoes, fish that was caught in Lake Baikal earlier in the morning, potatoes and many other delicasies. They invited us to sit down and partake of their food while they sat around and watched us eat. They served us a mildly alcoholic beverage made of brown bread called kvass. They also served wine and home made vodka, which is their national drink. Vodka is also the alcohoici beverge of choice of the Russian people. Alcholism is a big problem there and is the cause of many deaths.

Back At The Hotel

It was still light when we got back to the hotel so I thought I would take a little walk. Walking up the street I noticed that I didn't dress like the people there and was met with a few stares. One person asked me for the time. I showed him my watch. Then he asked me for a cigerette. I told him in English that I didn't smoke. Later someone approached me and asked for a light. I again spoke a little English to let him know that I didn't speak his language. I walked on. It was starting to get dark so I made my way back to the hotel. I loved the houses in the area. They were log cabins but were built in a very grand style. I would have liked to have stayed in one of them for the evening instead of the Geser Hotel.

Once back in my room I tried to watch the television but there were only about five channels all in Russian. I took a shower and went to bed. After I turned the light out there was talking, shouting and footsteps outside my window. Then all was quiet and I had a restful sleep.