Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia (40 page)

BOOK: Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia
2.69Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

St. Petersburg, 28, 43, 45, 64, 221, 260, 262–63

salaries, 282–83

salo
(cured pig lard), 178–79

samovars, 213

Samsonova, Tatiana, 51

sanatoriy
(health complex), 128–33, 220

Savchenkova, Tatiana, 220–24

scientific research, 157, 262–63

second class, 55, 64, 98, 216

security checkpoints, 73, 92–94, 97, 109, 119

shaking hands, 39

shapka
(hat), 52

Sharm-el-Sheikh, 70

Sheremetyevo International Airport, 21–22

Shishkin, Mikhail, 9, 13–16, 32, 48, 97, 288

Shkliayeva, Ekaterina, 147

shooting ranges, 153–54

shower caps, 153, 154

Siberia, 46–50, 173, 210–24, 230–34, 244–45, 255–58;
see also
Trans-Siberian Railway

Siberian Curse, The
(Hill and Gaddy), 50, 211–12

Sicilian-Americans, 20, 21

skiing, 242–43, 247, 270

ski lifts, 247

Skorobogatova, Polina, 194–95

slag, 36

slavery, 32

Slave Soul of Russia, The
(Rancour-Laferriere), 130

Slavic majority, 128, 202

sleeping accommodations, 216, 252–53

slippers, 85

Small Business Administration, U.S., 226

small businesses, 225–27, 249–50, 269, 271

“Small Business in Russia: Drowning in a Sea of Giants” (Furtuna and Ruvinskaya), 226

Smith, Hedrick, xvi–xvii

Smith, Tom Robb, 124

“smoke detectors,” 24

smoking, 54, 55, 144

snowboarding, 242–43

social conditions, 15–16, 97, 202–3, 238–39, 249–50, 279

socialism, 208, 249, 268

solyanka
(beef soup), 271

Sotnikov, Anton, 43, 97–98, 207, 255, 276

Sotnikov, Nikolai, 36–42

Sotnikov, Sergei, 3, 4, 22–45, 52, 55–59, 62–65, 73, 76, 78, 79, 83–91, 97–98, 99, 100–127, 145–50, 154–55, 163–64, 165, 224, 250, 274–76, 279

Sotnikova, Tania, 43–44, 97, 104, 105, 255, 276

South Korea, 175, 276

Soviet Union:

apartments assigned in, 200

armed forces of, 104, 255, 289

arrests in, 167–68, 265

attempted coup in (1991), 288–89

authoritarianism in, 58, 266–67

borders of, 255

bureaucracy of, 15–16, 51, 93, 140

collapse of, xiii, 8, 11, 29, 60, 69, 70, 95, 145, 161–62, 239–40, 268–69, 281–82, 286, 288–89

communal apartments in, 59–60, 118, 181

Communist rule in, xiii, 10, 11–12, 15–16, 32, 109, 140, 229, 263, 284–85, 288–89

deportation and exile in, 46–47, 166–69, 211

economy of, 67–68, 200

employment in, 51

“enemies of the people” in, 48, 167

espionage in, 59

ethnic minorities in, 267–68, 272, 283–84

evictions in, 167

executions in, 167, 222, 265

factories in, 64–65

family life in, 58–61, 135–36

forced relocations in, 50, 272–73, 283–84

gulag prison camps in, 47, 67–69, 89–91, 106–7, 109, 166–69, 222, 272

history of, 106–9

housing built in, 103

hydroelectric power in, 68–69

industrialization of, 50, 68–69, 200

Jewish community in, 58, 108–9, 272–73

leadership of, 10, 11–16, 51, 140, 263–68, 283–85, 288–89

military service in, 255

nostalgia for, 262–68, 284, 286

nuclear weapons of, 45, 190

political crimes in, 48, 106–7, 167–68

rehabilitation in, 168

religion in, 38–39, 143, 220–22

repression in, 11–12, 32, 47–48, 49, 117–18, 165, 166–69, 235–37, 263–65

Russia compared with, 11–15, 49, 51, 56, 95–97, 117–18, 165, 171, 181, 200, 235–37, 262–68, 282, 284

scientific research in, 157, 262–63

space program of, 157

Stalinism in, 46–48, 68–69, 89, 107, 166–69, 171, 208, 235, 263–68, 272, 283–84

state-run businesses in, 49, 239–40

as superpower, 20, 265

survival in, 67–68

terror in, 59, 166–69, 222, 265

train travel in, 44–50

travel restrictions in, 236

U.S. relations with, xiii, xiv, xvi, 20, 45, 132, 240–41, 271

U.S. summits with, 20

see also
Russia

Space Shuttle, 157

stability, 14, 27, 29, 35–36, 51, 67, 96, 182–83, 189, 226, 246, 265, 267–69, 278–79, 283–84, 287

Stalin, Joseph, 46–48, 68–69, 89, 107, 166–69, 171, 208, 235, 263–68, 272, 283–84

Stanford University, 281

state-run businesses, 49, 239–40

status, 30–31

steel industry, 80, 190

Stepanova, Yekaterina, 270

stereotypes, 51, 68, 109–10, 190

Stewart, Jon, 192–93

Stolby Nature Reserve, 245–51

Stroganova, Ella, 82

subway, 26

suitcases, 25, 35, 52, 121, 187–88, 189, 252, 276

superpowers, 20, 265

superstitions, 38–39, 83–84, 91

Supreme Court, Russian, 118

survival, 67–70, 82, 86–87, 93–95, 123, 130, 142–43, 157, 182–83, 187–88, 201–3, 207, 222–23, 233–34

Sveta, 277

Sweden, 249

synagogues, 272, 273

Syria, xv

Tahoe, Lake, 255

tanks, 190, 193

Tatiana (psychologist), 138–39, 151

Tatiana (train companion), 214, 220

taxicabs, 25, 67, 78–79, 90, 94, 127, 165, 233–34, 245–52, 255, 256, 259, 275

tea, 45, 199, 205, 212, 254–55

Tears for Fears, 240

television, 178, 228–29

tenants, 84–85

terror, 59, 166–69, 222, 265

terrorism, 44, 66–67, 81, 87, 89, 94

Thailand, 70, 282

third class, 30–31, 55, 64, 98–102, 189, 212–13, 244–45, 274

tickets, bus, 122–23

tickets, train, 28–32, 44, 48–51, 53, 64, 72–73, 92, 98, 127, 209, 253

timetables, 28, 121–22, 189

titan
(water cauldron), 213

Tolstoy, Leo, 8, 14, 20

torture, 115–20, 122

tourism, 246–47, 255–56

tractor factories, 200

traffic jams, 25–26, 28, 35, 192

transit visas, 189–90, 209, 210, 217–18, 227

transit zones, 189–90, 209

Trans-Siberian Railway, ix

author’s first trip on, 10–11, 15, 17, 26, 44, 95, 159, 234–35, 275

coal heating for, 54, 162, 213

compartments on, 53–55, 63, 72, 98–99, 210–11, 231–32, 244–45, 252–53

conductors on, 52, 72–73, 164, 213, 252–53, 274

construction of, 46–48

daily routine for, 54–55

departures of, 28, 121–22

dining cars in, 99–100, 270–71

distance marker for, 274–75, 293

documents for, 44, 51–52

electric power for, 54, 213

end of line for, 274–75, 289

engines for, 54

first class in, 48–49

food on, 99–100, 101, 163–65, 172–73, 254–55, 270–71

historical importance of, 44–45, 46

itineraries for, 127, 247–48

lavatories on, 54, 72, 159

lower berths in, 63, 98–99, 101, 212–13, 231–32

luggage on, 25 35, 121, 168, 172, 187–88, 189, 252, 253, 259–60

main line of, 163, 209, 214

official name for, 29–31, 52–53, 65, 80

prices for, 48–49, 64, 98

second class in, 55, 64, 98, 216

security in, 73, 92–94

sleeping accommodations in, 216, 252–53

smoking in, 54, 55

third class in, 30–31, 55, 64, 98–102, 189, 212–13, 244–45, 274

tickets for, 28–32, 44, 48–51, 53, 64, 72–73, 92, 98, 127, 209, 253

train stations in, 27–32, 44–45, 92–94, 159–60, 188–89, 209, 212, 231, 272–73, 274

upper berths in, 31, 55, 64, 98–99, 101, 212–13, 245, 253

Tripoli, 235–36

troikas, 9

Trubetskaya, Princess, 222

Tsarnayev, Tamerlan, 66

tsvety
(flowers), 83–84, 91, 107, 123, 125

Tsyvinski, Aleh, 97

tuberculosis, 148

Tucker, Robert, 15–16, 97, 202–3

Tunisia, 16

Turkmenistan, 145

Tver, 199–200, 203

Twitter, 243

“two Russias” concept, 15–16, 96–97, 202–3

Tyumen, 210, 289, 290–92

Udmurtia, Udmurts, 127–28, 134–50

Udmurt language, 143

Ukraine, xiii–xv, 32, 33–42, 60, 69, 104, 161, 288

Ulan-Ude, ix, 233–34

UNESCO, 258

United Nations, xv

United Russia Party, 228–30

University of California, Berkeley, 283

University of St. Thomas, 240

UPDK, 23–24

upper berths, 31, 55, 64, 98–99, 101, 212–13, 245, 253

Ural Mountains, 123, 127–28, 159, 162, 163, 173, 174, 183, 210

urban areas, 11, 97, 200–201, 234, 239–40

Uva, 128, 132, 141, 151–52

Uzbekistan, 254, 266–67

Uzbek language, 254

vacations, 64, 70, 122, 135–36, 255–56

valenki
(boots), 233–34

Vasily, 128–33, 157

Vavilov Institute, 262–63

venik
(birch twig bundle), 130, 131–32

Verkhnuya Vereya, 228–29

veterans, 280

Victory Day, 168

video cameras, 192–93, 228–29, 242

Viktor (train companion), 64, 70–71, 72

Viktor (villager), 196

villages, 195, 196, 210, 228–29, 238

visas, 76–77, 189–90, 209, 210, 217–18, 227

Vitaly, 291–92

Vladivostok, ix, 45, 48–51, 64, 212, 234–35, 244, 254, 270, 274–85, 289, 293

vodka, 3, 4, 32, 36–37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 55, 104, 110, 111, 129, 132, 160, 174, 238, 271

Volga River, 68, 102

Volgolag camp, 89–91

Volkonskaya, Princess, 223

wages, 40

Warner, Elizabeth, 38

Washington, D.C., 94, 225–26

Washington Post
, xiv

water pollution, 255–58

wealth, 11, 12, 32, 48–49, 56–57, 96–97, 200, 203, 238–44, 269, 270

weather, 19, 35, 173, 211, 217, 233–34

wedding dresses, 219, 248, 251

wedding rings, 141–42, 231

Western culture, xiii–xv, xvi, 13–15, 33, 75, 105, 185, 270, 282–85, 286

Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin’s Russia, The
(Figes), 67, 166, 203, 264–65

Wi-Fi, 217

wildfires, 228–29

wildlife preserves, 118–19

“window dressing,” 49

wines, 31, 57–58

women, 102, 104, 143–50, 178, 225–26, 245, 256

work days, 45

World Heritage sites, 258

World War II, 68, 104, 108–9, 143–44, 155, 168, 190, 203, 211, 262–63

Yakubovich, 287–88

Yantarny History Museum, 108

Yantarny massacre (1945), 108–9

Yanukovych, Viktor, 40–42

Yaroslavl, ix, 27, 30, 50, 64, 65–67, 68, 69, 70, 72–73, 77–91, 92, 101, 270

Yaroslavl airplane crash (2011), 65–67, 73, 77–91

Yaroslavl City Museum, 82

Yaroslavsky Vokzal, 27–32, 44–45, 274

Yeltsin, Boris, 69, 182, 268, 289

Yemanzhelinka, 195–209

Yiddish, 272

YouTube, 134, 242

Yovlev, Sergei, 65–67

Yukos, 49

Yuri, 233–34

Yuschenko, Viktor, 40

Zabello, Vassily, 262

Zakharov, Igor, 270–72, 273, 284

Zarbatova, Elizaveta, 134, 135, 139–40

Zetlin, Mikhail, 222–23, 287–88

Zhenia, 102, 105, 110, 111, 112, 113, 121, 270

Zima
(Winter), 212

Copyright © 2014 by David Greene

All rights reserved
First Edition

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact
W. W. Norton Special Sales at [email protected] or 800-233-4830

Map by Electragraphics

Book design by Marysarah Quinn
Production manager: Julia Druskin

ISBN 978-0-393-23995-9

ISBN 978-0-393-24590-5 (e-book)

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110
www.wwnorton.com

W. W. Norton & Company Ltd.
Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT

Other books

Synners by Pat Cadigan
Saving Sky by Diane Stanley
Dark Eyes by Richter, William
Postcards from the Dead by Laura Childs
I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora
Two Masters for Alex by Claire Thompson
Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland