LONDON
British Museum 1876 after the famous escape from the military hospital (note not the PeterPaul fortress) via finland etc.. Kropotkin reached England, then back to Switzerland & conferences in Belgium & Ghent. "But he fled precipitately, under the impression that the Belgian police intended to arrest him, and returned to England, where for a time he contented himself with studying in the British Museum. It was now that he began to develop a conception of anarchism as a moral philosophy rather than as a mere programme of scoial change." p163
1864 French delegates - Proudhonists and Eugene varlin, at international conference at St Martins hall, 28 Sept. p199
1886+ In London, Kropotkin "became the great prophetic savant of the movement, to be asked for advice and articles, to be welcomed when he made a rare appearance at a public meeting or at a reunion in one of the revolutionary clubs which then dotted Soho and Whitechapel." p174
"The real birthplaces of modern British anarchism were the clubs for foreign workers which appeared in Soho as early as the 1840s, and somewhat later in the East End of London. The Rose Street Club in Soho, the Autonomie Club in Windmill Street, and later (after 1885) the International Club in Berners Street, Whitechapel, were the most favoured centres of the anarchist faction among the expatriates." p371
1885+ Jewish anarchism in London, "the various socialist points of view that were so volubly discussed week after week in the Berners Street International Club in Whitechapel. In 1891, owing largely to the expulsion of the anarchists by the Second International, the Berners Street Club was riven by political dissension, out of which the anarchists emerged triumphant, in possession of both the club and Der Arbeiter Fraint." [yiddish journal, to which Rudolf Rocker was famously linked after his arrival in 1895] p376
PARIS
1968 black flag of anarchism along with red of, basically, Marxism, over the Sorbonne p271
LYON
Hotel de Ville - 1848 "At last Lyons seemed to be in the power of Bakunin and his followers, and they settled down with some embarrassment to decide what they should do with the city.
Before they could reach any decision, the National Guard from the bourgeois quarters converged on the Hotel de Ville, drove the crowd from its vicinity, and recaptured the building. The Committee fled, with the exception of Bakunin, who was imprisoned in the cellars of the Hotel de Ville, and eventually rescued by the local anarchists. He escaped to Marseille, where he spent three weeks hiding ... until a friendly Italian ship's captain smuggled him to Genoa." p147
After Lyons trial, Kropotkin "sent to the prison of Clairvaux in the old Abbey of St Bernard, where they were given the privileged treatment of political prisoners... He conducted classes among his fellow prisoners in languages, cosmography, physics, and geometry; he experimented with intensive cultivation in the prison garden; he wrote articles on Russia" etc.. p172
SWITZERLAND
Locations to find in French-speaking Switzerland & just over the French border.
1867 Lausanne conference, mutualist followers of Proudhon outnumbered by collectivists (Bakuninists) p200
1871 Sonvillier, site of anarchist conference that drafted & circulated the influential "Sonvillier declaration" putting forward the libertarian case against the centralising faction of Marx in the International. p148
Kropotkin in the idea-formation part of his life travelled to Zurich with its several hundred Russian exiles, the radicals amongst whom were split between Bakunin's and the populist Lavrov's camps of influence. Then to Geneva to try out the Marxists, who irked him, where he met the Bakuninist Zhukovsky, who directed him to the Jura.
"The first man he met in the Jura was James Guillaume, working in his little printing shop in Neuchatel; from there he went on to Sonvillier, where he sought out Schwitzgeubel, and made the acquaintance of the mountain watchmakers, talking with them in their little family workshops and attending the meetings in the villages where the peasant craftsmen came tramping down from the hills to discuss the anarchist doctrine that seemed to offer them a chance of establishing social justice while retaining their treasured independence." p161
1878 Kropotkin having founded the La Revolte paper, he spent "a great deal of his time in lecture tours in an effort to reactivate the International in the small towns around Lake Leman and in the Jura." p164
1881 after London International Anarchist Congress, Kropotkin "expelled from Switzerland because of pressure exerted by the Russian ambassador, and settled in the little French town of Thonon on the southern shore of Lake Leman." p165
Lake Leman = another name for Lake Geneva.
"In France itself it was in the south-eastern region, nearest to Switzerland and therefore most open to the influence of the Jura Federation and the Communard exiles, that anarchist activity first began to appear after the months of repression that followed the Commune. The earliest organizations were small secret groups which towards the end of 1872 began to re-establish connections with the Bakuninists over the frontier, to hold secret meetings in Lyons and Saint-Etienne, and to import literature from Geneva." p240
1881 beginning of French anarchist bombs phase: "The first widely publicized act of violence during this period was an attmempt to blow up a statue of Thiers at Saint-Germain in June 1881", possibly by police prefect & agent-provocateur Serreaux. p248
ST PETERSBURG
1917 Kropotkin, (like Lenin) arrived at the Finland Station "where he was welcomed by Kerensky, a regiment of Guards, and military bands playing the 'Marseillaies'. Absent were the Russian anarchists, most of whom opposed the war." p180 (he had supported the Allied states' war against Germany and thus became isolated from the main anarchist movement).
1921 5 mile long procession at Kropotkin's funeral through the streets of Moscow remember, not St.Petersburg. p182
Monday, 19 July 2010
Mount Kropotkin
There's a 7 second clip of Kropotkin on youtube.
& John Beard just found Mt Kropotkin for me, not too far from Lake Baikal but, according to a website:
"With its cone-like shape the Kropotkin is one of the most beautiful peaks in the East-Sayan Mountains. Since the volcano valley lies in a very isolated region it can only be reached by means of an expedition."
The description continues, and has everything from mysteriously dead exiles to local superstitious dread:
"The best starting point for a hike to Volcano Valley are the springs of Choito Gol. The trail itself starts behind the last cabin and steeply leads uphill to the tree limit for 3 km. After crossing the Arshan stream it leads to the pass wherefrom it starts running downhill again. When you reach the first longish lake keep on going along the shore in a northward direction and you will soon see the Volcano Valley. Some minutes later, you will leave the main trail and you will come across a cabin where you can spend the night and which is also quite useful as base camp for those who want to climb the volcanoes.
Whereas it is not very difficult to climb the volcanoes, it is difficult to walk across the fields of lava because large cracks and crevices are running through them.
& John Beard just found Mt Kropotkin for me, not too far from Lake Baikal but, according to a website:
"With its cone-like shape the Kropotkin is one of the most beautiful peaks in the East-Sayan Mountains. Since the volcano valley lies in a very isolated region it can only be reached by means of an expedition."
The description continues, and has everything from mysteriously dead exiles to local superstitious dread:
"The best starting point for a hike to Volcano Valley are the springs of Choito Gol. The trail itself starts behind the last cabin and steeply leads uphill to the tree limit for 3 km. After crossing the Arshan stream it leads to the pass wherefrom it starts running downhill again. When you reach the first longish lake keep on going along the shore in a northward direction and you will soon see the Volcano Valley. Some minutes later, you will leave the main trail and you will come across a cabin where you can spend the night and which is also quite useful as base camp for those who want to climb the volcanoes.
Whereas it is not very difficult to climb the volcanoes, it is difficult to walk across the fields of lava because large cracks and crevices are running through them.
The Buryats shun the area because they say that it is the home of evil spirits. It looks indeed a bit unreal, due to the missing vegetation and the vast fields of lava."
Sunday, 18 July 2010
A building per city.
I intend to do at least one sketch of a building/location that features in the stories of Kropotkin, Bakunin & co, for each of the following cities. As I read up on the episodes they got involved with, I hope a building will leap out and a google search will reveal it still exists. Until then, this is a very hesitant list, which will help focus me on the journey.
Newcastle, the Cowen Monument (his links to Kropotkin, & of Newcastle to Russia, will kick me off)
London (1. Freedom Bookshop, Kropotin's house?, exiles' meeting place?)
Paris (Commune? Pere Lachaise graveyard, exiles' meeting place? location of bombings?)
Lyon (1.Hotel de Ville. Also is the prison still there?)
Geneva (location of a meeting, eg. of the International?)
Chaux le Fonds (location linked to the Jura Federation?)
Zurich
Dresden (Church [rebuilt several times] from which Wagner kept his look-outs during the 1848 insurrection)
Berlin (1848 streetfights? University? Exiles' meeting place?)
St Petersburg (1. St.Peter-Paul fortress 2.Kronstadt 3. location of K's escape? 4. spot of Tsar's assassination 5. Nevsky Prospekt for gatherings/massacres ...6. Site of K's funeral procession)
Kazan
Yekaterinburg
Irkutsk
Chita
Ulan Ude
Moscow (Kropotkin Museum [his old house] Bakunin's house/estate)
Helsinki
Stockholm
Copenhagen
Cologne
Brussels
Amsterdam
Newcastle, the Cowen Monument (his links to Kropotkin, & of Newcastle to Russia, will kick me off)
Paris (Commune? Pere Lachaise graveyard, exiles' meeting place? location of bombings?)
Lyon (1.Hotel de Ville. Also is the prison still there?)
Geneva (location of a meeting, eg. of the International?)
Chaux le Fonds (location linked to the Jura Federation?)
Zurich
Dresden (Church [rebuilt several times] from which Wagner kept his look-outs during the 1848 insurrection)
Berlin (1848 streetfights? University? Exiles' meeting place?)
St Petersburg (1. St.Peter-Paul fortress 2.Kronstadt 3. location of K's escape? 4. spot of Tsar's assassination 5. Nevsky Prospekt for gatherings/massacres ...6. Site of K's funeral procession)
Kazan
Yekaterinburg
Irkutsk
Chita
Ulan Ude
Moscow (Kropotkin Museum [his old house] Bakunin's house/estate)
Helsinki
Stockholm
Copenhagen
Cologne
Brussels
Amsterdam
Packing
I had intended to travel light. This post will demonstrate how that intention is crumbling to bits.
The one good thing about the novels is they're all expendable - as I read war & peace, for example, I'll rip out the chapters I've read to lose weight. But i won't get round to reading them till I'm in Russia, so that's still a week of carrying a LOT of ballast around...
(a) My trusty 35litre backpack. (b) Light coat. (c) Cheap fake converse which will probably stink by the time I make the trans-siberian. Sorry carriage-mates.
Their list No.1 is what they say is essential (compulsory)
(a)Backpack (yes, but they say it should be minimum 60 litres, and mine is defiantly 35)
(b) Sleeping pad (to buy)
They explain why: "A sleeping pad is an indispensable item in Siberia. Because of nearby permafrost, even during the hottest time of the year the surface layers of soil around Baikal do not warm up sufficiently. If you sleep without a sleeping pad on bare soil, you will not only get a cold but also risk getting hypothermia, which has severe health consequences."
(c) Sleeping bag (ok, I had meant to leave it, but I will bring it - it is still nowhere near as suitable as the one they recommend, for the extreme night-time drops in temperature you get in Siberia. I might buy an extra blanket in Siberia to compensate.)
(d) Footwear - at least two pairs of shoes, such as hiking boots and sneakers (buy boots in Siberia? No, or I'll get blisters, I guess I do need to buy & carry a pair, grumble...)
(e) Personal set of light, sturdy dishware - cup, bowl, spoon, knife (was gonna buy in Siberia but actually I'll need for the train, so I'll try get a light handy travel-set)
(f) Toiletries - toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towel (yep)
(g) Waterproof jacket or coat (light cagoule from amble [see 'beach zine'], gonna leave waterproof trousers behind this time)
(h) Warm sweater, pants, hat (my anarchist uniform of black hoody, leftover black troosers bought for school, and a hat I'll get in Siberia)
(i) Personal first aid kit (yep, got - a happy reminder that I do at least know the outdoors)
(j) Sunscreen (get in Siberia or 'forget' as I usually do)
(k) Wide-brimmed sun hat (to buy)
(l) Sunglasses (somewhere I've got some prescription ones to dig out)
(m) Mosquito net for head (to buy)
Their list no.2 is optional, & I ain't gonna bring hardly any of it:
(a) Work gloves (nope)
(b) Safety glasses (nope)
(c) Tent - if you are over 6 feet tall or want to sleep alone (nope, although both those things are true)
(d) Flashlight (well, I'll take a mini headtorch)
(e) Multifunctional pocket knife (I intend to buy one en route in Switzerland as a souvenir and, not flying, I hope to actually keep this one - I've lost 2 good knives at airports on previous trips)
(f) Sewing kit (yes, cos I need to fix my backpack for starters!)
(g) Biodegradable soap (good idea, but is it worth carrying for 2000 miles?)
They say: "Biodegradable soap and shampoo are not available in Siberia, unfortunately, and we don't usually have them on our projects. Therefore, if it's possible to buy such soap in your home country, definitely do so. By bringing it to the camp you will help preserve pristine waters of Baikal!"
(h) Rubber boots (er, nope)
(i) Insect repellant (nope)
"The group first aid kit includes mosquito and tick repellent sprays that can be applied to clothes ONLY. If you prefer repellents that can be sprayed directly on the skin, you should bring them yourself. "
(j) Water filter (nope)
"It is said that the water of Lake Baikal and its tributaries is among the cleanest in the world. It is definitely suitable for drinking. All that aside, you should be aware that bacteria in Baikal water may be different from the ones your body is used to. First, each person has his own internal microflora and different immunities against foreign bacteria. Second, everyone's immunity depends on their daily living conditions and their environment, which can differ from one continent to another. Local Siberians can easily drink untreated water from open bodies of water. However, our experiences from the previous summer camps show that participants from North America and Australia tend to have the most intense reaction to untreated Siberian water. Most Europeans, on the other hand, drink the water straight from the rivers and streams without experiencing any problems. If you want to drink untreated water, we recommend bringing a water filter to the camp. However, it is not necessary to filter water if you will be boiling it for tea, coffee or soup." I'll risk it.
(k) Swimsuit (shorts, yep)
(a) mp3 player (to buy, along with two-plug charger).
(b) Digital camera (again, plug adapter to find & buy). I might photograph some book pages to avoid carrying the photocopies too.
(c) Lots of pens.
(d) Passport & tickets & suchlike pouch.
(e) Wetwipes (& shoe unstinkifiers?).
(f) Travelwash to wash clothes.
(g) Universal plug for train sink (to buy/borrow).
(h) Food (this is gonna be the second most constant concern, getting enough veggie stuff before each journey. Happily the camp has food provided so I should get my health back then if I've been surviving on processed carbohydrates for a fortnight. The exiles used to get scurvy in Siberia, hopefully I won't.)
(i) Clothes (5 sets of pants & socks enough? same number of (t)shirts? 2 trousers?)
So will I physically be able to carry all this stuff? I don't know, but I REALLY don't want to get a huge backpack. I might prefer a second hold-all/bag to stick food & other temporaries in.
ONE.
These are the novels I currently plan to take with me. (I will be a dostoyevsky EXPERT when I return.) But they're way too heavy, and I'm also taking a similar amount of weight in sketchpads & photocopied sheets from various historical & anarchist books.The one good thing about the novels is they're all expendable - as I read war & peace, for example, I'll rip out the chapters I've read to lose weight. But i won't get round to reading them till I'm in Russia, so that's still a week of carrying a LOT of ballast around...
TWO.
Absolute friendly essentials (the things that I bond with through intimate constant use).(a) My trusty 35litre backpack. (b) Light coat. (c) Cheap fake converse which will probably stink by the time I make the trans-siberian. Sorry carriage-mates.
THREE.
As instructed to bring for the conservation project on Lake Baikal.Their list No.1 is what they say is essential (compulsory)
(a)Backpack (yes, but they say it should be minimum 60 litres, and mine is defiantly 35)
(b) Sleeping pad (to buy)
They explain why: "A sleeping pad is an indispensable item in Siberia. Because of nearby permafrost, even during the hottest time of the year the surface layers of soil around Baikal do not warm up sufficiently. If you sleep without a sleeping pad on bare soil, you will not only get a cold but also risk getting hypothermia, which has severe health consequences."
(c) Sleeping bag (ok, I had meant to leave it, but I will bring it - it is still nowhere near as suitable as the one they recommend, for the extreme night-time drops in temperature you get in Siberia. I might buy an extra blanket in Siberia to compensate.)
(d) Footwear - at least two pairs of shoes, such as hiking boots and sneakers (buy boots in Siberia? No, or I'll get blisters, I guess I do need to buy & carry a pair, grumble...)
(e) Personal set of light, sturdy dishware - cup, bowl, spoon, knife (was gonna buy in Siberia but actually I'll need for the train, so I'll try get a light handy travel-set)
(f) Toiletries - toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, towel (yep)
(g) Waterproof jacket or coat (light cagoule from amble [see 'beach zine'], gonna leave waterproof trousers behind this time)
(h) Warm sweater, pants, hat (my anarchist uniform of black hoody, leftover black troosers bought for school, and a hat I'll get in Siberia)
(i) Personal first aid kit (yep, got - a happy reminder that I do at least know the outdoors)
(j) Sunscreen (get in Siberia or 'forget' as I usually do)
(k) Wide-brimmed sun hat (to buy)
(l) Sunglasses (somewhere I've got some prescription ones to dig out)
(m) Mosquito net for head (to buy)
Their list no.2 is optional, & I ain't gonna bring hardly any of it:
(a) Work gloves (nope)
(b) Safety glasses (nope)
(c) Tent - if you are over 6 feet tall or want to sleep alone (nope, although both those things are true)
(d) Flashlight (well, I'll take a mini headtorch)
(e) Multifunctional pocket knife (I intend to buy one en route in Switzerland as a souvenir and, not flying, I hope to actually keep this one - I've lost 2 good knives at airports on previous trips)
(f) Sewing kit (yes, cos I need to fix my backpack for starters!)
(g) Biodegradable soap (good idea, but is it worth carrying for 2000 miles?)
They say: "Biodegradable soap and shampoo are not available in Siberia, unfortunately, and we don't usually have them on our projects. Therefore, if it's possible to buy such soap in your home country, definitely do so. By bringing it to the camp you will help preserve pristine waters of Baikal!"
(h) Rubber boots (er, nope)
(i) Insect repellant (nope)
"The group first aid kit includes mosquito and tick repellent sprays that can be applied to clothes ONLY. If you prefer repellents that can be sprayed directly on the skin, you should bring them yourself. "
(j) Water filter (nope)
"It is said that the water of Lake Baikal and its tributaries is among the cleanest in the world. It is definitely suitable for drinking. All that aside, you should be aware that bacteria in Baikal water may be different from the ones your body is used to. First, each person has his own internal microflora and different immunities against foreign bacteria. Second, everyone's immunity depends on their daily living conditions and their environment, which can differ from one continent to another. Local Siberians can easily drink untreated water from open bodies of water. However, our experiences from the previous summer camps show that participants from North America and Australia tend to have the most intense reaction to untreated Siberian water. Most Europeans, on the other hand, drink the water straight from the rivers and streams without experiencing any problems. If you want to drink untreated water, we recommend bringing a water filter to the camp. However, it is not necessary to filter water if you will be boiling it for tea, coffee or soup." I'll risk it.
(k) Swimsuit (shorts, yep)
FOUR.
My other sundries list - entertainment, documentation, hygiene(a) mp3 player (to buy, along with two-plug charger).
(b) Digital camera (again, plug adapter to find & buy). I might photograph some book pages to avoid carrying the photocopies too.
(c) Lots of pens.
(d) Passport & tickets & suchlike pouch.
(e) Wetwipes (& shoe unstinkifiers?).
(f) Travelwash to wash clothes.
(g) Universal plug for train sink (to buy/borrow).
(h) Food (this is gonna be the second most constant concern, getting enough veggie stuff before each journey. Happily the camp has food provided so I should get my health back then if I've been surviving on processed carbohydrates for a fortnight. The exiles used to get scurvy in Siberia, hopefully I won't.)
(i) Clothes (5 sets of pants & socks enough? same number of (t)shirts? 2 trousers?)
So will I physically be able to carry all this stuff? I don't know, but I REALLY don't want to get a huge backpack. I might prefer a second hold-all/bag to stick food & other temporaries in.
DUMPSPOTS TO PLAN
I intend to update the blog/pick up info at certain key moments, and likewise post back any finished sketchpads/letters/finished-with info. So I need to plan which post offices/internet cafes I am gonna use.
(a) Switzerland or Germany before the 2 day journey into eastern europe.
(b) St Petersburg before the trans siberian
(c) Ulan Ude or similar before & after the conservation camp.
(d) probably St Petersburg again on the way out, but if my plans change, this could be Beijing or anything.
(a) Switzerland or Germany before the 2 day journey into eastern europe.
(b) St Petersburg before the trans siberian
(c) Ulan Ude or similar before & after the conservation camp.
(d) probably St Petersburg again on the way out, but if my plans change, this could be Beijing or anything.
Monday, 12 July 2010
Tickets bought, loan out, time ticking.
I know it's childish, but look at this wikipedia entry from 'Russian explorers' and tell me Kropotkin is not a cool dude.
I couldn't find where the settlement in Irkutsk Oblast is (but I'll be IN the Irkutsk Oblast... ), nor where the inactive volcano is in Buryatia (but I'll be IN Buryatia... ).
I've got some set dates and times for trains.
25th July leave Newcastle 8.35am
27th July leave London 5.25am
(Some time in Paris, then onto Lyon then thru Switzerland to Dresden then Berlin).
4th August leave Berlin 3.22pm
6th August arrive St.Petersburg 6.13am
Some time in St.Petersburg.
9th August leave St.Petersburg 4.13pm
10th August arrive Kazan 1.55pm, then back on a train 7.55pm
11th August arrive Yekaterinburg (bit of an accident, this stop, I think I made a mistake buying tickets!)
Some time in Yekaterinburg.
Very late 12th August (actually 1.31am 13th August) leave on the posh Rossija train.
15th August arrive Ulan Ude 1.32pm
Hopefully head to Chita and back (but I may be too sick of trains & need a break).
18th August, meet at the famous Lenin's head.
Nowt else booked, nor likely to be, after this date.
I couldn't find where the settlement in Irkutsk Oblast is (but I'll be IN the Irkutsk Oblast... ), nor where the inactive volcano is in Buryatia (but I'll be IN Buryatia... ).
I've got some set dates and times for trains.
25th July leave Newcastle 8.35am
27th July leave London 5.25am
(Some time in Paris, then onto Lyon then thru Switzerland to Dresden then Berlin).
4th August leave Berlin 3.22pm
6th August arrive St.Petersburg 6.13am
Some time in St.Petersburg.
9th August leave St.Petersburg 4.13pm
10th August arrive Kazan 1.55pm, then back on a train 7.55pm
11th August arrive Yekaterinburg (bit of an accident, this stop, I think I made a mistake buying tickets!)
Some time in Yekaterinburg.
Very late 12th August (actually 1.31am 13th August) leave on the posh Rossija train.
15th August arrive Ulan Ude 1.32pm
Hopefully head to Chita and back (but I may be too sick of trains & need a break).
18th August, meet at the famous Lenin's head.
Nowt else booked, nor likely to be, after this date.
Sunday, 27 June 2010
8am, by Lenin's head
I am confirming some dates, which is scary because I'm giving myself a rather tight schedule to start off with - but I think that's okay because that's the mindset I'll be setting off with.
So dates:
Belarus transit visa 4th-5th August paid for but not completed.
Train leaves Berlin 4th August, through Belarus on 5th, arriving in St Petersburg on the 6th. Paid for and confirmed - bed in a 3-bed compartment.
Russian business double entry visa paid for but not completed, 5th August to 5th November.
Actually that Belarus train trip is exciting in itself. The German lady on the phone had a very sexy voice and the route is this:
| Berlin Hbf | We, 04.08.10 | dep | 15:22 | |
| Berlin Ostbahnhof | dep | 15:34 | ||
| Frankfurt(Oder) | dep | 17:09 | ||
| Rzepin | dep | 17:49 | ||
| Poznan Gl. | dep | 19:46 | ||
| Warszawa Centralna | dep | 23:00 | ||
| Warszawa Wschodnia | dep | 23:53 | ||
| Lukow | dep | 01:22 | ||
| Terespol | dep | 03:30 | ||
| Brest Central | dep | 07:20 | ||
| Minsk(BY) | dep | 11:14 | ||
| Orscha Central | dep | 16:50 | ||
| Vitebsk | dep | 18:31 | ||
| Gorodok | dep | 19:11 | ||
| Ezerische | dep | 20:01 | ||
| Newel 2 | dep | 21:40 | ||
| Novosokolniki | dep | 22:54 | ||
| Loknja | dep | 00:15 | ||
| Suschewo | dep | 00:49 | ||
| Dedowitschi | dep | 01:42 | ||
| Dno | dep | 02:23 | ||
| Solzi | dep | 03:07 | ||
| Utorgosch | dep | 03:25 | ||
| Batezkaja | dep | 04:05 | ||
| St Petersburg Vitebskii | Fr, 06.08.10 | arr | 06:13 |
heh heh, 'brest central', heh heh
Books to read en-route (green are ones i've read, red are definites)
I am planning NOT to stop at most of these places, at least on the way out and into Siberia, but these are books I would like to either read as I go past, or have already read and so remind myself of them as I go past. I need to find a good english-language bookshop in Siberia to avoid carrying some of these out there.
Versions of the train trip to scan through - Mark Taplin 'Open Lands: Travels through Russia's once forbidden places'; Ryszard Kapusinski 1958 trip in 'Imperium'; David Mitchell 'Ghostwritten'
Nizhni Novgorod - Maxim Gorky (born there, had the city named after him) & Andrey Sakharov (exiled there)
Perm - Dr.Zhivago written there, Chekhov's 'three sisters' set there.
Kazan - I will stop here, Tatar, Muslim, Genghis Khan themes
Yekaterinburg - death of Romanovs in 1917. Also features a lot in 'Railwaymen and Revolution: Russia 1905' by Henry Reichman, which i read on google books and was a bit boring - I guess it's hard to tell stories when you're working off such a vast geographical area and primarily using statistical sources. But basically it was the railwaymen who kicked off two general strikes in 1905 that galvanised the country and which, despite the military repression that followed, served to change the material basis of 'possibility' in old tsarist russia.
Tobolsk - exiles, Solzhenitzyn 'One Day in the Life...' etc..
Omsk - Dostoyevsky 'The House of the Dead', and centre of anti-Bolshevik forces in civil war.
(also Dostoyevsky's Idiots looks good)
Novosibirsk - built for the railway.
Tomsk - I might stop here, old Russia.
Krasnoyarsk - good place to go hiking.
Zima station.
Irkutsk - Siberian folktales, eg. 'The Sun Maiden and the Crescent Moon' James Riordan, and the Ugadan publishing books by Kira van Deusen, 'Fox Mischief', 'Shyaan am!', 'Woman of Steel''
Also Vladimir Korolenko 'Makar's Dream'; Avvakum's 'Life'; Dimitry Stonov 'In the past night: the Siberian stories'; Sergei Zalygin 'the commission'; Viktor Astafiev 'the cursed and the dead'; Vasili Shukshin 'Stories from a Siberian Village'; Valentin Rasputin 'Farewell to Matyora'
About Lake Baikal: Bartel Bull 'Around the Sacred Sea' (on horseback); Harmon Tupper 'To the Great Ocean'
Ulan Ude - Buryat/Buddhist centre, where I get off.
Local indigenous authors include:
Chuckhi - Iurii Rytkheu
Nivkhi: Chuner Taksami
Khanty: Yeremei Aipin
Anna Nerkagi (in 'Anxious North')
Yukagir: Semyon Kurilov
Antonina Kymytval
Vladimir Sangi
Teki Odulok
Yuvan Shestalov
Sulungu Onenko
Chita - Decembrists 'The Queen of Siberia'
Versions of the train trip to scan through - Mark Taplin 'Open Lands: Travels through Russia's once forbidden places'; Ryszard Kapusinski 1958 trip in 'Imperium'; David Mitchell 'Ghostwritten'
Nizhni Novgorod - Maxim Gorky (born there, had the city named after him) & Andrey Sakharov (exiled there)
Perm - Dr.Zhivago written there, Chekhov's 'three sisters' set there.
Kazan - I will stop here, Tatar, Muslim, Genghis Khan themes
Yekaterinburg - death of Romanovs in 1917. Also features a lot in 'Railwaymen and Revolution: Russia 1905' by Henry Reichman, which i read on google books and was a bit boring - I guess it's hard to tell stories when you're working off such a vast geographical area and primarily using statistical sources. But basically it was the railwaymen who kicked off two general strikes in 1905 that galvanised the country and which, despite the military repression that followed, served to change the material basis of 'possibility' in old tsarist russia.
Tobolsk - exiles, Solzhenitzyn 'One Day in the Life...' etc..
Omsk - Dostoyevsky 'The House of the Dead', and centre of anti-Bolshevik forces in civil war.
(also Dostoyevsky's Idiots looks good)
Novosibirsk - built for the railway.
Tomsk - I might stop here, old Russia.
Krasnoyarsk - good place to go hiking.
Zima station.
Irkutsk - Siberian folktales, eg. 'The Sun Maiden and the Crescent Moon' James Riordan, and the Ugadan publishing books by Kira van Deusen, 'Fox Mischief', 'Shyaan am!', 'Woman of Steel''
Also Vladimir Korolenko 'Makar's Dream'; Avvakum's 'Life'; Dimitry Stonov 'In the past night: the Siberian stories'; Sergei Zalygin 'the commission'; Viktor Astafiev 'the cursed and the dead'; Vasili Shukshin 'Stories from a Siberian Village'; Valentin Rasputin 'Farewell to Matyora'
About Lake Baikal: Bartel Bull 'Around the Sacred Sea' (on horseback); Harmon Tupper 'To the Great Ocean'
Ulan Ude - Buryat/Buddhist centre, where I get off.
Local indigenous authors include:
Chuckhi - Iurii Rytkheu
Nivkhi: Chuner Taksami
Khanty: Yeremei Aipin
Anna Nerkagi (in 'Anxious North')
Yukagir: Semyon Kurilov
Antonina Kymytval
Vladimir Sangi
Teki Odulok
Yuvan Shestalov
Sulungu Onenko
Chita - Decembrists 'The Queen of Siberia'
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