By Nelya Rakhimova

There are places on the Earth where winter lasts almost 9 months. Yar-Sale is one of them. Located above the Arctic Circle, it is a small town with population about 5,000 people. It’s the administrative center of Yamal Region, which occupies the whole Yamal Peninsula. It was founded in 1927 by Soviets. In 1932 it became the administrative center in order to the Nenets, nomads who live there. In the Nenets language, Yar-Sale means “Sandy Point” as it is located on a sand island surrounded by endless marshy tundra.

My parents moved to Yar-Sale for several years to earn more money. As they worked in the educational sphere, they couldn’t make much money in the south. Because there is need of education for local nomads, you can easily get good bonuses to your usual salary because of the “hardship” status of the living in the area. I visited my parents for New Year’s.

Visiting the northern nomads—the Nenets Nation—became the best New Year’s present. It was an incredible experience also because one of my classmates, Alexey Serotetto is one of them. He was glad to show me around and to introduce me the wild northern life of his nation.

Getting to Yar-Sale

First of all, it is necessary to say that it is one the places in Russia where it is really hard to get to. I flew from Tyumen to Salehard. Then you have two options to get to Yar-Sale: helicopter or jeep with huge wheels. During the summer you cannot drive cars between towns because there are no roads, only helicopters and boats can be used.

During the winter everything is frozen and only experienced drivers can find the right way. They prefer to drive when it dark because apparently they can see the way better than in daylight. However, it is not a problem in this region, because sunlight appears here only for two to three hours per day in winter. Helicopter pilots, in contrast, prefer to fly during this short sunny time.

I tried both means of transportation. As I landed quite late and I did not want to stay in Salehard for a night, I took an eight-hour jeep ride. Even though it is just 190 km (about 120 miles) it takes a lot of time to cross tundra. There is no road, snow covers traces of cars immediately and it is really easy to get lost. There is one stop on the way—the small town Aksarka—which is a good way to know you’re on the right path.

Nomads in Modern Life

The main purpose of the settlement is to provide local people with education and medicine. Every fall, children are collected by helicopter from the nomad’s camp and are brought here. They stay in a special school for nine months and then go back to their parents’ camps. Usually immigrants work in these organizations; most of the Nenets keep a traditional way of life.  They have a lot of subsidies as they are indigenous peoples. As a result they can get additional equipment to make life a bit more comfortable.

Only some of them try to get political power and defend their rights at the local level. They have apartments and from first glance have the same living conditions as Russian people. However, I realized that it is not really true when I visited my classmate in Yar-Sale. His apartment was organized as a traditional tent with lots of deerskins everywhere. They treated me with raw cut fish and instead of soup they offered me a bowl with reindeer’s blood. I liked it, by the way.

Some Nenets fit into the modern era very well, and some of them can get in real trouble. For example, the biggest problem is alcohol. The Nenets have not adapted to it as we have and it’s really easy for them to become dependent on alcoholic.

Day in the Tundra

Nenets people are really hospitable and they really like to show how they live, entertain and treat their guests. I was told that my classmate’s family participated in a documentary series of BBC ‘Tribe’ when a BBC crew spent about one month with them to make an episode about their tribe.  I had only one day to experience the freezing temperatures and their lifestyle was so unusual for me.

My classmate invited me to visit his relatives that were in 20 km from the town at that time. We met in the morning, while it was still dark. They gave me natural clothes to be comfortable during the trip. They are made from reindeer skins and are really warm and comfortable. The Nenets usually travel by snowmobile from the town to their camps. Camps are setup by families that overtake the reindeer in order provide them with the possibility to find food. As they eat reindeer moss, they need to move all the time. So sometimes people come and stay next to the town to get provisions and see relatives who have changed from the traditional lifestyle.

It took about one hour to get ready and another to get to the camp. We wanted to arrive there when it wasn’t dark so we didn’t have much time. It was amazing for me how the Nenets can find the right direction in the tundra. It is a completely white plain and monotonous landscape. Only sometimes there are some hills and small trees. When we were closer, we met the head of the family and he suggested we take a sled ride.

Sled Ride

The people that we visited didn’t have many reindeer. There were only about 300—they told us that is not a lot. They say that each of them has a special name and they remember each of them. Reindeer here are considered a holy animal for people. Life without them in such a severe climate is not possible; they provide food, clothing, and transportation.

There was only one traditional tent (chum) where people usually stay. Women are responsible for the transporting the tent, as well as setting it up, and what goes on inide. Usually there is an iron stove inside which helps to keep it warm.

The Chum

Inside there a lot of deerskins that are used as carpets and sleeping bags. The woman, host of the chum, treated us with different kinds of raw frozen fish and some vodka. As all Nenets people who complete school can speak Russian, we had nice conversation about their life and how they migrate from the north to the south during the winter and back during the summer. Toilets are situated away from the chums and separated into male and female areas. Their clothes are made in a special way to make it as comfortable as possible. However, I was told that when there is a snowstorm they use a robe to go outside because sometimes people can get lost. They cannot find their way back even if they go only a few meters away from the tent.  Also the Nenets will often take a stick with them to the toilet to fend off any overly-friendly reindeer that are in search of salty fluids.

In general, I was impressed with Nenets’ way of thinking. In the beginning I thought that I am going to meet uneducated people with who I do not have anything to talk about. However, I found out that they are incredible people who live in harmony with nature and who are completely happy to be there in such a cold and severe place. They told me how it is hard for them to live in small apartments, and how they miss the unlimited dark tundra, snow, frost, raw fish and meat.

We came back when it was completely dark. I did not want to give back such warm and comfortable clothes because I was going to stay in Yar-Sale for couple days more, but I did.  I was really happy that I had opportunity to understand these people who live in such a severe climate. It seems so crazy for us, people who are used to hot water from the tap and a heating system during the coldest days.

I understood once again that people can get used to everything and that happiness depends only on our perception of situations and that the endless white plain is one of the most beautiful landscapes that I have ever seen.

If you go

If you want to visit Yar-Sale, you need to have a special permission because this area is considered a pre-border area. I would suggest finding people who can host you there beforehand.

Nelya Rakhimova grew up in the town of Tobolsk, Russia, and moved to Tyumen when she was 15. She has spent the last few years traveling and studying in various countries and has recently completed her Master’s degree in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. This is her second feature for GoMad Nomad.

In all my travels, Turkmenistan has been, by far, the oddest place I’ve visited. Culturally, the Turkmens are “cousins” of the Uzbeks, and I found many similarities in the everyday lives and customs with their Central Asian neighbors. The languages are also similar, both routed in Turkish. These are not the reasons I found Turkmenistan odd. Those reasons have to do with the cult of personality surrounding the then-alive Saparmurat Niyazov—also known as Turkmenbashi, or Leader of Turkmens.

He had large golden statues built for himself, renamed the days of the week and months of the year, and placed himself on the national currency. He wrote a book called the Ruhnama, meant for the “spiritual guidance of the nation”. Because he felt that only the Ruhnama and the Koran were necessary for most Turkmen to read, he closed all libraries in the country outside of Ashgabat. In addition to that, he closed all hospitals around the county because he felt all who were ill should come to the capital for treatment. The list of outrageous decrees and laws continues, like outlawing the opera, ballet, and the circus in 2001.

The absurdity of empty multi-lane roads, new still-empty marble-covered high rises, and endless water fountains in an arid land were my lasting impressions of Ashgabat. I would be curious to see how and if the city has changed since I last visited in 2004, especially since the passing of Turkmenbashi.

Click through to my Flickr gallery to see additional photos of Ashgabat.

Text and photos by Stephen Bugno

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The Ruhnama

Government buildings in Ashgabat

Two monuments in Ashgabat

The large golden statue of Turkmenbashi, which I believe has been removed.

The monument to Lenin in Ashgabat

The Drama Theater in Ashgabat

By Nelya Rakhimova

The Kremlin in Tobolsk, Russia

Tobolsk is an average Russian town located in the middle of the western Siberian plain. It used to be the capital of the whole of Siberia until the 20^th century when the Trans-Siberian railway was built just south of here, when Tolbolsk reverted to being a small provincial town. Nevertheless, Tobolsk remains an historic capital of Siberia and one of the most beautiful cities for those interested in Russian architecture of the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Architecture here has a particular style that you cannot find in the European part of Russia.

I spent my childhood in Tobolsk and I am used to the cold Siberian winters with lots of snow. White-stone historical buildings look even better during this time of year, adding a magical lightness to the massive structures. I don’t live in Tobolsk anymore but I had a chance to walk around just before Orthodox Christmas and took some pictures to remember how my town looks during the winter.

Tobolsk, as any settlement, has changed over the years and looks totally different than it did when I was young. Now you can find three distinct districts that were formed during different periods: the modern town with boring Soviet architecture of apartment blocks; the historic center, where there is dynamic reconstruction activity; and the old district that was neglected during the Soviet period because of frequent flooding and a damaged drainage system.

Tobolsk’s three districts

The modern town does not attract many tourists because it has a typical modern Soviet development zone with straight blocks and wide roads. There is everything that is usual for such kind of town: blocks of flats, schools and colleges, a shopping center and restaurants, hospitals, etc. There are not many recreational places there. But during the winter an ice fortress is usually built with slides of different sizes where people of all ages can enjoy real Russian wintertime amusement. Other people prefer to go to the historical center to get a view of the Irtysh–one of the biggest Siberian rivers.

Winter in the new town of Tobolsk, Russia

The historical center is concentrated around the stone Kremlin—the elaborate fortress which sits spectacularly on the high river bank. It used to be the center of Tobolsk. It’s composed of white walls and towers with an ensemble of churches and palatial buildings.

The Kremlin was declared a national historical and architectural treasure in 1870; however, during Soviet times it was used for different purposes. One of the most beautiful buildings of the Kremlin is the bell tower which is also the highest structure. It was not used during the Soviet era; I remember that it was a big deal for the whole town when bells were placed back and we heard the first ringing after so many years of silence.

The Monastery of St.John in the outskirts of the Tobolsk, Russia

In the end of the 20^th century it became a third headquarters for the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) after Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. Now the whole area of the Kremlin is under the ROC’s control; nevertheless it is still open for people to visit, especially during religious holidays.

The last part of the town is located on the low river bank and is not in good condition. It was the living area of the former Siberian capital with many beautiful churches and wooden houses. After the revolution of 1917 the last Russian tsar, Nicolas II was kept there with his family. They stayed in Tobolsk about nine months just before being moved to Yekaterinburg where they were executed in July 1918. The building where they lived is still there with a small chapel where the whole family used to pray every day.

Burned houses and church under construction in old town Tobolsk, Russia

In the 1920’s, the drainage system that spared the town from massive flooding was destroyed and the whole area fell into decay. Now you can see many burned-out houses and neglected buildings. Some areas are still occupied with people who did not want or did not have the opportunity to move to the new town. It looks like a typical Russian village with animals and small vegetable gardens.

Among them you can still see domes of abandoned churches. Some of them were used as storehouses, some were just destroyed. One church, where Mendeleev, the famous Russian chemist who created the periodic table, was baptized, was blown up in the early 1930’s. The monastery that was located in the middle of this part of town was redeveloped into a small factory that is not in operation anymore. During the winter it looks really depressing here, however last year’s city government tried to pay more attention to this area and started some redevelopment projects.

Holy Cross Church

My favorite church, Holy Cross Church (Крестовоздвиженская церковь), is located close to the river in the southwestern part of old town. It was built in 1781. In the 20^th century it was neglected and flooded several times. It is a unique church because it combines different styles of architecture and the interior is not typical for a Russian Orthodox church.

Holy Cross Church in Tobolsk, Russia

I was lucky to see it when I was a teenager and it was possible to go inside all these churches because nobody cared about them. In most of them, all of the insides were destroyed, but Holy Cross Church was the lucky one because stairs to the second floor were totally blocked with crumbled walls and nobody could go there. But if you climb up the bell tower and then walk along the roof, through small windows it is possible to see the unique inner decoration.

There is a famous legend about the church that in the 1930’s people from the Soviet government tried to tear a cross off from the bell tower several times. But it never fell; they only bent it. Then a man climbed to the dome to try one more time and he fell down and died. After this they stopped trying. Now you can still see the bent cross on top of the bell tower. The church was surrounded by a fence the last few years because of its supposed reconstruction; but it’s not possible to see it closely.

View of Irtysh River, frozen, near Tobolsk, Russia

Outside the town there are two monasteries that now are also under control of the ROC. They were nearly rebuilt by monks during the last couple decades. Usually visitors are not allowed to go there, however it is still possible to enjoy the spirit of the impressive structures from outside.

Tourism in Tobolsk

Tobolsk has recently become more popular among international tourists during the summer. However, being situated just off the Trans-Siberian railroad, it still does not get the proper attention from visitors that it deserves. The Russian government promised to invest more to promote the Siberian pearl—then name formerly given to  Tobolsk because of its historical and architectural treasures. However, now more and more people are leaving town because of its ceaseless economical decline. Hopefully in the future Tobolsk will become the tourist capital of Siberia.

If you go

Tobolsk is located 250 km (155 miles) from Tyumen, the capital of Tyumen region, which is located on Trans-Siberian road and has an international airport. You can take the bus from the interurban bus station; the trip lasts about four hours. There are several kinds of trains that go to Tobolsk from Tyumen. The best option is the train that goes once per day without additional stops. It is cheaper than the bus and it takes the same four hours. Because of the economic decline, the crime level in town has been growing during last few years; that is why you need to be careful during the evenings and nights. In general, people in Tobolsk are friendly and open as people from any of the Russian provinces.

Nelya Rakhimova grew up in the town of Tobolsk, Russia, and moved to Tyumen when she was 15. She has spent the last few years traveling and studying in various countries and is now pursuing a master’s degree in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. This is her first feature for GoMad Nomad.

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These photos were taken at the khachkar field in Noratus, Armenia. It is the largest such concentration of these carved memorial stones, known as khachkars, anywhere in the country. A few years back I was lucky enough to visit an Armenian-Russian friend of mine’s extended family living in Armenia.

The Armenians are some of the friendliest, most hospitable folks I’ve met in my travels. They are a proud people with an ancient culture. So few tourists make it to Armenia, that almost everyone I came in contact with was curious about where I came from and what I was doing there.

The Noratus khachkar field lies close to the shores of Lake Sevan and truly is one of Armenia’s most remarkable sites. The huge cemetery is filled with nearly 900 of these beautifully caved stones, spanning a period from the 10^th to the 17^th century. No two khachkars are identical.

See more photos from Armenia.

Text and photos by Stephen Bugno.

Submit your photo of the week to be featured at GoMad Nomad with a link back to your blog!  Send a photo with a paragraph or two describing the photo or your experience to gomadnomadtravelmag [@] gmail.com

Khachkars are carved memorial stones.

The Field of Khachkars in Armenia

Gergeti Trinity Church on the hill above Kazbegi, Georgia

Georgian culture is completely inseparable from their orthodox Christianity.  The land and people have been Christian since the 4th century.  People walking past a Georgian church stop, face the church, and cross themselves before continuing on their way.  The interior of the churches are dim with painted icons of saints and the holy family on the walls.  Devotees kiss the icon and then dip their forehead to lightly touch the object as they pray.  This is also done on the outside of the church’s gates and the interior corners of the building.  Services are marked by chanting prayers and ethereal singing by the priest and select groups of worshippers.  The Byzantine faces of the art, the candles, and the devotion of the people make the churches much more than a tourist attraction.

Text by Jett Thomason, photos by Stephen Bugno

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The Jvari Monestery on the cliff overlooking Mtsketa

By Jett Thomason

A few years back I got the chance to visit the Black Sea coast several miles from the Turkish border in a town called Batumi. Batumi has been a major port since the Russians won the land from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. This was the first port to begin shipping out the Industrial Age petroleum from Baku on the Caspian Sea. The resulting economic boom still defines the city’s architecture, with its crumbling facades resembling Paris much more than Moscow.

Old Turkish fort and orange groves in Batumi, Georgia

The city is hemmed in on two sides by the Black Sea. Since Georgia’s independence from the USSR, petroleum has resumed flowing out to docked European tankers.  The city’s prosperity increases markedly as the streets work their way towards the port area, the source of the Batumi’s wealth.  Heading in the opposite direction, I rode on a bus to some more distant neighborhoods. The simultaneous backdrop of snow-capped pines on the surrounding hills and the sea lapping on the pebble beach is striking.  All the homes in the suburbs have orange groves heavy with fruit. The winter rains swept fruit into the streams and into the ocean, and the ocean swept them in turn onto the high-water point of the stone beaches. Like a dotted orange line, the eye is brought from the washed line of oranges along the Black Sea shore and up through the orchards of the nearby houses.

Getting by with Russian

I was able to get by in Georgia on my grammatically terrible Russian. The Georgian language, however, is very distinct from Russian with a different script in addition to an unrelated linguistic structure. The Georgian alphabet is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.  Curly and bent letters bear absolutely no resemblance to either the Latin or Russian alphabets and traveling here is an experience with illiteracy. Finding addresses demands multiple requests for directions.  I had to wait for a sympathetic passerby before entering the correct side of a public restroom.

The Orthodox Church of Batumi, Georgia with a port crane in the background

As a devoted coffee drinker, I was exceedingly pleased to land in a country unconquered by Nescafe’s Instant Empire.  Instead, the Georgians take rightful pride in their lovely Turkish-style coffee. The heads of men and women in cafes bounce like oil derricks as everyone sips on the sweet coffee. The head activity is not just the Georgian animated conversation style, but also (as I discovered) the only way to keep the nose clean of the coffee ring around the top of the narrow cups.

Stalin’s Time in Batumi

One of the few tourist sites here is a museum dedicated to Stalin’s short stay in Batumi from 1901 to 1902.  It is impossible to enjoy such an experience – akin to a Hitler museum in Vienna – but it is insightful. Stalin, a Georgian, came to Batumi to organize a Communist cell at the end of 1901.  As far as I could tell from the museum, this work only contributed to a single demonstration in March of 1902 and a few illegal newsletters.

More interesting than the amateur paintings documenting these episodes from Stalin’s youth is the history of the museum itself. Opened during Stalin’s rule in 1936, the building housing the museum was one of his boarding house residences for a few months. The exhibits include a simple bed where he slept and a rag that was apparently a towel indicative of that which he may or may not have used during his time there. These are displayed as venerably as saintly relics in a Catholic church.

A city street in Batumi, Georgia

After his death and denouncement in the mid-1950’s, the museum was closed by Soviet authorities. Georgians still regard Stalin as a great leader and an important native of their land. Despite despising their domination by Russia through Czarist and Soviet times, the Georgians re-opened the museum in 1995. The curator and her husband had nothing but warm regard for the native son who was responsible for tens of millions of Soviet deaths.

Stalin’s Legacy in Georgia

After being led through the museum and fending off all my historically provocative questions, the curator asked me to join her and her husband for coffee in their office dominated by a massive portrait of Stalin. I tried to ask them their opinions of this man that the world finds so hideous. But for them, this was ancient history.

As their single visitor of the day, I instead discussed salaries and housing prices in America, sipped coffee, and ate toasted hazelnuts with my hosts.  As they sent me off with instructions of how to get to the train station, it was impossible to connect them with any of the evil perpetrated by the namesake of the museum. Instead, Batumi is marked for me by the hospitality, and the coffee, of the Georgian people.

This series of photos come from the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan, a famous producer of fine silk. I had the opportunity to travel to the city of Margilan to visit a silk factory when I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan.

At the Yodgorlik silk factory, you can witness the different stages of silk production starting with the unraveling of the silk worm cocoon and continuing to the dying, weaving, and other stages.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

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A worker at the Yodgorlik silk factory in Margilan, Uzbekistan

Workers at the Yodgorlik silk factory in Margilan, Uzbekistan

A silk weaver at a factory in Margilan, Uzbekistan

Moscow is not the most popular destination for the Christmas and New Year holidays for foreigners. However, during this time you can see a different Moscow; everything is illuminated and Christmas trees are in every corner of the city. Red Square is a place of celebration where you can find a traditional ice skating rink and fireworks. Moscow is not the coldest place in Russia, nevertheless sometimes it is necessary to find a nice cafe and drink hot mulled wine which the best way to get warm. I was lucky to spend several days in Moscow with my friends, walking around and enjoying the festive mood in the heart of Russia that is throbbing fast and shining bright.

Text and photo by Nelya Rakhimova

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After an arduous journey by overnight train and long, bumpy van ride, we arrived in Svaneti, a region of the Republic of Georgia surrounded by huge mountain peaks. The region is inhabited by the Svans and is known for the stone watchtowers that fill the villages and for the recent wave of banditry. I wrote a story about my trip to Svaneti on TheExpeditioner. Read Majestic Mountains, Beguiling Towers, And Lawless Bandits, Oh My

Photo and text by Stephen Bugno

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In Honor of International Worker’s Day, here is one of the ubiquitous public mosaics that once adorned buildings and public spaces across the whole of the Soviet Union, many still remaining to this day. Although there has been a trend over the past decade or so to remove some of these monuments and other artistic relics of the Soviet Union, many still remain.

Here a farmer and an industrial worker stand proudly in the shadow of Lenin under the blazing orange sun of the central Asian steppe. This art appeared on the side of an apartment block in a village near Tekeli in southeastern Kazakhstan. I took the photo in 2004 as I made my way through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno