Secret Siberia by Rail River and Road Nicholas

Secret Siberia by Rail, River, and Road Nicholas Zvegintzov Email zvegint@hotmail. com Secret Siberia (photos©) 1

Secret Siberia (photos©) Russia, political 2

Secret Siberia (photos©) Russia, physical 3

Secret Siberia (photos©) Nothing to eat 4

Secret Siberia (photos©) Communications and transport have broken down 5

Secret Siberia (photos©) People are bandits and thugs 6

Russia Mongolia Secret Siberia (photos©) China Geography of the north-east – political Japan 7

Secret Siberia (photos©) Geography of the north-east – physical 8

Lena Angara-Yenisei Amur / Heilungjian Secret Siberia (photos©) Geography of the north-east – rivers 9

Yakutsk (1632) Irkutsk (1652) Khabarovsk (1858) Secret Siberia (photos©) Geography of the north-east – cities 10

Yakutsk (1632) Irkutsk (1652) Khabarovsk (1858) The Trans-Siberian Secret Siberia (photos©) Geography of the north-east – The Trans-Siberian 11

The Workers State had a better idea – Go straight n n Secret Siberia (photos©) АЯАД – AYa. AD, the Amur Yakutsk Automobile Highway, 1930 -37 БАМ – BAM, the Baikal Amur Mainline, 1933 -2002 The Workers State had a better idea 12

BAM, the Baikal Amur Mainline AYa. AD, the Amur Yakutsk Automobile Highway The Trans-Siberian Secret Siberia (photos©) The AYa. AD and the BAM 13

Secret Siberia (photos©) Taishet 14

Secret Siberia (photos©) The BAM curtain 15

Secret Siberia (photos©) Chuna station on the western BAM, built in the 1940’s. 16

Secret Siberia (photos©) Summer scything 17

BAM Bratsk, 1954 AYa. AD Tynda (1937, 1975) Komsomolsk-na-Amure (1932) The Trans-Siberian Secret Siberia (photos©) New cities on the BAM 18

Secret Siberia (photos©) Bratsk – the dam 19

Secret Siberia (photos©) “Bratsk Station gave 795242 MKw. H to our country” 20

Secret Siberia (photos©) The control room 21

Secret Siberia (photos©) Rechushka – a station from the 1970 s 22

Secret Siberia (photos©) Severobaikalsk – the station 23

Secret Siberia (photos©) Baikal lake view 24

Secret Siberia (photos©) Baikal lake party – entertaining the shepherd 25

Secret Siberia (photos©) The boat the shepherd came in 26

Secret Siberia (photos©) Baikal lake party – Partisan tea 27

Secret Siberia (photos©) Baikal Khakusy Hot Springs – The baths 28

Secret Siberia (photos©) The coach 29

Secret Siberia (photos©) Baikal Khakusy Hot Springs – Gathering the hot water weed 30

Secret Siberia (photos©) Baikal – The Buddhist-shamanist shrine 31

Secret Siberia (photos©) Severobaikalsk – Builders monument 32

Secret Siberia (photos©) Severomuisk – Climbing to the bypass via spiral tunnel 33

Secret Siberia (photos©) West portal of the Severomuisk tunnel under construction 34

Secret Siberia (photos©) Severomuisk – Three hairpins to the Muya valley 35

Secret Siberia (photos©) Taksimo – downed Tupolev ANT-4 from 1930 s surveys 36

Secret Siberia (photos©) Leprindo 37

Secret Siberia (photos©) The Chara valley, with the sand dunes and Marble Canyon 38

Secret Siberia (photos©) Helicopter pilot and Chara Museum Director 39

Secret Siberia (photos©) Up the Sredni Sakukan river valley 40

Secret Siberia (photos©) Marble Canyon – side canyon 41

Secret Siberia (photos©) Up the side canyon 42

Secret Siberia (photos©) Boxed in the canyon 43

Secret Siberia (photos©) Chara Museum – the golden spike and the golden rail anchor 44

Secret Siberia (photos©) Between Olonggo and Khani – highest point on the BAM 45

Secret Siberia (photos©) Sunrise from the BAM on the Olekma river 46

Secret Siberia (photos©) Tynda – the main street 47

Secret Siberia (photos©) Marina Yakovlevna Savchuk, provodnitsa on the Kislovodsk-Tynda train 48

Secret Siberia (photos©) Tynda – The statue by the BAM Bridge Building organisation 49

Secret Siberia (photos©) A long hot journey across the plateau – the little girls in the corridor 50

Secret Siberia (photos©) The baby asleep 51

Secret Siberia (photos©) The multicultural toilet 52

Secret Siberia (photos©) Verkhnezeisk – flowerbed at the House of the Locomotive Brigade 53

Secret Siberia (photos©) Urgal – the Japanese-built barrack 54

Secret Siberia (photos©) Chegdomyn – the N Korea compound 55

Secret Siberia (photos©) Trackside bustle as the train stops at Suluk on the Amgun River 56

Secret Siberia (photos©) Postyshevo – Old Believer working on the fire-train 57

Secret Siberia (photos©) Postyshevo – The new town 58

Secret Siberia (photos©) Komsomolsk-na-Amure – Pervostroitelei Avenue, 80 m wide 59

Secret Siberia (photos©) Komsomolsk-na-Amure – the little girl and the vintage car 60

Secret Siberia (photos©) Biznes Tsentr – the front door 61

Secret Siberia (photos©) Khrushchev’s bed 62

Secret Siberia (photos©) The boy in the cherry tree 63

Secret Siberia (photos©) The Great Patriotic War memorial at Komsomolsk-na-Amure 64

Secret Siberia (photos©) West door of the station built by Japanese POWs at Vysokogornaya 65

Secret Siberia (photos©) Sovetskaya Gavan – the end of the line 66

Secret Siberia (photos©) Sovetskaya Gavan – The Amur Tiger 67

Secret Siberia (photos©) Arrested in Vanino 68

Secret Siberia (photos©) Under house arrest in Vanino 69

Secret Siberia (photos©) Vanino – The train leaves 70

Secret Siberia (photos©) Vanino – Lenin, now more alive than all living beings 71

Secret Siberia (photos©) Plums and pelmeni on the train 72

n Secret Siberia (photos©) Down the Lena to Yakutsk by paddle steamer (теплоход) Down the Lena from Ust-Kut to Yakutsk 73

Lena Yakutsk Ust-Kut Secret Siberia (photos©) From the BAM crossing at Ust-Kut down to Yakutsk 74

Secret Siberia (photos©) I set off by Meteor – “You will surely catch up” 75

Secret Siberia (photos©) The Krasnoyarsk – close-up 76

Secret Siberia (photos©) The Krasnoyarsk 77

Secret Siberia (photos©) The stoker 78

Secret Siberia (photos©) The builder’s plate 79

Secret Siberia (photos©) Classes on the Lena river steamer 80

Secret Siberia (photos©) The kitchen 81

Secret Siberia (photos©) In the crew lounge 82

Secret Siberia (photos©) Stopping at a stockaded village 83

Secret Siberia (photos©) Picking up passengers 84

Secret Siberia (photos©) The “Captain” of Peledui 85

Secret Siberia (photos©) Following the plain red flag to the east 86

Secret Siberia (photos©) To Yakutsk in 4 days, 9 hours 87

Yakutsk / Tuimaada n Якутск, Туймаада n Secret Siberia (photos©) Yakutsk or Tuimaada 88

Secret Siberia (photos©) Yakutsk – Not! 89

Secret Siberia (photos©) Old and new in Yakutsk, the 1909 Treasury Building 90

Secret Siberia (photos©) Healthy youth, strong government 91

Secret Siberia (photos©) Skaters rule 92

Secret Siberia (photos©) Children of Asia 93

Secret Siberia (photos©) Children of Asia sign 94

Secret Siberia (photos©) Fireworks over the stadium 95

Secret Siberia (photos©) The former Trinity Cathedral, built of brick in 1708 96

Secret Siberia (photos©) Inside the Theater of Varieties 97

In which we fly to the Дянышка and fish all week and all night n And Afanasi catches his taimen n Secret Siberia (photos©) Fishing north of Yakutsk 98

Secret Siberia (photos©) AN-2 of Ilin Airways 99

Secret Siberia (photos©) Into the mountains – doors and windows optional 100

Secret Siberia (photos©) The crew at rest 101

Secret Siberia (photos©) A wet campground 102

Secret Siberia (photos©) Waiting for the fishermen 103

Secret Siberia (photos©) Afanasi gets his taimen 104

Secret Siberia (photos©) Campground soup 105

Secret Siberia (photos©) Drifting at midnight on the river 106

Secret Siberia (photos©) Favorite food at base camp 107

Secret Siberia (photos©) Back in civilisation 108

South by the AYa. AD n АЯАД – AYa. AD, the Amur Yakutsk Automobile Highway, 1930 -37 n Secret Siberia (photos©) South by the AYa. AD 109

Yakutsk Ust-Kut The AYa. Ad Neryungri Secret Siberia (photos©) From Yakutsk to Neryungri by highway 110

Secret Siberia (photos©) Yakutsk avtovokzal – The bus station in summer 111

Secret Siberia (photos©) Mokhsogollokh – shashlik stand at the ferry 112

Secret Siberia (photos©) Crossing the Lena at Mokhsogollokh 113

Secret Siberia (photos©) Breakdown on the highway 114

Secret Siberia (photos©) The uranium-mining gulag of Vasilevka 115

Secret Siberia (photos©) The camp graves at Vasilevka 116

Secret Siberia (photos©) Berry-sellers on the AYa. AD Highway, August 117

Secret Siberia (photos©) Neryungri Coal Mine 118

n Secret Siberia (photos©) In the cold Yakutsk and around in winter 119

Secret Siberia (photos©) “We’re here! Time to get out, kids!” 120

Secret Siberia (photos©) Arriving at Yakutsk airport 121

Secret Siberia (photos©) Waiting for the bus 122

Secret Siberia (photos©) The baby on the bus 123

Secret Siberia (photos©) Day of Reindeer Herders 124

Secret Siberia (photos©) The reindeer races on the city inlet 125

Secret Siberia (photos©) The journey to II Хомустах, across the Lena 126

Secret Siberia (photos©) The man and boy looking for their horse 127

Secret Siberia (photos©) The cabbage-farming village II Хомустах 128

Secret Siberia (photos©) Addressing the science class 129

Secret Siberia (photos©) Teachers and students 130

Secret Siberia (photos©) The Evenk girl sings 131

Secret Siberia (photos©) Home made skis 132

Secret Siberia (photos©) A gnawed horseleg 133

Secret Siberia (photos©) A village feast 134

Secret Siberia (photos©) Master class at the Music Institute – Yakut singing 135

Secret Siberia (photos©) Master class at the Music Institute –Khomus (jew’s harp) instruction 136

Secret Siberia (photos©) The Lena Overlook 137

Secret Siberia (photos©) The Overlook Guesthouse 138

Secret Siberia (photos©) Children of Депутатский 139

Secret Siberia (photos©) Children of Депутатский 140

Secret Siberia (photos©) Trucks on the winter road 141

Secret Siberia (photos©) The M-56 main highway from Yakutsk heads across the Lena river as an officially posted dual carriageway zimnik (winter road) 142

Secret Siberia (photos©) Furniture store 143

n Secret Siberia (photos©) Ust-Barguzin to Baikalskoe on the Lake Baikal ice Across Baikal on the ice 144

Secret Siberia (photos©) The monastery at Pokrovka 145

Secret Siberia (photos©) Park checkpoint on the island 146

Secret Siberia (photos©) The informal convoy stops at a marker 147

Secret Siberia (photos©) A crack in the ice 148

Secret Siberia (photos©) Going over a crack 149

Secret Siberia (photos©) Finding a way to shore in the dusk 150

Secret Siberia (photos©) On land at Baikalskoe 151

Secret Siberia (photos©) Nikolai at home 152

n Secret Siberia (photos©) Barbecue at Shestakovo 153

Secret Siberia (photos©) Владимир Александрович in his living room 154

Secret Siberia (photos©) Backyard barbecue, Siberian style 155

n n n Secret Siberia (photos©) Siberian BAM Guide - rail rivers, and road / Includes North-East Russia's Siberian BAM Railway, Lena River & Kolyma Highway". Authors Athol Yates & Nicholas Zvegintzov. Trailblazer Publications, UK. 2001. ISBN 1 -873756 -18 -6. 156

Good journey! n Счастливого пути! n Secret Siberia (photos©) Nicholas Zvegintzov 157