Tomorrow is the “big day,” meaning the “great train ride” from Novosibirsk, Russia’s third largest city, to St. Petersburg, the second largest. We’re talking three nights and two long days across the heart of the Russian countryside – actually through the heart of the Russian forests. The Trans-Siberian Railroad is the whole reason Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia, exists, having been established in 1893 at the future location of the vital bridge over the Ob River. The Woody Harrelson film, “Transsiberian,” really nails it in terms of the accuracy of the experience. (Not that I’m expecting to meet any drug smugglers…) It even makes reference to Novosibirsk, which, being located on the midway point of the railroad, seemed as good a place as any for Comrade Stalin to exile his enemies. The city exploded in size and population during the Stalinist regime, the modern city boasting a population of over two million. It is difficult to determine how many Jews found themselves living in the Siberian capital by the mid-twentieth century. What is certain is that the Jews of Siberia became greatly assimilated, many converting to Christianity and/ or entering into mixed marriages. In any case, Jews were certainly present, as an element of the population, just as they are today.
St. Petersburg has its own story to tell. Czar Peter the Great coveted a warm water port, and in 1703 staked his claim on a boggy island where the River Nava meets the Gulf of Finland. The czar himself grabbed an axe and set to work building his new city. He drafted thousands of workers in the effort, in spite of brutal winters and muddy malarial summers. The saying arose, “St. Petersburg was built on bones.” In 1711 Peter moved his capital there, creating a gilded legacy for what would become perhaps the most spectacular city on the continent. Repression and splendor seem to go hand in hand in Russia, as the next installment of the Trans-Siberian adventure is likely to reveal…
Shalom, and Da Svidanya!
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