Khanty-Mansiysk, Central Siberia
Khanty-Mansiysk or maybe Khanty-Mansisyk, or Hanty-Manswhatever. I've seen several spellings.
A little town of 40 thousand in an oil rich area. Near absolutely nothing. Absurdly cold - it hit minus 52 Fahrenheit while I was here - and I'm still here.
Cell phones are a required fashion accessory -- everyone has one, and in general they are more advanced than the standard USA model. That should be NO surprise to anyone who follows these things.
Internet everywhere, and most people seem to have a laptop. Since living space is small compared to North America and Western Europe, laptops make sense.
The cold would be bad enough alone, but essentially no one dresses for it. Dressing warm is unfashionable, and fashion is the most important thing here. Imagine if everyone in EBF (pick your favorite small town in the middle of nowhere) dressed more fashionably than the average New York City resident. The woman almost all wear stiletto heels and clothes and coats chosen for fashion, not warmth. There are warm hats and shoes, but they seem only to be worn by the lower classes, and there aren't too many of them. People die of the cold, many of them. I wonder how many would live if they dressed for the weather?
It's a University town as well. They have over 40 Philosophy Professors alone I'm told, although perhaps something was lost in the translation? This is one of only three supercomputing centers in all of Russia. I've been asked to be a guest lecturer, but don't know how serious the possibility is!
Almost no English is spoken. My faithful driver and liaison to the immediate world, Farid, speaks English fluently, all 50 words he knows. He's great and is teaching me Russian rapidly. We can even converse efficiently over the phone now.
They speak some English in the hotel I'm staying in. Some people speak some, some people speak none, and many seem to be deaf mutes, although even the deaf mutes sometimes smile at my somewhat out of control tribe of children. There is one other American staying in the hotel. He claims to works in the oil industry for some generic Houston based company, but I'd rather think he is CIA. He probably is . . .
The locals, the original locals, the Khantys, the Mansisyks, and other forgotten tribes, live in TeePees and hunt Caribou. They are indistinguishable from Native Americans to me. Their crafts and supposedly their language are extremely similar.
A nice little place to live, but perhaps I'm visiting for a bit too long and in the wrong season :)
I've also tired of "The Restaurant at The End of The World" -- the hotel Restaurant -- and may blog on it later.
A little town of 40 thousand in an oil rich area. Near absolutely nothing. Absurdly cold - it hit minus 52 Fahrenheit while I was here - and I'm still here.
Cell phones are a required fashion accessory -- everyone has one, and in general they are more advanced than the standard USA model. That should be NO surprise to anyone who follows these things.
Internet everywhere, and most people seem to have a laptop. Since living space is small compared to North America and Western Europe, laptops make sense.
The cold would be bad enough alone, but essentially no one dresses for it. Dressing warm is unfashionable, and fashion is the most important thing here. Imagine if everyone in EBF (pick your favorite small town in the middle of nowhere) dressed more fashionably than the average New York City resident. The woman almost all wear stiletto heels and clothes and coats chosen for fashion, not warmth. There are warm hats and shoes, but they seem only to be worn by the lower classes, and there aren't too many of them. People die of the cold, many of them. I wonder how many would live if they dressed for the weather?
It's a University town as well. They have over 40 Philosophy Professors alone I'm told, although perhaps something was lost in the translation? This is one of only three supercomputing centers in all of Russia. I've been asked to be a guest lecturer, but don't know how serious the possibility is!
Almost no English is spoken. My faithful driver and liaison to the immediate world, Farid, speaks English fluently, all 50 words he knows. He's great and is teaching me Russian rapidly. We can even converse efficiently over the phone now.
They speak some English in the hotel I'm staying in. Some people speak some, some people speak none, and many seem to be deaf mutes, although even the deaf mutes sometimes smile at my somewhat out of control tribe of children. There is one other American staying in the hotel. He claims to works in the oil industry for some generic Houston based company, but I'd rather think he is CIA. He probably is . . .
The locals, the original locals, the Khantys, the Mansisyks, and other forgotten tribes, live in TeePees and hunt Caribou. They are indistinguishable from Native Americans to me. Their crafts and supposedly their language are extremely similar.
A nice little place to live, but perhaps I'm visiting for a bit too long and in the wrong season :)
I've also tired of "The Restaurant at The End of The World" -- the hotel Restaurant -- and may blog on it later.
posted by Ted Demopoulos at 12:53 PM
Comments on "Khanty-Mansiysk, Central Siberia"
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Robert Porter said ... (Saturday, February 04, 2006 6:43:00 PM) :
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Ted Demopoulos said ... (Monday, February 06, 2006 4:23:00 PM) :
post a commentHmmm, I understand the local beer is called Yugorskoe, be sure and try one and let me know!
Meantime, stay warm!
Bobster
Bob,
Drinking a - well, the only English words say "Strong Beer."
I believe the Cyrillic says "Doctor Diesel," but not 100% sure. It's quite good.
Better yet is the "Red Hook," or at least that's what the wife and I call it. Looks like a Red Hook label, tastes like Red Hook, all Cyrillic label :)
The wine in the hotel restaurant is OK. Best choice so far the Trapiche Malbec (Argentina I think) at about US$30. Unfortunately it's served between 60 to 85 degrees F!!