Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The familiar forest of spruce, pine and birch quickly dissipated, to be replaced
by thick hardy bushes and stocky trees. Parched green hills rose well above wide
flood plains and shallow streams. The ridges looked like the bony spine of a rot-
ting corpse. When the sun was low, the grass appeared not green but a dry yellow.
Gradually, the grey earth became red, punctured by islands of tight-fisted grass.
The view spanned clear horizons and although pyramid-shaped hills rose here and
there it lacked prominent features; distance became harder to gauge. Suddenly, I
felt like a tourist in an alien land. Camping on the sandy earth left me pining for
the seclusion of the forest, and made me realise that Russia had become a second
home.
It wasn't just the landscape that was changing. The Buryatians, although Russi-
fied to a point, were distinctly different. The following evening, near the town of
Gusinosersk, I was hailed down by a man intent on talking.
'You know that this, Buryatia, is the home of Genghis Khan. You see, up in
those mountains the Russians mine the diamonds and gold. We cannot. As Burya-
tians, disturbing the earth is sacrilege. By the way, you see that smoke stack there?
That is the highest in Buryatia,' he said, pointing to an unremarkable chimney
rising from a rusty old factory. 'You understand, we have clean, fresh air. And by
the way, have you noticed how here in Buryatia all Russians work and we stand
around and watch? Our God forbids us to work.'
I wasn't convinced that he spoke for all, but most likely there was an element of
truth in his eccentric ravings.
Further along the road we passed blue satin sashes tied to the branches of trees.
Cars often stopped and the passengers offered drips of vodka to heaped cairns: one
flick of vodka to the sky, one into the air, and one onto the rocks. As far as I could
understand, it was for good luck and happiness; and it was bad karma to not stop at
each and every sash and cairn.
Some of the Buryatian superstitions bore a resemblance to common Russian be-
liefs about good luck and the right way of doing things. Russia was a blend of
cultures ranging from Europe to central Asia and the Far East. This complexity al-
ways made it appear that the culture was plagued with contradictions. For example,
Russians were caught up in systems and laws similar to that of the Europeans, yet
turned to 'destiny' and 'luck' to show them the way; they could be intensely cold
and yet be the most hospitable and open on earth; they were overtly materialistic
and yet deep-spirited; they could be incredibly moral, hard working and disciplined
