Lake Baikal

This Weekend

Let’s see if I can get this to accept a post this time. Last one took a half dozen tries. People here do use internet though.

Our train took us though a glowing sunrise, and dropped us off in Irkutsk, a little northwest of the southern tip of the lake.

Sorry about picture through a window.

A model of the lake.

We spent the day touring first a research museum of the lake......

Lots of wildlife lives here, including the world’s only fresh water seals, and “ too many wolves,” bear, lynx, reindeer, wolverines, and lesser folk. Remarkable aquariums showed native fish, all protected now, after over fishing.

......then an open air museum of re-positioned structures from up to 300 years ago, when Russians first explored, exploited, and settled this area, to get furs from the indigenous people. The official policy was to disturb and displace as little as possible, so military battles were kept to a minimum (unlike, we were told, in the US west, which took 150 years to push west in bloody conflict.) The Russians gained their western territory in fifty years. The natives also had the incentive of protection from the Russians against the Mongolians, who were even worse rulers. Also, they were very inbred, unhygienic (guide’s words), with high infant mortality, so enjoyed alliances with the Russian men. When Russians had “too many children” (appalling thought), they sold them to the natives, who treasured them. The native peoples were and are Shamanic or Buddhist. They eventually traded their yurts for round log houses on exactly the same plan.

Mica windows in the three hundred year old chapel.

Model of the original fort here. 

A government office of the 1960’s, on the same model as the ancient fort ones. Note the sacred corner in the upper right. Every dwelling has one: icon and embroidered shawls.

A Russian trotter

A  native woman’s dress, with traded coral beads, which were used as money, as were salt and furs.

There is more, but this is not working well, so let’s try to post......