Postcards from Siberia - July 19, 2003

We flew into Novi Urenguoi sixty kilometers south of the Arctic Circle on the sub-Arctic tundra. A city having all the amenities of any other city in the world, except a location that few others have. Surrounded by sand and scrub brush, it rises as a gateway to the oil riches of Russia’s north. The warmth and hospitality of the people here make up for the coolness of this northern climate, even in summer. They come from all over: White Russians, Ukrainians, Tartars, Koreans, Caucasians from Armenia and Georgia. Some work here on a rotation basis while most live here all year round, through the bitter cold of winter, where temperatures always plunge below minus forty and the short, mosquito plagued summer.

On this trip to Novi Urenguoi, I had the unique opportunity to visit an area outside the city. I was invited by our customer, along with my advisor, Sergei, to visit Burgas’s “banya” in the country. A banya is a Russian sauna, but its much more than a sauna, its a retreat for the working men to go to relax. Drinking is mandatory, with many toasts of vodka shots proposed and drunk straight. The words “choot-choot” (a little bit) are heard as the next round is poured. The table is set with a wide array of food: cold meats, fresh vegetables and herbs (tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, dill, parsley, basil), salads, whole cooked, smoked and cured fish.

Before we left, we first visited the city market with Nikolai. This in itself was a treat: venders were lined up row on row peddling every conceivable food, meat, fish, fruit and vegetable. He purchased a number of items, weaving through the crowds, negotiating with the merchants. Then the company driver, Oleg, in a” Russian Jeep”, drove us out to the camp. Along the way we crossed fields full of purple flowers “Ivan’s Tea” growing on the tundra. The land was sandy and flat, stretching endlessly for miles. We turned off the highway onto the oilfield roads; a maze of sandy tracks webbed across the plain and bounced down a number of these following Nikolai’s directions.

We pulled up to a cluster of buildings; the company hunting camp. Slava, the caretaker, came out to greet us as did Una, a friendly Husky. Once the fire was started and the table set, we started our first round of toasts, naturally to the beauty of our surroundings: for the camp faced a winding river and backed onto a clear lake.

Nikolai prepared a pot of elk stew over the fire. Slava steamed some fresh caught fish as well. We ate, drank and talked of the fabulous fishing in the area. After dinner, we did set out to try our luck. Following Slava’s advice, we cast into some promising pools where he had landed a couple fair sized fish just days before. But we had no luck. We instead decided that the banya would be a better idea.

It was located in a building set closer to the lake (as I was soon to learn why). The wood fire to heat it was fed from the outside of the building. No more than 10 minutes in temperatures that approached 50C was enough to take. Nikolai led the way, naked as we all were, down the boardwalk to the lake and promptly dove in, with the rest of us following suit in succession. It is a truly invigorating experience. The shock of the cold water seems to penetrate to your very core and awakens your senses. Two or three more times doing this, my body felt cleaned (better yet: purified) and my mind was clear.

After the banya, there was more food to be had. When talk again turned to fishing, Slava brought out an enormous fish head. He had caught this fish just a couple weeks earlier on the same stretch of river. He indicated that its overall length was over a meter. Then he made a present of it to me. Fittingly enough, a name had to be found. We mutually agreed on Boris (I do hope that Boris travels well).

At 1:00am, still under the light of the Arctic summer sun, we made the long drive back to Novi Urenguoi. I took with me memories that would remain with me forever.