Listvyanka

Listvyanka is a quaint village 70 km from Irkutsk

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  A view of Lake Baikal from the hilltop above Listvyanka.  Kseniya Kovbasyuk ,Russian student from Khabarovsk, as tour guide throughout Russia

                            map 

 

Circum-Baikal (Dr. Zhivago Style Train)

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shamam rock

St. Nikola Church in Listvyanka

Babushka "Grandmother"

Shamam Rock
cousteau.gif (14953 bytes)    

 

  4 Aug 1996

JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU GROUP ON AN EXPEDITION ON THE BAIKAL
(digest of an article in the Vostochno-Sibirskaya Pravda of Saturday, July 20th)
The filming team of the famous scientist and film maker Jacques-Yves Cousteau is currently conducting an expedition on Lake Baikal at the invitation of the Limnological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science in Irkutsk. Cousteau has wanted to lead one of his famous odysseys on the Baikal for a long time, because the wildlife in and around the lake is unique. The Baikal is one of the oldest lakes in the world, and many of its species are endemic. The Cousteau group will study animals in and outside the water. At the moment the team is observing the life of bears. They will also explore the wildlife of the Baikal in winter this year. The results of this expedition will be filmed and shown on TV some time later - so watch for it! -- Uta Kohler.  Kseniya and I were privileged to preview this presentation in Jenya and her motherTanya's home.
Ulan Ude
Oval Callout: Ulan Ude Jenya in the foreground of boat her father captained for the Cousteau group.  In 1966 the Ulan Ude was painted black as pictured below		  
 

 

 

 

There's a level of clean that can be attained, Russians say, only through the rigorous action of a ritual Russian banya. A combination of dry sauna, steam bath, massage and plunges into ice-cold water, the banya is a weekly event that is as much a part of Russian life as, say, high school football on Friday night in Denison, Texas.

People usually go to the banya on the same day each week, forming a close circle with others there on the same day. The closest equivalent here would probably be workout buddies meeting at the Gym.

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