The Mail-Journal, Volume 22, Number 52, Milford, Kosciusko County, 25 December 1985 — Page 5

Ninth In A Series

Irkutsk and Lake Baikal on USSR travel agenda

By DELLA AND ARCH BAUMGARTNER

ULAN BATOR, Outer Mongolia, Thursday, Oct. 17 — We had fond memories of Novosibirsk, deep in the heart of Siberia, as we boarded yet another USSR jetliner for a trip of one hour and fifty-seven minutes to Irkutsk, also deep into Siberia and just north of the Republic of Outer Mongolia.

For one, the Novosibirsk opera house with its domed crown, reminding one of a small Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Not the inflatable type dome, however. And the elaborate appointments of the opera house. Its enormous lighted crystal chandelier is absolutely breath-taking, nothing like we’d ever seen before. All of the USSR, with its outstanding composers and history of classical music, has paid attention — and considerable — rubles to classical music. And they have brought it to the people. People of all ages and walks of life attend the opera here, and especially the young folks. This was a surprise to us: how many young folks, boys and girls in their teens, attended the Novosibirsk opera. There were also a number of young .musicians in the orchestra pit, too. We were sitting on the third row, with a close-up view of the orchestra pit and of the stage. There’s not a real chance of either of us turning out to be real opera buffs, but it’s fun and enlightening to explore a new world such as this. Academy Os Science Our visit to the Academy of Science in Novosibirsk was a real eye-opener, to see how the USSR is hand-picking its bright young men and women yet in their teens to give them special scientific training. On the same morning’s tour our visit to the Institute of Geology was also an eye-opener. We had an idea the Soviet Union was rich in minerals and ores but not to the extent it was pointed out to us. Trouble is, much of these deposits are in the far northern reaches where there are no good, serviceable roads or railroads. If this conglomerate of 15 Republics ever hopes to

- ’“ «MB MH M»- -i ■ iWiliiJ TYPICAL RUSSIAN HOME — This structure is a typical Russian home, and the windows are of a type found every where. ; m' * n» W X 'B K t w®w- tSB 1 ' w 1 w 1 * BMMMr ■' Bil A . H mmHKI B I w~ ’' \ < LINES EVERYWHERE — Due to the shortage of many items, primarily of food, lines are common, as indicated in this photo. No one seems to mind, however. jib ijM wl ' ‘ WH ,b < $ W--,< Wl AI - 81.10-f^^o , l il l ’■- ** ’ v >X 5w 11 it 1 1 i 11®W Rl Ii F '.' . •;, ?S ALL IS NOT LARGE APARTMENTS — We stopped in a village outside Irkutsk, Siberia, and walked among the old native homes and visited the people. It’s a far cry from the manicured city apartments we found.

capitalize on these extensive deposits, they will certainly have to undertake a massive roadbuilding program. And Now Irkutsk And now we find ourselves in Irkutsk. First, we had to learn how to pronounce the town’s name, which was no easy task. The people we met in the Republic of Irkutsk, 2.7 million of them, must have been roaring under their breath at the mixture of pronunciations coming out out of our group. Irkutsk itself, fdunded in 1661, now situated on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, has 600,000 population. An afternoon city tour took us to several old churches that were still open and active, and to the grave of Gregory Shelekhov, the fellow who explored Alaska and claimed it as Russian territory. History buffs will recall the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7 million, or some 7 cents per acre, in 1867, in what became known at the time as “Seward’s Folly.” Seward was Lincoln’s Secretary of State. Irkutsk is on the confluence of the mighty Angara and Irkut Rivers, and in the early days (and yet, for that matter) it was a very famous fur-gathering outpost, supplying pelts to the Moscow ahd London markets. Visit Lake Baikal Lake Baikal, situated not far from Irkutsk, is of real importance to this part of the world, we were to find out during a visit there. It is 400 miles long and from 18 to 48 miles wide, extending from southwest to northeast in crest-fashion, and the largest fresh-water lake in the world. It contains 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water. It is three miles deep at one place. “The water is so pure it can be put into automobile batteries,” our guide told us.

Here again, the area is rich in all sorts of mineral and ore deposits. And of fur-bearing creatures, they have all kinds, and plenty of them. Sable, mink, lynx, ermine — the works! — they have them mounted and on display. By now, affected by the cold, many in our party were wearing the typical USSR outsized fur hats. Della’s is lynx, and she was interested to see what a real-life lynx looks like. We could never understand why an ermine coat cost so much until we saw the tiny size of these rat-like critters! Come To Siberia The cry to come to Siberia to work has real meaning for the Soviet government and they’re willing to pay for it. Besides having a shortage of labor due to the 20 million USSR people killed in World War 11, the severe cold weather of Siberia is another consideration. Our guide told us workers in Siberia received a 20 percent bonus, going up to as much as 40 percent for the far north. After 15 years’ work in Siberia, a worker can retire five years earlier than normal. Normal retirement for men is 60 years of age, 55 for women. We saw the real outback country during a stop on our return trip to our hotel in Irkutsk. It was typical of this area before the large apartment buildings went up in the cities. To us at least, it looked like poverty at its worst. Desolate. Forlorn. Forgotten by a passing 20th Century society. Animals wandering loose, leaving their “meadow muffins,” in Nancy Mathew’s words, for members of our party to sidestep. It had its community well for water, and the stillness of the place was deafening. While begging on the streets in the Soviet Union is practically unheard of, youngsters (usually teenagers) are quick to spot Americans whom they find easy pickin’ for some gum or candy. Della managed to pass out several packages of Spearmint gum, as did others in our party.

Shirley Rose of Kansas City, Kansas, was the hit of the group most everywhere we visited native villages with her Polaroid camera. Many elderly people did not want their pictures taken, but when she was able to get across to them through a series of charades that they would get to keep the picture, she managed to get some really good pictures. Usually she sent her subjects on their way smiling. Asked if she wasn’t concerned about the cost of the many pictures she was giving out, she gleefully replied, “Oh no, I gave out about 200 poloroids (photos) when we were in China.” Cost of individual pictures is about 50 cents! There are 90 nationalities of people in Irkutsk, our guide told us. We asked about our driver, for he seemed oriental or mongolian. “He’s Buryat,” the guide told us. And a mighty good driver, we might add. A Mighty Large Country Most Americans have little idea just how large the United Socialist Soviet Republic really is. In land mass it is approximately three times the size of the United States, and consists of 15 individual and separate Republics, all of them governed by a communist type government. That’s why, when one speaks of Russia, as most Americans do, he is speaking of only one of the 15 Republics. Combined, one speaks of the USSR or the Soviet Union. As noted earlier, the USSR has over 100 nationalities, some 52 languages and five distinctly different alphabets. This, and yet the Russian language, while a minority language, is the common language of the Soviet Union. One flight, from Simferopol, near Yalta, to Tashkent, took us three and one half hours and over three time zones. It is similar to a flight from Chicago to Los Angeles. In all, the Soviet Union covers 11 time zones! Questions of pay kept coming up. Always questions of pay, and they probably asked as many of us as we asked of them. At the ice hockey game at Tashkent these questions were asked of members of our group: 1. Where are you from? 2. How much does the average man earn? We answered about $1,200 per month. 3. If we work, do we own our own factory (place of business), and do our wives work in the factories, . too. 4. Does President Reagan want war? 5. How much do various products cost? We gave prices of meat, chicken and fish as examples. They said fish was expensive. 6. Does the U.S. want Russia in the Olympic Games? 7. Which country do we like better, the USA or USSR? And, finally, 8. What cities would we like to visit in the USSR? Pay came up again with our guide Nadia when we saw a handsomely uniformed and fully bemedaled pilot come off our airplane. “How much does he make,” someone intoned. And Nadia told us he would make about 400 rubles per month, and that this “is very good pay-” She said this is about the equivalent to SSOO per month in US currency, or some $6,000 per year. They don’t make much money here in the Soviet Union, but then things don’t cost so much, either. Everything is relative, it would seem. Basketball In Siberia Can you imagine seeing a basketball game in Siberia? Well, we actually did, and Wawasee coach John Wysong and athletic director Hal Traviola would have died laughing. It was Irkutsk vs Taganrog, a town situated about 200 miles from here. The two teams represented their cities and were sponsored by their respective trade unions. No high school or college basketball as we know it. The gym had something less than 2,000 fans, sitting glumly on their hands after the opening field goal by a sparky Irkutsk player brought a loud cheer from the local fans. There were two 20-minute halves, and that was it. No cheering sections to pep things up. We were rooting for Irkutsk, the home team, until they ran up a spread of some 20 points, then some of our group switched sides to cheer for the visiting team. Nadia could not understand this, and we told her we were rooting for the underdog. “Underdog?” What’s that? She asked. Guides do pick up the American idiom from travelers, for sure. Final score: Irkutsk, 95; Taganrog, 69. And everyone quietly filed out of the gym and went home. Back in our Intourist Hotel later in the evening we saw some of the visiting team in the lobby, and they were pushing the seven foot range. Our opinion was that none of the players, on either team, would be a candidate for Bobby Knight’s Big Red squad at Indiana University. But it was fun. Across the end of the gym in big red, white and blue letters was CmUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS, Latin for quicker, higher and stronger.

We asked Nadia if we could mail her a package, and she asked us not to, that she would not get it. But that we could mail her a letter to her Intourist address. Most of us decided to forego mailing anything to her from America, and presented her with what gratuities we cared to before departing. Late Night Session Following dinner, most went to their rooms, but some us stayed behind to hold a rap session with Nadia on the merits of capitalism verses communism. What appeared clear to us, is that the communists are of one mind in the righteousness of Leninism and Marxism, and that the Americans feel far freer to open discussion and debate. This is not to say that any of us Americans prefer the communist form of government to what we have. Quite the contrary. Is this due, at least in part, to the long and thorough indoctrinization Soviet citizens have from an early age on? We would think so, and yet they are insatiably curious concerning the salaries Americans

Former resident to host 16-day European tour

North Webster native Jerry Rensberger, an outdoor instructor serving the Mohican Outdoor School near Loudonville, Ohio, will be teaming with Dr. James Bishop of Manchester College in leading a 16-day European adventure departing June 15. Rensberger is a North Webster High School graduate. The journey to the English islands will feature the wonders, beauty, pageantry, folklore, castles, plays and options by private coach. An extended seven-day program is being offered at an additional minimal rate for those who choose to visit the low countries, cruise the Rhine, visit Cologne, and see the best of Denmark. A fascinating itinerary is in the making for visits to Oxford,

—- * I I Wylfil | || x ’ * I I i *1 - —■ ‘ I- W k S M I l Jr jjefl x -- i & iF ... TW AT BAIKAL MUSEUM — Della bought a warm Lynx hat in Russia, and when we visited the Museum at Lake Baikal where they displayed the various animals found in that virgin area, she wanted this photo taken with a Lynx in a tree above her. 1 NIGHTLY SPECIALS AT THE FROG 7 I ( Dinners Start At 5:00 P.M. < FILET. *6” ) ( PRIME RIB *5” ( SIRLOIN *4** (LOBSTER *10” LakeWawasee / All Dinners Include Choice Os Potato & ACT ATTA 1 Tossed Or Caesar Salad GREETINGS j or the holidays! jj mjoy a bright 4 4SURANCI COMPANIES J OOMNMTON. ILLINOIS « ' RIDINGS « 9«nt Nnm: 457-4107 <! Hm«s: 457-4915 ! :

receive, the fact that they live in large individual homes and own their own cars. Not to say two or three cars per family. Anyway, our discussion brought out some salient points as made by our guide Nadia: 1. That the Soviets do not believe in exporting communism, but that they do support wars of liberation, 2. That the USSR believes all nuclear weapons should be abandoned, 3. That no American or Soviet citizen wants war, but that we could stumble into a nuclear war by virtue of a third nation power, 4. That the USSR does not trust the United States, that the U.S. has already dropped a bomb (on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan at the close of World War II), and that the Soviet Union has not, 5. And that the Soviet leader Gorbachov has declared his country would never make a “first strike,” but that the United States refuses any such assurance. And so the world turns.

York, Stonehenge, Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-the-Avon, Caernarfon, Anne Hathaway’s Castle, London, and much more. Rensberger reported that the trip would also provide first-class lodging, all transportation, all accommodations, meals, tours, admissions, plays, the services of an escorted guide and several other options. Those who desire the scenic Rhine cruise, a visit to the low countries, and Copenhagen, along with other portions of the European mainland, have the option to extend the trip to 23 days (with all provisions provided) at an additional low cost. Interested parties may contact Rensberger at S. Market St., Loudonville, Ohio 44842, for more information.

Wed., December 25,1985 —THE MAIL-JOURNAL

HI t I , ;

OUT FOR A STROLL — A young Russian couple were out for a Sunday afternoon stroll with their young daughter and infant. The appeared well clothed and happy, much as an American family. The wife is holding a Polaroid picture of her family, taken by Shirley Rose of Kansas City.

gw IN SIBERIAN VILLAGE — This lady and her son appear well clothed against the oncoming cold, as we photographed them in a village outside Irkutsk in Siberia. Della hadjust given the youngster a large Hershey bar. £ LADIES'APPAREL | m 100 N. Huntington St. • Syracuse, IN 46567 m I W Wt *(219)457-3466 1 vBBOX Formerly The Stout Boutiquet SIZES 6TO 52 | 1/ CBBISTMAS I SALE BACKS | 20*50% ori> | L Store Hours: Daily — 9:30 To 5:30 • Saturday — 9:30 To 5:00 ■ ■ f|| ■ I\y j|| ■II ■ Zr ■■ j ■ May the spirit of Christmas bless you and bring you all the joys of the Season. LAKELAND LOVING CARE CENTER mmm Comer 4th A Elm Milford ■>■■■■ V 658-9455 J

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