A 1-stop Siberian Subway

I wrote this in 2020, but just found it in my drafts. I think it is still interesting!

From 2019: A Russian transit app made a satirical update by adding a map of Omsk, a Siberian city around 1,400 miles from Moscow. The map showed an icon for the local airport, along with a train station on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Interestingly, it also showed a single red dot to mark a local Metro stop. There were no lines connecting it to nearby stations, and information about buying a ticket was nowhere to be found..." [continue reading on Atlas Obscura (from December 18, 2019 post)]. 

So, what's the story? (and there are updates!)

Omsk Metro (Russian: О́мский метрополите́н, Omskiy metropoliten) is a cancelled rapid transit line that underwent various phases of construction from 1992 to 2018 in Omsk, Russia. It was to become Siberia's second metropolitan underground railway system after the Novosibirsk Metro which opened in the mid 1980s. The opening date for the first line was pushed back four times, from 2008 to 2010, then 2015, then 2016. There have been recent announcements in 2022 as well.

• 1960's: Central planners in Moscow first identified Omsk as a metro-eligible city during the 1960s, due to its length along the Irtysh River and its relatively narrow streets. But after the plan was approved and financed, the planners decided to build an express tram instead, and the money allocated to Omsk was given to Chelyabinsk.
• 1979: In 1979, a Gosplan commission rejected a plan to build an express tram system since it was predicted to be unable to handle projected passenger flows without severely discomforting riders.
• 1986: In 1986, metro plans were revisited and financing began, along with the demolition of residential buildings to make way for tracks and a yard.
• 1992: Construction began in 1992 between the stations Tupolevskaya (Russian: Туполевская) and Rabochaya (Russian: Рабочая ~ Workers' Station). The initial plans involved opening the section between the stations Marshala Zhukova and Rabochaya on the right bank of the Irtysh River to connect downtown to the manufacturing district, and then later to connect the line to the opposite bank of the Irtysh.
• 2003: Due to poor financial circumstances, by 2003 just the section between Tupolevskaya and Rabochaya was completed (with no intermediate stations). At that time the plans changed and the authorities decided to connect the two banks of the Irtsh with a metro bridge, going between one station on the right bank and three on the left bank.
• 2005: The combined metro (lower level) and motor-vehicle (upper level) bridge was built and opened to vehicular traffic in 2005. The current phase of construction involves four stations: Biblioteka Imeni Pushkina (Библиотека имени Пушкина – Pushkin Library) Zarechnaya (Заречная – Over the River) Kristall (Кристалл) Sobornaya (Соборная – Cathedral Station) This section is 6.1 kilometers (3.8 mi) in length. The average speed is expected to be 36 km/h and travel time along the entire route is expected to be 10 minutes 12 seconds. Daily ridership is projected at 190,000 passengers and yearly ridership at 69 million.
• 2014: Since 2014, construction on the system had stalled, but an 84.6 million Ruble contract was awarded to the Russian firm Sibmost to carry out detailed design studies on completing the 7.5-kilometer (4.7 mi) light metro line, from Biblioteka Pushkina to Prospekt Rokossovskogo, with five stations.
• 2015: On September 9, 2015, it was announced that the construction will continue, in view of the high cost of preserving and maintaining the core structural features of the metro.
• Construction was suspended by the government of the Omsk Oblast in May 2018.
• May 2022: the governor of the Omsk region announced: construction works that will enable the use of unfinished objects of the Omsk metro and include them in the tram network of the city may begin in 2024
• October 2022: the regional government announced that they would try to integrate the unfinished system into the city's tram network
• Today: only one station is open and serves as a pedestrian subway

This Siberian Subway System Has Just One, Non-Functional Station - Atlas Obscura

The world’s shortest metro line is in Russia: it has just one station - Russia Beyond

In Omsk, Construction Of The Metro May Resume In 2024 - Big Asia Russia
Omsk Metro - official website

French Man Bequeaths Money to Hermitage Cats

 I trust you have heard about the cats that reside in the basement of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia?

On the off- chance you haven’t, there are 50 of them, and their job is to keep the rodents at bay. They have three caretakers and their very own Press Secretary.

Now a Frenchman has donated a tidy sum to pay to for their care an needed upgrades to their abodes. Although he has been named in some media, he made the donation anonymously and prefers to stay that way. 

Whoever he is, I like his kind heart.

Read more in the New York Post.

A Merchant's Wife Teatime

I love discovering a new artist. Or a new-to-me artist.

Today it was Boris Kustodiev.

I stumbled across Kustodiev's work, A Merchant's Wife Teatime, when I was searching online for a picture of watermelon seeds! Thank you Google.

Boris Mikhaylovich Kustodiev (1878-1927) was a Russian painter, book illustrator and stage designer. If I have seen his art before, it didn't connect with me, as some of it is quite traditional.

But this image caught my eye. The colours, her rich robes, the cat... how WONDERFUL it is!!

Below are a few other works of his that I like.

Boris Mikhaylovich Kustodiev - Wikipedia

Review: The Goldfinch

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, what a book!

I enjoyed this book from the beginning, but it didn't take me long to realize that this was one of the best books I had ever read. Half way through, it had moved up to best, and after that I wondered how I could bear it to end... then in the home stretch the story took a turn that took me totally off guard. It made it hard for me to relate to the main character, Theo, to even like him... stunned, I hung in there, and for the most part, I was able to reconcile the strange twist. I am glad I discovered Donna Tartt's writing, and I will be seeking out more. David Pittu's narration was superb. I loved how each character had his or her own voice (Boris' clever Russian accent!), truly bringing their personalities to life, allowing me to get lost in the story. Enjoyed the New York setting, glimpses into the worlds of art and antiques, realities of depression, drugs, and the inner struggles as one finds one's own way in this world. I couldn't put this one down, definitely lots of long stretches of listening. Very satisfying.

View all my reviews