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National Geographic : 1920 Dec
Contents
GLIMPSES OF SIBERIA, THE RUSSIAN "WILD EAST" explaining what the medals were. I was really sorry I had him along, for I would rather have kept my illusion and bought the samovar. THE NIGHT LIFE OF A RUSSIAN CITY IS NEVER DULL However dull a Russian city may be by day, it is never dull at night, for the Russian blossoms out at his best after dark. There was one cabaret in Vladi vostok that did not open until one in the morning. And yet, strange to say, no matter how tough the cabaret, no one ever sees anything lewd on the stage or hears trashy music, unless it is American "jazz," played as the tribute of hospitality to American patrons. Russians have too keen an appreciation for beautiful danc ing and real music to tolerate anything unchaste in their enjoyment of these arts. During the last two years Vladivostok seemed to be the Mecca of the thousands of refugees who came in a never-ending stream from every part of Russia and Siberia. This was due to the ever-recur ring political upheavals. Every city along the Transsiberian Railroad had its thou sands of refugees, but they were always en route to Vladivostok. In Omsk there were some hundred and fifty thousand refugees living in ten thousand freight cars. I have had to climb over hundreds of them sleeping in railroad stations to get to the station-master's office. A CITY OF REFUGEES Vladivostok normally had a population of sixty thousand, but at one time it is said there were more than a half million persons in the city. They lived in every conceivable abode. All around the seaport villages sprang up as if by magic. But the houses were poor, contemptible things, made out of tin cans, the wood of packing cases, mud-in fact, anything that could be held together by any means and that would keep out the cold. These poor folks seemed to feel fairly secure in Vladi vostok, where the forces of the Allied expeditions kept things going after a fashion. Many of them hoped to reach Japan or America eventually. Their only nourishment, as far as I saw, was black bread and tea; and what an ema- Photograph by Cody Marsh A CITIZEN OF RUSSIA'S WILD EAST Even the poorest peasants in Siberia seem to have the instincts of courtesy, and their hospi tality knows no bounds if they like you. ciated and sickly lot they were! They never had sufficient clothing, even in mild weather, and the fact that so many sur vived is attributable solely to the remark able ruggedness of the Russian physique. In addition to the refugees who lived in freight cars and huts, there were those who had no homes. I often saw families curled up on door-steps, away from the zero wind, the little bare legs of children sticking out like the tails of snakes, coiled together to keep warm. But how patient these poor things were in all their suffer ings ! I have told much of Vladivostok be cause it is the key to Siberia. It is the beginning of the Transsiberian Railroad, and everything intended for Siberia enters there. The only other gateway is through Manchuria to Harbin. THE RUSSIAN IS A GOOD LINGUIST While there are several phases of life at Vladivostok that are cosmopolitan, one finds in this city the Siberian atmosphere at its worst and at its best; other com- 531
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