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Celebrating Everyday Spirituality

Sunflower Seeds

Celebrating Everyday Spirituality

“Travels in Siberia”

For me, the word “Siberia” conjures up images of a vast expanse of wilderness, unbelievably frigid temperatures, and horrific prison camps (gulags) used by the Tsars and (even more ruthlessly) by the Russian leaders who followed the Tsars. (Personal note: My Grandmother Svoboda’s younger brother did not migrate to the U.S. but stayed in Bohemia where he was drafted into the army of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire. During WWI, he was captured by the Russians and led off as a POW to Siberia where he died in one of those notorious prisons. Sadly, he met an early death in Siberia, so far from his village in Bohemia.) Siberia has always intrigued me, so when I came across Ian Frazier’s 500 page book, Travels in Siberia, on display in our library here, I eagerly took it out.


The opening pages of the book grabbed me. The map of Siberia at the beginning shows just how humongous Siberia is. It comprises eight time zones. Eight! And it makes up 1/3 of Asia and 1/12th of all the land on earth. The contiguous United States plus most of Europe would fit inside Siberia. Across the middle is the Russian taiga, the largest forest in the world. Frazier’s first sentence, though, surprised me: “Officially, there is no such place as Siberia.” He explains that there is no political or territorial entity that has Siberia in its name.


It took Frazier 16 years to write his book. During that time, he learned the Russian language and read just about everything on the history, science, economics, religion, and politics of the area we call Siberia. He also made five trips to Russia including his drive in the summer of 2001 across the entire 9,000 mile expanse—from the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Japan. He made the trip with two Russian guides, Sergei and Volodya, in an old Renault van that had the habit of catching on fire. The trek took five months and two days—often over terrible roads. When roads became non-existent, the men loaded their van onto the Trans-Siberian Railroad for a stretch. Part V of the book describes the shorter trip Frazier made in winter (starting in Nome, Alaska and traveling west) so he could experience a Siberian winter.


Along the way Frazier visited local museums, monuments (the Russians love to build monuments), and many natural wonders. The three men camped, fished, and ate local food. They encountered memorable people like the elderly woman sitting in a tiny shed in the middle of nowhere, guarding one of the railroad crossings for the Trans-Siberian railroad. When a train comes, she gets out of her shed and waves a red flag for the cars (if there are any) to stop. When the train passes, she stands on the tracks, looks both ways, and waves the flag for the cars (if there are any) to cross the tracks.


The blue line is the Trans-Siberian Railroad. It was built between 1891 and 1916 and is the longest passenger train route in the world.


Frazier describes the beauty of some of the cities, mountains, forests, and lakes. And he also vividly describes the trash that is everywhere—littering the cities, crowding the roads, polluting the rivers. And then there are his encounters with the giant Siberian mosquitoes that are everywhere–and I mean everywhere. The men wear “beekeeper hats” and tuck their pants into their boots, but the mosquitos find them. When they try to eat their morning oatmeal, for example, dozens of mosquitos fall into their bowls—too many to remove!

Trans-Siberian Railroad along Lake Baikal, the largest fresh water lake in the world. The lake becomes an “ice road” from December through April that even “huge industrial contraptions with giant tires” use.

Frazier tells of his many moods during the trip: his anger when their van keeps breaking down, his fears, his mistakes, his loneliness. He had a Satellite phone with him and used it occasionally to call his wife. One evening he was in such a foul mood, Sergei yelled at him, “Call your wife!” Which he did.


For me, the most poignant scene occurred the day the three men reached their destination, the Sea of Japan (the Pacific Ocean.) It was September 11, 2001. Cut off from all news that day, he called his wife in the evening. She told him about the World Trade Center. He was stunned. Later he told his two companions what had happened. They expressed their shock and sorrow. They attentively kept their eye on him as he retreated to his tent for a while. Afterwards he walked near the bay trying to process what had happened in his country so far away. The news of the attack soon got around to the people living in the area. Two days later, several men appeared with a freshly caught 9 pound salmon—a real luxury. They told Sergei to give it to the American as “a token of their sympathy for what happened in America.”


I agree with what many of the reviewers have said about Travels in Siberia. Critic David Remnick notes: “Frazier is a master of comic narrative, of landscape, of melding history and the current condition.” The Kirkus Review said: “It is a dense, challenging, dazzling work that will leave readers exhausted but yearning for more.”


For reflection:

Did you learn anything new or surprising in this reflection?

Have you ever travelled anywhere and felt enriched by your journey? If so, where did you go and how were you enriched?

What does a reflection on Siberia have to do with “everyday spirituality”? I’d be interested in your thoughts on this matter!



Today I am offering a 13 minute video from Australia’s version of “60 Minutes.” It’s called “Visiting the Coldest Town in the World,” and it takes us to Oymiakon (population 547) in central Siberia. The video tells (and shows!) just how cold it gets in the town, how cold it has to be to give the kids a free day from school, why many of the inhabitants actually prefer wintertime to summertime, and how you de-ice a horse! I found it fascinating. I thought you might too! (NOTE: -71.2 degrees Celsius is -96.6 Fahrenheit! 32 degrees Celsius would be about 89 degrees Fahrenheit.)




I welcome your responses below to the reflection and/or the video!

15 Responses

  1. Good morning, Sr. Melannie…

    Absolutely fascinating! I am in awe of Siberians! Your blog nourishes our spirit, but also awakens us to the wide diversity of God’s creation. Thank you! PS: Those mosquitoes must be thing of irritating horror!

  2. Cannot imagine existing in such cold conditions. The highway of bones was so terribly sad and disturbing. Man’s inhumanity toward man. What an amazing article.

  3. Very interesting! We hear about Siberia but not really. Your information wants me to learn more. I’m very curious now has to how many people live there. Surely a place I would never visit because I get cold when our temps in Arizona drop below 70 degrees! Lol

  4. As a child I traveled 3 times by station wagon with my parents and 7 brothers and sisters to San Diego. We went to visit our grandmother and Uncle Jake, a priest. We stopped at every place along the way worth visiting. We were introduced to a whole new world of natural wonders ( like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park). We also met native Americans and Mexican Americans. I owe my vocation as a missionary to Peru and Bolivia to this eye opening experience and the daring of my parents to cross half the continent with 8 children in one car.

    1. Dear Therese, Wow! Crossing have the country in a car with 8 kids! Talk about daring and courage! And your ministry in Peru and Bolivia shows you inherited that “daring-trek-gene” from your dear parents! Thank you for sharing that story. Amazing! Sr. Melannie

  5. Dear Cousin –
    I never heard that story before about Grandma Anna’s brother! Very interesting and I will file that info away with other family facts. His life’s end must have been terrible indeed. Thank you for sharing this story and I plan to locate a copy of the book to read soon.
    Love – Kathy

    1. Dear “Cuz,” When I was in the Czech Republic with my parents and sister in 1995, we visited the village from which Grandma emigrated. In the center of the village was a memorial for the young men of that small town who died in WWI. Each name (there were about 6) had a small photo, so we saw our great-uncle’s picture there. I’d have to look it up to see how young he was–and to make you a copy of the pictures we took at that memorial. I’ll do that for you and send you the picture… Years later the family learned he died of dysentery or some other awful illness that was commonplace in those prisons. Thanks for writing, Kathy! Love, Dolly

  6. We were stationed in Alaska at Eileson AFB near North Pole, and I can sort of relate. The coldest we ever experienced was 70 below F, which believe me is cold. We did the experiment with the water at -50 and the water froze immediately! Quite interesting to live in Alaska. The kids went out to play at recess if it was-20 or warmer but if it was -21 they couldn’t go out to play. We were there for 3 years and loved every minute as the summers with 24 hours of daylight and beautiful weather made you forget about the winters. Lol

    1. Dear Shirley, I give you credit for living in northern Alaska–and loving every minute of it! Yes, the extended daylight during summer must be a treat in some ways. But what about those long dark, dark winters? I think the darkness would get to me even more than the below zero temps! I appreciate your adventurous attitude! Thanks for responding! Sr. Melannie

  7. So glad you liked the book. It gave a more human side to my idea of Siberia which had been dominated by books like The Gulag Arch. and other works of Russian prisoners who suffered as your uncle did. I was most impressed by the endless skyline stretching to the horizon in every direction. That is really God’s Country–so called because only God can find his way there.

  8. Good afternoon from St. clair Shores, Michigan, Sr. Melannie. Your posts never cease to comfort, amuse, or in this case, amaze me. This video about the non-existant Siberia is the amazing part. I look forward to your blogs every Monday morning. Keep up your good work, Sister, and God Bless.

  9. Thank you, Sister, for your blog. I look forward to it every week. I had read some Russian history by way of fiction such as “Winter Garden” by Kristen Hannah. But I never knew Siberia wasn’t a ‘real’ place. Not only the extreme cold, but the extreme vastness and remoteness of the area would be tough for me to handle. I like my space, but boy, that is a bit too much for me. The woman who said she’d never want to live anywhere else, I marveled at her statement.

  10. Thank you Sister Melannie for your weekly reflections! I have enjoyed them over the last few years. My ancestors are Czech. One of the reasons I enjoy reading your blog and reflections in Living with Christ when you talk about your Czech family. My maternal grandmother migrated from Moravia at the age of 4 in 1902. The family entered the United States through Galveston Texas. I have thought about what would have happened had my family remained in Czechoslovakia (as we called it when I was growing up). Their fate might be the same as your uncle. I also think about what would have happened had they migrated before the 1900 Galveston hurricane. It’s made me realize God is in control and has a plan for all of us. Blessing to you and your ministry!

  11. I am a member of a book club that reads only Russian literature or about Russia.. We loved this book. It’s well written and gives one a great deal of information about what Russia is like beyond the political sense. Enjoy!!

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Hi and welcome to my blog! I’m Sister Melannie, a Sister of Notre Dame residing in Chardon, Ohio, USA. I’ve been very lucky! I was raised in a loving family on a small farm in northeast Ohio. I also entered the SNDs right after high school. Over the years, my ministries have included high school and college teaching, novice director, congregational leadership, spiritual direction, retreat facilitating, and writing. I hope you enjoy “Sunflower Seeds” and will consider subscribing below. I’d love to have you in our “sunflower community.” Thank you!

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