December 18, 2020

Tomsk Treasures in Trouble


Tomsk Treasures in Trouble
Tomsk has a variety of wooden buildings. Image by Petr Adam Dohnálek via Wikimedia Commons

Tomsk, a city in south-central Russia, has a rich history of wooden buildings, but this architecture is  under threat of disappearing.

Tomsk has over 1,800 wooden houses. Some of its wooden architecture can be dated to the turn of the twentieth century. Similarly, much of it is in disrepair. Management of these houses was taken over by the communist government post-1917, and the houses were turned into communal apartments. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, many wooden buildings were demolished and replaced with supermarkets or high-rise offices.

There is some good news. The local government has taken some steps towards reinvigorating the city’s historic treasures. For example, it introduced the Rent for a Ruble program, which allows residents to pay only 1 ruble (about 1.3 US cents) per square meter for 49 years after restoring the building. In addition, there is an annual architecture gathering, the Tomsk Sawyer Festival, which draws in volunteers to restore the wooden buildings. Since 2017, they have restored three homes. Finally, the city has a partnership with the Department of Architecture at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, which brings professors to Tomsk to help appraise the wooden buildings and help restore them. The German experts said that many of these buildings have the potential to last another 300 years.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955