RIA Tomsk reported that the Maldives entered the top of popular tourist destinations among Tomsk residents in the summer of 2022*.
It is clear that not all Tomichi can afford this type of vacation. Many of them choose some local destinations.
“Altai” – you can hear that name quite often. But in Russia there are two Altais that are very different.
Altai Republic and Altai Krai.
The Altai Krai is dominated by steppes and forest-steppes. The Altai Republic is often called the Altai Mountains.
Altai Mountain attracts with its splendor, the grandeur of the mountains, nature in its original form, the magical beauty of lakes and noisy cold mountain waterfalls.
Here are the highest peak of Siberia — Mount Belukha (4506 m), the deepest cave in Russia the Ecological cave (345 m), and the third in Russia in depth, Lake Teletskoye.
This is probably why many Russians choose the Altai Mountains as a vacation destination.
I myself have been to Altai Republic (Altai Mountains) twice, but it was a very-very long time ago… in another life, when I was half as young as I am now. This could be the topic of another post if I can or want to recall the details.
Right now I can offer you a video created by Vladimir, a guest of my discontinued talk-show (If you remember, we talked about Tomsk).
Last summer, Vladimir and his friends went on vacation to the Altai Republic. Their destinations were Teletskoye Lake, Altai Mars, Katu-Yaryk Pass, Chemal.
Here is the video.
Here are some photos taken by Anastasia.
Technically, I can call her my former relative, but she was and remains very nice to me. So I still think of her as my niece.
If you’re still reading, let’s figure out what is the difference between Altai Krai and Republic Altai.I understand that, most likely, you won’t go there on vacation. But I myself will be able to use this post as a reference.
Here we go…
| The Altai Krai | The Republic Altai | |
| History | The territory of the modern Altai Territory belonged to the Tomsk province until the beginning of the 20th century. It became part of the Russian Empire by 1721 (according to official documents, not officially much earlier). In 1916, the Provisional Government (created during the beginning of the revolution) withdrew the Altai province from the Tomsk province. In 1937, the Altai Territory was finally formed with the administrative center in Barnaul, located on the Ob River. | The territory of the Altai Republic was annexed to Russia only in 1756 and it was not part of the Tomsk province. The establishment of Soviet power in the mountainous regions was delayed until 1919, and since 1922 this territory has been annexed to the Altai province. The status of a separate entity within the Russian Federation was obtained in 1992. Since 1993, the region has been officially renamed the Altai Republic. Unofficially, people call it “Gorny Altai” ( Gorny means mountain). |
| Border | Internal borders with the Republic of Altai, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk regions, external border with the Republic of Kazakhstan. | Internal borders with the Altai Territory, Kemerovo Region, the Republics of Khakassia and Tyva, external borders with the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. |
| Capital | Barnaul, located on the Ob River. | The capital and the only city on its territory is the city of Gorno—Altaysk. |
| Area | of 168,000 sq. km | of 93,000 sq.km |
| Nationality | More than 93% of the population are Russians. | The main national groups are Russians (56%) and Altaians (34%). |
| Economy | The main share of the economy (56%) falls on three spheres: industry, agriculture and trade. | The basis of the economy is agriculture (more than 50%) and tourism. |
*Turkey is the leader, then Abkhazia. Next are the UAE, Egypt and Maldives
P.S. I started this post a few weeks ago. But lately it’s getting harder and harder for me to force myself to be consistent. My thoughts are torn between my life here, the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian front, concern for my family and my feelings. Sometimes feelings are even happy, followed by shame (how can I be happy when people die).
Sources were used:
https://www.riatomsk.ru/article/20220828/maljdivi–top-tur-napravlenij-tomsk/
