With the start of campaigning for the parliamentary elections, the BBC's Steve Rosenberg has embarked on a trip across Russia to find out more about life in a country which has undergone rapid change in the last 15 years.

Exploring Russia diary :: 12 November, Omsk

The day began with a little tear. After 38 hours trundling through Russia we were approaching Omsk, where we had planned a two-day stopover.

A snowy Siberian welcome

It was time to get off the train and to bid farewell to Ludmilla, our heroic guard.

Ludmilla had looked after us well.

She had brought us tea, barked instructions at us and pointed out every time she'd spotted that my shoelaces were undone.

Fond farewells

She had been a kind of a railway mother.

Ludmilla brought us one last cup of Russian tea, price six roubles, then it was time for "dasvidanya".

"Well, my little lovelies," she beamed. "It has been delightful having you on board. Have a safe journey."

As train number two pulled out of Omsk station on its way to Vladivostock, Ludmilla leaned out of the window and waved goodbye.

It was like a scene from a Hollywood movie.

Click here to see a map of Steve's planned route

Then Russian reality set in. On the platform we were caught in a swirling snowstorm. I suppose it was just Omsk's way of saying "welcome to Siberia."

Outside the station it was a bleak sight. People bundled up in fur coats and hats trudged through the snowy streets on their way to work, the biting wind whistling round their ears.

There is no doubt about it - Siberia is a tough place to live. We checked into our hotel - the Hotel Siberia - it's a tough place to live too.

The wallpaper is peeling. There is no lift. You have to lug everything up five flights of stairs.

For a true Siberian, I suppose, that is a walk in the park, but I was quickly out of breath.

My room is surreal. Everything is blue - blue telephone, blue duvet with dolphins on, blue flowers, blue carpet and blue curtains.

Instead of a little book, explaining what time breakfast is, or how to make calls, there is a piece of paper warning me "Never to smoke when in a drunken state", and listing everyone who has died in Omsk in recent years after ignoring that particular piece of advice.

Image problem

Downstairs in the lobby there is a wedding dress shop called Aphrodite, a dentist and an Uzbek airlines ticket office. How many hotels in the world can boast any of those?

Omsk has always suffered from a bit of an image problem.

I blame Dostoevsky, the famous writer who once wrote a book about the place called, rather unflatteringly, Buried Alive in Siberia - his experiences of being exiled here in the mid-nineteenth century.

My first impressions of Omsk: Lots of snow, lots of Lenin statues and lots of rather attractive boulevards.

The snowstorm was getting worse but in the centre I stumbled upon a bit of electioneering, Omsk style.

Electioneering on the streets of Siberia

Six young men in yellow bibs stood quietly with clipboards. They didn't seem to be doing much at all.

When I asked them what was going on, they said they were drumming up support for the People's Party, one of 23 parties taking part in next month's parliamentary elections.

None of the passers-by though was paying much attention. Despite the freezing conditions, the ice-cream lady opposite was doing much better business. Why didn't they just call it a day and go home or take shelter for a bit in the warm. I just couldn't understand it.

Then I got talking to a retired police inspector who gave me a bit of an insight into the Siberian character.

"We Siberians aren't like other Russians," he told me proudly. "We're much more patient, much tougher, we don't give in. Put someone from southern Russia into Siberia and they would just curl up and die."

Englishmen, I had to admit, weren't so resilient. Frozen to the bone, I dived for cover into our hire car to thaw out.

Last year, I must have been the only foreign tourist in Omsk in August and, as everywhere else in this strange and magic land, had experiences ranging from the endearingly surreal (trying to booking a tour at the local Intourist), to continual expressions of the warmest friendliness.
Robin Hilliard, Ireland

I did this journey 7 times by train before switching to flying. Your articles bring back wonderful memories. I stayed in the Siberia Hotel too - minus 5 on the streets, and no protective second pane of glass. Forget heating. Thank you for reminding us of what I've known for years - Russia is NOT Moscow and St Petersburg, but those vast lands beyond and the wonderful people we never hear about or see until they're hit by some kind of a headline-making disaster. Congratulations!
Rosemary Hill, Switzerland

My wife and I are adopting a baby girl from Ekaterinburg. Our adoption of her became official at the registry office there on November 10th..what a coincidence with your timing! Too bad you couldn't see more of Ekaterinburg. It is an interesting city..enjoy your trip across Russia.
Andrew Nash, Canada

1. Leave Moscow: 9 November 2. Yekaterinburg: 10 November 3. Omsk: 11-13 November 4. Novosibirsk: 14-15 November 5. Krasnoyarsk: 16 November 6. Irkutsk: 16-19 November 7. Vladivostok: 20-24 November