Exploring Russia diary :: 14 November, Omsk

I think we'd outstayed our welcome.

A brush with the law in Omsk

"Where are you taking us?" we asked the stone-faced policeman who'd plonked himself down in our car.

Out in front, a jeep belonging to the Omsk "militsia" was zigzagging its way through the city. We had no idea where we were being led. "You will be told later!" came the reply.

Soon we arrived at the local police station. "Wait here!" barked the officer and disappeared inside. We'd been detained and all we'd done was film a river. The policeman came back.

"Did you have permission to film the river?" he asked. I didn't think, I explained, that you needed special permission to film a river. "But there was a bridge nearby". But we weren't filming a bridge, I said, we were filming a river.

"We will check you in our kompooter", the policeman explained. We were "checked" and we came up clean. "We the police have no further questions for you" he said. I thought that was the end of it.

I was wrong.

"Are we free to go?" I asked. "Nyet!" came the reply. "First we will take you to the bridge. You must explain yourselves to the bridge guards".

Holiday offer

So off we all went to the bridge we hadn't been filming, to meet some more people in uniform. The chief bridge guard appeared. A jolly fellow with sparkling gold teeth, called Vladimir.

Even if we hadn't been filming the bridge, he said, we didn't have the right to stop our car here. It was a "guarded zone".

The offending river view

I pointed out there was no sign which said you couldn't stop here. "Ah," Vladimir smiled confidently, "but there used to be, it just fell off a week ago".

"How were we supposed to know that?" I said "and why didn't you put up a new sign?"

"Oh, but that's not my job" said Vladimir innocently.

We were taken to the headquarters of the bridge guards to fill out lots of pieces of paper.

"You do realise" smiled Vladimir (he liked smiling) "that I'm missing out on a trip to the bathhouse and the swimming pool to do all this?" I scowled.

Five minutes later Vladimir offered us tea and biscuits. In the end we parted on good terms. "You must come back in the summer!" he said excitedly "We'll go fishing".

The thought of a summer holiday in Omsk sent a cold chill down my spine. I thanked him for the offer but all I want now is a tropical beach with lots of palm trees.

Your comments:

I recently returned from 3 weeks in Russia, mostly spent floating down the Volga. People in our group were taking photos of the more picturesque Volga bridges for much of the time without problems. They were warned not to snap one or two of the locks, though few could resist a quick shot of the statuesque blonde who seemed to be in charge of operations at one of them...
David Stieber, Switzerland

I bathed in the lake near Novosibirsk once in June when the sand at midday was too hot to walk on in bare feet. I bet it is much colder for you. Go and visit the marker for the centre of Russia near the Stalinesque Theatre.
Malcolm Rigg, UK

Ha Ha!!! Welcome to Russia! That's the typical attitude towards foreign journalists in Russia. That Cold War attitude exists in many provincial places. The police treats the ordinary Russians with even less respect.
Anton, Russia/UK

This is such a great project. I am reading these articles every day and look forward to new stories. I am originally from Russia and you describe the country well. Thanks for your sense of humour. One needs it to travel and live in Russia! Good luck with the rest of the journey!
Anna, USA

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