Novosibirsk, with a population of 1.5 million, is Russia's 3rd largest city and the largest of Siberia and spans both banks of the Ob River. Just 100 years old in 1993, this city has many young people and is growing rapidly. It has a large State Academy Opera and Ballet Center. Just 40km away, Novosibirsk's Akademgorodok (Academic Town), is an academic scientific community set in gorgeous woodland with no manufacturing or industries nearby and has over 35 scientific institutes doing basic research. We visited their Institute of Mineralogy & Petrography.
Some pictures show the typical vendors that greet us at station stops lasting 15 minutes. Drinks, snacks, and local goods dried fish, fur hats (famous Russian "ushankas" -caps with ear-flaps made of fur of mink, rabbit fur, beaver lamb), are all for sale, even in the heat of summer.
Meet the Governor of Novosibirsk here: http://www.allsiberia.com/novosibirsk/Geninfo.htm
BAbushka, with emphasis on the first syllable, is the term for old lady or grandma. These ladies outlive men who have an average lifespan of 56 years. They represent a hard working, survival oriented group of women who have lived through socialism and with the new Russia, must fend for themselves as the new social order does not include the state caring for them during old age. One sees them offering goods at many markets and railway terminals. They pull their own weight.