Aboriginal habitat
The peoples of the Far North have always known how to adapt to the inhospitable climate of Siberia. Although each people has its own traditions, particularly in terms of habitat, there are, nevertheless, some characteristics common to certain areas of Siberia. In central and western Siberia, for example, indigenous peoples use the chum, a mobile conical tent made up of a variable number of poles, generally from 20 to 50, planted circularly on the ground and attached to each other at the top. In winter, the poles are covered with two layers of reindeer skins, while in summer they are caulked with birch bark or moss. The ground is insulated with a layer of wicker straw or dry grass and reindeer fur mats. The centre of the tent is occupied by the fireplace, while the space opposite the entrance is reserved for sacred objects. In north-eastern Siberia, the indigenous peoples take shelter in yarangues, tents that are cylindrical at the base and conical at the top, a shape that offers particularly effective resistance to strong gusts of wind. In winter, the wooden frame is covered with reindeer fur drapes held by large stones or attached to sturdy sleds. The floor and walls are also covered with fur rugs. As in many nomadic cultures, the assembly/disassembly of the tents, as well as their manufacture and maintenance, is entirely managed by women. In Kamchatka province, indigenous people prefer a more sedentary habitat. Houses are very low, made of squared logs or logs, while the gaps are filled with dry moss. The roofs are covered with thatch or several layers of larch bark with an eaves protruding at the ends and sides. The glazing of the windows is made of fish bladders sewn together with dried reindeer sinew. These houses are joined to the balagans, conical tents raised by 4 posts to protect the food stored in them, as well as high horizontal frames used to dry the fish. Kamchatka natives usually have a winter residence(zimovie) sheltered from the wooded hills, and a summer residence(letovie) near the rivers. In the summer months, they may also exchange permanent homes for mobile tents. Even though they now prefer yarangues or wooden houses, some sea animal hunters still use semi-subterranean huts covered with mud or moss, which are accessed through the roof in summer or a long gallery in winter. Sealskin is used to cover floors and walls while whale or walrus blubber is used for lighting and heating. Herders, especially the Yakuts, have also adapted the animals' habitat to the harsh climate, as evidenced by the khoton, wooden barns with flat roofs and sloping walls sealed with clay and cow dung, which help to keep the heat in winter, and keep mosquitoes away in summer with burnt dung. Finally, we can end this little tour of the area with the astonishing baloks , the huts mounted on skates, imagined by the Dolgane people.
Religious architecture
Churches are undoubtedly the most important buildings of Siberian culture. They are at the centre of everything. Most of them have the great characteristics of Orthodox religious architecture, among which the Greek cross plan, with four equal arms allowing the faithful to see the altar whatever their position and to live fully this contemplative Christianity, and of course the bulbous bell towers, also called onion towers, directly inspired by the Byzantine domes, but adapted to the rigours of the climate. Indeed, their alternating convex and concave shapes prevent the snow from piling up and thus from weighing down the structure. These domes are themselves crowned with an orthodox cross, a lantern or an arrow. From the 18th century onwards, the Siberian Baroque developed, an astonishing mixture testifying to the multitude of nationalities present in Siberia. One can thus detect a wealth and colourful exuberance inherited from Moscow Baroque, vertical bends and chiselled decorations inspired by Ukrainian Baroque, or slender forms influenced by Far Eastern stupas. In addition, there are purely Russian motifs such as the kokoshnik, a diadem inspired by the traditional kokoshnik headdress, a decorative element that is only semi-circular in shape and has a slightly ogival point in the middle of its apex. Its multiplication contributes to animate the overall architecture. Generally speaking, these churches are built without pillars and are characterised by a series of increasingly smaller volumes stacked one on top of the other, all of which are surmounted by domes framing the main dome of the nave. Among the most beautiful churches of this style is the Church of the Elevation of the Cross in Irkutsk. Originally built in wood, it was rebuilt in stone in 1760, and its refined geometrically decorated facades and superb arabesques animate its volumes. In addition to churches, monasteries have also played an important role in Siberia, as witnessed by the Monastery of Our Lady of the Sign of Abalak, which in the 17th century was the only religious building in stone, or the Znamensky Monastery in Irkutsk, whose architecture blends medieval inspiration with elements of Siberian Baroque.
Wooden architecture
When we think of Siberia, it is often its wooden houses that come to mind. It must be said that the region has an inestimably rich heritage in this area. Siberia abounds in forests, so it is not surprising that traditional architecture favours wood. But accessibility is not the only reason for the use of this noble and particularly aesthetic material. Wood can be deformed, but it never breaks, as its intrinsic qualities allow it to adapt to climate fluctuations. Larch, in particular, is particularly used for foundations, due to its very high strength and above all its natural durability. Pine, on the other hand, conserves heat and is therefore used for the general structure of houses. Wood obviously requires special care and Siberians spare no effort to protect it from humidity, for example by brushing it with salt, or covering it with a special whitewash in summer to keep insects away. The nobility of the wood is underlined by the finesse and elegance with which it is worked. The precision with which the frames are carved, the cornices and roofs sculpted, recalls the work of lacemakers. The town of Tomsk, in addition to its beautiful museum of wooden architecture (located in a house whose wood was carved in the Art Nouveau style), has without doubt one of the most beautiful sets of wooden houses in Siberia. Among the most beautiful are the Pyramid-style House, with its pretty blue colour and richly decorated doors and rosettes with carved wooden reliefs; the Firebird House with its beautifully carved balcony (also called oriel); not forgetting the Dragon House inspired by the multi-storey wooden churches and imperial chalets. In Irkutsk, you can also admire beautiful wooden houses with ornaments that are as decorative as they are symbolic. They are placed at the doors and windows to protect the house from evil spirits. The houses in Irkutsk have almost all the same structure: a basement, a high porch, a balcony on the back side of the house and 5 or 6 windows overlooking the street. The houses in Tyumen are characterized by rows of wide windows, which are allowed, despite the harsh climate, by an extremely solid structure. These houses, most of which were built in the 18th century, belonged to the elites who could manifest their importance and wealth through rich ornamentation. They are not to be confused with the isbas, other great representatives of wooden architecture. These peasant houses are made of wooden logs stacked horizontally and squared only on the inside. These constructions had to be as simple as possible in order to be built quickly. Thus, no nails or complex tools were needed to build them. Over the years, the traditional isbas have undergone a number of changes: the clay floor has been replaced by a wooden floor, the stove has replaced the stone hearth, the thatch on the roof has been replaced by sheet metal (although the roof is still sloping to prevent snow piling up) and the animal bladders have been replaced by real glazing. What hasn't changed, however, is the importance given to the decoration of the doors and windows. Deeply rooted in popular culture, some of these isbas are bought by city dwellers in search of authenticity and sometimes refurbished with a luxury that is foreign to the Siberian peasants of yesteryear!
Evolution of cities
With the exception of the mining towns and other new towns created from scratch close to the places where raw materials were extracted and military-industrial centres, mostly in Soviet times, and today victims of their almost non-existent town planning and soulless constructions designed mainly to house the workforce quickly and easily, a process of development of towns in Siberia can be established, especially for the oldest ones, founded as early as the 16th century. At the origin of these cities are the ostrog, the fortresses erected by the Cossack settlers. In the 17th century, Siberia was thus held together by a network of fortresses modelled on the grid of river routes. These ostrog were made of wood, as can be seen from the tower of the Yakutsk fort, with the exception of the Tobolsk fortress built of stone. Churches and monasteries, the spiritual vehicles of colonization, quickly developed within these strongholds, giving rise to real cities. From the 18th century onwards, two types of architecture developed in the heart of these cities. On the one hand, the wooden architecture we have just mentioned, and on the other, official architecture used for public and administrative buildings and reflecting the taste for order and balance of Russian classicism. Large industrial fortunes contribute to the development of cities and provide them with theatres, libraries, clubs and museums. From the 19th century onwards, there is talk of neoclassicism or even retrospectivism, a mixture of Russian classicism, Empire style and borrowings from the canons of the Renaissance. Cities were transformed into real cultural centres, like Barnaul or Tomsk, which saw the opening of the first university in Siberia in 1880. The taste for neo-classicalism can still be seen in the buildings of the 20th century, even if we also see the development of buildings of the constructivist type, a sort of Sovietromantic ideal where construction takes precedence over decoration. The Novosibirsk Theatre, begun in 1931, and nicknamed the "Siberian Colosseum" because of its impressive size and 35-metre high dome, is a fine example of this. During the communist period, the regime continued to use classical canons, with public buildings being used to sublimate power. The inhabitants, on the other hand, were relegated to the outskirts of the cities, in standardised, soulless bars, creating a striking contrast with the historic centres. There are few contemporary buildings in Siberia, with the possible exception of the Akademgorodok scientific centre on the outskirts of Novosibirsk, with its Academpark, nicknamed the Silicon Valley of Siberia because of its somewhat futuristic architecture, rising out of the forest, into which it curiously fits rather well.
Perspectives
The major challenge facing Siberia today is that of global warming. This leads to the thawing of the permafrost and thus to a significant reduction in the bearing capacity of the soil, i.e. its capacity to support the weight of buildings. This major risk weighs as much on residential buildings as on industrial infrastructures, most of which are built in concrete, a material that hardly resists the great Siberian thermal amplitudes. Thus, before each new construction, it is mandatory to consult the Permafrost Institute, which is responsible for studying the structure of the soil and therefore able to determine the nature of the foundations and pilings that should be put in place. You have probably also seen these incredible photos of totally or partially abandoned towns... well, you should know that some people imagine their rehabilitation, such as the architectural studio AB-Elis Ltd and its crazy project of reconverting the Mirny diamond mine. This giant crater, 550 m deep and 1,200 m wide, has inspired these architects to create an ecocity, an ecological city that would take the shape of the crater, have a forest and be overhung by a dome, itself covered with photovoltaic panels that would allow the city to be self-sufficient in energy. A really crazy project! But Siberia also has some very real new initiatives imagined within the framework of the free hectare law launched in 2016 to encourage the development of far-eastern Siberia. This district of nearly 200 million hectares made up of 11 regions such as Kamchatka is losing several thousand inhabitants every year. The government has therefore made it a national priority to reclaim it. Anyone can apply for a free plot of land by submitting a development project (trade, tourism...) and after 5 years, if the project has proved to be viable and profitable, the project holders become owners of their plot. A natural park on the island of Sakhalin, an organic tourist complex, 100% organic and natural craftsmanship... the audacity of these new adventurers echoes that of the first pioneers and draws the outlines of a Siberia reviving its traditions.
