Novosibirsk

Last week, I was for a conference in Novosibirsk. Having arrived a day early, I went for a walk along the river Ob:

Novosibirsk was founded only 120 years ago, as a small settlement around the bridge where the Transsiberian Railway passes over the river. The original bridge has recently been replaced by a new one, which you can see in this video:

In anticipation of the winter, a big poster was advertising tires with spikes:

Lenin and his friends had also put on defiant faces, braving the cold wind that was already blowing along the square:

The conference was a bit different from the more western-style conferences I usually go to. People had rather encompassing ideas, and tried to solve many big problems at once. Especially this lady talked for a long time:

Some officials from the regional government also gave talks. This guy had found out an efficient way of communicating a lot of information to the public, all at once:

In the evening, there was a nice social dinner, with many a toast being pronounced.

The next day, Galina Pavlovna, the very kind lady who had organized the conference, invited us to her office for tea.

Behind her desk, she had a wall full of pictures with famous economists:

Finally, there was an excursion by bus through Novosibirsk, with a proud guide explaining in detail the many landmarks of the city.

(what you see here in the background is the famous Novosibirsk Opera House)