Russian Wild West

Ekaterina Karavaeva, 25, lives in Novosibirsk in Siberia, a spot any adventure traveler may die for. She is the co-editor and project coordinator of www.taktaktak.ru, a social network which deals with human rights.

What’s it like to live in a far-off place most of us see only on a vacation?
Ekaterina Karavaeva, 25, lives in Novosibirsk in Siberia, a spot any adventure traveler may die for. She is the co-editor and project coordinator of www.taktaktak.ru, a social network which deals with human rights. She tells travellers about her hometown.

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What does tak-tak-tak mean and what is your website about?
It’s people stating their problems and getting answers from experts — on matters such as getting laid off without being paid, rights being violated, or getting taped during medical checkups.

Siberia is likened to the Wild West — a kind of frontier spirit. You agree?
We don’t carry guns or ride horses. Novosibirsk used to be called the ‘Chicago of Siberia’ — about 1.3 million people live here. The city is on the banks of the Ob River; the sides are connected by two bridges and a subway bridge.

What is the regional cuisine of central Siberia like?
In an extremely cold weather like ours, we want to eat meat. We also have a kind of dumplings called pelmeni. And we eat soups.