After so many years of living in Russia and interacting with Russians, especially from Moscow and St. Petersburg, I have found that, no, neither St. Petersburg nor Moscow is the cultural capital of Russia. No, my friend, you have been duped if you've moved there, as residents of these cities almost never do anything cultural. These cities seem to be the cultural capitals only for tourists and visitors. I know this because I have carefully checked with many Russians. Just yesterday, in chatting with a former Omsk resident, she laughed and admitted that, "when I lived in Omsk, I was always going to concerts and museums with friends, but I've only been to two events since I moved to St. Petersburg a year ago. " Laughing, she had to admit that the high prices of tickets put a damper on social events. Long lines of tourists to compete with, and general workweek weariness, seem to cull any urge to join the throngs in line for the Hermitage and such. In fact, my brother-in-law moved to St. Petersburg many years ago, and I was always surprised to hear him use every single weekend to take his car to Finland or explore somewhere else. Strange, why not an afternoon in Pavlovsk's gardens, or strolling in the Summer Gardens, or attending 1000 other museums?! Nope, the answer and gleam from his eyes always showed that he knew some sort of secret, but it remained so for many years until I put the pieces together. These two cities are difficult to live in and take a lot of energy. Prices can be two or three times higher too, and that adds up. And these two cities are my favorite cities too, and Veliky Novgorod and Nizhny Novgorod, but for daily living, Omsk has many benefits and a robust cultural center too. Exhibitions, for example, are brought in from the Tretiakov every few months, but without the Tretiakov's lines or needing to view 3 million art objects, you know, after coming out of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, you never want to enter a museum again, as you are so overwhelmed by the splendor and 3 million objects. You wouldn't give a fig for a priceless inlaid table that was used by the lady in waiting to…etc… No, in Omsk, there are several good art museums that provide enough to spark interest, not overwhelm. Not only in Omsk, Tara's small wooden house art gallery set on the edge of the Taiga is also charming. In short, the so-called 'Capitals of Culture' are super to visit, but you should only move there if you hate culture and are happy with the local neighborhood gym, sushi takeout, and a high-rise flat, but that can all be found in every neighborhood in Omsk too, so…??
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