and it's got a reputation for giving visitors a friendly welcome. i was ready to experience it for myself. when you arrive in a new city and your hotel has a message for you to make yourself at home but there are literally dozens of little monuments like this stuff that all around. founded over four hundred years ago. but this is also a very modern town with a real passion for. a leg is one of most popular. and he's had commissioned all across the city including the facts and content to.

this is a monument to happiness as he looks like this. well lived well and now he's happy this is a favorite toy of kids we created. most of the legs were very light hearted and one of his favorite pieces is based on that favorite. the story of the baby in the cabbage patch this is true. yes. but see here. picture. one of russia's most famous playwrights. made famous by the city's most famous living sculptor. yes. this is a famous. he.

did it. has been covering our faces for the best parts of forty years and shows no sign of slowing down. europe and here they call him the thompson. it's always difficult to express what you feel moving through. a gallery like this because everything is so different you get these really wild flights of fantasy here and then these incredibly detailed realistic looking portraits really loving portraits almost of the great theater masters and not only the russian ones as well pleased to see that there's even mr shakespeare here as well. i think you've been rather proud of that before you became an artist who was an actor and you can feel

the drama in his sculpture looking around his workshop is a weird and wonderful experience and even offered to give me something to remember him by. it's definitely the first on the move of the been a model. this is for you. is one of those that you like. take it. truly quite funny a sketch for stephanie go to is right. and oh it's not the only thing that galvanizes people around here school so has a thriving music scenes and every week during the summer locals meets up nearly on to use riverside statue for a bit of a knees up. to play these big project to scold fridays on that occasion very cheerful people get together near them all you meant to the russian writer which stands here on the sinbad. and there's been

a lot of debates about what it should be here a tall building merry making people come shit each friday to sing down this or declaiming point train. and there are plenty of unusual styles on display it's all he has created a whole set of songs inspired by the culture of the couloir people a two thousand year old indigenous refer. back to. respond. come rain or shine check on fridays always bring out the crowds and after the music stops everyone gives the likes of a percentage of. this trickle fridays aren't exciting enough for you you can also hire a boat for river cruise across the top. well you might want to avoid the one with

fifty teenagers on it's. these are fresh is a top school a technique university they've just been. the first day of college. ok. been a pretty long time. thank you very much. i met up with the good guys from top students union. university tradition. of the slow to be checking to make you the union reps from fellow students i'm calling them in a time capsule. hopes and dreams. for five years right.

and. they wonder how many of these go back. to see what's happened. in the first two years of thompson management faculty already. pressures in a whole different way so i picked up so much time looking at the future business leaders. but as all students know the fun and games can't last forever and the next day i went to take a look at the more serious side of university life with a fellow brit who's made his home. peter has been teaching here since two thousand

and four legs and he's a senior lecturer at the faculty of foreign languages today's topic was all about how teaching and examination methods are about to change across europe. if we look at the bologna process we can see that every european country except. have signed up to it we will be discussing the future of cation next week thanks for your attention. this is going to be a first and probably i don't think your support comes and becomes a letter to you the best times crosser. simple story sounds i studied russian during university and then in two thousand and four i came here as a language assistance i like to so much that's after i graduated i wasn't invited to come back and i've been here ever since. and so that's five years now.

six live a great city and constantly changing and you can see the show you see in the wonderful architecture that we have here. in addition to being such an old and in the city it's also a very young city we have twenty percent the population of. six universities under a very vibrant atmosphere which is. of course it's a different culture of course the climate is pretty harsh off the around specially here but the people here are very friendly. people always rushing around all the time very nice people so this is the real rush for the. phrase often in my trips around russia and this really is a city full of characters i wanted to find more about tom's history there's one place here which deals with the city's time.

great terror of the nineteen literally thousands of people were imprisoned and killed in thompson many of them lie buried amid the stones this park is now a memorial to them and i'm going to visit the first museum in russia dedicated itself to covering the political repressions. this building was a jail for the k.g.b. predecessors the n.k.v.d. and even now sixty years after the last prisoner walked out of here it's still clawing and claustrophobic. more than fifteen thousand people post through these walls between one hundred twenty three and one hundred forty nine ten thousand of them never went home. the museum is filled with photographs papers and authentic memorabilia including letters where people gave up their own friends and neighbors . well it was that these are the folders for denunciations you can

see written letters and typed letters i'll read you one of them much to the chief of tomsk special n.k.v.d. department secrets and urgent smiles at the tomsk pencil factory there is someone named simeon coble born in one thousand and nine of belorussian origin was ok middle legally from poland in one nine hundred thirty two. visitors moved through a series of different rooms showing exactly what went on during the political repression but by far the most affecting the cells themselves it's difficult to imagine terrifying it would have been to. have been taken out of your home in the middle of the night probably with little or no idea of why you were being arrested and then throw them here with up to twenty of confused people then you'd have to watch that door close no you might never see anyone you loved again. being cooped up here is a chilling experience and i was definitely ready to head back up to the lines.

culture is that so much about taxpayers i mean to me it's a lot of people that carry out a t.v. want to be popular in commercially lucrative but just how realistic are these programs are they be ultimate. hungry for the full story we've got it first hand the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers. with more than half a million people tomsk is a lively and bustling city but if you're looking for a little peace and quiet the countryside is just

a short drive away. if you wanted a symbol of siberia this would probably be it's the siberian stone pine tree they used to be millions of these in the forests but now its numbers are declining ironically because of its own pine cones the seeds in here are used in the coup sources sweets and literally thousands of people come and gather them up every summer and sell them and it means that the tree is having trouble reproducing naturally but here in this garden center they're trying to make sure that the species continues to survive. so again has been running this nursery for almost a decade the idea is to sell people their own trees so that future generations will have no need to raid the forests for seeds for the stone pines numbers can start to recover he's brought different varieties here from across the country and beyond

and even created some of his own. so this. was like kind of a russian. equivalent. if this russian thing but these are used to be wild branches that later recut only the good ones were left here here. right. this tree has been inoculated for fifteen time outs for. the samplings grow incredibly slowly just a few centimeters each year but they can keep on going for centuries most of the trees here are still very young but it's a full time job making sure they reach their full potential fairly intensive work keeping these tiny little samplings healthy up to about thirty people work here during the high season and of course there are a lot of we have got to come out these ladies have a better idea because on the boat some of the looks a little prickles so i'm going to end up with some small hands hopefully should

help the trees take the pain. see the size of this and this is because the tree itself and massive really prickly and i want to come out. more and more people are coming here to buy their own saplings but sergei says that securing the stone pine trees future is going to be a long and expensive process. little mild cedar being a four to five meters tall produces its first cone and twenty five thirty years there are some nut bearing strain but if the bug finding investors is difficult. this is because the project would only payoff decades from now on the shelf model. so that's not been a problem for another business and which might be about to make its back is in serious money. filters and nothing new but this local company believes they've come up with a product that's the first in the world to remove one hundred percent of harmful

microorganisms and with more than a billion people still drinking contaminated water every day around the world there's a huge market out there. in this sort of how do you keep your head so. why is a fed chief. with. loads very loud. about. looking. and once they've been elected it's time to start putting everything together. but. i'm not going to try to. make the one hundred percent. but the big question is of course does it actually was. well anyway to find out. you

know they say the proof of the pudding is so i think it's time to put this magic to the test so. full of wonderful things like. ammonia and of course it's great color as well. through. the truce. thankfully there were no unpleasant side effects clearly refresh from one of the

most innovative companies one of its oldest. one in the same thing but it turns out that in russia at least they're very different and they've been making them into imps crew most seventy years. this is such a dirty job they're going to look more like my name is than. for those two hundred kilos of chemically treated rubber coming down on to this assembly line every ten minutes and it just gets everywhere. it's tough and intensive work the factory turns out three million pairs of shoes a year and twelve hundred steaming boots at a time come out of the vulcanizing oven ready for the linings. to the moment i'm putting the kid in the ensuing to below them left school says here.

doesn't it but there are about forty ladies here but pool one shoe can be properly made and there's no slacking they make thirty five every five minutes or so to keep up. the finishing touches or do not need the ready to be shipped off to the shops. or a morning wondering around factories i was definitely. ready for some fresh wounds a small manuel. this is f c told siberia is in the premiership football team until just pride and joy. be packed with household names but they hold their own against russia's best and they don't even mind random journalists turning up to train with them. but see for yourselves right i said be interesting reminds me a little bit of school in a way for some reason whenever i played football they always wanted me to go and go . i guess it must be like reflexes. and see how ok.

they had. to let the coach score a few goals just to keep him happy but obviously really i had everything under control. when i said i never play for england. mr capello i'll be waiting for your cool but speaking to yuri it's easy to see that this is a city that really. here in winter as well as in summertime when the up to two hundred fifty teams take part in the winter tournaments ball is played by people as young as seven at the all the way up to sixty year olds tomsk tournaments attract fans from thirty three siberian town including. each of our games gets twelve to thirteen thousand spectators. and the next us noon i was going to be one of them so this is what

a saturday school made for perfect weather and healthy food i'm premiership football. but the seats on the other pretty spectacular rise in russian football climbing from division two to the premier league and yes and this weekend they were taking on the capitalist my mother and giving them a really hard time about how you say it but it was really has been a game of. somewhat dominating the first period and now most seem to come out really hard still nil nil labatt and that holding out just lets hope the best of the law of this shot. of the. leg gold leg of the bags and we pleaded with the players just couldn't find the targets and after a frustrating ninety minutes against the mexican waves the final whistle blew. new

nail the boards are all but it does leave home ten points above the relegation zone so i guess these guys i think i'm to have the legal the chance to do a little international bonding over on dre i'll shove in and roman abramovich. that you want leaving the stadium please be attentive and cautious there's nothing like watching other people exercise to work up an appetite and there was one place in tomsk i had to visit before i left even chekhov said. this place was good. so this is the same. it's the oldest restaurant and supposedly the very best so i'm going to see little fuss about. the coffee. and amazing choice but at these prices i think this coffee. can afford. and this is another way.

my son. was thinking more of washing dishes but spine amazing coincidence it turned out they was short in the chef to pop a day. on the finishing touch. also it was probably kids who dug into the knives came out and i was ready to have a go at making a real siberian favorite. siberian sterlite is very popular here today we're going to make smoke stirling but prepared for cookie first. but never tried still it before but it's from the sturgeon family and the rivers around thompson full of them. once the missi thought was out of the way it was tons of perk up the fish with a few extra ingredients. so these are some. siberian herb's and spices just give the fish a rub with these. and once everything was prepared it was time to get

cooking it's. just. beautiful smoke siberian stir. it was almost fun for me to leave toms and it was still so much i wanted to see but you can't play. the week sightseeing into just a morning can you. well maybe you can. never been in a hang glider before. you feel as if you might drop out of any moment of one side and peeled my knuckles from the seat in front i really didn't want it to end and

there are some pretty amazing piece to. go that's so. absolutely the story with. i just finished one flights but it was time for me to head to the airport for another. because all the benefits of the big city but it's still small enough that you only have to be here a few days and you start to feel at home it's a warm eclectic place and i was going to miss.

in some petersburg all she's available in hotels a story and a lift to the don't release on speech we kowtow to truthfulness return to true

speech otoh told you gold you never told him to vote you still dostoevsky. in a sea of others you visit. the headlines from also big death toll from russian wildfires reaches for to engage with people advised to stay indoors as a blanket of choking smoke covers moscow temperatures are expected to rise even more as the record breaking heat wave shows no sign of letting. five hundred followers have been registered across the country while those have been coming in from countries to help solve the crisis meanwhile president medvedev has fired five high ranking washington nutritionals for lack of preventive action.

and in other news the u.s. imposes more new sanctions on iran and severing ties with bodies suspected of terrorist links as a group of intelligence experts why the right to president obama saying that israel may strike against iran within weeks things like the public has also denied reports of an assassination attempt on president mahmoud ahmadinejad. as the headlines up next piece about also his guest so why is reality t.v. is so popular and whether or not it has any social value beyond a detainment cross-talk has just seconds away. hello and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle reality t.v. wonderfully popular and commercially lucrative but just how realistic are these

programs.