RUSSIAN PEASANTS IN SIBERIA. 



141 



Further south the villages are larger, and the houses of 

 the Russians finer, with raised roofs and high gables richly 

 ornamented with wood carvings. There is usually a church 



SIBERIAN VILLAGE CHURCH. 



painted in bright colors, and everything indicates a degree 

 of prosperity. In the center of the house is a brick stove, 

 and the walls of the rooms are white-washed or papered, and 

 adorned with pictures according to the means and taste of 

 the owner portraits of the Imperial family, battle scenes, 

 lithographs of the saints, and family photographs. Sacred 



