My Motherland.

What is Motherland? Motherland is a place, where a person returns to gladly and proudly, and leaving it he knows that he will miss it a lot. Motherland is a place that you love, where you were born and where you live.

It so happens, that I often move from town to town. Now I live in Vladimir. But it doesn`t matter in what town and how long I lived in it, my Motherland is Omsk.

Why do I consider it to be my Motherland? First of all it`s my birthplace, second all my relatives live in Omsk. I love this city very much, though I can`t explain why.

Every year, coming to Omsk for my summer holidays, I realize, that I want to live there. When I am on the plane, I always have some pleasant feeling, and three hours later, when I hear the words: " Our plane has landed in Omsk airport", there`s always a smile on my face. I get off the plane and make the first steps on my native land. My face is calm but  there are so many emotions inside, that I want to cry from happiness and joy. Well, I can`t explain that pleasant feeling... Everything around reminds me of my happy childhood: old houses, narrow streets and roads. I think, that even the air there is different, the sun shines brighter, the wind is fresher and the sky is clearer.

Many people think, that Omsk is situated in some faraway place in Siberia, where it`s always cold and gloomy and there is nothing interesting about this city. These people are wrong and I want to prove it.

Omsk is the second largest city in Siberia. Its population is 1.154 million people. It`s a large port. It stands on the river Irtysh. Omsk is also a large industrial center. Machinebuilding, chemical and oil - processing industries highly developed there.

Omsk was founded in 1716, the history of the city begun with the Omsk Fortress, built in 1716 by a troop of Colonel Bukholts, which  was sent to Siberia by Emperor Peter the Great to built a number of fortresses there. It has been rebuilt many times and it`s being reconstructed now.

Also Omsk has a lot of other places, connected with the history of Russia. One of them is Kolchak`s House. It is situated on the bank of the Irtysh and was built at the beginning of the 20-th century. This house was Kolchak`s residence in 1919.

Another great attraction, the Literature Museum in Dostoevskogo Street, is closely connected with the name of this great Russian writer. Here, in Omsk, he wrote a lot of his famous works.

Generally speaking, Omsk tourism is a very promising trend now. There are a lot of sights and attractions, especially in its older part - charming wooden houses, monuments of famous people, churches and many historic sites.

Omsk is a large cultural centre. There are six big theatres in it. One of the theatres is the Actor, Puppet and Mask Theatre 'Arlekin'. I can still remember, how mother used to take me to this theatre to see interesting breathtaking performances. There was so much joy and laughter.