High Water, Holy Night, and New Beginnings

Sunday proved rich in events: Easter, the flooding of villages, Cosmonautics Day, and the election of a new Hungarian prime minister.

The ice breakup on the Tom River reached the Tomsk Region on April 10, and on the 11th, ice movement began within the city of Tomsk itself. However, due to several ice jams, the river eventually “froze up” again, and water levels began to rise. On the night of April 12, the water level near the Kommunalny Bridge—which I wrote about some time ago—exceeded the danger threshold of 890 centimeters, according to official local reports. Water spilled over the roadway beneath the bridge and began flowing into the Sennaya Kurya, a small river in Tomsk.

That same night, floodwaters reached several villages in the Tomsk District. Because of ice jams on the Tom River during the spring thaw, water rose quickly, inundating fields and several streets. Approximately 100 people were evacuated.

One resident said that before 2010, these villages did not flood. The reason, he explained, was that the ice on the Tom River used to be blasted in advance, before jams could form and cause flooding.

As for the current situation: on Sunday afternoon, a second round of ice-blasting operations was carried out on the Tom River. The river began flowing again, and water levels started to recede.

As usual, I am sharing a link—take a look at the photos, it is a lot of water.

People say that ice drift brings cold weather. It is one of the many folk predictions still remembered.

As is often the case, while there is an abundance of water in some places, there is none in others. On Monday, the cold water supply will be shut off in one district of the city. Cold water will be unavailable for 24 hours in 36 apartment buildings and 150 private homes in the Sovetsky District of Tomsk.

April 12, 2026, marks the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight, which opened the path to the stars for humanity. In 1961, aboard Vostok-1, the Soviet cosmonaut completed the first orbital flight around Earth and became a symbol of the breakthrough in space exploration.

Did you know that in Russia, Easter is celebrated at night? In the churches of Tomsk and Seversk, solemn overnight services were held, along with the blessing of Easter foods. During the day on April 12, festive events took place in churches, museums, and cultural institutions.

On the occasion of this holy holiday, trolleybuses and trams operated throughout the night to take parishioners home.

Well then—Christ is Risen. I have put away the Easter decorations until next year.

By the way, I am very happy for the Hungarian people. The new prime minister, Péter Magyar, celebrated his landslide victory over incumbent Viktor Orbán, who served four terms—a total of 16 years.

Good luck and happy spring to all of us!