aul nomadic camp consisting of yurts
balagan a simple shelter of poles, birch bark and branches, open on three sides but nonetheless protecting from rain
banya traditional steam bathhouse
baran ram
baranta/barymta punitive Kazakh raid launched against the aul of a clan rival primarily to seize livestock
buran/bouran a fierce snowstorm
chimbar wide Kazakh trousers
kalat/khalat traditional robe
katorga hard labour
koumiss/kumis/kumys fermented mare’s milk
kibitka covered wagon
pavoska/povozka unsprung carriage or post-chaise
perekladnoi changing carriages or horses or both at post-stations
pood old Russian unit of weight, approximately 16.38 kg
priisk mine, quarry or open works for precious metals
pristan landing-stage, wharf, jetty
Réaumur scale, named after René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, who first proposed a similar scale in 1730 (°Ré = °C × 4 ⁄ 5 = ([°F] − 32) × 4 ⁄ 9)
sarafan a Russian woman peasant’s sleeveless dress
shuba heavy, long fur coat
ssylka banishment, exile, sometimes for life
tarantas springless carriage, sometimes hooded, can be of wickerwork
Tatars Turkic-speaking Sunni Muslim people in three main groups: Volga, Siberia and Crimea
telegas big four-wheeled cart or wagon for carrying objects rather than people
troika any type of cart or carriage pulled by three horses abreast
verst archaic measure equalling approximately one kilometre (1.06 km)
voilok camel-hair felt cloth
vozok a closed sleigh, essentially a long, windowed box mounted on a sledge
yamshchik coachman
yurt a portable dwelling used by nomadic and semi-nomadic people including the Kazakhs and Altaians, with a felt-covered circular wooden frame easily assembled and dismantled
zavod plant, factory, works
NOTE: captions in quotation marks use Thomas’s original spelling.