Travel Notes

Fire in the Kremlin

A fire damaged one of Russia’s most renowned kremlins when the wooden roofs over two towers of the Pskov kremlin caught fire and burned down at the end of April. The fire began in Vlasiyevskaya Tower, which had been rented out as a café. The fire raised questions about how a museum can observe safety norms when it is forced to rent out property to raise revenue.

Some investigators alleged that the fire was caused by arson, since the two towers ignited simultaneously, even though they are separated by the kremlin’s stone walls and fire could not have jumped from one to the other.

The Pskov Kremlin, or Krom, as it is also called, is a federal landmark owned by the state. The citadel dates from the thirteenth century, although many of the towers were extensively reconstructed above ground in the 1960s, based on original stonework of their below ground foundations. The Krom houses the twelfth century Trinity Cathedral and a few other structures.

President Dmitry Medvedev pledged R14 million for restoration, and the Ministry of Culture another R10 million. Full reconstruction will cost an estimated R40 million, however estimating the true cost of the damage is difficult, since the towers are severely undervalued in the state register, regional preservationist Irina Golubeva told Interfax.

Mountain Rush

To revive the poverty- and corruption-stricken Caucasus republics, the Russian government hopes to develop their beautiful scenery with resorts and ski slopes. New Caucasus District Presidential Envoy Alexander Kloponin has promised to turn the Caucasus into a “pearl of Russia” and to build five new ski resorts in Adygea, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachayevo-Cherkessia and North Ossetia, at a price tag of R450 billion (twice the estimated cost of the 2012 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi). 

Needless to say, tourism experts have said the plan sounds too grandiose to be realized, and caution that the demand for skiing will be low in the Caucasus as long as violence persists there. After all, Russians have grown accustomed to European standards of customer service in French and Swiss mountain resorts. Meanwhile, environmentalists say the development would threaten Europe’s last vast primary forest.

More Flights

Delta Airlines is reintroducing flights between Atlanta and Moscow this summer, with five flights per week until the fall, when they will be reduced to four times a week. The Russian airline Transaero is also opening U.S.-bound routes this fall between Moscow and Miami, and between Moscow and New York, flying in and out of the popular Domodedovo airport.

Shalyapin Reopened

The Shalyapin house in St. Petersburg has been reopened after a two-year renovation. The museum is in the house where the famous singer lived from 1914 to 1922, before he emigrated from Russia, leaving the house to his secretary. The museum is located on Graftio Street on Aptekarsky Island and features Fyodor Shalyapin’s belongings, advertisements for his shows, and costumes. 

Ibis Expands 

The Ibis hotel chain plans to double its room inventory in Russia by 2013, raising its total to 4000. Accor, which owns the Ibis brand, is opening hotels in Nizhny Nov-gorod and Samara in 2010, in Yaroslavl in early 2011, and one each in Moscow and Krasnodar between 2011 and 2013. In addition, it will open Novotel and Mercury hotels in Moscow. Ibis opened its first Moscow hotel near Paveletskaya Train Station in Moscow last summer. The average price of a room in Russian Ibis hotels is €90.

Dark and Gruesome

Moscow is finally opening two long-awaited metro stations after a several weeks’ delay caused by grotesque murals at Dostoyevskaya station. The station, located just north of Trubnaya, featured mosaics of Raskolnikov (from Crime and Punishment) wielding an axe (see photo at right), and Kirillov  (from The Possessed) pointing a gun to his head. After the images were leaked online, Muscovites were shocked by the dark images and Moscow Metro Director Dmitry Gayev announced that they might be removed. Artist Ivan Nikolayev said making the murals less dark would be like asking Repin to draw smiley faces on his painting of Ivan the Terrible killing his son. Other experts said the delay may have been caused by non-aesthetic reasons. Dostoyev-skaya and the next station on the line, Maryina Roshcha, have been in the works for 20 years.