The Lena Pillars, the unique geological formations on Russia’s Siberian Lena river, were granted international environmental protection by the United Nations, with UNESCO voting to include them on its World Heritage list. They were one of six natural wonders recognized by the UN this year.
The rock towers, located on the bank of the Lena in Yakutia region, were formed by alternating extreme temperatures over many centuries. The pillars are also surrounded by a unique micro-environment that is home to rare animals and 99 species of nesting birds.
A new hostel opened in Perm promising budget travelers a central location, free wifi, kitchen, laundry, and help with visa registration. Hostel P offers prices starting at just 300 rubles for a spot in a 16-bed dorm room. The hostel also has a regular hotel room for two at 1500 rubles per night.
http://www.permhostel.ru
A group in St. Petersburg has launched a website where tourists can pair up with English-speaking locals for more down-to earth and affordable tours of the city. The website, sptn!k, is a social networking site, with locals offering anything from bike and skating tours to themed walks about Dostoyevsky and constructivist architecture. Some tours are free, but the site is still new and few reviews have been posted.
http://www.sptnik.com
A Moscow company launched a project to offer discounted tourist passes to multiple museums in the capital. The passes include lesser-known attractions like the Darwin Museum, the Vysotsky Museum, the Museum of Moscow History, and a Cold War nuclear bunker on Taganka that is the location of a private Cold War museum, among others. Passes range in cost from 300R to 900R, depending on the museum selection desired.
voxxter.ru
Russia’s railroad monopoly Russian Railways is seeking to develop rail tours, a distant Soviet-era practice that is today used only by curious foreign tourists purchasing expensive Transsiberian packages, or by large groups booking personalized trips overseen by a tour manager.
The company has developed several itineraries for special tourist trains, mostly targeting weekenders. This fall they will launch round trip trains from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, and from Samara to Penza. The trains will leave Friday evening and come back on Sunday evening. Prices have not yet been set.
Moscow is opening a museum commemorating the war of 1812, timing the grand opening with the 200th anniversary of Borodino this fall. Officials said at press time that the museum is nearly complete and will open at the end of the summer. Over 300 descendants of the Battle of Borodino will reportedly attend the museum’s opening.
The museum will exhibit historic items from private collections as well as those amassed at the Russian History Museum after a grand exhibition in 1912, when the Russian government first considered opening a special museum.
The new museum will be housed in the famous red-brick building on Red Square. Originally site of the Moscow Duma, during the Soviet era it became the Lenin Museum. Since 1993 it has served as archives for the neighboring Historical Museum.
PERM has long been an important transport center between Siberia and European Russia. The city’s name possibly derives from the Veps word meaning “distant land.” Perm has about a million residents and stretches 80 miles along the Kama River, making it the third longest of any Russian city, after St. Petersburg and Sochi. The Permian geological period is named for the region.
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