Krasnoyarsk Krai



Krasnoyarsk Krai

Name: Elena Chernyshyova

Age: 34

Profession: Photographer

Cities: Norilsk, Kodinsk (both in Krasnoyarsk Krai)

How long have you lived there?: 9 months and 4 days, respectively

A short description of your city?:

Norilsk is Siberia, 400 km beyond the Arctic Circle, permafrost, nine months of winter, 45 days of Polar Night, a city that can only be reached by plane... It has the world's largest metallurgical plant for the mining and production of nickel, cobalt, lead, palladium and platinum.

Kodinsk is located in Siberia, in Krasnoyarsk region. The city was created for the builders of the Boguchansky Hydroelectric Station, which is along the Angara River. Due to the collapse of the USSR and temporary stoppage of work on the station's construction, it took 30 years to complete and was only opened in 2014.

Tell us something about your city that only locals would know:

Norilsk:  Whenever there is a serious blizzard or the temperature drops really low, and kids should not go to school, an aktirovka is declared. The kids stay home and their homework assignments are sent out as text messages.

Saguday – a disk made from fresh, northern fish.

A taxi ride through the city only costs 100R ($1.50).

Kodinsk: Several regions of Kodinsk have unofficial names, like India and Lukomorye. The "sea" – Boguchanskoye Reservoir – was still in the planning stages when the more poetic name Lukomorye took hold. India is simply a monument to certain Kodinsk residents: a region of individual homes that was built through group effort – a method popular in the 1980s with the Komsomol-youth projects – on nights and weekends.

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your city?

Norilsk: Shmidt Hill (Gora Shmidta), with its old tunnels, the remains of a narrow gauge railway, and an excellent view of the city. Also, the abandoned villages of Medvezhy and Zapadny.

Kodinsk: Boguchanskaya Hydroelectric Station. Children's playgrounds with their metal sculptures. The horseback riding club Mustang, in Syromolotovo.

Tell us a bit about your photography, how long you have been doing it and what you are interested in: 17 years. I shot on film and now shoot digital. I find the entire process interesting. I love to shoot the daily lives of people.



Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955