Mariy El



Mariy El

Name: Nikolai Gontar

Age: 31

Profession: Freelance photographer 

City: Yoshkar-Ola

How long have you been doing photography? What style or genre most interests you? I have been doing photography since 2009. I completed Anatoly Maltsev's private school for photojournalism and received a degree from the Galperin Photography Faculty in St. Petersburg. I try to shoot in all styles: journalism, genre and street. I also don't shy from extreme sorts of shooting, or even landscapes and architecture. I spend a lot of time on social photography and investigating city life in various parts of the globe. The main realm of my freelance work is in shooting protests, revolutions and war.

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for? Yoshkar-Ola is capital of the Republic of Mariy El. It is located on the Malaya Kokshaga river, the left  tributary of the Volga in the center of the Volg-Vyatsky region.

The city has its seal and hymn. Yoshkar-Ola is located 862 kilometers from Moscow. It was founded in 1584. The name means Red City. But over the course of its history the city has changed its name several times. One of the minor planets discovered in our galaxy [number 2910, discovered in 1980] carries the name Yoshkar-Ola.

What is something about your city that only locals would know? Yoshkar-Ola is the only city in Russia that begins with the letter Й.

The city's architectural face has changed significantly in recently years. Only in Yoshkar-Ola can one see Spasskaya Tower, La Scala Theater, the Doge's Palace, and the Bruges Promenade. Of course, they are all copies, but residents and visitors alike enjoy seeing them.

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your city? One can begin with a visit to Nogotkov-Obolensky Square. It is one of the favorite places not just for tourist but also for Yoshkarolintsy. There is a concentration of several interesting cultural landmarks here, plus it adjoins the National Art Gallery. From there, one can go the the Bruges Promenade. This beautiful street is one of the city's main attractions. Anyone who wants to dig deeper and learn about the city's history should visit the Museum of the History of Yoshkar-Ola. It includes over 17,000 items archaelogical and ethnographic, as well as decorative works of art and much more. Tour guides will show and explain everything, how the simple and not-so-simple folk lived in Tsarevokokshaysk (the city's former name) in the early 20th century.

Website: www.nikolaigontar.com

On Instagram: @sky_system



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

Some of Our Books

How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
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.
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 Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
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.
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.  
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.

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