Petrozavodsk



Petrozavodsk

Ice Fishing on Lake Onega

Igor Podgorny

Name: Igor Podgorny

Age: 38

Profession: Geology teacher. Right now doing freelance photography.

City: Petrozavodsk

How long have you been doing photography? What style or genre most interests you? 
Over 10 years. I am particularly interested in photographing wildlife. 

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for?

Karelia is the land of forests and lakes. Wildlife, which I love to photograph most of all, begins at the very edge of the cities. Occasionally, within these same cities, you might encounter various types of animals and birds. Of course we have many tourist attractions in close proximity to Petrozavodsk, such as the Kizhi Architectural Preserve and Kivach Falls. 

What is something about your city that only locals would know?

Petrozavodsk is not a very large city. The city's main street begins at Vokzal Square and descends down to Lake Onega. Lake Onega is the second largest lake in Europe.

Arrive at the train station, and you can take a leisurely stroll down to the lake in 20 minutes.

The history of Petrozavodsk is widely accepted to have begun in 1703. It was founded by Russian tsar Peter the First.

Recently on the internet, the following "hashtag"  appeared:

#ялюблюэтотвашпетрозаводск

Basically, "I love Petrozavodsk"

In the local dialect, we have some unique words. For example : "lambushka – a local word for a forest-edged lake and "rebushi" – dirty, torn clothing.

There are still signs written in Finnish in some markets, stores and various establishments. There is also the locally renowned "Secret of the Third Column" music theatre. 

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

Kizhi Island, Kivach Falls and Ruskeala Mountain Park. 

Anything else you would like to add?

I returned to Petrozavodsk after living in Moscow for 18 years. I was not sorry in the least. For me, Karelia is difficult not to love. This is the place that I feel most in touch with my soul.

There are ancient wooden churches and Karelian villages, hunting and fishing, trips along the wildlife forests, or negotiating the river's rapids.

A trip to Karelia is worth taking at least once in a lifetime. Here, everything is at hand. You are able to take in quite a bit in a relatively short trip. 

Igor's website. 

Translation by Jim Hess.



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

Some of Our Books

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. 
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.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
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.

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