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. 
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.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

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

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
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