Kaluga



Kaluga

Name: Svetlana Tarasova

Age: 30

Profession: Photographer

City: Kaluga

How long have you been doing photography? About a year.

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for?  Kaluga is a city located in the central part of European Russia, and is the capital of the Kaluga region. The city stands on the banks of the Oka River, about 190 km southwest of Moscow. It is a railway station on the Moscow-Kiev line.

The founding date of Kaluga is not known, but it is some time in the first part of the fourteenth century. The first written mention of Kaluga was in 1371. It was then a small fortress of the Moscow state.

Kaluga is known first of all because of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (the Russian space program founder). He was living and working in Kaluga in 1892-1935. That's why the city is often called the cradle of the Russian space exploration.

The city has a Space Museum – the world's first and largest museum in Russia about space exploration. It was created with the direct participation of Sergei Korolev and Yuri Gagarin.

What are some things that only locals would know about the city?

One of the most famous Russian photography schools is in Kaluga. 

Kaluga is also famous for its great number of churches. 

There are many preserved historical places and cosy old yards, making the town a favorite destination for filmmakers.

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

  • Korobov Chambers (an example of "chamber architecture" from the end of the 17th century)
  • Zolotaryov Estate (the end of the 18th - early 19th centuries)
  • Trinity Cathedral (1786-1819)
  • Kaluga Gostiny Dvor, built by the famous architect Pyotr Romanovich Nikitin (1784)
  • The Stone Bridge across Berezuysky Ravine (1775-1778), one of the largest viaducts in Russia (160 meters).

There are also many museums, from The House-Museum of Tsiolkovsky (Tsiolkovsky Street, 79/81) and The House Museum ofChizhevsky (Moskovskaya Street, 62), to these others:

  • Kaluga Regional Art Museum (Lenin Street, 104)
  • Kaluga Regional Museum of Local Lore (Pushkin Street, 14)
  • Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics (Academician Korolev Street, 2)
  • Kaluga Planetarium (Academician Korolev Street, 2)
  • The Museum of Crafts, Architecture and Life (Kirov Street, 45/16)
  • The Municipal Cultural Institution "The House of Masters" (Grigorov Lane, 9)
  • The Puppet Museum "Bereginya" (Moskovsky district, Kozlovo village, 1)
  • The Museum of the War of 1812 (Maloyaroslavets town, Moskovskaya Street, 27, 23, 13)

Anything else? Come to see Kaluga, becouse it is the heart of Russia!

Website: http://www.tarasova-svetlana.inspider.ru/

Instagram: @starasovaventsolaire



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

Some of our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

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.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

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.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

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. 

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

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 Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

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.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

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 Chekhov
December 24, 2022

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.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

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.

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