December 14, 2021

Magic in St. Petersburg


Magic in St. Petersburg
Remember your wizarding robes and wands!  Photo by Svetland Dremina for Nevsky News

Witches and wizards of St. Petersburg should rejoice knowing that there is now an entrance to the magical school of Hogwarts within the confines of their very own city! For the holiday season, the Ladozhsky Station has added an additional (and extra magical) stop between the already established platforms nine and ten.

This Platform 9 3/4 is complete with a messenger owl and a cart full of suitcases for your school supplies. These embellishments were added when the station began running a holiday line called "Winter Fairytale" that runs between St. Petersburg and Veliky Ustyug (the historical birthplace of Ded Moroz). 

Or, if you are looking to travel a little farther, you could head out to the Republic of Bashkortostan and meet the entire cast of Harry Potter on the Hogwarts express!

You Might Also Like

Cultural Clones
  • May 01, 2009

Cultural Clones

Be it in films, literature, television, music or art, Russia has a long tradition of cloning western (and eastern) cultural icons and making them its own. We survey several of the more interesting and recent instances, from Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh, to The Wheel of Fortune and Big Brother.
All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!
  • November 19, 2021

All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!

You no longer need to travel to platform nine and three-quarters to get to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; Russia now has her very own Hogwarts Express. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

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
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.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

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.

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.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

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.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

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.

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