Travel Notes

Town Turns 850

The town of Gorodets (photo, above) celebrated its 850th anniversary in September. Gorodets, located in Nizhegorodskaya oblast, is the oldest town in that region. Historically, the town defended the eastern borders of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality from attacks by Volga bulgars. More recently, it has gradually become known as a center for production of various types of folk crafts.

Hermitage 24/7

In May 2003, during the St. Petersburg city day celebrations, the Hermitage Museum will be open around the clock, director Mikhail Piotrovsky announced. There will be a special exhibit devoted to the personal effects of Tsar Peter I, and at night there will be live music and choirs to entertain guests. Meanwhile, a new entrance to the museum, through the Winter Palace, will soon be opened. And the two-headed eagle will soon reappear atop the famous iron gates. (Echo Moskvy)

Hotels on the Block

The deconstruction of the Intourist Hotel in downtown Moscow is proceeding, and work on constructing a new hotel in its place could begin as early as January.

Meanwhile, as reported in the September/October issue of Russian Life, the Moscow city government has slated the Minsk hotel to follow the Intourist to the dustheap of history. And discussion continues on the fate of the Hotel Moskva. Vice Mayor Iosif Ordzhonokidze was quoted by utro.ru as saying that “the Moskva in its current form is not suitable for use.” Ordzhonokidze said that the hotel was built from slag concrete, in some cases with panels salvaged from buildings decontructed in Moscow at the time, the result being, he said, that moulding and parts of balconies—with some pieces weighing hundreds of kilograms—are starting to fall off. Meanwhile, the city announced that the Kievskaya hotel is also slated for demolition.

Trans -Russia Highway Set

In 2004, Russia will have a paved highway stretching from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. The announcement was made by Transport Minister Sergei Frank at the Second Baikal Economic Forum in September. Much of the distance between the two ends of Russia is already paved, but there are some significant gaps, most notably between Chita and Khabarovsk. That gap will be closed in 2004, Frank said, and will bring significant development opportunities to the region. (Kommersant)

Metro Financing

The Moscow Metro faces a difficult future. Fare prices are too low to finance operations and it is getting increasingly difficult for the system to supply the kind of service for which it is famous and which the city needs.

One plan for the future financing of the Moscow metro’s operations that is being seriously considered is a variable tarrif plan where fares would depend on where in the system one travels and when. If the plan is accepted, it would be put in place by early next year.

The plan foresees fares differing based on the number of zones crossed and the time of travel (e.g. rush hour vs. weekends). The most expensive zone would be the Central Zone. A base rate of 10 rubles (30 cents) would be in place, and fares would be calculated based on which zone someone traveled to, from 53-65% of the base rate. This would make prices dependent on a very complex calculation, but could be easily implemented given the city’s adoption of prepaid, magnetic strip cards. (gazeta.ru)

Orient Express Restored

The 18 train cars of the legendary Orient Express are being restored in Vologda. The cars belong to the Swiss firm Retro-Poezd, which since 1993 has led train tours between Moscow and Beijing. Two sleeping wagons have been completely reconstructed and the remainder of the cars will be restored over the winter.

Times are a Changing

The Duma will debate a bill that would cancel daylight savings time in Russia and bring Russia’s 11 time zones in conformity with world standards. Right now, Russia’s time zones are one hour ahead of world standards for their longitude, which means a two-hour difference during daylight savings time.

Tatar-China Air Route

A direct air route has been opened between the Russian republic of Tatarstan and China, ITAR-TASS news agency reported. The route was inaugurated with a Tupolev-154, flying from the Tatar capital of Kazan to Urumqi, capital of the western Chinese region of Xinjiang.