Kostroma



Kostroma

Name: Irina Yemets

Age: 37

Profession: Documentary photographer

City: Kostroma

How long have you been doing photography? What type of photography most interests you? Since 2012. Documentary photography and portraits.

Your website? http://www.irinaemetc.com

Instagram? iraemets

Can you give us a short description of your city? Kostroma was founded in 1152 and is situated on the banks of the Volga River. It is part of the Golden Ring tourist route and was the hometown of the Romanov family. Kostroma is the only city in Russia where historical buildings are preserved in the first three blocks of the city center. Kostroma is also the hometown of Snegurochka, the granddaughter of Father Frost, and it is the jewelry capital of Russia: 56 percent of all gold or silver jewelry is made here. The city is also famous for its cheese. 

What is something about your area that only locals would know? (1) All residents of Kostroma know the shortcut to Moscow. It's the one that Ivan Susanin showed the Poles. (2) If you don't have anywhere to stay, the residents of the Kostroma shelter will let you stay in their boiler room.

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your area? The Ipatyevsky Monastery and Anastasinsky Convent; the Museum of Wooden Architecture, where they have brought in from all over the region wooden houses belonging to all levels of society, from a peasant's house to the house of a landowner, to a wooden church built in 1713; the Church of the Resurrection on the Debra River; the trading rows which have been standing since 1789; the Noble Assembly and Romanov Museum; one of Russia's first drama theaters; Ostrovsky's alcover on the city embankment; Snegurochka's House; the Flax Museum; the Museum of Theatrical Costumes; the Museum of the Foreign City Leader; the city's market, where farmers, antique dealers and others gather from all over the region.



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

Some of our Books

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, 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