Mariy El



Mariy El

Name: Nikolai Gontar

Age: 31

Profession: Freelance photographer 

City: Yoshkar-Ola

How long have you been doing photography? What style or genre most interests you? I have been doing photography since 2009. I completed Anatoly Maltsev's private school for photojournalism and received a degree from the Galperin Photography Faculty in St. Petersburg. I try to shoot in all styles: journalism, genre and street. I also don't shy from extreme sorts of shooting, or even landscapes and architecture. I spend a lot of time on social photography and investigating city life in various parts of the globe. The main realm of my freelance work is in shooting protests, revolutions and war.

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for? Yoshkar-Ola is capital of the Republic of Mariy El. It is located on the Malaya Kokshaga river, the left  tributary of the Volga in the center of the Volg-Vyatsky region.

The city has its seal and hymn. Yoshkar-Ola is located 862 kilometers from Moscow. It was founded in 1584. The name means Red City. But over the course of its history the city has changed its name several times. One of the minor planets discovered in our galaxy [number 2910, discovered in 1980] carries the name Yoshkar-Ola.

What is something about your city that only locals would know? Yoshkar-Ola is the only city in Russia that begins with the letter Й.

The city's architectural face has changed significantly in recently years. Only in Yoshkar-Ola can one see Spasskaya Tower, La Scala Theater, the Doge's Palace, and the Bruges Promenade. Of course, they are all copies, but residents and visitors alike enjoy seeing them.

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your city? One can begin with a visit to Nogotkov-Obolensky Square. It is one of the favorite places not just for tourist but also for Yoshkarolintsy. There is a concentration of several interesting cultural landmarks here, plus it adjoins the National Art Gallery. From there, one can go the the Bruges Promenade. This beautiful street is one of the city's main attractions. Anyone who wants to dig deeper and learn about the city's history should visit the Museum of the History of Yoshkar-Ola. It includes over 17,000 items archaelogical and ethnographic, as well as decorative works of art and much more. Tour guides will show and explain everything, how the simple and not-so-simple folk lived in Tsarevokokshaysk (the city's former name) in the early 20th century.

Website: www.nikolaigontar.com

On Instagram: @sky_system



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

Some of Our Books

At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
The Samovar Murders

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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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.
The Latchkey Murders

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...

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