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

Survival Russian

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.
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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

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.
Fearful Majesty

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.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
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.

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