Nizhny Novgorod



Nizhny Novgorod

Name: Mikhail Solunin

Age: 28

Profession: Photographer 

City: Nizhny Novgorod

How long have you been doing photography? What style or genre most interests you? 

About five years. At first, I was only interested in doing photojournalism for mass media and commercial shooting. Now I am more interested in documentary photo stories and personal projects.

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for?

Nizhny Novgorod is located 430 kilometers from Moscow at the point where two of the largest rivers in European Russia: the Oka and the Volga. People call the place where the rivers meet Strelka ("arrow"). This is also the birthplace of famous people like the writer Maxim Gorky, the inventor Ivan Kulibin, the founder of Russian photojournalism Maxim Dmitriev, and the Russian politician and social activist Boris Nemtsov. In the past, Nizhny was famous for its Commercial Fair. Today the city's calling card is its kremlin, and its very modern Aerial Tram line, which spans 3660 meters and crosses the Volga River to the town of Bor. It is the only cable car in Russia or Europe that spans a body of water, in this case the 861 meters of the Volga.

What is something about your city that only locals would know? 

Nizhny Novgorod is perhaps the only city in Russia where Lenin Prospect crosses Ilyich Prospect. The city also has a church located inside a railway car. However, the Church of the Icon of the Reigning Mother of God is stationary and has the address: Ignatiev Brothers 1, kilometer 3.

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your city?

It is worth visiting the kremlin. Pay for an excursion inside its walls and walk along its perimeter. One should also visit the Chkalovskaya Steps, on Fyodorovsky Embankment, from which there is a wonderful view of the lower part of the city, especially at sunset. Streets to visit include Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, Rozhdestvenskaya, Ilyinskaya.

 



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

Some of Our Books

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
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.
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.

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