Petrozavodsk



Petrozavodsk

Ice Fishing on Lake Onega

Igor Podgorny

Name: Igor Podgorny

Age: 38

Profession: Geology teacher. Right now doing freelance photography.

City: Petrozavodsk

How long have you been doing photography? What style or genre most interests you? 
Over 10 years. I am particularly interested in photographing wildlife. 

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

Karelia is the land of forests and lakes. Wildlife, which I love to photograph most of all, begins at the very edge of the cities. Occasionally, within these same cities, you might encounter various types of animals and birds. Of course we have many tourist attractions in close proximity to Petrozavodsk, such as the Kizhi Architectural Preserve and Kivach Falls. 

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

Petrozavodsk is not a very large city. The city's main street begins at Vokzal Square and descends down to Lake Onega. Lake Onega is the second largest lake in Europe.

Arrive at the train station, and you can take a leisurely stroll down to the lake in 20 minutes.

The history of Petrozavodsk is widely accepted to have begun in 1703. It was founded by Russian tsar Peter the First.

Recently on the internet, the following "hashtag"  appeared:

#ялюблюэтотвашпетрозаводск

Basically, "I love Petrozavodsk"

In the local dialect, we have some unique words. For example : "lambushka – a local word for a forest-edged lake and "rebushi" – dirty, torn clothing.

There are still signs written in Finnish in some markets, stores and various establishments. There is also the locally renowned "Secret of the Third Column" music theatre. 

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

Kizhi Island, Kivach Falls and Ruskeala Mountain Park. 

Anything else you would like to add?

I returned to Petrozavodsk after living in Moscow for 18 years. I was not sorry in the least. For me, Karelia is difficult not to love. This is the place that I feel most in touch with my soul.

There are ancient wooden churches and Karelian villages, hunting and fishing, trips along the wildlife forests, or negotiating the river's rapids.

A trip to Karelia is worth taking at least once in a lifetime. Here, everything is at hand. You are able to take in quite a bit in a relatively short trip. 

Igor's website. 

Translation by Jim Hess.



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

Some of Our Books

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. 
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
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. 
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.
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.
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.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
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.
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...
The Moscow Eccentric

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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

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.
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