Ufa



Ufa

Name: Ramil Sitdikov

Age: 29

Profession: Photojournalist

City: Ufa

How long have you been doing photography? Six years.

What style or genre most interests you? Documentary photography and sports.

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for? Ufa is the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan. It is situated on the banks of the Belaya (White) River and is one of Russia's largest cities in terms of area of land covered. During the time of the Mongol occupation, their largest city was located here, Bashgirdt. A fortress was built in 1574, and in 1586 Ufa was officially given the status of city.

What are some things that only locals would know about the city? Ufa is the union of sky and water. The main reason to come here is not for cultural sites, but more for the authentic atmosphere. The monument to Salavat Yulaev [a Bashkir national hero] is placed on a high spot over the Bely River and it offers a truly regal view, with forest stretching to the horizon. 

Old Ufa is small and compact. Rare wooden homes live alongside massive palaces that once belonged to rich forest merchants.

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your city? You must visit the House Museum of the writer Sergei Aksakov, and you should walk down Lenin Street to the Children's Palace named for VM. Komarov, where Rudolph Nuryeyev took his first dance classes.

There is a unique atmosphere to be sampled in the now marginal region known as Chernikovka (it's name has been officially changed, but locals still call it this). It maintains the triumphal spirit of the post-war era – in the faces of the homes, for example, in the Pobeda movie theater. There is also some very expressive architecture in the Museum of Military Glory, built by Dmitry Vinkelman in 1998, and comprised of a harmonious collection of prisms, cubes and smooth cylinders.

Anything else? You should definitely take a tour to Shulgan Tash Nature Preserve, home to some of the oldest caves of human habitation, to see the wall drawings made 15-16 thousand years ago, including over 50 images of mammoths, horses, rhinos, bisons, and geometric symbols. Most of the images were made with red ochre. It is one of the greatest mysteries of the art world. For such drawings have often been found in France and Spain, but it was entirely unexpected to find them in Russia.

Website: http://ramilsitdikov.com/

Instagram: @ramilsitdikov



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

Some of Our Books

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. 
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 
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 Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

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