"The Best City on Earth" Part 1
“It’s good where we are not” said Chatsky in the comedy A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from wit”, but is it really so? According to Rosstat, there are different cities in which people live “well” because somewhere there is a high standard of living, somewhere the quality of education, somewhere the environment, and somewhere fabulously beautiful. But often we do not know how to appreciate our cities, and look for shelter in others, and someone at this time comes to our cities and admires the sights, buys special gifts for relatives.
ekaterinburg
And I'll start there, according to Rosstat:
One of the best cities in Russia for quality life is Yekaterinburg, which by decree of Emperor Peter I, in the spring of 1723 was named in honor of Empress Catherine I.
The greatest influence on the city had a revolutionary movement from the late XIX - early XX century, at this time the city became the capital of the white movement under the leadership of the All-Russian government of Admiral A. V. Kolchak. After the Reds took the city, in the Ipatiev House (now the Temple on Blood is built on this site), the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family were shot.
Years later, the Great Patriotic War began, the Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre and the Central Theatre of the Soviet Army, as well as the collections of the State Hermitage, were evacuated to the city. At the same time, few people know that at this time, Yekaterinburg, was the center of radio broadcasting of the USSR, to which Yuri Levitan received information from the Sovinformburo from Moscow by phone. And the famous words “Attention, says Moscow” in the period 1941-1943 actually sounded from Yekaterinburg.
Today, Yekaterinburg is one of the curved cities of Russia, passing along the “Red Line” of which travelers can see 34 memorable places.
A traditional gift from Yekaterinburg is malachite products.
The top 10 best cities in Russia for doing business included Omsk, Kemerovo and Kazan.
omsk
In the casemates of the city, located at the confluence of the Irtysh and Om rivers, through which the Trans-Siberian Railway passes, F. M. Dostoevsky sat and described his impressions as follows: “Omsk is an ugly town. There are almost no trees. Summer heat and wind with sand, winter storm. I haven't seen nature. The town is dirty, military and depraved to the highest degree. I'm talking about black people. If I had not found people here, I would have died completely.
Currently, in the house of commandants in the Omsk fortress, a literary museum named after F. M. Dostoevsky has been created, in which objects of careful life are preserved.
But Dostoevsky was right and wrong at the same time. Omsk is not a "ugly town", it is a city with its difficult history, which suffered all the hardships of the fratricidal war, being the capital of White Russia under the leadership of Admiral A.V. Kolchak. During the Great Patriotic War, Omsk received about 200 evacuated enterprises, 60 hospitals, dozens of educational institutions, theaters, museums and hundreds of thousands of refugees and this is only a small share that fell on the life of the city and its citizens.
Of course, Omsk is not a "Tourist City", due to its "closed" for many years, so the tourism sector is not very well developed, but the city is very interesting for its cultural heritage.
It is better to visit Omsk in summer or early autumn, when the weather is more or less suitable for walking and sightseeing, there are more than enough of them in the city (the hall of organ and chamber music, the museum complex of military glory of the Omsk, the Hermitage-Siberia, the alley of writers, the Old Man of Siberia, the Arena-Omsk, as well as the Christmas Cathedral, the Acharir Monastery with a miraculous source). And also in Omsk you can diversify your vacation by hunting, having the appropriate permission.
But if the weather is not very “lucky”, then you can visit one of the theaters, since Omsk is considered the “Theater Capital of Siberia”, a small spectator, from two years old, will be interested in the theater of dolls, actor, mask “Harlequin”. Or go to the cinema, of which there are about 20 in Omsk, to watch 3D and 5D films.
In the evening, you can walk along the embankment of the Irtysh River, there are many entertainment facilities, in addition, from the river station, which is built on the site of the foundation of the Omsk fortress, you can make an exciting and interesting walk Omsk-Salekhard on a cruise ship.
Omich are very fond of festivals, not only local, but also all-Russian and international, which are held quite often. But the favorite of Omsk is the New Year. On the eve of the New Year on the Left Bank, an ice town "Belovodye" is being built.
Kemerovo
On the banks of the Tomi and Iskitimka rivers, there is an industrial city, which was formerly called Shcheglovka, today it is known as Kemerovo (from the Turkic "kemer" - belt, belt, mountain slope, shore, cliff, hill, mountain).
The main attractions are: Wonder Park, Memorial of Glory of Kuzbass soldiers, Znamensky Cathedral, Monument to Lobsang Rampa, Church of the Holy Trinity,
It is very convenient that in Kemerovo all traffic lights are painted in bright orange, and the names of streets are written in large letters.
As a gift, you can bring confectionery products from a local factory.
Kazan
Kazan (in Old Bulgar, as well as in modern Bulgarian and Tatar, means “pot”) is the “third capital of Russia”, which has a rich and not fully understood history.
In the XIII-XIV centuries, Kazan is experiencing growth, becoming an important trade and political center within the Golden Horde.
A series of wars with the Moscow principality first forced Moscow to pay tribute to the Kazan Khanate, and eventually led to the capture of Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible in 1552, with the subsequent destruction of most of the city and the resettlement of Tatars on the marshy shores of Lake Kaban, laying the foundation for the Old Tatar settlement of Kazan.
Today, the territory of Kazan is one of the most multinational territories in Russia: representatives of more than 115 nationalities live in the city. Kazan remains one of the largest cultural centers of Russia, preserving classical achievements, as well as contributing to the development of modern, avant-garde trends in many areas of culture. The capital of Tatarstan is traditionally called “multicultural”, implying mutually beneficial enrichment of peacefully coexisting Russian and Tatar cultures.
To see all the sights of Kazan is not enough and a week, the most popular are the pedestrian Bauman Street, the white-stone Kremlin, the “falling” Syuyumbike Tower, the Spasskaya Tower, the Annunciation Cathedral (the oldest Orthodox church in the Middle Volga region), the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Temple of All Religions (Bahá’í Church), the Kul Sharif mosque, the Palace of Farmers, the 1000th Anniversary Park of Kazan, the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan (Gostiny Dvor), the Chak Museum.
Children will be delighted with the Riviera Water Park, Kirlay Park, as well as older viewers will appreciate the Tatar State Puppet Theater Ekiyat.
From Kazan:
- national cuisine: Balish, Ochpochmak (triangle), Chak-chak, Gubadia, Talkyshkaleve;
- Ichigi slippers and boots. Products are made of natural leather and are decorated with bright ornaments.
The figure of a cat is a symbol of Kazan, which saved her.
chelyabinsk
One of the best cities in terms of quality of education is Chelyabinsk (from the Turkic Chelebi - "tsarevich", "educated", from the Bashkir Chelyab - "bucket" or "burak"), a city located in the center of the mainland of Eurasia, on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. On this river in the XVIII century, the first gold mining began, after which a gold rush began in the region.
As time passed, Chelyabinsk experienced many other events that affected the entire future life of the city and its citizens, and then the Great Patriotic War began, in which Chelyabinsk played the role of a rear city, receiving thousands of evacuated citizens, supplying T-34 tanks, their production was mastered in 33 days. During the war, factories produced a fifth of all combat vehicles produced in the country. By the end of the war, every third tank and combat aircraft had Chelyabinsk steel.
Today, the main problem of transport in Chelyabinsk is the insufficient number of parking spaces.
Everyone who comes to strive to get to the pedestrian street of Kirovka, in the square with “singing” fountains, walk along the alleys of the Gagarin TsPKiO. Art lovers will appreciate the chamber theater.
Small tourists will be interested in the museum of entertaining science "Experimentus", the wonder park "Galileo", as well as in the contact zoo.
As a gift from Chelyabinsk, you can bring various products from Malakhit.
Magnitogorsk
Another city in which people like to study and learn well is a city located simultaneously in two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, on the Ural River.
Before the war, Magnitogorsk was an industrial city and lived its own life, but then the war began and the country needed armor, so the young team of the local production plant was tasked with “Give the front Magnitogorsk armor”, which was completed a month and a half ahead of schedule. During the war, every third shell and every second tank were made of Magnitogorsk steel.
After the war, life returned to its usual course, followed by winter, without disturbing the usual course of things. Winter here is cold, snowy, summer is warm in this weather, it is good to walk in the square of Metallurgists, in which there are fountains, a spiritual monument to parents, on the square at the "Kurantov" there is a light and musical fountain, which is better to look at in the evening.
In good weather, you can walk to the legendary monument "Rear - Front", which is part of the great triptych, telling the story of the sword (allegorical symbol of victory over the enemy), forged in the Urals, raised on the Volga and defeated in Germany.
Another unique monument of Magnitogorsk and at the same time the only atheistic monument in the world - "Solar Clock" (the monument-oracle of Zarathustra) embodies the ideas of F.V. Nietzsche, the solar guillotine of the Great Noon, which is surrounded by laughing lions in the form of a guillotine stele, ready at Great Noon inexorably cut off the finite earth time from eternity.
In the winter season, a kind of Mecca for many hockey fans is the Arena Metallurg Ice Palace.
The kids will love the water park.
An unusual gift brought from Magnitogorsk is large lemons weighing up to 1 kg from the Narovchatsky limonary.
The cleanest cities are Volgograd, Yaroslavl and Rybinsk
volgograd
Like many cities of our country, Volgograd had several names: Tsaryitsyn (from the Turkic "sary-chin" - "yellow beautiful island"), Stalingrad.
The city is at the crossroads of many trade (land and river) routes, so it was repeatedly destroyed, ruined during riots and wars (for example, was occupied by the troops of Stepan Razin), during the civil war was the "red" center of southern Russia, and on July 17, 1942, the history of one of the bloodiest battles began. During the Battle of Stalingrad from 17.06.42 to 23.02.43 the city was almost completely destroyed. At the end of the war, the restoration of the city began, sacrificing the surviving houses of the merchant Tsaritsyn, Soviet architects created post-war masterpieces: the Alley of Heroes, the Square of Fallen Fighters, the Central Embankment, the railway station Volgograd I, Lenin Avenue, they have been the main architectural ensembles of Volgograd for more than 60 years.
After Stalin's death in 1953, on November 10, 1961, Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd overnight, people learned about the new name of the city from the morning newspaper.
It is best to go to the hero city in the middle of spring, before the beginning of summer, as well as in late until mid-autumn, so that you can safely walk along Mamayev Kurgan, the Alley of Heroes, see the Pavlov House with your own eyes, which stood under the onslaught of German soldiers for 58 days and nights, as well as see the “old monument” in the city - the monument to Gogol (1910) in the Komsomol Garden and the Kazan Cathedral. Both adults and children will be interested in visiting the monumental planetarium and the Einstein Museum.
As a gift from Volgograd, you can bring:
- down Volgograd scarves of Uryupin masters, they are very warm and light;
Mustard oil, as Volgograd is considered the capital of mustard and mustard oil;
- confectionery products of the local factory;
- watermelon, watermelon honey, watermelon coffee and backgammon.
The only disadvantage is the roads, as well as the difficult situation with bypass roads. At the same time in Volgograd there are high-speed trams and not so long ago bicycle paths were opened.
Author of the text: Natalia Drankova