Click on pictures to enlarge:
 |
| city center around a channel I |
 |
| city center around a channel II |
 |
| fountain, city center |
 |
| natural river near city center |
 |
| various crowded squares |
 |
| a restaurant |
 |
| they nicknamed it "Marcus Square" |
 |
| view from the arcades of "Marcus Square" |
 |
| office buildings |
 |
| long boulevard across the City |
 |
| bus stop somewehre outskirts of town |
Any idea which city? At least which country? Scroll down to see solution:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
The city's name is Yóshkar-Óla (Йошкар-Óла), capital of the Republic Mári-El (Республика Марий Эл), Russian Federation, around 800 km east of Moscow. Surprised?
The indigenous population of this republic is called the Mari People (марийцы), currently about 44% of the total population, not much less than ethnic Russians (49%). Besides Russian, the uralic or finno-ugric Mari language is an official language of the Republic (e.g. road and traffic signs as well as captions on official buildings are in both languages). Mari is also taught in schools. Though pressed by monotheistic religions in neighboring republics, Mari natural religion is still practiced today (see also Mari Traditional Religion).*
The busy building activities in and around Yóshkar-Óla are due to Governor Leonid Markelov, who is said to have a passion for Brugge, Belgium. Probably without asking the people, he decided that the capital ought to be a Brugge lookalike (compare following 2 pics).
And even if the non-Russian features of the new appearance of the city sometimes border on the ridiculous (in the center there is a statue of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco together with his Grace Kelly), citizens overwhelmingly seem to appreciate what is done for their hometown, even though practically everybody seems to believe one of the construction firms in charge is owned by Irina Konstantinova Markelova, the Governor's wife. Moreover, some people say the Governor's family residence - a palace - is situated right in the middle of the city - close to the biggest orthodox church building, surrounded by the same walls and protected by the same security (I have no evidence for the statement concerning the family, so it might be only a rumor ;-)
 |
| Brugge's famous market square (Grote Markt) |
 |
| Brugge: Grote Markt during upcoming storm |
And even if the non-Russian features of the new appearance of the city sometimes border on the ridiculous (in the center there is a statue of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco together with his Grace Kelly), citizens overwhelmingly seem to appreciate what is done for their hometown, even though practically everybody seems to believe one of the construction firms in charge is owned by Irina Konstantinova Markelova, the Governor's wife. Moreover, some people say the Governor's family residence - a palace - is situated right in the middle of the city - close to the biggest orthodox church building, surrounded by the same walls and protected by the same security (I have no evidence for the statement concerning the family, so it might be only a rumor ;-)
The center is designed completely new (but with some churches built on historic ground). There is a broad boulevard through the whole city where people use to go walking, especially in the evening - really a very nice meeting point with flowers and fountains; parks are well cared for. During the last decade a series of sports facilities has been built: two ice rinks, two indoor swimming baths (one for children only),
 |
| Indoor Tennis Center |
 |
| Children's Indoor Swimming Bath |
one indoor tennis center, a new football stadium (though Yóshkar-Óla is only a bad third league club) and other outdoor Astroturfs, a roofed athletics stadium is being under construction. Btw, even the football stadium looks very similar to Brugge's "Jan Breydel Stadion"(!)
Ticket prices for these facilities are modest: from 18:00 to 22:00 working people may enter the indoor bath for 3 euros; the indoor tennis court though is 12 euros per hour. Recently, the city is flooded by more and more restaurants. Newly arrived MacDonald's has a hard stand in fighting the competitors arising from various domestic Russian restaurant chains; also, the number of upscale restaurants is on the rise (surprisingly, there is a wheat beer brewery owned and run by a German).
 |
| Yóshkar-Óla kindergarden I |
 |
| Yóshkar-Óla kindergarden II |
In addition, street cafés, museums (the Mari Museum is very recommendable), theaters, operas and unfortunately a huge number of newly built churches, ... , new Yóshkar-Óla has much more to offer than one would expect from a Russian provincial small town (inhabitants about 270 000). Formerly a typical grey Soviet city with its faceless structure, poor apartment blocks and depressing housing situation, the ongoing construction boom is striking. (If there wouldn't be still a strong demand in Russia for new living space, one could think there is a real estate bubble like in Spain or the USA not long ago). If you fly to Moscow over its surrounding area, you can see lots of swathes cut into the woods, inside with town houses and gated communities of the rising Muscovite's middle class and - of course - the palaces and mansions of the "nouveau riches" and the oligarchs. This cannot yet be seen in Yóshkar-Óla. But even there new private homes are built and are starting to change the face and the atmosphere of the city.
 |
| new middle-class home near Malaya Kokshaga river II |
 |
| new middle-class home near Malaya Kokshaga river I |
Anyway, the whole region has much potential. Yóshkar-Óla is only a few miles away from the beautiful sandy river banks of the Wolga and directly connected with it via natural rivers. The city is surrounded by woods with lakes and rolling hills, perfect for mushrooms! You don't need to be a prophet to predict that the region will attract more and more tourists in the near future, domestic and international.
Some more Impressions from Yóshkar-Óla, Republic of Mari-El, Russia.
 |
| market hall |
 |
| inside market hall, private vendors offering meat |
 |
| wedding |
 |
| golden stretch limo |
 |
| old soviet style theater |
 |
| medieval music on the boulevard |
 |
| small church on main square |
 |
| relaxing in the evening |
 |
| boats on the Malaya Kokshaga river, after sunset |
 |
| fireworks in Yóshkar-Óla |
 |
colorful buildings in contrast
to old soviet architecture
|
 |
| a Russian bank |
*In comparison, neighboring Chuvash Republic has more than 2 thirds of indigenous Chuvash people (descendants of the ancient kingdom of the semi-nomadic Bulgars until the 13th century), the bilingual conditions are similar and the Chuvash natural religion is still active (Vattisen Yaly). In contrast, Tatarstan has around 55% Muslims and 45% Russian Orthodox (according to Wikipedia) - not much of natural religion left. 53% of the population are Tatars, 39% ethnic Russians.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment