Petrozavodsk

---

I had booked a tour of the Tersky Coast of the Kola Peninsula, where the starting point was the town of Kandalaksha. Since the Russian Railways have altered the previous schedule (the group was to meet early in the morning, the train would arrive only by noon), I was advised either to come to Kandalaksha one day in advance (and book a hotel) or to change trains somewhere, e.g. in Petrozavodsk. I checked up the schedules and booked two convenient trains with a 6-hour period between them. I have long ago planned to visit the city, but I was compelled to cancel those attempts.

I arrived in Petrozavodsk at six-forty in the morning and, having left the luggage, went for a walk. I walked energetically though feeling almost none of the former enthusiasm like in Perm or Izhevsk or Tula – I don’t know why. This visit to Petrozavodsk, certainly, should not have been a short one – because a visit to this city definitely implies a visit to Kizhi, and I, as usual, had time limits. I also wanted to visit Solovki on the same trip (on the last day of our guided tour), but firmly decided to make separate visits (or at least combine Solovki and Kizhi, time will tell).

The knowledge of Russian personal names and nouns tells us that the name ‘Petrozavodsk’ means ‘Peter’s Factory’, implying an ordnance factory built in 1703 by Peter I’s decree by the estuary of Lososinka River on Onega Lake bank. This is all my knowledge of the city’s history.

The city is pleasing to the eye; though there were not many sight-worthy old buildings or other notable constructions along Lenina Prospekt, I saw several monuments and memorial boards dedicated to various persons. I saw an atom-like metallic structure and a small ship on a tall post in front of the University across the road, and a funny sign post bearing the title “Sign in Petrozavodsk whereby everyone take their photos”. I noticed a McDonalds 24 advertisement and, surely, wanted to go there for a cup of hot tea because of the chilly wind, but it turned out to be a simple McExpress or what do you call it. Nevertheless, I got my hot tea and went further. The pavement around the mall building where McDonalds is located looks real three-dimensional (the tiles are arranged in the form of cubes).

While going towards the embankment (one of the main attractions, as I have ascertained before) I saw several architecturally notable buildings, among them a church and a maternity home with a mother and child statue in front of it. When I emerged to the Onega Lake embankment, I saw the monument to Otto Kuusinen (Finnish and Soviet political figure, writer, and theorist of Marxism) and a nice pink building.

The embankment of mighty Onega Lake might be the city’s best sight. The wind here blew ruthlessly, raising huge waves, while the sun, hidden by clouds, imparted to the panorama mild pastel shades. I do not remember ever seeing people walking Nordic in other Russian cities, but here I managed to see two persons within a couple of minutes. The lake embankment is notable for its open-air collection of different art objects, gifted to the city by its sister towns, such as: The Tree of Wishes (from Umea, Sweden, 1996, by K. Andersen), Tubingen Panel (from Tubingen, Germany, 1999, by B. Vogelmann), Unity (from Joensuu, Finland, 2003), Wave of Friendship (from Varkaus, Finland, 1997, by A. Kettunen), Fishermen (from Duluth, USA, 1991, by R. Consueger) and several others. I think I liked the Fishermen most.

I saw a sign on the lamp-posts informing about the available free wi-fi. My route of the embankment ended by the statue of Peter the Great, after which I consulted the map and went to Kirova Square, planning to see at least two of the city’s churches shown close to it on the map. Those were the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross. While going there, I saw a park crossed by a small winding river. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built at the expense of donations by the tradesmen of Alexandrovsky Factory in 1826-1832.

From there, I decided to have a bite at a café and go to the museum, which would open at 10 o’clock (I had about forty minutes). I entered a café on Kirova Square called Yablochnoye and had a good meal. After the café, I proceeded to the museum, and also saw monuments to warriors of the Red Army perished in battles with invaders and White Guards in 1919 also to the Unknown Soldier with the inscription “Your name unknown, your heroic deed immortal”. There was also a huge Lenin statue on Lenina Square. The museum is located in a notable old building of the XVIII century.

The museum officer said I had to wait for about fifteen minutes because everyone were at a meeting. I went to the Governor’s Gardens renovated in 2003 for the 300^th anniversary of Petrozavodsk, featuring samples of metalware such as a gear, cannons and foundry items.

The permanent exhibition tells about the Karelian nature, archeology, and history: rocks and minerals, peculiarities of regional flora and fauna, granite slabs with rock carvings, ancient implements of labour and household implements. Other halls tell about: the development of factory industry in the times of Peter the Great and Empress Catherine II and the gradual making of the city (the end of the XVII – beginning of XVIII c.); Karelia in the Middle Ages (IX-XVII cc); mining and timber industry in Karelia; the Petrozavodsk officialdom and everyday life, education and public health in XIX – beginning of XX cc; the discovery and study of folklore in Karelia (Kalevala). I saw various stones, coins, adornments, ancient nails, horseshoes, weapons, body crosses, hairdresser’s accessories, and many more. The museum has certain sections where one can touch the objects and, for instance, stamp a seal as done back in the XIX century. After the museum I hurried to the station (train to Kandalaksha).

---