Komi Republic.

History

The Komi first appear in Novgorod records of the 11th century, when traders came north for furs. In the 14th century the missionary Stephen of Perm devised the first Komi alphabet and became Bishop of Perm, and by the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries the land had passed under Moscow. The future capital, Ust-Sysolsk, was founded in 1586, received town status from Catherine the Great in 1780 and was renamed Syktyvkar in 1930. The Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast was created on 22 August 1921 and became an autonomous republic in 1936.

Culture & traditions

Komi was first written in the Old Permic script and moved to Cyrillic in the 19th century. Stephen of Perm is honoured as the patron saint of the Komi, though traces of shamanism survive in local tradition. Komi mythology has the creator gods Yen and Omöl, the hero Yirkap, said to have invented skis, and Yoma, a local cousin of Baba Yaga. Villages were built of wood along the rivers, and Syktyvkar has the National Museum, founded in 1911, the National Gallery, an opera and ballet theatre and the folk ensemble Asya Kya.

Nature

The Virgin Komi Forests cover about 32,800 km² of boreal taiga and were listed by UNESCO in 1995 as the largest expanse of virgin forest in Europe. They include the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve, set up in 1930, and Yugyd Va National Park, created in 1994. In the northern Urals stand the Manpupuner rock pillars, seven stone giants counted among the Seven Wonders of Russia. The highest point is Mount Narodnaya at 1,894 m, and the coldest temperature ever recorded here was −58.1 °C.

Sport

Skiing runs deep in Komi culture; even the myths have a hero who invented skis. The republic's most famous athlete is the cross-country skier Raisa Smetanina, born in the village of Mokhcha in the Izhma district, who won ten Olympic medals, four of them gold, the last at the age of 39. Syktyvkar is a bandy town, home to the Stroitel club, and in 2017 it hosted the under-19 Bandy World Championship.

Food & drink

Komi cooking grew out of hunting, fishing and gathering, so in the north meat and fish dominate the table. Traditional dishes include grain pies filled with fish, a range of porridges and sour soups. Pelmeni dumplings most likely have their origins in Komi and Udmurt cuisine.

Practical information

The main gateway is Syktyvkar Airport, with further airports in Ukhta and Vorkuta. The key rail route is the Kotlas–Vorkuta–Salekhard line, and the R176 Vyatka highway ends in Syktyvkar. The republic runs on Moscow time (UTC+3). The climate is harsh, with January averages of −17 to −20 °C and July averages of 11 to 15 °C, so the short northern summer is the time for the taiga and the Urals.

What to see

• Virgin Komi Forests — Europe's largest expanse of untouched taiga, protected by UNESCO
• Manpupuner — seven stone pillars in the northern Urals, one of the Seven Wonders of Russia
• Yugyd Va National Park — the Ural section of the Virgin Komi Forests
• Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve — taiga protected since 1930
• National Museum of the Komi Republic in Syktyvkar — the oldest museum in the republic
• Syktyvkar Opera and Ballet Theatre — the northern capital's main stage since 1958

Cities on the map

• Syktyvkar 219,094
• Vorkuta 55,702