City details
Wooden Tomsk: houses, carving and the memory of a city
The House with Dragons, a museum in Kryachkov’s home and an address associated with writer Vyacheslav Shishkov offer three approaches to the city.
THE COUNTRY LIBRARY
Get to know Russia.
For people who call it home and people discovering it. Read in English or switch to the complete Russian edition.
26 stories
Art in everyday life
Gzhel in colour: from majolica to artists’ porcelain
Historic vessels, the revival of painting and individual makers reveal a ceramic tradition that extends beyond blue and white.
Protected landscapes
The Volga Delta: lotus flowers, birds and a nature reserve at work
Four islands on a nature trail, aquatic plants and a history of bird protection introduce Astrakhan Nature Reserve.
Science in detail
Pulkovo: how astronomers measure the sky
Star catalogues, glass photographic plates and public tours introduce the observatory as a place of sustained scientific observation.
Voices and memory
Kalevala: hearing the people behind the epic
The singers of White Sea Karelia, Elias Lönnrot’s work and an oral tradition with individual names and places.
Living craft
The Kolomna kalach: a craft you can taste
A working bakery offers a way into the history of bread, the shape of a kalach and the skills behind it.
Reading culture
Discover Russia through the Russian State Library
An old guidebook, manuscript collections and digital resources offer a way into the country’s reading culture from anywhere.
A cultural route
Perm: a city you can listen to
An opera house, traces of an older building and carved wooden figures offer three starting points for a cultural visit.
Architecture of Russia
Pskov: learning to read a city through its churches
White walls, belfries and the Mirozhsky frescoes offer an introduction to Pskov’s architectural tradition.
A taste of place
Kalitki and kitchen memory: meeting Karelia through food
Family recipes, fieldwork and several languages reveal a region through the people who cook there.
A museum without walls
Levitan’s Golden Autumn: follow the river with your eyes
A closer look at the 1895 painting: moving water, bright birches and the difference between recognition and attention.
Country library
Vologda lace: the work within a delicate line
Bobbins, linen, patterns and their makers: look beyond the ornament to the person who created it.
Country library
The Curonian Spit: a landscape cared for every day
How wind, woodland, sand and human work shaped an extraordinary Baltic landscape.
Country library
Yaroslavl: a city composed around two rivers
The Volga and Kotorosl, old churches and classical streets: discover the relationships that give the city its shape.
Country library
Russia’s peoples: begin with an attentive question
Explore languages, crafts and family traditions while keeping the individual person in view.
Country library
Vladivostok: a city worth seeing from different levels
Harbour views, streets and museum stories introduce the Far Eastern city through places and people.
Country library
Moscow Metro: an urban space beneath the city
The first line, an architectural perspective and a practical way to understand the transport network.
Country library
Everyday Russian: a practical place to start
First phrases, Cyrillic and a manageable study plan for new residents and Russian-speaking friends.
Country library
Tea, samovars and conversation: discovering everyday culture
How an everyday object connects craftsmanship, family memory and time shared around a table.
Country library
Yakutia: the science beneath your feet
What permafrost means, and why studying it matters for homes, roads and everyday life.
Country library
The Hermitage: finding a personal route through a vast museum
Palace, collection and close observation: an encounter that does not have to become a race.
Country library
The Tretyakov Gallery: finding your way into Russian art
A collector’s story and a practical way to see more in a painting than its familiar title.
Country library
Derbent: reading history between mountains and sea
Naryn-Kala, the city walls and lived-in neighbourhoods offer three ways to understand the city.
Country library
Veliky Novgorod: a city where the past has a voice
The kremlin, frescoes and birch-bark letters bring a medieval city into human focus.
Country library
Kizhi: timber, craftsmanship and the art of conservation
Behind the wooden churches stand generations of carpenters, researchers and conservators.
Country library
Kamchatka: reading a landscape still taking shape
Volcanoes, water and wildlife: a closer look at the peninsula beyond a checklist of superlatives.