http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/ en 2013-05-13T22:47:59-05:00 hourly 6 2013-05-13T22:47:59-05:00 http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/golfing-in-russia 2013-05-13T22:47:59-05:00 en Editor Features The first 18-hole golf course in Russia was built in 1994 in the Moscow suburb of Nakhabino. For a number of years the golf course was the only one in the country, with keen Russian golfers traveling to resorts in Spain, Portugal, Poland, Finland and China to play the game on world-class courses. In the past decade or so, golf has become more popular as a leisure activity, resulting in the number of golf courses increasing to eighteen, located in eight of Russia's eighty-three regions. Moreover, the Russian Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy, along with the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, have started to actively promote golf as a sport at school level to children and youths. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/nizhny-novgorod-s-historic-chkalov-staircase 2013-04-30T02:23:59-05:00 en Editor Features Located at the confluence of the Volga and Oka Rivers in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, the city of Nizhny Novgorod is an important cultural center for the region and has a number of interesting attractions to visit. One of the top attractions in the city is the Chkalov Staircase, the construction of which turned out to be quite controversial and resulted in the arrest of the government official who carried out the project. The staircase was originally known as the Volga Staircase, but was later renamed in honor of a Soviet Union test pilot, Valery Chkalov, who in 1937 was the first pilot in history to fly non-stop from Moscow, via the North Pole to Vancouver in the US state of Washington. The enormous staircase climbs a hill overlooking the river, providing a spectacular view of the surroundings, and a monument in Chkalov's honor stands on Minina Square at the top of the staircase. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/visit-the-town-of-kungur-in-the-ural-mountains 2013-04-16T01:02:56-05:00 en Editor Travel Located in the Ural Mountains, where the Shakhva and Iren Rivers flow into the Sylva River, the town of Kungur started out as a settlement in the mid-1600s, but was destroyed by Bashkirs in 1662. It was rebuilt as a fortified settlement in 1663, and by the early 18th century Kungur had its own commercial tannery and had earned a reputation for the production of fine leather products, including footwear. By the late 18th century, Kungur had developed into a prominent commercial center, serving the traffic on the Siberian trade route. By the end of the 19th century, the town was known for its industry, including the manufacture of tea, leather, rope and linseed oil, and was the cultural hub for the area. Today Kungur remains a bustling commercial and industrial town, serving as the administrative center of Kungursky District. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/russias-coat-of-arms 2013-04-02T02:31:01-05:00 en Editor Features Designed by Russian artist Yevgeny Ukhnalyov, and officially adopted on 30 November 1993, Russia’s coat of arms is directly derived from the coat of arms used in medieval times. While the coat of arms was modified at different times over the years, the two-headed eagle was used during the reign of Peter the Great, where it was depicted in black, rather than the golden color of today. The rider on horseback and the slain dragon have also been an almost constant feature on the coat of arms, although today the rider is not referred to as Saint George as this has religious overtones and modern Russia is viewed as a secular state. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/family-fun-in-yekaterinburg 2013-03-19T00:40:52-05:00 en Editor Travel Located on the Iset River, surrounded by taiga forests and small lakes and with the Ural Mountains as a backdrop, Yekaterinburg is a charming city to visit. Its many attractions add to its appeal, and this vibrant Russian city is a popular tourist destination. As the cultural center in the region, Yekaterinburg (Anglicized as Ekaterinburg) is home to many museums, cinemas and theaters, offering a variety of entertainment any time of the year. In the warmer months, natural areas nearby, such as the Kamenniye Palatki rock formations and Shartash Lake, as well as various spots along the Iset River, offer plenty of opportunity to enjoy nature at its best. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/russias-bering-sea-islands 2013-03-05T02:05:36-06:00 en Editor Travel Covering an area of more than two million square kilometers, the Bering Sea has Alaska to the east and northeast, with Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and Siberia on the west, and the Aleutian Islands on the far north where the Bering Strait connects the Bering Sea to the Chukchi Sea. The islands of the Bering Sea which fall under the jurisdiction of Russia include the Commander Islands, the Diomede Islands and Karaginsky Island. Included in the Commander Islands is the Bering Island. Both the island and the sea are named for the Danish navigator, Vitus Bering, who died on Bering Island in 1741, along with twenty-eight of his men, after being shipwrecked. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/moscow-museum-remembers-russian-jewish-history 2013-02-19T01:21:51-06:00 en Editor Features Russia's capital city has a host of fascinating attractions vying for the attention of locals and tourists alike, and on the 12th of November, 2012, a new museum opened which is well worth adding to the list of places to see when exploring Moscow. Housed in the 1927 Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage, the Jewish Museum and Center of Tolerance is the largest Jewish museum in the world and aims to detail the history of the Jewish people in Russia in a manner that will hold the interest of young and old alike. To this end, the museum designer Ralph Appelbaum has used technology in innovative ways, to capture the attention of visitors, and engage them in each topic covered along the journey through the museum. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/sochi-counts-down-to-2014-winter-olympics 2013-02-05T01:22:26-06:00 en Editor Features With just one year to go before the opening ceremony on February 7, 2014, organizers of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics have expressed their confidence that the city will be ready to welcome athletes and spectators to the event. As the country's largest resort city, the residents of Sochi are no doubt accustomed to large numbers of holidaymakers, and the Olympics is set to bring unprecedented numbers of visitors to the city. Construction work that will change the face of the city is well underway, with a number of new sports venues being built from scratch. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/explore-moscow-s-underground-military-bunker 2013-01-22T00:33:15-06:00 en Editor Features Bunker-42 is a previously top-secret Soviet-era military complex located 65-meters below the surface of the ground near the Taganskaya train station in central Moscow. While in the past the bunkers existence was a closely guarded secret, today parts of the complex are open to the public, with some areas even being hired out as a very unusual venue for corporate functions and special occasions. http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/nikolai-rezanov-statesman-explorer-and-romantic 2013-01-08T00:48:43-06:00 en Editor Features On July 1981 the rock opera Juno and Avos premiered at Moscow's Lenkom Theater, and more than three decades later the love story of Nikolai Rezenov and Concepción Argüello continues to draw audiences to theaters. Named after the two ships that carried Russian explorer Nikolai Rezanov and his team to what was then Spanish California, the opera was written by Alexey Rybnikov, with poetry by Andrei Voznesensky. The opening season of Juno and Avos was directed by Mark Zakharov with Nikolai Karachentsov and Elena Shanina in the starring roles.