Off the beaten track – Verkhoturski Kremlin
The town of Verkhoturye is an Orthodox center for all the believers of the Urals and Western Siberia. This place is really off the beaten track. It takes 4 hours by car (306km from Yekaterinburg) and much more by a local train to get to Verkhoturye, a small northern town with poor infrastructure. The town however was a dream place for the last Russian Tsar Nicolas II and his family to visit. Their dreams didn't come true as you know, but yours may.
Verkhoturski Kremlin was built in 1699 and became the last Kremlin set in Russia. Kremlin means a fortress. This one was to protect the country from the Asian tribes of Siberia. Being a n important religious center, Verkhoturye has two monasteries including the first female monastery in Russia and 4 churches of 17-18 centuries
The Romanovs' best friend Rasputin lived in the monastery of Verkhoturye before he went to St. Petersburg and made a career of the Tsar's first advisor. They say that in this monastery Rasputin improved his literacy although he used quite different skills (hypnosis, for example) to impress Tsarina Alexandra.
Unlike most of the churches in the Urals, the churches of Verkhoturye were not destroyed. Probably, because they were too far away from civilization. The Bolsheviks had another insane idea - the buildings of the Kremlin became a complex of prisons for juvenile delinquents...
If you decide to go and see Verkhoturski Kremlin, take snacks and a flask of coffee with you as the only the cafe in the town doesn't offer a large variety or may be closed without reasons. Both male and female monasteries offer beds for the travellers so you can stay for a night before going back to civilization.
I'd like to thank my Facebook friend Dmitry Lazarev who found time to drive to the north to take these lovely pictures.
Is Ural in Siberia?
This question is often asked: Where's actually Ural? Is it somewhere in Siberia? To tell you the truth, even the Russians from the western part of the country don't know exactly and call it Siberia.
Bear it in mind that the citizens of the Ural Mountains are very much upset when somebody calls them Siberyaki (people of Siberia) because they are Uraltzy. However they will forgive you for not knowing the proper terms (though they will not forgive the ignorant Russians!)
Just remember this simple fact: the Ural Mountains is a natural boderline between European Russia and Siberia, in other words between Europe and Asia. While the Ural region is neither Europe nor Asia. It's just Ural. The ancient Finno-Ugric tribes gave it this name which means a rock. So in the old times the Russians called the western part Moskovia and everything 'over the rocks' was and still is Siberia.
Are there any differences between the citizens of Ural and other Russian? Not at all. They all look very Russian and speak Russian. It's just the feeling of identity that all Uraltzy have even though most of them came to Ural from all possible parts of the USSR: Kazakhstan, Tatarstan, Volga Region, Russian Far East or from Belarus like my family!
I've been living in the Middle Urals for 30 years and travelling around Russia I see it clearly - this relatively small region (small compared to Russian sizes as it's actually the size of Germany) is neither Moskovia nor Siberia. It's just Ural and I'm happy to be Uralochka (a girl from the Urals)
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About the Project
AskUral.com is the blog dedicated to my lovely region known as the Urals or the Ural Mountains in Russia.
My name is Luba Suslyakova. I am based in Yekaterinburg (Russia), and I would love to share useful information about my area as much as possible and be your travel adviser.
Just keep asking me via the contact form and I will come back to you with answers!