Udmurtia history & culture, Kalashnikov & Chaikovsky
2-day tour to Udmurtia covering its capital Izhevsk and second city Votkinsk
Udmurtia
The history of Udmurtia starts in ancient times, when the Udmurt people lived
in the current Kirov and Tatarstan areas. Ethnic conflicts with other
local people (among which the Tatars) as well ,as violent christianisation
drove the Udmurts to the north-east, further away of the banks of the
Volga river. They settled down in an uninhabited area around
the Izh River, which later became the Republic of Udmurtia. The first Russians came to Udmurtia in the 12th century, but it was not until 1552 - when the Russians overthrew the Tatar leadership of neighbouring Tatarstan - that Russian presence in Udmurtia became obvious with foundation of towns.
Izhevsk
Izhevsk, the city that became capital of Udmurtia in 1921, was founded in
1760 on the banks of the Izh river/pond ,as a settlement for the workmen
of a local iron plant producing ship anchors. In the early 1800's, arms
and tool factories were built. It was mainly the arms (and arms mechanics)
industry that hugely developed over a relatively short period of time.Until
now it supplied 12,5 million (!) arms to the army. It is the very
same industry that Izhevsk became famous for - especially when Kalashnikov,
a local mechanics engineer, had his huge successes in gun engineering.
Kalashnikov became a Soviet hero when his AK-47 won many (international)
prizes and eventually became the world's most popular automatic machine
gun.
Modern Izhevsk has 800.000 inhabitants, of which one third are Udmurts.
In spite of its importance, Izhevsk has poor transport connections,it is
not located at the Trans Siberian Railroad - but it can be easily accessed
by road from Perm...
Program
Day 1
Transfer (5 hours) from Perm to Izhevsk in the morning.
Small tour through the centre, seeing the Udmurt presidential residence, the
Great Patriotic War memorial with its eternal flame and the central orthodox
church.
Visit to the Kalashnikov Museum, a large and very modern museum, which boasts
a complete range of Kalashnikov models. The world famous AK-47 is, of course,
among the collection. Lunch on arrival. Visit to the"National centre of
decorative and applied art of Udmurtia". The centre functions as a museum,
but additionally offers several workshops where one can see how art is applied,
including patterned weaving, patterned needlework, decorative wood working,
decorative painting, etc. The centre has a large souvenir shop - the only of
its kind where traditional Udmurt applied art (its own work) can be purchased.
The building in which the museum is located was built in 1810 and now is an
architectural monument.
Transfer to architectural and ethnographic museum “Ludervai” (
20 km). Excursion in the museum with demonstration of udmurt folklore ceremonies
and traditions. Transfer back to Izhevsk.
Dinner in museum-inn "Podkova". Podkova is a strikingly
original combination of a restaurant and ethnographic museum, of which the excellent
menu offers some traditional Udmurt dishes.
Transfer to hotel, overnight stay in hotel in centre of Izhevsk.
Day 2
Breakfast.
The Udmurt language (Finno-Ugric) originally had no written form. Instead,
decorative art (always rich in colour and variety of typical patterns) was
commonly practised to replace the need of cultural expression. It is this
very skill that the Udmurts remain famous for in present times.
Transfer to Votkinsk, the town where famous composer Chaikovsky was born
and spend 8,5 years of his life.
Just before arrival in Votkinsk, a short visit to the museum of Galina Kulakova
- Udmurtia's most famous sport legend (cross country skiing) - is planned. She
won silver and bronze on the winter olympics in Grenoble in 1968, three times
gold in Sapporo (1972), gold and bronze in Innsbruck (1976) and silver in Lake
Placid (1980).
Lunch on arrival in Votkinsk.
Visit to the impressive former house of Chaikovsky: the Chaikovsky Museum. Excursion
2 hours.
Transfer to Chaikovsky (town on the way to Perm, south of Perm region).
Visit to ethnographic museum “Saigatka”. Transfer to Perm, arrival
in the evening.
Optional program. Dinner. Overnight stay at the museum-house of
artists Svedomsky.
Day 3
Breakfast. Transfer to Perm. On the way stop in the town of Osa, visit
to museum of local lore with unique diorama of historic events, that took
place in the 17 th century. Lunch. Arrival to Perm in the evening.
| |
| 2-day tour to Udmurtia |
942 |
786 |
577 |
504 |
455 |
421 |
394 |
375 |
req. |
Optional 3-day
tour
|
1188 |
898 |
752 |
665 |
608 |
567 |
535 |
521 |
req. |
Prices p.p. in
euro (€), subject to change |
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