lesson 2 how to address people

Lesson 1. Greetings

Pskov

Pskov is an old town where you can see with your own eyes the development of Rus. 
Pskov chronicles state that Pskov ancient settlement appeared in 862. The first inhabitants – Slavs descendants – settled here on the place of the two rivers fusion - Velikaya and Pskova. So, as you see the town got its name after the river Pskova.

Moscow-Saint-Petersburg transport possibilities for tourists

Here's a precious tip for those who would like to visit Saint Petersburg and is in Moscow (or vice versa). There are several transport possibilities for that. 

photo by Eduard Gordeev, Saint-Petersburg

First of all you can take a plane. The cost of air ticket from Moscow to St.Pete is

Kamchatka tour

Would you like to see wild nature: bears, foxes, volcanoes? Are you risky enough to see it all by yourself? Our partner offers you another incredible tour to ‪#‎Kamchatka‬.
It's one of my dreams to come true one day: the valley of geysers, Kronotskii reserve, volcanoes...
This is one of the tours which need to be organized by the professionals because it may be dangerous to do it alone.
So if you have free time in August or September you may be lucky to join!
The programme of the tour is as follows. For details contact info@frirus.com

Starting dates:

Bikes in Moscow

Moscow is popularizing bycicles nowadays. Many roads for riding a bike appeared not long time ago. If you don't have a bike you can rent one. Of course it is mostly in the city centre (check the link below). But you can find bike parkings like in the photos attached. Near such parkings you'll find a special access point where you can pay for a ride. The charges are quite reasonable (comparing with bikes' rent in parks for exapmle). 0-30 mins is free of charge. 24 hours - 150 rubles (~2 USD); 600 rubles a month (~10 USD), 1200 rubles a season (~20 USD). The season ends 31st of October (although now the official site says about 990 rubles till the end of season).

For all these options you must also leave a deposit 1000 rubles.
To start you need to register and make the first payment. Here you also have options: to do

The church of Ioanne the Warrior

Opposite merchant Igumnov's house you'll see this beautiful church.

It was built in the 18th century on the personal order of Peter the Great. Together with the

Merchant Igumnov's house

Merchant Igumnov's house is a masterpiece. You really should see it. It is was built in the end of the 19th century and is one of the best examples of pseudo-Russian style.

This gorgeous house is of course full of legends. According to one of them, the owner - merchant Igumnov was going to live in the house with his mistress but she betrayed him so

Golden Ring of Russia Tour

If you travel through central Russia and would like to see the hostorical beauty of smaller ancient towns then this tour will be great for you!

The Golden Ring of Russia is the most popular route among the tourisits.

It includes 8 main towns: Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl Zalesskii, Ristov Velikii (the Great), Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal, Vladimir.

Lake Baikal Photo tour

Dear Friends! If you would like to enjoy Russian nature then one of the first places to see is ‪#‎Baikal‬. 

You should see it with your onw eyes as words will never express the greatness and amenity of this unique place in the world. Just imagine that the size of lake is 31 722 sq meters which equals to the size of Belgium or the Netherlads! It is the deepest lake in the world. It contains ~19% of the world's fresh water.

Public transport in Moscow

Here's a hint for you if you are in /planning to visit Moscow, stay here for several days and use public transport actively (which is the easiest, most reliable and sometimes the fastest way of moving in the city).

First of all you should remember that on the ground transport it is allowed to enter in the first doors only (those which are near the driver).

tips on visiting museums in Russia

For those who are interested in museums the following information may be very useful. 
So, if you would like not only see the masterpieces but also listen to the stories of their creation, learn more facts and enlarge your knowledge but on some reason you would like to do it by yourself without a guide or a group, then you can download, rent or use an online audio guide. 
The most famous museums provide you the guides on their sites, like Tretyakov gallery 

http://www.tretyakovgallery.ru/en/visiting/visiting5314/

Pokrova na Nerli church

One of the most famous Russian churches Pokrova na Nerli is situated in Vladimir region. It was founded in 1158 or 1165 according to different sources. 

The location of the church is unique. It was build in the lowland on a little hill in a water meadow. Previously here was Nerl river outlet to Klyazma river (in our times the rivers changed their flow). The church was situated almost on the river arrow thus forming the cross of the main water trading routes.

Photo by Dmitry Kupratsevich

Moscow restaurants with the best roof views

For those who are going to visit or already in Moscow the below information will be very useful.
Moscow restaurants with the best roof view.

Kalina Bar

Though this one requires you to get out your fanciest shoes and dish out quite a hefty sum, the evening view over the brightly lit New Arbat, Moscow City and basically all of central Moscow is worth it. Thanks to these views from the 21st floor of Lotte Plaza together with the provocative darkness, the chic atmosphere and the sensual music it’s the perfect place for a romantic dinner all year around although, of course, the open-air summer terrace is by far the most spectacular. Not to mention that the food and cocktail menus are extensive and delicious.
http://www.kalinabar.ru/index.php/contacts

A confession of love to Kamchatka!

Here's why I love Kamchatka and dream to go there one day!
Thanks to the genius photos of Denis Budkov!
See, enjoy and share with your friends!
Let's plan the visit to Kamchatka next summer :)
Want to join? Just contact us and we'll go together!
Kamchatka is the place to see at least once in life!

The lights of Kamchatka

Red Bull Flugtag Festival in Moscow

Here's another summer festival in Moscow.
It'll take place in July in Moscow, Grebnoy Canal. The participants need to construct flying machine which is lead by human power only. They also need to prepare creative costumes and a show. Each Team is to fly into the canal on their flying machine! The jury will choose the best according to the following criteria: the furthest flight, creativity and the best show.
To participate you need to fill in the form on the offcial site and show the sketch of your flying machine (you can just draw it).
The details are on the official site:  http://www.redbull.com/ru/ru/events/1331713752705/red-bull-flugtag-2015

Here are the photos from the previous festival:

10 reasons to visit Russia

Here are 10 reasons why you should visit Russia.

When you come you'll see that there are much more than 10!

If you already know other reasons leave your comment below :)

So, here we go:

1. The sunset

Kizhi. Photo by Eduard Gordeev

Карачаево Черкессия Автор: Матвей Полозов

Bears

It's hard to be a bear if you are only 2.6 years old. Mothers usually drive them away because a new period starts and numerous fiances can kill bear cubs. Very often such bears look lost because they don't have habits of independent life and congeners chase them. They need to be alert all time and in case they see a grown up bear or a wolf they need to escape or climb a tree. However, the majority of bear cubs are not dejected and stay in the company of  their age mates.

Photo by Dmitry Arkhipov.

Nagatinskaya flood basin reconstruction

A new park is planned to be built in Moscow ‪#‎Nagatinskaya‬ flood basin in 3 years.
According to the Moscow ‪#‎mayor‬ Sergey ‪#‎Sobyanin‬ Moscow deserves to have a world class ‪#‎park‬!
According to the project the park will work 365 days a year and will have a skating rink, children yacht school, cinema, bicycle roads and many other attractions for children.

Nagatinskaya flood basin

                                              Nagatinskaya flood basin project

#новости #FriRus #news

Yeniseisk

Yeniseisk is one of the oldest cities in the Eastern Siberia. It was founded in 1619 as a fortress by the Cossacks on the left bank of the Yenisei river. Nowadays it is very popular among tourists for its rich history and numerous monuments.

more photos

Amur tiger in airport. How it can be possible? See the pictures from Vnukovo.

Photo from livejournal by ivandalavia

free wi-fi on Moscow bus stops

#Megafon has announced free wi-fi on 108 Moscow bus stops. It has become more pleasant to wait for a bus. You can chat with your friends https://www.facebook.com/groups/FriRusEnglishSpeaking/ or read posts in social networks https://www.facebook.com/FriendlyRussia without paying for Internet.
Free wi-fi is available in a 30 meters radius which means that you do not need to sit under the roof of the bus stop only.
Each router can provide access up to 64 users at a time with 10 mbite/sec speed.

Baby strollers parade

Do you have kids? Are you creative enough? Do you plan to be in Moscow in July? If you have 3 yes, then the following info will be useful for you.

On July 11th a traditional baby strollers parade will take place in Gorky Park.
You can participate in this action together with your family. For this you need to register at the official web page of the parade http://parad.mama-tv.ru/2015 where you should tell about your idea of decoration, your story - what you want to show and express. 
In case you have only idea and no materials you can ask for help in the specially organized art garage. 
If you consider that your kids are quite grown up to sit in a stroller - it's not a problem. You can use dolls stroller or design baby stroller so that you "grown up" kids would be happy to navigate it.

Below you'll find some pictures of this performance from the previous years for it to be clear how to behave and what to create :)

Just look how funny it is! You should go! :)

Sochi today - heavy rain and serious consequences

Sochi today had a very heavy rain which lead to serious consequences.
Below you'll find video and photos which do not need other comments.
We wish Sochi residents and tourists to go through the disaster with minimum losses.

Caspian Challenge by Laura Kennington

Did you hear about Laura Kennington? She describes gerself as a "fitness professional, adventurer and ice cream enthusiast". Currently Laura is travelling alone through Russia - a 2,300 mile journey by kayak along the length of the Volga River in Russia, from source to sea.

That's a challnge of a brave person!
We are following you on your ‪#‎CaspianChallenge‬ Laura Kennington ! And we wish you good luck and a marvelous journey!

Here's her first blog from Russia. Please enjoy reading :)

http://lauraexplorer.com/2015/06/08/caspian-challenge-perseverance-persistence-and-plan-adjustments/

Eurovision 2015, Russia, Polina Gagarina, A Million Voices - 2nd place.
Our congratulations to Polina and all the fans! Great performance!

Toll free telephones in Moscow

If you are in Moscow there is one more interesting finding (by me as a traveller - did not know about it before Смайлик «smile» 
In case needed you can use a toll free telephone and call to any part of Russia. You can find such telephones in Vnukovo (that's where I found out about the possibility) and Sheremetyevo airports. 
There are many other toll free telephones all through Moscow and its region. Here you can download the list in xls.http://cdnimg.rg.ru/pril/article/64/16/46/Taksofony.xls It is in Russian. If you need it in English please leave a comment to this post.
‪#‎FriRus‬

The 70th anniversary of the Viktory Day in the World War II

Today the world is celebating the 70th anniversary of the Viktory Day in the World War II. In Russia it is a very special day. 

Pskov

Do you like history? If so, then you should visit one of the oldest Russian cities - Pskov. You'll find numerous churches here. Some of them are hundreds years old!
Many sights of Pskov are in the UNESCO heritage list.

Kremlin in Izmailovo

The cultural complex "Kremlin in Izmailovo" is surprisingly new. It was founded in 2003. In spite of its young age it has become already one of the most attractive and adorable places in Moscow. On its territory you can find an art exhibition of contemporary painters, antique (“flea”) market full of different amusing stuff like old Russian samovars, furniture and crockery. It feels like you move back in time and get into a fairytale.

Saint Basil's Cathedral

Saint Basil's Cathedral is a church in Red Square in Moscow Russia. The building is a museum now and in the UNESCO world Heritage list. 
The Cathedral was built from 1555–61 on orders from Ivan the Terrible and commemorates the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan. It is a world famous landmark. 
Saint Basil's Cathedral was the city's tallest building until the completion of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600.

Ostankino tower

Ostankino Tower (Russian: Останкинская телебашня, Ostankinskaya telebashnya) is a television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia, owned by Moscow branch of unitary enterprise Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network. Standing 540.1 metres (1,772 ft) tall, Ostankino was designed by Nikolai Nikitin. It is currently the tallest freestanding structure in Europe and eighth tallest in the world. The tower was the first free-standing structure to exceed 500 m (1,600 ft) in height. Ostankino was built to mark the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It is named after the Ostankino district of Moscow in which it is located.

Tula

Do you know what is pryanik, samovar and where the best guns are manufactured? These 3 things seem to be not connected. But they are. All of these are originated in Tula.

Here you can find the best pryaniks ever and learn the history of this delicious Russian ginger bread.

Samovars now exchanged for kettles. But we see that each day it becomes more and more popular among the Russians to gather with all the family, drink tea from the samovar, enjoy life and recover the traditions. You should visit museum of samovars in Tula and see its unique collection by your own eyes!

Suzdal - part of the "Golden Ring of Russia"

Suzdal is one of the oldest Russian cities, a part of the so called “Golden Ring of Russia”. It’s more marvelous that even today Suzdal came down to us as it used to be and tourists can enjoy and “touch” the history. You’ll find more than 200 architectural monuments here.  This reserve is of the old prior to Peter the Great Russia history.

 Thousands of tourists come here so the infrastructure is well developed, the roads are good and you can easily find the needed places due to the numerous signposts.

You should spend here at least several days to visit not only the central part (monasteries, trading square, museum of the wooden art) but also the vicinity (Zarechnaya side with numerous churches, nearby villages with lots of historical buildings).

Kizhi - 8th Wonder of the World

The Kizhi Pogost is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on Kizhi island on the bank of the Lake Onega in northern Russia. It has a central cupola 37 meters high, a few meters above the tops of the new wood high-rises. It was built in the 18th century and is considered to be (at least by the Russians) the 8th Wonder of the World!

Dacha - Russian summer life

Photo courtesy of voiceofnature.tumblr.com

For Russians, the seasonal home or the “dacha,” which is traditionally a small, wooden cottage with a few rooms, is a switch-up fromcity life but not built for relaxing. While families are staying at their dacha, they’re always on the move, working around the property, socializing with neighbours, hiking, or swimming. And because the second home is all about bonding time with the family, the ritual of cooking and eating together is hugely important. Nearly all dachas are surrounded by gardens where Russians grow fresh vegetables to feed the household. In recent years they’ve also adopted the western traditions of cultivating flowerbeds and landscaping as well. Nearly a third of Russians own a dacha themselves, but through the tight bonds of extended family, most still spend time at one during the summer.
 
There is also a growing population of wealthy Russians who are transforming traditional notions of the dacha by building huge, ostentatious mansions with columns and turrets for their summer getaways.

International construction and interior exhibition BATIMAT RUSSIA 2015

International construction and interior exhibition BATIMAT RUSSIA will be held from March 31 to April 3, 2015 in the IEC "Crocus Expo", Moscow.

Business news

18 March MITT exhibition opening / Travel and Tourism – the main professional event of the tourist industry will start.

The tourist industry experts consider MITT to be the main Russian event of the tourist industry for 20 years already. The best representatives of the travel business arrive to Russia from all over the world. Everything which will be proposed to Russian tourists soon will be presented by 2000 participants from 198 countries and regions during MITT. Among them Russian and foreign tour operators, hotels, touristic offices of foreign countries, national travel companies, sea and river cruises operators, car rental companies, IT, medical tourism market participants and many others.

This year the country-partner of MITT is Mexico. It will present on its stand the touristic possibilities of the country. This year will be the first time presentation of the exotic countries: Myanmar, Bahrain, Yemen. Almost twice will increase Turkish stands quantity. Greece will be more active – Crete will have its own stand.

Two key events will be held on March 19^th: “MITT Summit – Travel business”  and “MITT Summit – Hotel”.

To be present at MITT free of charge you’ll need to get electronic ticket.

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of the poet William Butler Yeats, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, IRISH WEEK 2015’ Fringe Fest presents three performances on the stages of the Gogol Centre, Mayakovsky Theatre and the Theatre Hall Freelabs. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2014 saw performances from "Human Child" and "Pondling", while the play "Boys and Girls" won the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2013. All of the plays make their debut in Russia, performed in English with Russian subtitles.

IRISH WEEK 2015

Dear Friends! Please enjoy the biggest ever festival of Irish culture and arts to take place in Russia!
You still have a chance to visit some of the events which promise to be fascinating!

Hunting and fishing in Russia

For those who are interested in hunting or fishing in Russia the following information might be very useful.

The Republic of Crimea

The beauties of the Crimea are well-known all around the world, thanks largely to the soviet cinematography: “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style”, “Three plus two”, “Scarlet sails”, “Hearts of three”, “Sport lotto-82” and many others films were shot on the unique nature and architecture backgrounds.

Winter in the Crimea/ Photo by Ivan Dementievsky

The Sun eclipse 20/03/2015 - you have a chance to see it!

March, 20th will be the Sun eclipse. In the western part of Russia it will be partially seen. Full eclipse will be seen on the north of the Atlantic ocean and in the Arctic Region. 
However, moscovites will have possibility to enjoy this rare phenomenon in its all beauty. Austronomous place "Sky park" and the Big observatory of the Moscow planetarium will show the Sun eclipse as seen from the different parts of the Earth. It will be shown on the screens. 

Russian smile

The first thing that surprises a foreign tourist in Russia is a number of gloomy people. Why do Russians smile so seldom? And this is true – we smile much less than other nations of Western and Eastern world. Hollywood smile and smarmy facial expression of the Chinese and the Vietnamese are inorganic for the Russians.

The Republic of Karelia

Karelia is a land of taiga with a great part of jungles. Wild, sometimes pathless pinewood and hardwood forests are natural resources of the region, and dream of any traveler.

Winter coast of the White Sea, Karelia/ Photo by Ivan Dementievsky

If you are tired of city buzz, you'll enjoy the following proposal.
We invite you for recreation in the village! For urban inhabitants, who are still not totally addicted to urban life’s comfort  , for those who love fresh air, quietness, solitude, horses and extreme –  rest with horses  on weekends and weekdays is for you.
We are sure you would like to stay in a place like that. The major sphere is teaching to ride and also we teach the basic knowledge about horse handling. You can learn how to saddle up and to harness the horse and many other things.

Russian Travel routes: Yamal Peninsula

 In the Nenets language Yamal means the Ends of the Earth. This northern pearl of Russia is harsh, but incredibly beautiful region. Most of the territory of this region is located behind the Polar Circle. The majority of natives are Nenets whose life was connected with deer for a long time. «Children of deer» – this is how the Nenets call themselves. Deer is a sacred animal for Nenets, their source of food, clothes, transport and money.

Russian Travel Routes: Kola Peninsula

          Perhaps, this is the most mysterious northern region of  Russia. The peninsula was totally covered by the ice for several thousands of years and after the ice melted here 100 000 lakes and 18 000 rivers were formed.

Kuril Islands by the eyes of Ivan Demetievskii

Kuril Islands are stretched from Kamchatka peninsula to Hokkaido Island. Wonderful natural complex consist 56 islands. Kuril is the land of volcanoes, geysers and amazing nature. There are more than 150 volcanoes and 36 of them are active. Many of hot springs (geothermal springs) have the healing qualities.