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Travel
was a pretty cruel thing to require before TGI Fridays. Instead, just ask the hotel St. Petersburg. There, he talked his way
the advent of fossil fuel. doorman which downtown restaurant the into a university and soon became one of
For a long time, the only kind of tourism average Russian or “the people” favor. Russia’s most brilliant scholars. A chem-
that existed in the region was the forced Most likely that will be the best place with ist, physicist and poet, Lomonosov went
kind: celebrities like Count Menshikov the most reasonable prices. One such on to establish the Russian Academy of
(Peter the Great’s ousted No. 2) and eatery is Pomorsky, where fish is the name Sciences and Moscow State University,
Nobel Prize winner Josef Brodsky, spent of the game. They have fish soup, freshly which still bears his name.
some time in exile there. The infamous caught grilled fish and other sorts of fish, The second most famous Arkhangelsk-
Gulag at Solovki Islands is also a part of all delicious. Complimentary vobla, the er is Alexander Donskoi, a slightly tragi-
the Arkhangelsk region. dry, salted classic, comes with every meal. comic figure. Donskoi is the current may-
Geographically, Arkhangelsk is an Once you are full of fish, you can do or of Arkhangelsk. he is also in pris-
extremely large city for its 400,000 some sightseeing. It shouldn’t take long. on. The official charges are that he faked
people. It runs along about 25 miles of Start with the statue of Lenin, referred to his university diploma while running for
by natives as “King Kong” (is it because mayor. But it seems more than coinci-
of the way he’s mounting that pedestal?). dental that he was arrested two days af-
Arkhangelsk’s Lenin, like those in most ter announcing he was considering a pres-
other Russian cities, does more than show idential run in 2008. Since Russian law
us the path to socialist paradise. he is a stipulates that he cannot be fired until
beacon showing where all the best cafes, proven guilty, Donskoi is still the mayor.
museums and shops are concentrated. And he’s accomplished a lot while behind
First, check out the Museum of Fine Arts, bars. For one thing, he’s switched teams:
where weird 16th and 17th century wood- now he’s a member of A Just Russia, the
en sculptures are on display. Then you will country’s second-largest political party.
This might as well be a 19th-century painting.
still have time to visit the history museum, It’s also pro-Putin, so apparently there are
which has an exceptional collection of an- no hard feelings.
cient Russian treasures. If you make it up to Arkhangelsk any
Speaking of treasures, there are still time during its nine-month winter, you’re
many yet to be discovered, says Vagland, already a hero, so I say you might as well
a local history buff. “In the 16th centu- keep going. A 150-mile sojourn north of
ry, Arkhangelsk was a merchant town. the city will expose you to some of Rus-
There was only one bank here, and mer- sia’s most stunning natural beauty. The
chants used to hide their fortunes in their Pinezhsky forest reserve boasts frozen
homes. St. Petersburg and Moscow were waterfalls, caves, and 200-year-old elm
far away, so most of the gold and silver re- trees. There’s also a picturesque tourist
A run-down church can be a nice alternative
mained here, hidden in the attics or in the village with two-story cottages, a restau-
to Moscow’s over-restoration.
fireplaces. There are lots of deserted hous- rant and a sauna. If weather permits, try
the Dvina’s banks. The first attractions es in the old business district, and I often to book a snowmobile tour. They probably
a traveler is likely to embrace are find amazing stuff there. Also, in 1919 and won’t let you drive the snowmobile, (defi-
restaurants, which offer outstanding in 1941, Arkhangelsk served as a naval nitely not if you’re a woman) but then, it’s
fish dishes. But I urge you not to go to base for British and American troops, and nice to have your hands free to snap pic-
Solovetskoye Podvorie, an “Old Russia”- you can find astonishing objects in their tures of the striking Russian winter.
style establishment with wooden benches old quarters: photos, bags, medals, guns, All in all, Arkhangelsk is a bit colder
and a stuffed bear holding a balalaika. As you name it.” than an inhabited place on earth should
a rule of thumb, when you see a restaurant There are at least two Arkhangelsk res- reasonably be. But it’s the harsh climate
with carved wooden benches, nesting idents who are famous all over the coun- that has made the culture and the land-
dolls in the windows and waitresses try: the first is Mikhail Lomonosov, a fish- scape of this area so fascinating. In the
wearing peasant outfits, know that you erman’s son who left Arkhangelsk as a end, it’s worth the price of the parka—all
are basically at the Russian version of young man and walked over 400 miles to three layers of it.
readrussia.com/2008/WiNTer/ 76
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