Russian Travel Guide

Gzhel. Folk craft traditions

This unique craft got its name from an old village outside of Moscow where masters of the potter’s trade made their home. Over time, more than 20 villages near that original village of Gzhel also began focusing on the manufacture of ceramic and porcelain. The porcelain produced in and near Gzhel stands apart thanks to its use of paint containing cobaltous oxide in the decoration process. It is this paint that produces the vibrant blue color that distinguishes Ghzel ceramics from all others. Curiously, the chemical element of cobalt that is used to decorate Gzhel porcelain was named in honor of underground sprites called kobolds. According to legend, kobolds live in the bowels of the earth and scheme against miners, trying to prevent them from stealing the treasures of the earth. When painted onto porcelain, cobalt shines a brilliant blue. During the painting stage, however, the cobalt pa...

The Bolshoi St. Petersburg circus

Take just one step into the circus tent and you find yourself in a world in which everything is a bit extreme — a world in which the colours are too bright, animals are too clever, the humour a bit inappropriate, inciting laughter from both children and adults and movements are too bold and risky, causing spectators to gasp in fear and awe. Everything at the circus is too much, everything is extreme. This world that is just too much is a world that exists only in fairy tales — or at the circus. Tune in to learn the history (present and past) of the St. Petersburg State Circus on the Fontanka.

Коллекция Russian Travel Guide. Природа. Камчатка