Sights in The Urals
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Perm State Art Gallery
Housed in the grand Cathedral of Christ Transfiguration on the banks of the Kama, the Perm State Art Gallery is renowned for its collection of Permian wooden sculpture. These brightly coloured figures are a product of an uneasy compromise between Christian missionaries and the native Finno-Ugric population. The latter, while agreeing to be converted, closely identified the Christian saints these sculptures depict with their ancient gods and treated them as such eg by smearing their lips with the blood of sacrificed animals.
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Dvorets Sportom Molot
Perm's professional basketball team, Ural Great, has not won the championship for a few years, but they still have a loyal fan base. They play from September to April.
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Metenkov House-Museum of Photography
Features evocative photos of old Yekaterinburg.
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Lenin Museum
In Lenin’s later years, he and his family spent time at the 1830s Murozov manor house, set on lovely wooded grounds 32km southeast of the capital. Designed by Fyodor Shekhtel, it now houses a Lenin museum, where you can see a re-creation of Lenin’s Kremlin office, as well as his vintage Rolls Royce – one of only 15 such automobiles in the world. Bus 439 (R50, 30 minutes) leaves every 1½ hours for the estate from the Domodedovskaya metro station in Moscow. By car, follow the M4 highway (Kashirskoe sh) 11km past MKAD, then turn left to Gorki Leninskie.
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Romanov Death Site
On the night of 16 July 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and children were murdered in the basement of a local merchant's house, known as Dom Ipatyeva (named for its owner, Nikolay Ipatyev). During the Soviet period, the building housed a local museum of atheism, but it was demolished in 1977 by then-governor Boris Yeltsin, who feared it would attract monarchist sympathisers.
Today, the site is marked by an iron cross dating from 1991, and a second marble cross from 1998 when the Romanovs' remains were sent to St Petersburg for burial in the family vault.
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Urals Mineralogical Museum
For a stunning introduction to the Urals semiprecious stones, visit Vladimir Pelepenko’s private collection, also known as the Urals Mineralogical Museum, in Bolshoy Ural Hotel. This impressive collection contains thousands of examples of minerals, stones and crystals from the region, many crafted into mosaics, jewellery and other artistic pieces.
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Church upon the Blood
The massive Byzantine-style Church upon the Blood dominates this site. While many believe these funds might have been better spent, this new church was built to honour the Romanov family, now elevated to the status of saints. Rumour has it that this controversial church contains the most expensive commissioned icon in all of Russia.
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National Museum
The National Museum is housed in a fantastically renovated art nouveau building. Despite the fancy name, most of the exhibits are standard Soviet history and stuffed animals, typical of a regional museum. The interesting exhibits on Bashkir history and current events are the exception.
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Chapel of the Revered Martyr Grand Dutchess Yelizaveta Fyodorovna
The pretty wooden Chapel of the Revered Martyr Grand Dutchess Yelizaveta Fyodorovna honours the imperial family’s great-aunt and faithful friend. After her relatives’ murders, this pious nun met an even worse end when she was thrown down a mineshaft, poisoned with gas and buried.
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Nesterov Art Gallery
The Nesterov Art Gallery, also recently renovated, contains a fabulous collection of artwork by the Ufa native Mikhail Nesterov and 50 paintings by Ukrainian futurist David Burlyuk, which he left in a Bashkir village when escaping from the Red Army during the Civil War.
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Istorichesky Skver
The city of Yekaterinburg grew up around Istorichesky skver, where today you'll find a clutch of tiny museums housed in the historic buildings. Peek into the old water tower, one of the city's oldest structures, then head over to the old mining-equipment factory and mint buildings.
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Sergei Diaghilev Museum
The Sergei Diaghilev Museum is a small, lovingly curated school museum dedicated to the impresario (1872–1929) who turned Russian ballet into a world-famous brand. Children speaking foreign languages, including English, serve as guides.
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St Simeon Cathedral
The 1883 St Simeon Cathedral has a curious exterior featuring lion and dragon ceramics and a lovely interior. It’s north of the river beside the north bus station; take tram 6 to ul Kalinina then walk a block east, then south.
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Hotel Tsentralnaya
Hotel Tsentralnaya is where Grand Duke Mikhail – who formally became the tsar of Russia for a few hours between Nicholas II’s abdication and his own – spent his last night before being shot by the Bolsheviks.
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Ural Geology Museum
More-serious geologists will appreciate the Ural Geology Museum, which has over 500 carefully catalogued Ural region minerals and a collection of meteorites. Enter from ul Khokhryakova inside Urals State Mining University.
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Mosque
A mostly downhill stroll takes you via the imposing university buildings, past the giant Bashkortostan drama theatre and through remnant wooden cottages of ul Salavata Yulaeva for the best available view of the city's historic mosque.
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Synagogue
The city’s new synagogue is further along ul Kuybysheva. It has a cheap cafeteria inside (open from noon to 8pm, Sunday to Friday) and an internet café (open noon to 5pm on the same days).
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Railway Museum
Housed in the old train station, dating from 1881. Exhibits highlight the history of the railroad in the Urals, including a re-creation of the office of the Soviet-era railway director.
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Local Studies Museum
At the northern end of ul Kirova, the excellent new Local Studies Museum strives to visualise the life of many ethnic and social groups of the Urals in different ages.
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Museum of Architecture & Technology
The Museum of Architecture & Technology displays the machinery used in the mining industry from the 18th and 19th centuries and through WWII.
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Mosque
The lovely mosque that has served local Tatar Muslims since 1902 graces Perm’s skyline when viewed from the other bank of the Kama.
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Gribushin House
Literature buffs can peek into Gribushin House, said to be the prototype for Zhivago’s ‘house with figures’.
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Ethnographic Museum
Next door to the Perm State Art Gallery, the Ethnographic Museum features mainly stuffed animals but houses some exhibits on local history.
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Museum of Fine Arts
The star exhibit of the Museum of Fine Arts is the elaborate Kasli Iron Pavilion that won prizes in the 1900 Paris Expo.
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Regional Studies Museum
The Regional Studies Museum has some interesting exhibits on the Romanovs and the Old Believers in the Ural region.
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