Study Russian Language in Nizhni Novgorod - Cultural program, events & Festivals

Nizhny Novgorod Walking Tour

The tour covers the historical parts of quaint Nizhny Novgorod and its main landmarks. You’ll take a stroll down the city’s most popular pedestrian street, Bolshaia Pokrovskaia, which is always bustling. Other sites of interest include the city’s Kremlin (not only Moscow boasts a Kremlin!); the Trinity Convent; the Chkalov Staircase where you’ll have a breathtaking view of the Volga River; the Gorky Statue honoring the famous 19th century Russian playwright and novelist, who was born in Nizhny Novgorod; Pozharsky Square, where the largest events and festivals happen; and Archangel Cathedral, the oldest church in the city, built in 1631 to honor the people of Nizhny Novgorod who saved Russia from Polish invaders in the early 1600s. Interesting facts about cultural monuments, architectural history and notable citizens of Nizhny Novgorod will be discussed during the tour. Wear walking shoes!

The Kremlin
The Kremlin is Nizhny Novgorod's main attraction. You’ll take a guided walk along the battlements and see spectacular views of the city and the Volga. Within the Kremlin walls is an interesting array of WWII weaponry and vehicles, and an odd assortment of architecture from a seventeenth century cathedral to a nineteenth century governor's mansion to the ultra-soviet concrete building block known as the "House of Soviets." (It's supposed to look like an airplane, if you look at it from an airplane).

Cultural Performance
This could be a classical or folk concert at the Nizhny Novgorod Academic Philharmonic Theatre, a ballet or opera at the Nizhny Novgorod Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named for A. Pushkin, or even a puppet show at the Nizhny Novgorod Academic Puppet Theatre (puppetry is widely practiced and respected in Russia!). The event depends on student interest and availability.

Cultural Event
The cultural event is usually a festival or holiday, such as a honey festival, Maslenitsa end of winter, or City Day – to participate in the festivities, try the local food, and celebrate in Russian style! For instance, if you are in Nizhny Novgorod in November, you may be taken to the celebration of the Day of People’s Unity, which celebrates the uprising of 1612, which originated in the Nizhny Novgorod region and liberated Moscow from Polish invaders. You can witness the ceremonial events, performances, and even walk (part of) the way of the uprising!

Sakharov Museum
Visit the Sakharov Museum, in memory of Andrei Sakharov, an eminent Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident, and human rights activist. An advocate of civil liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union (and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975), he lived in internal exile with his family in the apartment on the first floor of the 12-storeyed building from 1980-1985, which now houses a museum dedicated to his life and thoughts.

Boat Trip
In summer, informal boat trip on the Volga River. You'll see more of Russia's fourth largest city, located at the confluence of the Volga and Oka Rivers, from the vantage point of her shores. The trip is a picturesque setting for informal communication between teachers and students.


A monument to cosmonauts!

2. Optional Events

Zheltovodsky Makaryev Convent (formerly Monastery) of the Holy Trinity
This beautiful convent sits on the Volga River, and in the summer can be reached by a pleasant 3 hour-long hydrofoil from Nizhny Novgorod. Originally founded as a monastery in 1435 (or, according to the Nizhny Novgorod Eparchy site, in 1415), it was burned down by the Tatars shortly thereafter, and rebuilt only in the 1620s. Every summer the Makaryev Fair, the most important of merchant fairs in Eastern Europe, took place here for more than two centuries outside of the walls of the monastery. In 1816 a fire burned most of the thousands of government and private buildings that housed millions of rubles worth of trade goods, and the fair was then moved to Nizhny Novgorod. After this tragedy, the monastery lost its main source of income and monks started leaving, but the monastic community was not fully dissolved until nearly fifty years later. It was later reopened as a women’s convent, and, at one time, was the home of nearly three hundred nuns, but today only twenty-two nuns make their quiet living there.

Other Events
Unique tours, cultural events and festivities taking place in Nizhny Novgorod.


Study Russian Language in Nizhni Novgorod more informationa about its cultural program http://www.sras.org/cultural_program_nizhny_novgorod