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Of weddings, hospitals, and gulags

As we continued our motorcycle ride further north through Russia’s Volga region the wide open spaces of the steppe give an impression of a barren land – but nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to engagement with the everyday Russians. They really are an engaging and hospitable people, so keen to […]

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Tatarstan

We’re now in Kazan, capital of Tatarstan, land of the Tartars. As descendants of Genghis Khan the folk here are proud of being part of the Golden Horde that ruled these lands until Ivan the Terrible, Russia’s first Tzar sacked their city and burnt their places of worship. A rather ignominious end for the first […]

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Closed Cities and Gulags

Leaving the Volga River now after a week travelling along it, we pass through Izhevsk – home of the Kalashnikov (AK 47) and into the city of Perm. Perm was a closed city during Soviet times. As with several other cities it was where armaments were manufactured. Indeed for 17 years it was called Molotov, […]

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