Saiga's Notes

 13.04.11 Decadence Geometry How long do our footprints on Earth outlast us? To find the answer, I undertook a journey to the bogs of the Middle Volga, where a huge energy project started 90 years ago and disappeared 60 years later. In every planet's region, tourists are presented with some archeological findings, the miraculously survived witnesses of old ages. In opposition to it, ecotourists love the sight of how the omnivorous nature swallows products of human being, brakes them down, adopts the most resistant and fits them into a landscape in its own elegant manner. Middle Volga is one of the most developed and heavily populated areas in Russia. A ground traveler would remember it as a country of ubiquitous human presence - big and small towns, villages and processed fields. Seems that there's no place for mystery here, but this is a deceptive impression. The roads carefully avoid large pieces of practically impassable marshland. Crusade For Energy O...

Here I am again, after long interval. This interview should have been published long time ago, I must admit. Some things has changed, but in general Nizhny Novgorod still makes the same impression as 4 years ago. 26.08.10 Guido Sagone, the  Honorary Consul of Italy interview for Friendly Nizhny Novgorod We were talking about Nizhny Novgorod's opportunities for  foreign tourists'  winter rest and vacations. Conversation started with skiing facilities, but in a few minutes the accent moved to a broader area. Guido Sagone (GS) : It is an unusual idea. Today we mostly see opposite situation, when Russians go to Italian ski resorts. In fact, I never met any Italian who would come to Nizhny Novgorod for vacations or holidays with the entertainment purposes. There are business people, but tourists... Why? The reason is simple - no o ne knows Nizhny Novgorod. When you talk about Russia, what towns come to mind? Moscow and Saint Petersburg, no doubt. Had you ev...

If you have been to Moscow, NN's climate is much the same, it's humid continental. The difference is that we have 1-2 weeks longer winter and a bit more snow. We've got two large rivers, the Volga and the Oka, and a large hydroelectric reservoir 50 kilometers from the town, named Gorky Sea. Climate makes possible the following outdoors: skiing (there are 3 big ski parks in the city and lots of other facilities in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast), mountain skiing (there are about 5 or 6 equipped facilities in the region), boating of all kinds, biking. Hilly right bank of Oka  makes possible mountain skiing and rocky biking just in the centre of the town. There are some large forestlands, mainly pine-trees and fur-trees.