In the small town of Staraya Russa in Novgorod Oblast legends and stories have become intertwined with real history, helping to immerse inhabitants and visitors into an atmosphere of years past. There was a time when Staraya Russa received great attention from rulers such as Ivan the Terrible and Peter the First however nowadays much of the town’s fame is due to one author. It was in this town that Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote one of his famed classics and where tourists can visit a museum in his name. There the House on the Embankment has become known as the place where Dostoyevsky lived between 1872 and 1880 while working on his novel The Brothers Karmazov. Staraya Russa is also recognised for the Starorussky Resort with its natural salt-water mineral springs which shoot up to ten metres in height in some places. RTG TV’s Olga Degtyareva spent a few fantastic days in this diverse town and ...
Nowadays representatives of the ancient Turkic Nogai people are scattered across Russia and Europe. The Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia is one of the original homes to this indigenous people, who today are very careful to preserve their traditions. In 2008 in the mountainous republic in southern Russia, the theatre of the national Nogai costume, Suyumbike, was founded. Find out what traditional folk ornaments have been preserved, why trousers are part of women’s dress and how to tell the difference between Nogai girls from Crimean and Astrakhan in RTG’s new programme.
In 1892 in St. Petersburg a church was consecrated in honour of monk and martyr Andrew of Crete. Christians celebrate this great saint every year on October 17th. It was also on this day in 1888 that a train with the imperial family on board derailed near Kharkov. It was by some kind of miracle that Tsar Alexander III and his family were spared while many others were killed. A church was erected in order to mark the royal family’s fortunate deliverance from death. RTG TV host Nadezhda Lebedeva visited what is nowadays known as the Konstantino-Yeleninsky Monastery where she learned about the history of its construction, as well as that of the church of Saint Andrew of Crete. She also found out about the relics kept a the monastery.