Russian Travel Guide

Ice-fishing for smelt

The Gulf of Finland, located on the eastern bank of St. Petersburg, is home to huge quantities of smelt. This is particularly true in early spring when massive schools of these fish travel from the open sea to the gulf. As soon as the ice melts, they set off into the waters of the Neva and other rivers where they will lay their eggs. The period when the smelt visit the gulf as they anticipate the thaw is quite short – usually from March through April - so fishermen have to act fast in order to take advantage of the situation. Each fisherman seems to have his own secrets to success and in order to better understand all of the ins and outs of smelt fishing, RTG TV’s Igor Vukolov set out for the ice-covered Gulf of Finland.

RTG TV TOP10 Ландшафты России. Геометрия красоты

Russian wedding traditions — the ceremonial doll

In Ancient Rus’ dolls served as a type of companion in everyday life. They helped to ensure that peace, health, prosperity and love reigned supreme in every home. Each important event — be it a wedding or the birth of a child — had its own special doll. The Krupenichka doll — named after the Russian word for grain, «krupa» — was considered the most important doll in home. During the harvest it was filled with grain and people believed that if filled to the top, the next year’s harvest was guaranteed to be plentiful. Another doll, the Kubyshka-travnitsa, was made by filling pieces of fabric with yarrow, mint, sage and hops. Such a doll was believed to protect the home and preserve a woman’s beauty and health. The Bird Woman was more of a ceremonial doll. It was made at the end of winter with the goal of encouraging spring’s timely arrival. In village homes there were as many...