With Russian bots and propagandists again spamming all of the internet with the same three fancy looking places in Moscow and St. Petersburg, I figured it'd be a good time to write a continuation to my travel guide to Russia.
Welcome to vol. 2 of "Posh Russian cities"! Enjoy!🧵
Boasting one of the largest train stations in Russia, very much a necessity given the population's favorite pastime is leaving, Novosibirsk fields enough sinking and tilting buildings to make the skyline look like it was designed by a drunk architect, which it probably was.
Famous for having the world’s largest Lenin head and pretty much nothing else really, Ulan-Ude is highly recommended to those looking to experience a sense of existential insignificance and dread, best appreciated while standing directly beneath Lenin’s unblinking gaze.
Kemerovo, the coal capital of Russia, a city often refereed to as "oh God, please no" and "this year's worst mining accident", is a place where you will learn to better appreciate industrial pollution and discover you've been coughing like an amateur all your life.
Yakutsk, affectionately known as "hell, but cold and drunk", is a fan favorite and a must see among all those that travel in the interest of starring at frozen pipes and fish. Likewise, the city is proof that diamond ore does not need stay in the way of cripplingly poverty.
The much beloved to Russian mothers city of Tolyatti, home to the plant producing the country's highly sophisticated cardboard boxes on wheels occasionally referred to as "cars" or "Ladas", is the place where one can witness Russian industry pretend it didn't die.
Khabarovsk, well known as the city listed on most maps as "not Vladivostok" and living proof one doesn't need a nuclear reactor to have a nuclear accident, is a vibrant and cheerful place which can, despite best assurances from local authorities, quite possibly make you glow.
The northern city of Arkhangelsk, Russia's very own version of the "City of Angels", is widely known to be the leading and foremost proponent of the Russian "oblique architectural style", thanks to its many wooden skyscrapers sitting at not quite the recommended angles.
While it being the birthplace of the Kalashnikov rifle usually steals the show, Izhevsk is also known for its rich cultural scene according to most Russian state publications. The place is highly recommended to those looking to "touch grass" and don't mind searching for it.
With a climate constantly trying to either freeze or sunstroke everyone and nearly whacked by an asteroid at one point in its history, Krasknoyarsk is the place to spend the week-end, if you ever find yourself looking to get away from it all and poised yourself on aluminum.
Mirniy, a town which dug an exceptionally large hole in quite possibly in hopes of distracting everyone from all of Russia's misery and suffering, will give visitors the unique chance to rethink their life choice and wonder why they didn’t go literally anywhere else.
If you'd like to give vol. 1 a go, you can find it below:
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