3 breathtaking lighthouses in Russia

Enjoy Russian School blog is not only about the language, education and advice. It is about traveling and possible ways to explore Russia. There is a saying in Russian: ученье – свет, а неученье – тьма (knowledge is light and lack of knowledge is darkness). In this sense, lighthouse may be the symbol of education and self-realization. Do you know this feeling when you come to a new place and thing number one you should do is to check out the nearest lighthouse? Then you will like this post! Get ready to read about the most beautiful lighthouses in Russia and start backpacking for the amazing trip!

1

Tarkhankutski Lighthouse. 200-year-old lighthouse is a unique historical monument of architecture carefully preserved by the government.  Breaking through the wires is not recommended but even without this, you will definitely take some nice pictures. Sailors and locals call this place Storms Cape.

2

Egersjöld lighthouse. Founded in 1876, it is one of the oldest lighthouses in the Far East of Russia. It can be reached on foot. The trip there will take quite a long time, but it’s worth it because it is a chance to enjoy the view of the strait, the Russian island, the Vladivostok port and the sea. You can also get there by water transport, for example, on a mini-ferry.

3

Osinovetsky lighthouse, Lake Ladoga. It is one of the highest in Europe and the closest one to Enjoy Russian School. Many people call it the Ladoga lighthouse, named after the lake. On the shore of the lake, you can not only stay with a tent for the weekend but also spend a few days at one of the recreation centers. In the afternoon you will definitely want to visit local attractions and walk along the beach but wrap yourself up in a soft blanket first.

Why is autumn the best time to explore Russian lighthouses?

Simply because the forests by the water are amazingly beautiful. They make the landscapes more colorful, add some magic and create a story around each lighthouse. Want to combine studies and traveling?  Choose a course at Enjoy Russian school! Autumn starting dates – 3 September, 14 October.

FROM PETER THE GREAT TO THE MODERN DAYS

Festival of traditional shipbuilding and navigation “Kizhskaya regata”

What is the first thing each student coming to learn Russian in Petrozavodsk hears? Right! The fact that the capital city of Karelia was founded by Peter the Great. In 1703 the Emperor ordered to construct the arms factory on Lososinka river and later on it served as an important fortification against the Swedes. Peter’s “sea passion” and  geographical position of Karelia have destined its future as closely bounded to naval expeditions and marine life. Since 18 century Karelian people have been honoring the gifts mother-nature brought and organized numerous holidays and festivals and the upcoming great festival is going to take place in July and August 2018.

The place for which Karelia is known by the whole world

Every summer about 170 000 tourists come to Karelia to visit the unique place included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage. Somewhere in the Lake Onego famous Kizhi Pogost is situated. The impressive construction includes 2 wooden churches and a bell-tower that were built without a single nail in 17 century.  According to the legend, the builder threw into the lake the axe he was constructing the church with and said that nowhere in the world would man find something alike. Really and truly no one could reproduce the phenomenal buildings.

Spice up your Russian summer – greatest naval Festival in July and August

If you are currently choosing the right time to visit Karelian cultural and historical gem  think about coming to Russia in summer. More than 30 crews from Russia, Sweeden, Finland and Norway are to take part in annual traditional shipbuilding and navigation “Kizhskaya regata” from 30th of July to 5 of August. Some say the event is even more bright than famous Historical Regatta in Venice.  It is the first Russian competition in which sportsmen should use traditional wooden boats. Kids and adults come to the festival in order to:

• Try themselves in all sorts of marine professions from boat builders to the keepers of Kizhi museums;
• To choose the best boat constructed by Russian and foreign artists and learn more about Onego shipping traditions;
• To taste famous Karelian fish soup;
• To make their own wooden souvenirs, listen to folk bands and get driven away by locals’ performances.
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Cases – stumbling block for the Russian language learners?

Yes, there are 6 cases in the Russian language. It means that we change endings of nouns, adjectives and pronouns according to the used verb or construction, to show what relationship there is between the words in a sentence. We need the cases that much because there is no strict word order in Russian sentences. English “I love you” can sound like “Я тебя люблю”, “Тебя я люблю”, “Я люблю тебя”, “Люблю я тебя”, “Люблю тебя я” in the Russian language. All the variants are correct and to be able to understand who loves whom we need to change the object into Accusative case. That’s why we don’t say “Я люблю ты“. One might change the word order and then it won’t be understandable who does the action and who is the object of the action.

The names of the Russian cases are: Nominative (Именительный падеж), Genitive (Родительный падеж), Dative (Дательный падеж), Accusative (Винительный падеж), Instrumental (Творительный падеж) and Prepositional (Предложный падеж).

Nominative case is used to nominate, to name a thing or a person. A subject in a sentence is always in Nominative. Phrases like “Это…”, “Вот…”, “Где…?” have nouns in Nominative case. Let’s say, it’s an original form of a noun, the one you find in a dictionary if you want to look up a word.

Genitive case is used to say that somebody has, possesses something. To say that, we always start a sentence with “У” + Genitive: “У Сары есть мобильный телефон”(Sarah has a mobile phone). Genitive is also used to talk about what you don’t have: “У меня нет + Genitive”. There are lots of prepositions after which you must use Genitive as well: около, у, от, до and etc.

The main function of the Dative case is to show a recipient of an action. Like in English when you say “To whom?” (to call to whom, to text to whom, etc.). “Я звоню Марине” (I’m calling to Marina).

Accusative shows an object as in the “I love you” phrase “тебя” is in Accusative. Another important function is showing directions (to go TO WHERE?): “Я еду в Москву” (I go to Moscow) and not “Я еду в Москва” or “Я еду в Москве“.

Instrumental doesn’t have one distinct function. From its name you can understand that among the other things it also shows an instrument: “Я пишу РУЧКОЙ” (I write using a pen), “Я ем суп ЛОЖКОЙ” (I eat soup with a spoon).

Prepositional mostly shows location, place, answers the question “Where”. So if you want to say where you are, where you live, where you work and etc. use Prepositional case: “Я живу в Петрозаводске” (I live in Petrozavodsk).

To cheer you up a bit, there are more than 6 cases in most of the European languages, there are 15 in Estonian and even more in Hungarian. So… Russian is not that difficult as it seems! As soon as you get familiar with the endings of the cases and their usage Russian will be just like a piece of cake for you;)

Would you like to practice all these cases in your speech? Come to our school http://enjoyrussian.com/courses/standard/

Petrozavodsk is the capital of the Republic of Karelia. It is located in the north-west of Russia, on the banks of Lake Onega, some 400 km away from Saint-Petersburg and 1,100 km away from Moscow and 700 km away from Helsinki.  Local time is Moscow.

The foundation of Petrozavodsk is connected with the name of the emperor Peter The Great. In 1703, the same year a new Russian capital Saint-Petersburg was built, on the empty shores of Lososinka river Petrovsky Plant was founded.

Modern Petrozavodsk is a multifaceted and diverse city. It is interesting for its architecture and art, international festivals and sporting events, active, cultural and educational programs. The tourism industry in the city is developing dynamically. There are a lot of new cafes and restaurants, hotels and entertainment centers offering a modern service.

Nowadays in Petrozavodsk on the area of 113 sq. km. lives one third of the population of Karelia (about 261,987  people). The city gives approximately a half of the national income of the republic. That is provided mainly with the enterprises of machine-building, power, transport, food and light industries. There are two universities, a conservatory, 16 colleges, 49 schools, lyceums and gymnasiums (including one national gymnasium) in Petrozavodsk. Karelian Scientific Center, 5 theatres, a philharmonic society, National Library and National Archival Depository, museums and art galleries are working in the city as well.

Petrozavodsk is home to multiple confessions, including Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish, Lutheran, Protestant, and other religious communities and establishments.

Near the City

Kizhi Island, located 68 km away from the city, is a must-see once you find yourself in Petrozavodsk. The famous Kizhi church ensemble can be found here, a real masterpiece of wooden architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries, which is protected by UNESCO. All parts of this ensemble reflect the mastery and skill of ancient Russian wood architects. The central point of this ensemble is Preobrazhenskaya Church, constructed with an axe without a single nail.

Karelia, the “region of lakes”, thrills with the beauty of its nature. We strongly recommend visiting lakes Ladoga and Onega, Kivach Waterfall, Ruskeala Mountain Park, the Valaam Islands, first Russian resort “Marcial Waters”, Petroglyphs of the Onego lake and White sea.

Petrozavodsk is about 700 km away from Helsinki.

Would you like to know more about Petrozavodsk? Read here http://enjoyrussian.com/category/ptz/

Let us present you one of our typical host family!

Tatyana Gorbacheva is 55 years old.  She works as a manager in insurance company, lives with her mother and they are very nice talkative women. Tatyana is interested in English and trips, she enjoyes dances and travels by car in Karelia. Her mother Valentina Federovna is 81 years old, she is a pensioner, she likes watching TV news and very often when students come back home after School classes, she shares TV news with them and helps to do homework.

It takes about 15-30 minutes to get from their flat to the school on foot or by bus. As other families she meets all students in railway station or airoport. After student classes, she invites them to visit her дача (coutry-side house), museums, opera, ballet, dance club and so on.

Our student Mirjana Pantic from Bosnia really enjoyed her stay with Tatyana and her mother. All together they visited ballet "Swan lake" in our Musical theatre,  romani dance class, dacha, botanical garden and so on. Just within the two weeks!

Another student of Russian Language School Arent from Switzerland stayed for 3 times with Tatyana and her mother and after they became a real friends, he bought ticket for Tatyana and invited her to celebrate his birthday in Switzerland.

Would y like to know more about Russian homestay? Visit our website http://enjoyrussian.com/category/rus-home/

I came to Enjoy Russian with the goal of improving my conversational skills and overall fluency in Russian. I sought an immersion experience through living with a host family, and also wanted the opportunity to do some volunteer work in Russia.

I could not have made a better choice than to spend my fall in Petrozavodsk, Karelia.

- See more at: http://enjoyrussian.com/study-ptz/#sthash.GFGsnpNN.dpuf

A few words about our organization

Here you can get to know information about the Karelian Regional Organization of Additional Education “Center “Initiative” (in Russian abbreviation it is KROODO “Tsentr “Initsiativa”). This is a non-governmental and non-profit organization that was founded in Petrozavodsk in September, 2003. 
- See more at: http://enjoyrussian.com/organization/#sthash.18UbsqYj.dpuf

Pekka came to us from Finland in 2013 for the first time. His Russian then was at an elementary/basic level. We were expecting him to start from where he were when he came to us again this May. But no! Pekka’s progress since the last time we met him was unbelievable!

- See more at: http://enjoyrussian.com/amazing-progress/#sthash.mYiCEnzx.dpuf

Why so much dill?

Our students shocked us complaining that Russians put dill to every dish, even PIZZA!!!! And we were like “Really??? We don’t even notice it!” - See more at: http://enjoyrussian.com/dill/#sthash.5VkZ7b5y.dpuf

In Petrozavodsk you can engage in various sport activities all year round. And summer  is perfect time to do it outdoor! Even if you want to go to gym, you can go to outdoor gymIt is located on the Onega Lake Shore. So you can do sport, breath fresh air and enjoy the picturesque view of the lake . By the way, you can practice Russian speaking skills with locals while doing exercises ! 

Apply http://www.enjoyrussian.com/3719/
Contact our Students Advisor  info@enjoyrussian.com

Today we would like to tell you about Russian homestay!
It is an essential part of the Full Russian Language Immersion Program in Petrozavodsk.

Living in a Russian family allows you:
-to practice Russian all day long
-to experience famous Russian hospitality
-to learn colloquial vocabulary easily
-to understand Russian way of life
-to taste Russian homemade food (blini, borsh etc.)

And what is no less important you’ll be surrounded with care and attention! Most students meet real friends in their families and keep in touch for many years after the program.

Our school “Enjoy Russian” guarantees that all our students will be placed in approved Russian families. We have carefully selected all our families.

The cost of 4 week program, with breakfast only, is 300 Euros. The cost of 4 week program, with breakfast and an evening meal, is 470 Euros.

Would you like to get this wonderful experience? Apply http://enjoyrussian.com/3719/

Do you have questions? Ask our coordinator info@enjoyrussian.com

We're always glad to meet our students in the school again!  

Some of them have a good tradition to come back even several times! We would like to introduce our good friend - Arend! He is from Netherlands! 
In 2012 he came to the "EnjoyRUssian" Langauge School  for the first time! In 2013, 2015 and 2016 he came back again! Arend studied both in a group and individually! He learnt Russian and was the leader of the discussion club! Arend follows his dream step by step! 

"The place is excellent"

Be like Arend!  
Join us in April or May  http://enjoyrussian.com/3686_programs/3689_autumn_russian_courses/

We are glad to welcome our new students in the school! 
 Antonio from Italy is our good friend! He studied in our school in July 2016. Now he has friends in Petrozavodsk is going to improve his Russian speaking skills! 
 Eleanor from England studies in Cambridge University. She has spent 6 months in Paris and now she is going to study Russian in Petrozavodsk for 3 months! 
 Andre from Switzerland lives in a village and studies Russian. He has already been in St.Petersburg. Andre will be staying with us for 3 months! 

Join us in spring 2017 and get to know them personally http://enjoyrussian.com/3686_programs/3689_autumn_russian_courses/ 

Enjoy 'White Nights' in Petrozavodsk, enjoy Russian language classes with native speakers, make new friends and have fun!

Elementary level (2 weeks): July 18-29
Price: 450EUR (including tuition fee for 40 hours of Russian + homestay with breakfast)

Basic level (2 weeks): July 18-29
Price: 450EUR (including tuition fee for 40 hours of Russian + homestay with breakfast)

1 Certificate level (2 weeks): July 18-29
Price: 450EUR (including tuition fee for 40 hours of Russian + homestay with breakfast)

Deadline for applying: June 19