So couple of weeks ago I've been in Ulyanovsk, a city devided by Volga river, and a homeland of Lenin, as you probably already understood from its name. So Lenin beside, some architectural and landscape miracles you can find there:

(above) one of Ulyanovsks airports. It was a military airport and they used to or still build massive airplanes there, I was told those are biggest air-planes in the world. Well anyway, so you get off the plane, and thats it, you just go. No terminals included. The only transport from there - taxi, with a loud Russian pop music in it, so you start getting the experience of Ulyanovsk from the first steps off the plane.

(above) a balcony promoting English language courses in Ulyanovsk.
I just love those self-made ad's - they're so honest.

(above) some urban architectural miracles not only from Soviet era - some of those are pretty new I guess. A lot of bright colours, a lot of advertising (you can HEAR advertising through speakers just in the street, so weird), and totally NO PLANNING - they just build it.

(above)The old-town. There is a Lenin street there, so it is taken care off and you can see some re-constructed or preserved old buildings with typical Russian gorgeous ethnic wood-crafted elements, rich ornaments and decor. There is more than one house with one of those 'Lenin lived here' signs, and most of the houses are historical museums or galleries. Pretty empty in those streets, no traffic allowed there, but actually, even for me, who is definitely not a fan of Lenin, it was interesting to see and the rich architectural decor elements were a big inspiration.

(above) Some cool sculptures we saw through the fence of one museum, which, unfortunately, was closed that Sunday. But I loved the design, and I loved the fact I saw it in the center of Ulyanovsk. Is this a new folk craft or a pray to industrial culture?

(above) true miracle. Short trip to Volga beaches just before the flight back to Moscow. By the way, Volga looks more like a sea than a river from the first glance.

It's not that bad after all, some nice cafe's, reconstructed center of the city, pretty normal shopping center, beautiful nature on the edges and outside the city, and great people whom i met there. I've totally enjoyed it, hope to go back there soon.

photos by Yar R.