My Dream Destination: The Republic of Udmurtia, Russia

My long term goal is to travel to as many of the Soviet republics as possible. The republic of Udmurtia in central Russia is one of the republics I have the desire to visit in the near future. At the beginning of my young adulthood, I began to explore and research various Soviet republics besides Yakutia, Chechnya and Dagestan. After randomly finding pictures of the Udmurt people on Google, I started virtually travelling to Udmurtia by viewing photographs and watching Udmurt language tutorials on YouTube. Although English travel YouTuber and Soviet culture and history enthusiast Bald and Bankrupt has been a huge inspiration to further pursuing my love for Soviet culture, I've been dreaming to travel to the diverse Soviet republics and exploring the diverse and unique cultures of Russia way before discovering Bald and Bankrupt.

The republic of Udmurtia is located to the west of the Ural Mountains and its capital city is Izhevsk. It borders other places like Bashkortostan, Kirov, Perm and Tatarstan and is not far away from Moscow. It was founded on November 4 1920. Besides Russian being the primary language of the Udmurt Republic, some of the people also speak the traditional Udmurt language which is a part of the Finno-Ugric language family.

Before my future voyage to the Udmurt republic, I first want to study as much as I can about the culture, language and the traditional Udmurt cuisine. Although the Udmurts also speak Russian, I think it would be beneficial for me to know at least a few words or the basics of the Udmurt language. Learning about the culture will help me understand their beliefs, social norms and the behaviours that I'll likely notice on my trip. It will also help me get into zero or less trouble if I have sufficient knowledge on the social norms and customs practiced in Udmurtia, especially in the villages.

Below is a video that I recently began watching to learn Udmurt for fun!

As I always state in my Dream Destination Vocal blog series, there will be a heck of a lot of things I want to do during my trip. Unfortunately, I will not be able to do all of them due to the time I'll have and the amount of money I'll have to spend during the trip. I'll be mainly staying in Izhevsk, but I'll want to visit a village or two to experience authentic Udmurt culture and meet some of the people. To give you just the slightest idea of what I would do in Udmurtia, here is a list of the top six places and things I wish to do.

1. Tour around the Ludorvai Architectural and Ethnographic Memorial Museum Reserve in Izhevsk

Since I was an adolescent, I've been a history buff. I loved everything historical and enjoyed studying and exploring Soviet history. Although I know a bit about Soviet history, there's still room for me to improve in that specific area. I don't know enough to be considered an "expert on Soviet history". By visiting multiple museums in Russia, I'll start to slowly expand my knowledge on Soviet history. The beauty about travelling to Russia is you get to explore the history of not just the country, but of the various ethnic groups living in Russia. The Ludorvai Architectural and Ethnographic Memorial Museum Reserve would be a fantastic facility for me to visit and learn about the Udmurt people and tradition. Visiting the number of Russian republics isn't for me to just learn about the language, cuisine and explore different parts of Russia; it's also for me to learn about the actual culture and the history of the people. I would most likely visit the museum on a weekday afternoon or evening before taking my "pre-meal rest" at a local park or in my hotel room.

2. Relax and walk around at the S. Kirov Park of Culture and Leisure in Izhevsk

Whether I'm travelling internationally or locally, going to the park is one of the things I enjoy doing to relax and take space for myself. Since my days in Udmurtia will be busy and filled with exploring, walking and learning, I'll need to find some time for rest and relaxation. I don't mind going to the beach, but I prefer going to the park and being around greenery. I would typically visit the S. Kirov Park of Culture and Leisure in the afternoons or evenings and read a book, listening to music, stroll around and meditate on the grass. I would also like to take a collection of photographs to post on social media for all my friends and family to view and share.

3. Meet some furry and cute critters at the Udmurt Zoo in Izhevsk

Even though I've never really been big on zoos, there is something about visiting Soviet zoos that attract me more than westernized zoos in America or Canada: they are smaller and more old-fashioned resembling compared to tourist attractions like Disneyland and The Toronto Zoo. I would visit the Udmurt Zoo on a weekday in the afternoon or evening before grabbing dinner in the city. I'm not fussy when it comes to the animal exhibits however, I prefer to see animals like walruses, domestic animals at the "Udmurt village", parrots, seals and koi carps at the pond. During my brief and meaningful excursion to the Udmurt zoo, I would love to take photographs of the various animals I find and post them on social media to share with others, stroll around, have a snack and relax on one of the park benches. It would be like going to the park, but with animals as "distant companions" for whenever I get a little lonely.

4. Spend a day at an Udmurt village near Izhevsk (and maybe stay overnight, if I have enough money to do so!)

Votkinsk is an industrial town in the republic of Udmurtia, Russia. It's only a 58 minute drive or an hour bus ride from Izhevsk, which will make a perfect escape from the city! Although Votkinsk may not be the only town near Izhevsk that I'll want to visit, but it's one of the closest towns that I have on my list in the mean time. During my brief stay in Votkinsk, I wouldn't mind doing activities like relaxing in a hammam, touring around the State Museum Tchaikovskiy Residence, relaxing at a park, go get a couple of meals at a restaurant and shop at some small stores. Other than visiting tourist attractions, parks and restaurants all day, I would like to do creative things like take photographs and share them with others on social media and draw at a park.

5. Dine at the Goryachiy Pelmen restaurant in Izhevsk

Of course, there would be many more restaurants that I would eat at during my vacation, but I'm just naming one of them for this blog. After doing a bit of research on this restaurant, I figured it would be an ideal place for me to dine at during my vacation to Udmurtia. The Udmurt cuisine is quite similar to Kazakh, Russian, Ukrainian and other Eurasian cuisines, so I won't be a problem finding something delicious to eat at Goryachiy Pelmen. I would typically order the pureed vegetable soup for an appetizer, dumplings with red beans and green onions, dumplings with potatoes and fried onions for the main entree and almond marshmallow ice cream for dessert. I'll want to visit the restaurant for either lunch or dinner, depending on my mood and what I'll likely want to eat. I'll probably be so full that I'll end up falling asleep on one of the park benches nearby.

6. Shop, eat and have fun at a local shopping center in Izhevsk

Just like in every part of Russia, I'm sure there are numerous malls to visit. I don't have a specific mall to visit, so I'll just go to the one that I randomly discover in Izhevsk. I would most likely visit the mall in the afternoon or evening a few days or a day before I leave to go back home to Canada. Depending on what exactly they have at each shopping mall, I plan to shop for books, clothes, souvenirs, toiletries and some food to bring back to the hotel room. To be more specific, I would buy souvenirs as presents for my family and friends, some Russian books to read and collect, some reasonably priced t-shirts and some toiletries to use at the hotel. Some days I won't want to buy snacks during the day, so I'll need to take a trip to the grocery store and purchase some snacks to eat for whenever I want something light and easy to eat in my hotel room.

Thank you so much for reading another one of My Dream Destination stories. If you enjoyed reading this story, please share it with others, give it a heart, view my other My Dream Destination stories on Vocal and don't hesitate to send me a tip. To connect with me outside of Vocal, please follow me on Instagram @naturalbibliophile22. Please view my public profile on Vocal and stay tuned for more exciting poems, stories and articles. Take care of yourselves and have a great week! Cheers to all of my friends on and outside of Vocal!