Izhevsk
Udmurtia
Friendship Monument for the Unity of the Russians and Udmurts
December 5, 2003
There’s a town in the north of Udmurtia, Glazov, which was supposedly really nice,
but then a nuclear waste recycling center was set up there and that began the industrialization
of the city and immense amounts of pollution. Sarapol on the Kama River, like the
rest of the republic is based on industry, however the river is supposed to be nice
and there is also a great lake there. My Russian friends recommended I visit Sarapol
along with Tchaikovsky, which sounds like a lot of fun; Tchaikovsky is actually
not in Udmurtia, but just to the east. It is fairly big and has everything Izhevsk
has, but it’s very mountainous so skiing and snowboarding are popular.
December 9, 2003
Udmurts are “disappearing” quickly because many of them feel that Russian culture
is greater then their own, so most intermarry and abandon their culture and language.
A few still speak Udmurtian, although this number is shrinking every year.