Ivanovo region

• Ivanovo region was founded on January 14, 1929

• Regional centre –city of Ivanovo

• Region occupies an area of 21,800 sq. km (0.13% of Russia's total area)

• Population of the region (c. 1.01.2000) is 1,236,000 people (0.84% of Russia's)

• Density of population – 58.1 people/sq. km

• Administrative areas – 21

• Cities of regional subordination – 6

• Population of the largest cities: Ivanovo – 469,200; Kineshma – 101,900; Shouya – 68,500

General info

Despite its relatively small size Ivanovo region is in 4th place in Russia by quantity of historical sites after Moscow, Leningrad and Perm regions.

In the Middle Ages this land was the north-eastern edge of the Vladimir-Suzdal princedom, which explains the existence of fortress cities like Yurievets, Plios, Shouya, Loukh, Kineshma. Because of this geographical factor the history of Ivanovo region is full of events relate and to the Tartars invasion, conquest of the Volga region and Siberia, and the troubles at the beginning of the 17th century. It was here that the campaign of Minin and Pozhaskiy People's Army that freed Moscow from the foreign incursion began.

Ivanovo region is first of all a textile land, where one can trace all the history of flax and cotton textiles from spinning-wheels, wooden looms and hand-printing to modern automated production.

The region occupies the northern part of land between the Rivers Volga and Oka. Half of its territory is covered with forests, of which 90% are pines, firs and birches. There are 160 rivers including the Volga with Gorkovskiy reservoir, and also then Rivers Teza, Elnat', Loukh, Nerl, Uvod', as well as about 150 lakes the greatest are the Roubskoie lakes with area of 300 hectares and Sviatoie (Saint) Lakes, their ecological purity creates good conditions for recreation tourism and health-restoring rest.

Sights

Churches and monasteries
There is a number of acting monasteries and temples in the region. Among them are the Tikhonov Loukhskiy and Sviato-Nikolo-Shartomsky Monasteries dating back to the 15th century. Many temples are outstanding monuments of 17th-20th century architecture. Among them one can find good examples of Old Russian temple architecture, Russian baroque, classicism, Russian-Byzantine, neorussian and modernist styles. In many temples there are well-preserved examples of frescoes, icons, carved, iconostases and church plates.

In Ivanovo region there are 38 state and municipal museums besides Ivanovo in 13 historically populated sites of the region. Some places among them are unique, like the Museum of Ivanovo chintz, the House museum of film director A. Tarkovskiy, the House museum of the Tsvetaievs family, the Landscape museum and the Museum of Palekh art as well as many more.

Arts and crafts
Besides the world-wide renowned lacquered miniatures of Palekh and Holuy the region is famous for its pattern weaving, hand-painted textiles, decorative needlework and stichwork, as well as jewellery, Shuia accordions and of course chintz of Ivanovo and flax of Yakovlevo, of which Ivanovo modelers create high fashion wear with original use of national traditional motifs.

Traditional trades also continue, especially basketry, boot felting and woodworking.

Hunting and fishing
The most popular hunted species in the region are birds (wood grouse, black grouse, hazel grouse, waterfowl, wader and field birds), furry animals and hares. Another interesting but difficult hunted animal is the wolf. There are also some foxes, martens, lynxes and bears. Hunting wild boars, elks and deers is restricted.

There are four game reserves in the region, of which the Kliazminskiy beaver and desman reserve is of regional importance.

Fishing is also popular on the Rivers Volga, Elnat', Unzha, Nemda, Loukh, Nerl' and their confluents, as well as in the region's numerous lakes. Throughout the fishing season one can fish, bream, sazan, cat-fish, crucian, zherekh, perch, pike, gustera and roach.

Ivanovo
Ivanovo has great potential for developing the tourism business. Its advantageous geographical position, high level of museums and exhibitions and of architecture attract many tourists.

Ivanovo regional museum
The museum stores more than 24.000 pieces of art and thus is one of the largest in Russia. The history of its creation dates back to the end of the 19th century. The museum's display consists of many well-selected collections (of different countries and peoples) starting from the Ancient world to modern art.

Ivanovo textile museum
The museum's collection is based on half a million textiles. Collecting started at the end of the 19th century. Museum's display shows the development of the textile industry in Ivanovo region since the earliest times to the present day. The most interesting and important are textile samples, of which the oldest were made in Ancient Egypt in the 5th century A.D., while the youngest were woven by the skillful Ivanovo weavers the year the museum opened.

The Tsvetaievs’ family museum
The museum is 3 km away from Ivanovo. There is the Tsvetaievs family house kept intact in the village of Novo-Talitsy. In this house from the mid-19th century lived several generations of the family of I.V. Tsvetaiev – a Russian scientist, doctor of Roman literature, founder of the Museum of Fine art in Moscow, and Marina Tsvetaieva – a Russian poetess.

Vvedenye-Dounilovo>
Dounilovo is an old, large commercial and industrial village that stood on the crossroads of two ancient roads. The richness of the village of old is underlined by a number of temple complexes intact to this day.

The village panorama is embellished with 15 temples and bell towers. The Sviato-Uspenskiy Convent is situated here. Also here, on the bank of River Molohta, lies the village of Vvedenye with its Nikolo-Shartomskiy Monastery, which was first mentioned in records in 1425. Since its first days, Nikolo-Shartomskiy Monastery was in favour with Moscow’s princes for the monks' services to the Motherland.

Plios
A little town on the right bank of the Volga is famous for its buildings wonderful blending with the surrounding nature, clear air and calming silence.

The only memorial museum of I.I. Levitan in Russia is in Plios. In the museum apart from the works by Levitan himself, one can also find pictures by A.K. Savrasov, V.D. Polenov, A.S. Stepanov and S.D. Kouvshinnikova.

Also of interest is the Plios history museum, where one can learn about the old and Medieval history of the city. There is also an Arts and Crafts museum.

On this very embankment there is the only Russian landscape museum – a potential object of “envy” by Paris, Rome, Dresden, Prague and other museum capitals of the world.

Palekh
The world renowned Palekh miniatures – elegant caskets, snuff-boxes, brooches of papier-mache – are decorated with miniature paintings on a black lacquer background. Here in the State museum of Palekh art one can see an excellent collection of lacquer miniatures, exciting in their elegance and artistic perfection. Also of great interest are the memorial house museums of artists P.D. Korin, I.I. Golikov, N.V. Dadykin, N.I. Zinoviev.

There are also the Ilyinskaya and Krestovozdvizhensksya Churches in the city with icons painted by the Palekh artists. Nowadays Palekh artists are trying to revive icon-painting, they illustrate books, make sketches for theatre backdrops, paint frescos and panels and restore Old Russian fine art.

Holoui
Holoui is also a large centre of lacquer miniatures. Its fate is similar to Palekh's. Here people also first painted icons and then passed to lacquer drawing on papier-mache. Working in a slightly different manner from Palekh artists, the masters of Holoui also achieved wonderful results and gained general respect. There are exhibits of the history of local crafts collected in the local museum.

Besides the world renowned lacquered miniatures of Palekh and Holui the region is famous for its pattern weaving, hand-painted textiles, decorative needlework and stichwork, as well as jewellery, Shuia accordions and of course chintz of Ivanovo and flax of Yakovlevo, of which Ivanovo modelers create fashion wear with an original use of traditional national motifs. Traditional trades such as basketry, boot felting and woodworking still continue to this day.

HOTELS
¹ Hotel Address Tel./Fax/E-mail Info
1 Zeliony gorodok (Green town) sanatorium Ivanovo region, Ivanovsky area, village of Lomy Tel. (0932)31-47-35
Tel./fax (0932)30-14-45
E-mail: zelgor@11.ru 		Treatment of stomach, intestines, pancreas, gallbladder and biliary nets.
2 Obolsounovo santorium Ivanovo region, Teykovsky area, village of Obolsounovo Tel./fax (0932)2-41-40,
2-16-05
E-mail: obolsynovo@indi.ru 		Treatment of cardiovascular, articular pains, diseases of the spine, nervous system, some diseases of the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract.
3 Reshma sanatorium Ivanovo region, Kineshemsky area, village of Reshma-1 Tel. (09331)5-35-47
Tel./fax (09331)5-63-96
E-mail: sanreshma@mail.ru 		The sanatorium specialises in are cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the locomotor apparatus, respiratory tract. There is a mother-and-baby department.
4 Sanatorium named after Stanko Ivanovo region, Kineshemsky area, village of Stanko Tel./fax (0932)41-64-19
Tel. (09331)9-77-83
E-mail: stanko@kineshma.tpi.ru 		This sanatorium specializes in the treatment of the following: diseases of cardiovascular and nervous systems, gynealogical, urological, locomotive organs diseases. There are rehabilitation departments for radiation accident survivors and and patiens with the consequences of acute cerebral blood circulation disturbance. There is also a mother-and-baby department.
5 Malinki international recreation center Ivanovo region, Ivanovsky area, 6th km of the Rodnikovsky highway Tel. (0932)35-22-22
E-mail: malinki@mail.cnt.ru 		-
6 Plios pension with treatment Ivanovo region, Plios, Kalinina St., 2 Tel./fax (09339)4-34-52
Tel. (09339)4-33-75
-
7 Chaika (Seagull) pension with treatment Ivanovo region, Teykovsky area Tel./fax (09343)2-30-02 -
8 Plios social-cultural specialized complex of Russian Union of theatre workers Ivanovo region, Plios, Lenin St., 39 Tel./fax (09339)4-34-81
(09339)Tel. 4-31-57 		-


TRAVEL AGENCIES
¹ Agency Address Tel./Fax/E-mail
1 ZAO for tourism, rest and health of the city of Ivanovo Ivanovo, Ermaka st., 20 Tel. (0932)32-44-00, 41-55-07
Tel./fax (0932)32-53-70
E-mail: ivtour@tpi.ru
2 OOO Ivanovo office of international tourism “Sputnik” Ivanovo, 10 of August St., 4 Tel./fax (0932)32-42-26, 41-01-28
E-mail: sputnik@interline.ivanovo.ru
3 OÎÎ “Veronika-tour” Ivanovo, Stepanova St., 14 Tel./fax (0932)30-43-43, 30-08-89
E-mail: veronika@indi.ru
4 ÎÎÎ “Viola-tour” Ivanovo, Revolution sq., 2/1, office 416 Tel./fax (0932)41-03-10
Tel. (0932)41-48-99
E-mail: viola@interline/ivanovo.ru
5 ÎÎÎ “Gala-tur” Ivanovo, Lenin Av., 64 Tel./fax (0932)37-86-01, 37-32-43
E-mail: gala-tur01@mail.ru
6 ÎÎÎ “Globus” Ivanovo, Teatralnaya St., 16, office 25v Tel./fax (0932)30-48-74, (0932)41-51-88
E-mail: globustours@ivnet.ru
7 ÎÎÎ “Grivna-tour” Ivanovo region, Plios, down the Svoboda Mount St., 1 Tel./fax (09339)4-33-06
Web Site: www.rusdom.plyos.ru
8 ÎÎÎ “Slavyanka tourist and transport union” Ivanovo, Revolution Sq., 2/1, office 360 Tel./fax (0932)41-45-99, 41-35-87
E-mail: slavyanka@interline.ru
9 ÎÎÎ “Tour-service” Ivanovo, Lenin Av., 20-à Tel./fax (0932)41-39-50
Tel. (0932)30-45-71
E-mail: tourserv@interline.ru
10 ÎÎÎ “Shuya travel and tours” Ivanovo region, Shuya, Lenin Sq., 20 Tel./fax (09351)2-32-41, 2-00-11
E-mail: shuya_tur@mail.ru
11 ZÀÎ “Intourist-Ivanovo” Ivanovo, Lenin Av., 41 Tel./fax (0932)41-55-23
Tel. (0932)41-77-53
E-mail: intourist@ipn.ru


RESTAURANTS
¹ Restaurant Address Tel
1 Sosni Ivanovo, Lezhnevskoye Shosse (0932)26-44-67, 26-16-75
2 Tourist Ivanovo, Naberezhnaya St. (0932)37-65-90
3 Reka lubvi (River of Love) Ivanovo, Tashkenskaya St. 109 (0932)23-79-95
4 Moskva Ivanovo Engels Av. 1/25 (0932)32-32-85
5 Ivanovo Ivanovo, Lenina Av., 11 (0932)32-37-37, 32-44-93
6 Druzhba (Friendship) Ivanovo, Tekstilschikov Prospect, 3-b (0932)26-12-09
7 Atlant Ivanovo, Lenina Prospect, 64 (0932)37-58-85


OFFICE FOR INVESTMENT POLICY
AND TOURISM OF THE MAIN
DEPARTMENT FOR ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE OF
IVANOVO REGION
Tel.: (0932)41-56-58, 49-23-1