Mandrogi Village

During WW2 the entire village of 29 homes was burned down and the people settled in other villages. In 1996 people started to rebuild the village and today it is a thriving tourist village of 150 occupants with an additional 200 who come into work each day. In 1999 the Russian Government passed a resolution to again place the village on the Russian map.

In the reproductions of the old village houses there are many studios where the handcrafts of old are produced and the skills are passed on to younger generations and the results sold to tourists, the money is used for training, salaries and the maintenance of the village school. The village is run as a collective and it has two rules which apply to all residents without exception; nobody drinks and nobody steals. The former must be difficult as the village has a large Vodka museum which provides tastings and sells Vodka to the visitors.

Walking around the village on the dirt or stone roads we were assailed by steroid enhanced mosquitos, some of the largest and most aggressive we have ever encountered. In the village there is a large pond/lake which we presume was for breeding the mosquitos to feed on the tourists and as the area is frozen for six months of the year they have to “get in quick”.

In one little work shop a girl was making lace and to watch her shuffling twelve bobbins in her hands while weaving the lace was amazing, her hands moved so quickly it was only the clicking of the bobbins that made you aware they were changing position in her hands, how she knew which to move and to where must be the result of many years training.

There were several handcraft classes provided for the passengers in village and several took the opportunity to try the Matrioshka doll painting, they were given a nest of three and the paints and with the guidance of the teacher were able to decorate them in an hour but watching the artist in the studios painting the dolls with so much detail I would think it would take days rather than hours to complete a large one.

After three hours ashore the boat set sail, next stop St Petersburg.