Click on a thumbnail to enlarge, or click on "slideshow" to view all.

Katskarey Ethnology Museum, Martinova, Russia
The Katskarey are a group of Russian people that resided along the Katskar River. The area is a 6 hour drive north of Moscow. The area is rather isolated so the people did not seem to change with other Russian people. They tend to use older expressions and techniques. Several years ago one enterprising villager got an idea to make a museum of their village life from the early 1900's.
Upon arriving at the museum you start the tour at the back of a house. The back part was really an attached barn where animals were kept. A loft above held hay, as well as barn swallow nests. The house looks as if time passed it by many decades ago. Old family photos adorn the walls. Moving into the bedroom we saw a cradle hanging from a long branch. The tour guide showed how the cradle could bounce up and down, or moved side to side with a rope. Any parent will appreciate the simple yet very effective design. Moving along we saw the kitchen and the tour guide explained how items were used. Lastly we saw the “top of the stove” which was covered with furs and was the warmest place to sleep and thus went to the man of the house.
Next was a visit to see some of the animals. The tour guide gave out bread so that the visitors could feed the animals. Chickens, horses, etc. From there the group moved to the next house where you were welcomed with a sample of 17% plum wine – which happens to be on sale in the gift shop. It was very good. Once in the house the group was treated to a little skit/improve show. Unfortunately I don’t understand Russian but my daughter would tell me what was going on. It started with a man and a woman – played by a woman and man, comparing Katskarey phrases and their Russian equivalent. My wife told me that these were phrases that she had heard her grandmother using in her youth. Next was a skit between the man and the woman, that included a problem when the cat ate the meat for supper. Their son (played by a woman) shows up a talks about how he is getting married. A young woman was pulled from the audience to be his intended. I could not understand what was said, but the audience obviously enjoyed the show.
The next place was next door for a “feast from a Russian stove”. The group was seated at long tables and food was served family style. Soup, chicken, bread, fermented cabbage, etc. that was all grown in the village. All very delicious.
Last was a stop at the gift shop, and then a chance to use the outhouse before getting on the bus. We bought some honey and cheese to bring back with us, as well as a bottle of the plum wine.
I was with a Russian tour group so only Russian was spoken. I do not know if they have English speaking tourists. Based on the lack of information available my guess is that it is really geared for Russian speaking tourists at this time. It is about 45 minutes from Myshkin, or 90 minutes from Uglich.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) was used due to the differing light conditions. The same photo is taken 3 times with 3 exposures and then combined using software.