The following is a brief description of Petrozavodsk, the city in northern Russia where I will be living and teaching on my Fulbright program. As I had only barely heard of the town before my assignment there, I figure most readers will have no knowledge of Petrozavodsk's location, history, and culture. This is currently based on my own basic research into the city, and will undoubtedly change as I arrive in Petrozavodsk and get to know it better firsthand.
History
Petrozavodsk was originally founded in 1703 on the order of Emperor Peter the Great. Peter needed a new foundry to manufacture cannons for his Baltic Sea Fleet during the Great Northern War. The town was first called Petrovskaya Sloboda, which translates roughly to "Peter's settlement" or "Peter's village." The foundry that was the reason for the town, being located on the Shuya river, was originally called Shuysky Zavod, which translates quite literally to "factory on the Shuya." Creative, I know. Some time later it was changed to Petrovsky Zavod, which, as you can probably guess, translates loosely to "Peter's factory." The town derives its modern-day moniker, Petrozavodsk, from this foundry.
The settlement was later incorporated during the reign of Catherine the Great, who revitalized the town's industrial heritage because she needed more cannons (naturally). The center of the city was fully transformed during this time to reflect a Neoclassical architecture, which Wikipedia tells me is unique amongst the cities of northern Russia.
Geography
Petrozavodsk is the capital of the Republic of Karelia, a federal administrative unit of the Russian Federation that borders Finland. The city itself sits on the banks of Lake Onega, the second largest lake in Europe and inspiration for the titular character of Alexander Pushkin's most famous work, Eugene Onegin. Incidentally, Petrozavodsk is also not far from the largest lake in Europe, Lake Ladoga, which is also located (partly) within Karelia. It is in the extreme north of European Russia. To give you a better idea, at 61° latitude, Petrozavodsk is located roughly parallel to the Hudson Bay in Canada and the lower part of Alaska. In other words, it's up there.
Petrozavodsk State University
Interestingly, the university was originally founded in 1940 as the Karelian-Finnish University, only later being renamed to Petrozavodsk State University (PetrSU). The school recently made the 2009 list of the top twenty universities in Russia. PetrSU employs over 1000 faculty, teachers, and staff, and is a leader among Russian universities in a number of areas of research, particularly information technology (yay internet access!). The school is fairly large for a Russian university, with an average enrollment of around 20,000 students. Additionally, the university has a heavy international focus, including partnerships with sister institutions in Finland, Japan, the United States, and elsewhere. It is considered the flagship university of Northern Russia. I will be working in the Department of Foreign Languages housed within the Department of Law. This office also provides teaching to students in the Departments of Tourism and Business.
The settlement was later incorporated during the reign of Catherine the Great, who revitalized the town's industrial heritage because she needed more cannons (naturally). The center of the city was fully transformed during this time to reflect a Neoclassical architecture, which Wikipedia tells me is unique amongst the cities of northern Russia.
The last interesting chapter in the town's history occurred during the Continuation War, which ran from 1941-1944. This war-within-a-war between Finland and the Soviet Union saw the Finnish occupation of the region of East Karelia, which includes Petrozavodsk. During the three-year occupation, the city's name was changed to Äänislinna, which was the historic name of a Finnish settlement allegedly founded in the same spot in the 17th century.
Geography
Petrozavodsk is the capital of the Republic of Karelia, a federal administrative unit of the Russian Federation that borders Finland. The city itself sits on the banks of Lake Onega, the second largest lake in Europe and inspiration for the titular character of Alexander Pushkin's most famous work, Eugene Onegin. Incidentally, Petrozavodsk is also not far from the largest lake in Europe, Lake Ladoga, which is also located (partly) within Karelia. It is in the extreme north of European Russia. To give you a better idea, at 61° latitude, Petrozavodsk is located roughly parallel to the Hudson Bay in Canada and the lower part of Alaska. In other words, it's up there.
Petrozavodsk State University
Interestingly, the university was originally founded in 1940 as the Karelian-Finnish University, only later being renamed to Petrozavodsk State University (PetrSU). The school recently made the 2009 list of the top twenty universities in Russia. PetrSU employs over 1000 faculty, teachers, and staff, and is a leader among Russian universities in a number of areas of research, particularly information technology (yay internet access!). The school is fairly large for a Russian university, with an average enrollment of around 20,000 students. Additionally, the university has a heavy international focus, including partnerships with sister institutions in Finland, Japan, the United States, and elsewhere. It is considered the flagship university of Northern Russia. I will be working in the Department of Foreign Languages housed within the Department of Law. This office also provides teaching to students in the Departments of Tourism and Business.
