russia: obninsk

One of the many things I love about living in Moscow is that there are a zillion places nearby that are easy to visit for a day trip. I learned about one of them, a city called Obninsk, on social media. The city is 100 kilometers southwest of Moscow, with a current estimated population of 115,000.

Obninsk is a new city, founded only in the 20^th century. A research institute was built, then a nuclear power plant. The city was built to support the power plant. With the building of the city there was housing for the scientists, teachers, engineers, and workers coming to the area.

Obninsk is an official science city, it was actually the first science city, receiving the designation in 2000. Most of the decoration around the city is scientific, like depictions of spinning atoms. Wikipedia tells me the city is home to twelve science institutions. The main areas of interest are nuclear power engineering, nuclear radiation technology, meteorology, and ecology and environmental protection.

Fun fact: one of the sister cities of Obninsk is Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Oak Ridge is also a city with nuclear power. (And a pretty good club swim team.)

I looked up transportation to the city, my first option was at 0700 on a Saturday. That seemed really early for a weekend, so I opted for the next train, which departed at 0852. That was still before I normally start work during the week, but seemed a lot more reasonable. As always, the train arrived on time, at 1042. (Have I ever mentioned how fantastic the Russian train system is, especially in regards to departing and arriving on time, no matter the weather?)

The train station in Obninsk was not interesting, not at all. Nothing like a grand train station I always want to see when traveling in Russia. 

It was basically a set of two identical buildings, on either sides of the tracks. Each building had ticket machines, turnstyles, and a few benches, nothing else.

I arrived to a flat white sky. In terms of taking photos, this is basically the worst, but it isn't as if I could do anything about it. There was snow and slush everywhere, but it did not snow while I was there.

My first sight was a city stelae. It was nice to see, but I wasn't able to get close, as it was in the middle of a platz between two large apartment buildings. 

The platz was completely covered in snow, and surrounded by a fence, preventing me from getting close. Booo. That ended up being the only city sign type thing I saw all day. The stelae had the name of the city, as well as several scientific symbols, like the image of a spinning atom.

Next up was a science monument, this one to the pioneers of nuclear engineering. I liked it, even more so because I could take a couple stairs and be on the monument. The monument sits at the meeting point of two streets, in a triangle shaped platz.

I kept going up the street, to another monument. This one was a submarine, or at least the conning tower (is that the right name?) of a submarine. The monument itself is dedicated to the 50^th anniversary of the first nuclear submarine fleet. (I think.) It isn't a real submarine, you can't go inside anything.

More walking brought me to yet another scientific monument, this one to Igor Kurchatov. He was a nuclear physicist, most known for being the director of the Soviet atomic bomb project. (The Soviets didn't figure out how it all works until after WW2 was over.)

The monument was on a property surrounded by another fence. The first two gates I passed were closed, I didn't think I'd be getting close to this monument either, until I passed the last gate, which was open.

I continued down that street, passing some of the most boring apartment buildings I've seen. I'd describe the architecture style as Soviet brutalist. Concrete everywhere, with some patterning, also in concrete.

Next up was the Church of the Nativity. The best part of it was the colour, which was yellow.

Given the gray sky, and gray apartment buildings I'd seen, yellow seemed pretty darn gorgeous; on a day with better weather, the church would've been far less eye catching. The iconostasis inside was pretty, but there was no frescoe painting on the walls or ceiling.

Across the street from the church was a school of music, which had an interesting entryway, but the building itself was another example of 'boring.'

I kept going, eventually getting to the number one listed sight in Obninsk, a former estate of wealthy/noble families. Usad'ba Belkino isn't much to see anymore, it is just an abandoned building, totally falling apart. 

It is surrounded by a fence, so you can't climb in the ruins. (Maybe safety has actually been thought of in this country, once!) Despite the fence, you can stand close enough to see through the windows and holes to see where some interior painting remains. Lets just say that the interior decoration style of this house is not something I ever want to have in my own home.

This abandoned manor is in a corner of a park. The park is probably a great place to hang out in in summer, it is nice even in winter. I saw quite a few families on sleds and innertubes, sliding down small hills. 

There was also a small bridge of locks and a gazebo. Pretty, but not important in any noteworthy way.

It was a bit of a longer walk to my next sight: a cute statue. This one was called the Intelligent Cat. It sits right next to a big piece of granite. If I understand correctly, rubbing the rock brings good luck to students.

Almost across the street from the cat was my last sight of the trip: the city museum. Entry was only 60 rubles, so just under $1USD!! Considering how much there was to see, this was a great price. I really enjoyed this museum. 

Though there were no English signs or captions, the displays were set up in a way that I was still able to understand what I was seeing.

The displays were set up chronologically, with the major focuses being life here during the Soviet era, and the science industries of the city. There were photos and items and dioramas throughout the entire museum.

The museum was also hosting a temporary exhibit, a display relating to the artworks of Henri Matisse. Go figure, it cost more than the normal museum exhibits, but oh well.

After leaving the museum I walked to a cafe for a snack, then back to the train station for the easy ride back to Moscow. I'm not sure I would say Obninsk is pretty, but it probably looks better in weather that has some kind of colour.