Culture

Theaters

Four professional theaters are permanently performing in Petrozavodsk. Those are Music Theater, Puppet Theater, youth theater Tvorcheskaya Masterskaya, and National Theater.

On the stage of Music Theater the audience can enjoy ballet and musicale shows as well as operetta and concerts. Opera performances also take place occasionally.

The state youth theater “Tvorcheskaya masterskaya” exhilarates the spectators with offbeat and new plays. This theater is special for psychological insight and unusual play presentation. Both traditional plays and extreme works of young authors are shown on the stage of Tvorcheskaya Masterskaya.

National theater offers the audience plays not only in Russian, but also in Finnish and Karelian. Simultaneous translation into Russian, English and Finnish is available for your convenience.

State Puppet theater entertains the youngest residents of the city. One of the oldest puppet theaters in Russia, it is a professional theater with permanent repertoire and with 70-year-long background.

Museums and exhibition halls

Petrozavodsk runs 10 museums and several exhibition halls. The most attractive one is Karelian State Local History Museum founded in 1871, what makes it one of the oldest museums in Northwest Russia. The visitors can behold artifacts and exhibits presenting the history, ethnography, nature and wildlife of the region.

Fine Art Museum of the Republic of Karelia harbors a unique collection dedicated to Karelian and Finnish epic Kalevala. The icon exhibition here — with the oldest icon dating back to early 15-th century — is famous all over the world.

Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists visit historical, cultural and ethnographic museum and strict reserve “Kizhi” located on an island in Lake Onego. The island holds numerous wooden architecture monuments, and two of them are real gems: 22-domed Transfiguration Church and a smaller one — the Church of Protection of the Holy Mary.

There is only one private art gallery “Puppet House” in Petrozavodsk with a unique collection of puppets made by Tatyana Kalinina, who opened the gallery. During several years since the opening, several dozen painting, graphics, sculpture, photo, tapestry and batik exhibitions took place.

Those who enjoy painting, graphics and photo would love it at Petrozavodsk City Exhibition Hall. Besides traditional painting and sculptures one can see here exhibitions of arts and crafts, children’s art, historic and ethnographic displays.

An experimental ground for innovative cultural and art projects mixing different genres and spheres, media center “Vykhod” is also well-known in the cultural environment of the city. “Vykhod” gives preferences to young and hardly known authors, beginner photographers and other cultural professionals.

Concerts and festivals

The city is abundant in musical events. Karelian State Philharmonic Hall tries its best to meet the requirements of all music lovers by organizing plenty of concerts during the season. Two big bands are working at the hall: Symphonic orchestra and the orchestra of Russian folk instruments Onego. The state singing and dancing team “Kantele” promotes the beauty and authenticity of the culture and traditions of aboriginal peoples of Karelia, i. e. Karelians, Veps, Finns and Russians. Flamboyant programs full of folk music, songs and dances will give you unforgettable impressions.