Strategy for Tourism Development in Ivanovo Region Till 2010

1. IVANOVO REGION AS A TOURISM SPOT

Ivanovo region holds great nature, historic and cultural potentials which makes it attractive for local and foreign tourists. Being relatively near to Moscow and Leningrad regions Ivanovo region has a very advantageous geographical position. Ten-year long depression of industry and agriculture facilitated improvement of the region’s ecological environment thus giving additional possibilities to design large recreational areas in some parts of Ivanovo region. Their potential visitors are tourists from such megapolises as Moscow and Saint-Petersburg and quite developed industrial centers: Nizhniy Novgorod, Vladimir, Yaroslavl and Ivanovo itself. The region is endowed with favorable climate and beautiful nature. Its historic and cultural heritage is distinct and peculiar. This allows to hope that traditional radial routes of “Golden Ring of Russia” Ivanovo-Palekh and Ivanovo-Plyos will be supplemented by the number of other ring and radial ways introducing tourists to Ivanovo region’s values and distinctness.

1. Ivanovo region is situated on interfluve of the Volga and the Oka. One part of its territory is covered with forests, 90% percent of them consist of pines, spruces and birches. The region’s nature landscapes are exceptionally diverse: pineries and pathless deal woods, oak-woods and birchwoods, river meadows and marshes, fields and coppices, sand-dunes and beaches, cuspate river banks and ravines…
2. The region is crossed by 160 rivers including the Volga (and its Gorky reservoir), the Tyeza, the Yelnat, the Lukh, the Nyerl, the Uvod, it also has about 150 lakes with such pearls as the Rubyekov and the Svyatoye among them. Ecologically pure lakes, especially in Yuzha city area, forms excellent conditions for recreational, ecological and sports tourism and sanitary recreation.

1. Health centers, resorts “Reshma” , “ Rus”, “Plyos” , tourist and holiday centers “Malinki”, “Chayka” , “Beryozovaya roshcha”, “Plyos” and different camps offer well-equipped tennis courts, mini-football grounds and facilities for riding, ski mountaineering and swimming.

Peculiar Historical Aspects

1. Being relatively small our region ranks fourth among Russia’s regions by the number of historic spots giving way to Moscow, Perm and Leningrad regions.

2. The region holds a great number of archeological monuments (sites, settlements, ancient villages and settlements, and burial grounds) which belong to the Mesolithic and the Neolithic Ages, the Bronze and the Iron Ages or Middle Ages and which are mainly situated on river banks and lakesides.

2. In 6^th –10^th centuries numerous Finno-Ugric tribes who lived in the territory of the region were colonized by the Slavs. The tribes gave names to many places there, e.g. Shuya, Kineshma, Yuzha, Nyerl, Klyazma, Ukhtokhma and others.
3. In the Middle Ages today’s Ivanovo region was a north-western border of Principality of Vladimir and Suzdal. Castle-towns Yuryevec, Plyos, Shuya, Lukh, Kineshma were built at that time. History tells many stories about invasion of the Mongol-Tatar yoke in this territory, conquest of Volga region and Siberia and troublesome 11^th century. The storied anabasis of Minin and Pozharsky’s irregulars which unyoked Moscow began in today’s Ivanovo region.
4. Ivanovo region is first of all associated with soft goods. Here you can follow a full history of fabrics’ production. Initially linen and cotton fabrics were made here with spinning wheels, wooden looms and handcraft stain, but nowadays manufacturing is computer-aided.
5. Russian monarchs has left traces of their visits to our region: Ivan the Terrible founded a stud-farm in Gavrilov Pasad which now is one of the oldest in Ivanovo region; Peter the First built a wooden shipping lock on the Tyeza river; Catherin the Grate – the Arakchejevskiy road.
6. Ivanovo region has a unique experience of social rebuilding. For example let’s recall the lessons of first two decades of the 20^th century when contradictions between the labor and capital boiled over into social outbreaks burying hopes of advanced industrialists to achieve social balance which would be based on charity. The same conflict determined the most active workers and intelligence to a fundamental rebuilding of a social system. Ivanovo has an image of a “fatherland of the First Soviets” which is supported by numerous monuments and which should certainly be exploited by the local tourism industry. Ivanovo and other cities has the eloquent evidences of the unique rebuilding of workers lives in the post-revolution period (workers’ suburbs, large-scale mechanized canteens, commune-type group houses) which should be visited while excursions for tourists.

1. There are numerous functioning monasteries, nunneries and churches in Ivanovo region including Tikhonov Lukhskiy and Svyato-Nikolo-Shartomskiy cloisters built in 15^th century. Many churches are considered to be the grate monuments of architecture of 17^th - 20^th centuries. Among them you will find expressive pieces raised in the traditions of the Old Russian church architectonics, Russian Baroque, the Classicism, Russian-Byzantine style, the Art Nouveau and Neorussian style. Many churches entreasure highly valuable samples of wall-paintings, icons, incised iconostases, holy vessels.
2. Our region is attractive for pilgrims for it is famous for revered saints and svyatiteli (this is another Russian word for “saint”) with Reverend Makariy Uzhenskiy and Zheltovodskiy and Tikhon Lukhovskoy among them, as well as miracles and faith-cures, and holy wells.
3. Ivanovo region holds old traditions of icon-painting. Icon-painters from Shuya, Palekh, Kholuy have acquired a reputation throughout Russia. Today these traditions are reviving and tourists have a possibility to visit icon-painters’ workrooms and workrooms of iconostases makers in Shuya and Paleh.
4. Tourists interested in history will be glad to learn old and stable traditions of the Old Belief represented in our region. For example the town Jurjevec is connected with dramatical events in the life of protopope Habakkuk.

1. There are 38 state and local museums in Ivanovo and 13 other historic spots in the region. The most unique of them are: Museum of Ivanovo Printed Cottons, Mouseum-Cultural Center of A. Tarkovskiy, House-Museum of the Tsvetaevs Family, Museum of Landscape, State Museum of Palekh Art and others.
2. Tourists and museology specialists who visited our museums point to rich expositions, interesting design and unordinary ways of working.
3. There are some practical ideas on development of museums in the region. Expansion of tourism in Ivanovo could be facilitated by formation of the following new museums and museum exhibitions on the basis of the already existing ones:

• Museum of Textile Indusrty in Ivanovo. It could be situated in an industrial building with separate working areas in operation for demonstration of hand spinning and hand weaving, handkraft staining, textile manufatory, manufacturing of the 19^th century, development of textile engraving, and modern manufacturing. Singularity and cost-effectiveness of this project would be insured by the production of souvenir and exclusive fabrics with high content of natural fibres, patterns chosen by a customer and limited meterage of output;
• Museum of Merchants in Kineshma;
• Museum of Fabrics in Ivanovo;
• Museum of Workers and Thier Life which shoul be situated in one of the czarist-time factory barracks in Ivanovo, Shuya, Teikov, Vichuga or Yuzha;
• Museum of Hobblers and Settlers of the Volga Banks in Yuryevec;
• Museum of Linen in Puchezh or Privolzhsk;
• Historic-ethnographic Museum in Yuzha;
• Museum of Pitirim Sorokin and Nikolay Kondratyev
• Museum of Peat in Murgeevo Village of Yuzha District;
• Museum and exposition dedicated to duke Pozharsky D.M. in the village of Murgeeyevo-Nikolskoye or in the village of Borok in Yuzha district;
• Museum of Poet Balmont K. in Shuja;
• Museum of the river Teza – an old water trade route – in Kholuya;
• Museum of Smithcraft in the Village of Gari of Ilyinskiy district – a center of the local smithcrafi in the 19^th century;
• Museum of Horsefarming in Gavrilov Posad.

Already for some time we have an idea to use the heritage of Ivanovo ethnographical museum in order to create exihibitions introducing visitors to the town’s history, its social, cultural and religious life as well as to manufacturers of our region and their strengths and waeknesses. There is also a plan to organize a charactful exhibition about the historical attempts to implement the project of “Ivanovo as a third proletarian capital”. Another idea is to take advantage of an abandoned “old” railway station building in Ivanovo and use it as an exibition hall for railway history exposition which would represent Ivanovo-Voznesensk’s ways of life in the end of 19^th and in the beginning of 20^th century. One of the peculiar scenes of the exposition would be a crowd of people waiting for the train in the station. Very valuable are the projects on the Museum of the First Soviets in which is to be opened in the building where once a local city govenrnment was situated; and on the reconstruction of diorama which restore the events of 1905 in Talka are very valuable.

1. Ivanovo has a very significant art potentials in different spheres. Nevertheless city and regional museums should be more active in researching and collection of the best examples of fine arts created by the local artists. Many artists born in Ivanovo are quite welcomed abroad while their popularity in the native land is minimal. Without exaggeration one can say that art potentials of our region are considerably higher than those of our heighbours. There is everything needed for creation of so called “contact zones” for artists and tourists in Ivanovo and Plyos. Execution of the mentioned projects is put back not mainly due to lack of investments but because of absence of a right initiatives and an adequate policy.
2. Our region is popular for laquer miniatures which are made in the towns of Palekh and Kholuya, as well as for patterened weaving, hand-painted fabrics, art hand-embroidery, stitchembroidery and jewellery. The regional town Shuya is famous for its accordions, Ivanovo – for printed cottons and linen fabrics from which local designers make qualitative fashionable clothes holding to the original Russian traditions of sewing. In the recent years traditional crafts of twig-platting, boot-felting and woodworking are being brought back. The revival is significantly falicitated by the houses of crafts which were opened in a number of district centers in the region as well as by the Regional Scientific and Methodical Center of Folk Art.

1. Feather game (capercailye, black cock, hazel hen, watefowl, wading and field birds), furbearer and rabbit hunting are the most popular in Ivanovo region. Wolf hunting is also interesting but complicated. There are a lot of foxes, musterlines, lunxes and bears in our forests. Swine, elk and deer hunting is strongly limited. There are four hunting preserves in Ivanovo region including Klyazma preserve of beavers and desmans which has a great importance on the regional level.
2. The rivers of Volga, Elnat, Unzha, Nemda, Lukh, Nerl and their affluents, as well as numerous local lakes breed fish and are the most favored by fishermen. During all the season you would catch pike-perches, breams, carps, sheat-fish, crucian carps, perches, pikes and roaches.
3. Fishing tourism sphere is the most developed in the town of Yuryevec. Last year the first regional spinning competitions and state festival “Fisherman Agains Fisherman” took place there.

1. Architecture of Ivanovo region has its own distinct pecularities. The most unique are the industrial buildings which date back to 18^th - 20^th centuries. They are supplemented by the numerous notable examples of Provincial Art Nouveau and Neoclassicism. Buildings desined in the style of “ red dorika“ are the integral part of our architectural heritage. Guests of our region will be surprised by the outstanding architectural complexes in Vichuga, Yuzha and Ivanovo embobying an idea of “garden towns”.
2. Projects of such prestigious Russian architects as K. Ton, F. Shekhtel, I. Fomin, I. Zholtovsky, I. Bondarenko, V. And L. Veshiny, I. Golosov were implemented in Ivanovo.
3. Architectural landscape of Ivanovo and other towns of the region lacks small buidings and premises. Many important architectural monuments are in poor condition and miss different kinds of nameboards and tablets giving information about historic and artistic value of the architectural monuments.
4. City architecters should establish a tighter control over erection of new buildings, painting of fasades during repair works, and placement of outdoor advertisments, especially in the areas of historical develpment.

1. Many outstanding specialist who worked in the spheres of history, culture, science and technique were born and lived in Ivanovo therefore it is logical that numerous symposiums, conventions and conferences gathering the representatives of different spheres are hold there. Historians are attracted by the name of duke Dmitriy Pozharskiy and protopope Habakkuk; philosophers – by Pavel Florenskiy and Piritim Sorokin; economists – by Nikolay Kondratyev; writers – by N. A. Ostrovskiy, K. Balmont, N. Sarrot, A. Barkova; artists – by brothers Chernitsovi, E. Chestnakov and P. Korin; architectors – by brothers Vesniny; moviemakers – by A. Tarkovskiy and A. Rou; culture historians – I.V. Tsvetaeva and D.G. Burilin; polemologists – by the names of admiral G.I. Nevelkiy, commander M.F. Frunze and marshal A. M. Vasilevskiy; astronomers – by F.A. Bredikhin; matematicians – by A.I. Maltsev; geologists – by S.S. Smirnov; engineers – N.N. Denardos, A.A. Blagonravov and M.V. Keldish; chemists - by brothers Reformatskiye. And this is only a small part of the grate’s list.
2. Conferential tourism services offered by the hotel “Tourist” in Ivanovo should be improved to the up-to-date level in terms of its conference-hall and appartment equipment.

Revival of the regional economy secured by the tourism development is possible if the following services are made profitable:

1. Tourist services in recreational areas.
2. Tourist services in infrastructure spheres (hotels, cafes, restaurants, bars, museums, theaters, consert halls, exhibitions etc.)
3. Entertainment sphere services (shows, city gardens, parks, beaches, amusement parks).
4. Excursion services.

Increase in the tourist influx will undoubtedly lead to recovery and development of transport infrastructure, communication services, hotel business and public catering, establishments of culture, public utilities, beef and dairy animal husbandry, vegetable farming, horticulture, fishery, local manufacturing, beekeeping, potting of berries and mushrooms, traditional crafts. Trade – including pastry, ice cream, coolers, spirits, souvenir trade – will increase substantially. Attraction of tourists will also raise the quality of medical and consumer service.

Development of tourism and its infrastructure will create plenty of new jobs for: housemaids, cooks, waiters, barmen, guides, huntsmen, shop assistants, employees in a culture sphere, musicians, sport trainers, craftsmen who make souvenirs, communication operators, medical staff etc. In addition majority of the mentioned workers and employees will receive salary from the municipal budget.

Tourism development will facilitate nature protection activities and increase the level of ecological education and ecological thinking among population. Development of tourism and tourist services will generally make an educational work of all universities and some colleges and schools purposeful and perspective.

Tourism expansion will raise employment, widen and accelerate restoration of historic and culture monuments, increase educational and cultural standards among population, boost the quality of life, smooth an unfavorable demographic situation and social strain in the region, improve a criminal situation, raise the population’s health level and inspire the new generations with patriotism.

As the tourism infrastructure potentials and tourist influx increase, economic importance of the reorganization will rise up. At any rate we must start with development of recreational, cultural, piligrimage and sports tourism which do not require significant capital construction as well as with exclusive fishing and hunting tours which being relatively cheap give a considerable profit.

3. TOURIST INFRASTRUCTURE

Development of a tourist infrastructure must be effectively carried out by the creation of small and medium-size complexes which meet the following requirements:

ü as a rule complexes must be located in already existing buildings;

There are already examples of such complexes: Vechnij strannik and Kareta – in Ivanovo; Russkij dom – in Plyos; Russaja izba – in Kineshma. Interesting projects are now being developed in Palekh.

Characteristic image of Shuya, Kineshma, Vichuga, Yuryevec, Yuzha, Lukh, Kholuja, Palekh, Gavriloov Posad, Ilyinskiy-Khovalskiy and other historically important spots of our region create an ideal environment for implementation of many attractive ideas on the tourism infrastructure development in the small-scale business sphere.

In addition we must solve a number of strategic problems which require strong organization and large resources. The most burning of them are:

ü Reconstruction of a lock system on the Teza river and renewal of its navigation.

ü Enlargement of special tourist bus parks, primarily in Ivanovo, Yuryevec and Yuzha.

ü Accomplishment of the check dam reconstruction in Yuryevec.

The transformation of Ivanovo region into the large tourism center must be carried out under an effective management of the regional administration and other district and local responsible bodies. This will help to prevent an uncontrollable privatization of a recreationally valuable areas, real estate, historic and culture spots and beautiful landscapes and ensure economic and social recovery of the region in which population is interested.

It is very essential to implement a flexible policy which is aimed at the attraction of private investors (from Ivanovo region, Moscow, districts of Ivanovo region and from abroad) and receiving of a target financing for the program from regional and local budgets, welfare and social funds.

Recreational areas and tourism activities must be made available for every section of population: children and students, workers and farmers, intelligentsia and office workers with low income brackets, retired persons, people with poor health and disabled persons, the middle class, the rich, aristocracy of talent, foreign investors.

During tourism infrastructure formation we should provide that different kinds of property and a large number of population is involved in this project. A management system for such a large-scale reforms should consist of an effective administration, public initiative and public control.

Reorientation of a considerable part of the region’s population to a non-manufacturing business is impossible without thorough and aware work with local inhabitants – from children to pensioners. Publicity, constant and interested participation of local population is a basis for successful implementation of such a large and significant project.