The Yaroslavl Region is among the ‘pearls’ of the Golden Ring of Russia. And winter is the time to travel around the region’s iconic tourist spots to avoid the crowds of tourists in summer who prefer traveling to such places in a warm season. An EcoTourism EXPERT’s correspondent traveled along a new tourist route designed specifically for owners of electric vehicles.
Not a long way to the boat
Driving an electric car (EV) slowly and pulling away smoothly is most important. If you make hard acceleration while driving an electric car, the battery charge level can drop very quickly. At first, you enjoy fast driving but soon, it makes you take into account that there are not as many EV charging stations on the Yaroslavl Highway as you require.
In the first 150 kilometers of the highway from Moscow to Pereslavl Zalessky that was part of the car run, six Russian Evolute electric vehicles stopped to recharge once - approximately halfway to Yaroslavl. Looking ahead, I would like to say that in the end, not all participants were able to get to a hotel in Yaroslavl, the final point of the journey even with a stop to recharge.
Pereslavl Zalessky is one of the ‘pearls’ of the northern part of the Golden Ring. Actually, the most important tourist attractions of this town, which is almost three centuries older than Moscow, are located around the famous Lake Pleshcheyevo. Today, a small water body (in the time of Peter the Great, the area of the lake was 70 square kilometers) is the cradle of the Russian fleet as Peter the Great built his first Poteshny Fleet (Toy Fleet) on Lake Pleshcheyevo. Unfortunately, the ships almost completely burned down in the fire in the summer of 1783, but the ‘Fortune’ boat remained; the young tsar took part in making it. The tourists can see the boat today in a special room protected from bad weather and then have a snack at a restaurant enjoying the stunning view of the lake. It is worth knowing that visitors have no chance to taste the famous Pereslavl vendace, an endemic species of fish that is only in Lake Pleshcheyevo because it is listed in the Red Data Book. But sometimes, tourists can buy this fish from locals selling it illegally.
Owners of electric vehicles should also know that there are no EV charging stations in Pereslavl Zalessky. Therefore, before continuing their trip, they should seriously think about going straight to Yaroslavl (125 kilometers) or making a stop on the way to Rostov the Great (60 kilometers), since the town is on the way.
A small town but great
The name of Rostov the Great comes from the word ‘growth’ as the town was rapidly growing in those days and expanded thanks to the rapid development of the oldest town in Russia founded in 862. And the town was called ‘the Great’ by the end of the 10th century when it became a major cultural and administrative center of Ancient Rus’.
Today, Rostov the Great is familiar to almost everyone who was ‘born in the USSR’. The matter is that in the late 1970s, the Rostov Kremlin ‘played the role’ of the Moscow Kremlin in the famous comedy Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession. And George Miloslavsky and Bunsha ran away from the Streltsy (riflemen) along the white stone walls of the Rostov Kremlin. It’s also possible to walk along them and imagine you are an actor or an actress in that film - you just need to know that the Rostov Kremlin is open from April 29 to October 1. A single ticket to visit the exhibitions costs 1,000 rubles.
By the way, tourists can visit the exhibition of the magnificent Rostov enamel miniatures - the famous Russian folk-art craft - in the Rostov Kremlin and get to know that these enamel miniatures are made on enamel with transparent fireproof paints invented by the French jeweler Jean Toutin in 1632.
It is interesting that the masters of the enamel miniatures in Rostov were very wealthy people as the price of the smallest enamel miniatures - the size of a thumbnail - was about 5-6 rubles apiece. A good master could make several such works of art per day, and in those days, a good cow could be bought for 3-4 rubles!
Rostov the Great has other attractions, not only its enamel miniatures and the Kremlin. Today, an inquisitive traveler can find out that the residents of this town were called ‘noodle eaters’ in Rus’, since they liked homemade noodles very much, and the noodles were also served in every restaurant in those years. Within the walls of the Kremlin, there is a magnificent collection of carriages, cabs and other horse-drawn vehicles collected by Oleg Zharov, a private enthusiast, the head of the project Rostov the Great - the Spiritual Center of Russia; the collection has over thirty exhibits by the Western European and Russian masters.
Well, since the trip is made by an electric car, it should be mentioned that there are no EV charging stations between Pereslavl Zalessky and Rostov, as well as between Rostov and Yaroslavl. Therefore, the average driving speed (especially in winter) should be taken into account, as well as the temperature in the cabin and other factors influencing the speed of battery consumption!
In search of ‘space’ cheese
The distance between Yaroslavl and Uglich is 110 kilometers. Driving this distance in winter at a temperature of minus 15 degrees Celsius is not easy, especially if a driver travels by an electric car not alone but with a family. In addition, a driver should keep in mind that there are no EV charging stations in the ancient Russian town, whose history dates back to 937.
But there are certainly tourism anchors in Uglich. The town is famous for being the place of the tragic death of Tsarevich Dimitri, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, and in fact, the Time of Troubles began with this event. It is also famous as the first town in Russia where sausages were produced ‘on an industrial scale’ - just a few people know about this. As the guide said during a tour of the SyrKultProsvet Museum-Factory, the Uglich cheese was the first to go into space together with Yuri Gagarin.
However, in addition to cheese and interesting history, a huge number of other Uglich’s attractions are of interest to travelers. For example, the Uglich Kremlin is located on the very bank of the Volga River, in the historical part of the town, but it existed in its original form only until the 18th century. Afterwards, its wooden walls and fortifications were finally dismantled. Only small fragments of the town ditch that once protected the fortress remained as well as a complex of buildings. It is not expensive to look at the remains as the admission to the Kremlin area is free.
Of the survived buildings, the Chambers of the Uglich appanage princes are a must-visit attraction; the princes’ chambers made of large bricks were built in 1480 and are a unique monument of medieval architecture and among the oldest residential buildings preserved in Russia.
Turn on the power!
There was a good reason for an idea of traveling by an electric car, and EcoTourism EXPERT took part in the journey. The number of vehicles with an electric motor rather than a combustion engine is growing and more EVs are on the streets of the Russian cities. And it is a serious and timely task to assess the possibilities of traveling by EVs through the cities and towns of Russia, especially in a winter season.
It is necessary to say right away that the electric vehicles’ run was a success. However, to be able to travel along this route and look without fear at the remaining battery charge, travelers should remember several simple rules.
Among the largest Russian cities, only Moscow and St. Petersburg have sufficient EV charging stations for electric vehicles. Once travelers go to other regions, the search for an EV charging station, whether on the highway or in the city, turns into a real quest. Therefore, every EV driver should have a map of EV charging stations in the phone downloaded in advance.
Driving an electric car teaches a driver to be calm. When there are several hundred kilometers from one EV charging station to another, pulling away smoothly and smooth and gradual braking becomes the main skill. A driver also needs to know that the conventional 400 kilometers of range before a battery becomes ‘flat’ in winter can literally turn into 300 and then 250 kilometers after just half an hour of driving through traffic jams. This gets on drivers’ and passengers’ nerves and also makes the drivers to plan their journey in advance.
And then, the journey will definitely be a success. After all, we not only got there, but also returned home!