Kostroma is a city of contrasts: a mere six hours from Moscow it is filled with ancient monasteries, hip bars and unusual museums. Kostroma has something for everyone looking for the Russia of new and old. The three main figures of Kostroma that the visitor will constantly encounter are Ostrovsky, Susanin and Snegurochka, the ice maiden whose ubiquitous presence ensures that the little ones will be entertained.

Kostroma supposedly takes its name from an ancient Slavic goddess associated with spring and fertility and the worship of this deity was a major festival in ancient Russia. Once upon a time it was the name for a linen doll, the history of which can be found at the Museum of Linen and Birchbark. Kostroma is most famous as being the city where Mikhail Romanov set out to Moscow from to claim his throne, ending the Time of Troubles and ushering in the Romanov Dynasty.

While Yaroslavl might have the Volkov Theatre (Russia’s first), Fyodr Volkov was actually born in Kostroma at what is now the location of the Museum of Theatrical Costumes (Ul. Simanovskogo 10). A number of other famous figures from Russian history have passed through Kostroma over the years as evidenced by the Walk of Fame on the pedestrian island on Prospekt Mira. Dedicated on the 855th anniversary of the city’s founding, it features the above names, as well as the first Tsar in the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail, Boris Godunov and Yury Dolgoruky, among others.