psychology research jobs edinburgh

• Schools & departments

Psychological Research MSc

Awards: MSc

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Funding opportunities

Introduction to Postgraduate Study at the University of Edinburgh

Join us online on 25 September to learn more about Scotland, the city of Edinburgh and postgraduate study at the University.

Find out more and register

Programme description

This programme provides an opportunity for intensive advanced training in psychological research while giving you flexibility to select courses in the areas of psychology and cognitive neuroscience of most interest to you.

In addition to advanced training in general academic skills and statistical modelling, you will be trained in a variety of specific methodologies, typically including:

• brain imaging
• neurodisruption
• eyetracking
• clinical case analysis
• psychometric modelling
• discourse analysis

Key research areas

Building on the research methods training, you will take topical courses in one or more of the core research areas of our department: social psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, individual differences, psychology of language, and human development.

Your MSc culminates in a research dissertation in a core research area: an original, publication-quality piece of research, undertaken in close collaboration with researchers in the relevant group.

Psychology is rated 3rd in the UK by Times Higher Education for the quality and breadth of the research using the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021).

What will I learn?

You will take courses on the theoretical and methodological aspects of psychological science and conduct an original research dissertation in your area of interest.

You will receive thorough training in advanced academic skills and research methods within psychology, including a comprehensive coverage of statistical modelling and research design using the R statistical language.

Is this MSc for me?

This programme teaches you core research methods and specialist techniques, and you can flexibly choose optional courses to customise your learning in areas you are most passionate about.

It provides excellent preparation for further psychological research, whether you choose to pursue this in a professional setting or as part of a PhD programme. So whether you want to continue in academic research or move into professional training in psychology, this programme is for you.

Reputation, relevance and employability

The University of Edinburgh has a long tradition of research expertise in psychological research. Our large Psychology department is home to academics leading research in the field.

You will benefit from the breadth and strength of the interdisciplinary academic community at Edinburgh, having the opportunity to select option courses and attend research seminars across different disciplines.

Our students’ research projects are often published in academic or professional journals.

Our programme has an excellent reputation amongst employers and educators. Many of our graduates have gone onto PhD training and academic careers, or advanced professional training in psychology.

We maintain close contacts with professional organisations such as the British Psychological Society (BPS).

• Find out more about our community

The School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences is home to a large, supportive and active student community, hosting events and activities you can join in with throughout the year. As a postgraduate student, you will have access to a range of research resources and projects, state of the art facilities, research, seminars and reading groups.

Programme structure

This programme comprises two semesters of taught core and optional courses followed by a dissertation.

The taught courses and their assessments take place between September and December (Semester 1) and January and April (Semester 2). Planning for the dissertation will take place before April, and it is carried out between April and August.

Core courses

The core courses cover advanced research skills (how to plan for, conduct, publish and communicate research), statistics and qualitative research methods, and provide a grounding in computer programming using the R language.

Semester 1 core courses

• Psychological Research Skills - General advanced research methodology
• Univariate Statistics and Methodology using R - Introduction to R and statistical models

Semester 2 core courses

• Multivariate Statistics and Methodology using R – Advanced statistical modelling
• Qualitative Methodologies in Psychological Research Methods

Optional courses

The optional course can be selected to tailor the programme to your interests. These are normally selected from the core research areas of Psychology, but may also be selected from associated areas such as linguistics or informatics. Examples of optional courses are:

• Brain Imaging in Cognitive Neuroscience
• Clinical Neuropsychology
• Psychology of Language
• Neuroscience of Language
• Applied Psychometrics
• Any other course open to MSc students subject to approval from the programme director

Dissertation

The dissertation involves conducting an empirical research project in close collaboration with an expert supervisor, sometimes also working with fellow MSc students.

You will produce a written report, similar to an academic journal article. Indeed, some dissertations are published as journal articles.

You should liaise with potential supervisors and determine your choice of topic in the months before April. It is useful to start thinking about dissertation topics and supervisors early if possible. The empirical work and writing takes place between April and August and it is due in August.

The dissertation can be based on data collected by the student or existing datasets (e.g., from large cohort studies, biobanks or other projects).

How will I learn?

Most courses are taught through lectures, and some include seminars/tutorials and practical sessions. The number of contact hours and the teaching format will depend to some extent on the option courses chosen.

After classes finish in April, you will spend all your time working independently on coursework, exam revision and on your dissertation. When you carry out your supervised dissertation research, you will receive guidance from your supervisor through one-to-one meetings, comments on written work and email communication.

Learning outcomes

This programme provides you with a range of knowledge and skills to prepare you for a variety of career paths. On successful completion of this programme, you will have gained:

• an understanding of advanced topics, methodologies and issues in the areas of psychological science that are of most interest to you
• an understanding of the basic and advanced principles of research design and application
• competency in applying a range of methods and research tools, including statistical models and programming
• skills in research management, including managing data and conducting and disseminating research in ways consistent with both professional practice and the normal principles of research ethics
• transferable skills in written and verbal communication, group and teamwork, computing, programming and numeracy, time and project management
• the ability to work as an independent researcher and as part of a team

Career opportunities

The programme is primarily designed for students who aspire to pursue a research-oriented career in psychological science. However, students interested in careers outside research will obtain a broad range of highly desirable transferable skills applicable to a wide range of modern jobs, such as:

• research design
• data science
• data management and processing
• critical evaluation and synthesis of scientific literature
• statistical modelling and interpretation
• synthesis and communication of complex ideas
• Careers Service

Our award-winning Careers Service plays an essential part in your wider student experience at the University, providing:

• tailored advice
• individual guidance and personal assistance
• internships and networking opportunities (with employers from local organisations to top multinationals)
• access to the experience of our worldwide alumni network

We invest in your future beyond the end of your degree. Studying at the University of Edinburgh will lay the foundations for your future success, whatever shape that takes.

Important application information

Your application and personal statement allow us to make sure that you and your chosen MSc are good matches for each other, and that you will have a productive and successful year at Edinburgh.

We strongly recommend you apply as early as possible. You should avoid applying to more than one degree. Applicants who can demonstrate their understanding and commitment to a specific programme are preferred. If you plan to apply to more than one programme, you should discuss your choices with us before you submit your application.

Personal statements

When applying you should include a personal statement detailing your academic abilities and your reasons for applying for the programme

The personal statement helps us decide whether you are right for the MSc programme you have selected, but just as importantly, it helps us decide whether the MSc programme is right for you.

Your personal statement should include:

• What makes this particular MSc programme interesting for you?
• What are the most important things you want to gain from the MSc programme?
• The key courses you have taken and that are relevant for this specific programme.
• Your experience with collecting empirical data (e.g., preparing and carrying out experiments, surveys or interviews).
• Your experience with statistical analysis and programming or qualitative research methods.
• Your experience with writing empirical research reports (including any that have been published).
• Any other information which you feel will help us ensure that you are a good match to your intended MSc programme.

A good personal statement can make a big difference to the admissions process as it may be the only opportunity to explain why you are an ideal candidate for the programme.

You will be asked to add contact details for your referees. We will email them with information on how to upload their reference directly to your online application. Alternatively, they can email their comments to:

• [email protected]

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

• How to apply

Psychology at Edinburgh

Entry requirements.

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in psychology or a related discipline.

We may also consider candidates with a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a non-psychology subject if they can demonstrate evidence of their aptitude for research or research methods.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country
• English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced ( CAE ) / C2 Proficiency ( CPE ): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE : ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 62 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS , TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE , in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Fees and costs

Tuition fees, scholarships and funding.

There are a number of highly competitive scholarships and funding options available to MSc students.

Deadlines for funding applications vary for each funding source - please make sure to check the specific deadlines for the funding opportunities you wish to apply for and make sure that you submit your application in good time.

• Drever Trust Scholarship

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding

Further information

• PPLS Postgraduate Office
• Phone: +44 (0)131 651 5002
• Contact: [email protected]
• Programme Director, Prof Martin Corley
• Phone: +44 (0)131 650 6682
• Contact: [email protected]
• Dugald Stewart Building
• 3 Charles Street
• Central Campus
• School: Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences
• College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This programme is not currently accepting applications. Applications for the next intake usually open in October.

Start date: September

Awards: MSc (12 mth FT, 24 mth PT)

Application deadlines

This MSc programme operates a gathered field approach to applications. This means that all complete applications which meet our minimum entry requirements will be held until the nearest deadline at which point the Admissions Panel will meet to consider all applications received at this time.

Gathered field deadlines for this programme are as follows:

Applications submitted after the deadline date will unfortunately not be considered.

Please read through the ‘Important application information’ section on this page before applying.

Research Associate

The University of Edinburgh - College of Science & Engineering- School of Informatics

Full Time- 35 hours per week

Fixed Term Contract- 24 months

The Opportunity:

The School of Informatics wishes to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the area of data visualization and HCI to work on the ‘Grasping Data’ project which is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Universities of Edinburgh (the Schools of Education and Informatics) and Glasgow (School of Computing Sciences). The vision of this project is to empower young children to create, explore, understand, and directly benefit from their personal data through visual and physical data representations and bespoke activities. As part of an interdisciplinary team the post holder will be responsible for investigating and co-designing data physicalizations and related activities with children.

Grasping Data is a large two-year funded project to change how we think about children and their personal data. The project goes beyond current emphases on privacy and protection by co-creating cutting-edge, child-centred tools and pedagogies with young children, helping them understand and directly benefit from their own data. We will achieve this by advancing diverse research fields of early learning, cognitive psychology, child-centred design, data ethics, data visualization, and computer science to explore the potential of Data Physicalization for children in their early years (aged 3-8) to construct (with adults) physical representations of their personal data that they can touch, explore, talk about and learn with. Our focus on the youngest learners pushes the boundaries of helping all ages to understand and benefit from data in an increasingly digital world.

This post is full time at 1.0 FTE. We are also open to considering requests for hybrid working (on a non-contractual basis) that combines a mix of remote and regular on-campus working, so long as the core qualitative in-person research can be accommodated. This job requires (following appointment) Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG) Registration as working directly with young children.   

Your skills and attributes for success: 

• A PhD or equivalent professional qualification (or near completion) in Data Visualisation, Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design or related relevant areas.
• Experience in designing data visualizations and/or physicalizations. 
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, including conducting studies “in the wild”, i.e., in real-world environments.
• Experience and/or strong interest in working at the intersection of data visualization and child education, including the ethical challenges and safeguarding requirements of working with children
• Experience and/or interest in working interdisciplinarily across the sciences, humanities, art and design. 
• Knowledge and experience of academic publishing including e.g. first authorship and evidence of strong/independent writing capabilities in relevant venues such as IEEE VIS, ACM CHI, ACM DIS.

Share on social media

Advert information

Type / Role:

Subject Area(s):

Location(s):

PhD Alert Created

Job alert created.

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Account Verification Missing

In order to create multiple job alerts, you must first verify your email address to complete your account creation

jobs.ac.uk Account Required

In order to create multiple alerts, you must create a jobs.ac.uk jobseeker account

Alert Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your account is currently blocked. Please login to unblock your account.

Email Address Blocked

We received a delivery failure message when attempting to send you an email and therefore your email address has been blocked. You will not receive job alerts until your email address is unblocked. To do so, please choose from one of the two options below.

Max Alerts Reached

A maximum of 5 Job Alerts can be created against your account. Please remove an existing alert in order to create this new Job Alert

Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your alert was not created at this time. Please try again.

Create PhD Alert

Create job alert.

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria. When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

Max Saved Jobs Reached

A maximum of 500 Saved Jobs can be created against your account. Please remove an existing Saved Job in order to add a new Saved Job.

Please sign in or register for an account to save a job.

More jobs from The University of Edinburgh

Events and Higgs Centre Administrator

Teaching Fellow in Urban Data Science and Sustainability

Research Assistant

Strategic Planner and Information Analyst

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics

Show all jobs for this employer …

More jobs like this

Research Fellow - AR3034RH

Research Software Engineer in AI and Machine Learning

Image Analyst (Imaging Facility)

Join in and follow us

Copyright © jobs.ac.uk 1998 - 2024

• Career Advice
• Jobs by Email
• Advertise a Job
• Terms of use
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Accessibility Statement

Browser Upgrade Recommended

For the best user experience, we recommend viewing jobs.ac.uk on one of the following:

Sorry - something went wrong with our website.

Error Reference: 18.e2d6dd58.1724984357.5af4267

Please try again and, if you are still having problems, contact us for further assistance.

Explore careers

Psychology is the study of how people think, feel and behave. Through specialist techniques, such as psychometric testing and observation, psychologists investigate the causes of behaviour and the mental processes involved.

Psychologists work closely with patients to manage and treat their condition to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Assistant psychologist

Clinical associate in applied psychology, clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, forensic psychologist, health psychologist, neuropsychologist.

Discover the skills and qualifications you’ll need for each role and what the work will be like.

Help with recruitment

We'll guide you through the recruitment process, from applying online to interview preparation.

Ural Institute of Gestalt psychology and modern

National Technological University

Slov'yansʹkyy Khimiko-Mekhanichnyy Tekhnikum

Litsenzirovannyy Uchebnyy Tsentr Etalon

Yekaterinburg, where Europe and Asia come together

Last Updated on January 6, 2024 by Irena Domingo

Yekaterinburg is the capital of the Urals and an obligatory stop of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is the fourth city in the country and the place where Europe and Asia meet. It is historically known to be the place where in 1918 the Bolsheviks murdered Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family. In this post I’ll tell you what you can see in this beautiful city and its surroundings.

I'm going to talk about ...

The fourth Russian capital

Mineral and geological wealth, vital transport hub, some trivia, 2. practical information to organize the visit, 3.1. church on blood in honor of all the saints, formerly ipatiev house, 3.2. dam on the iset river and the sevastyanov house, 3.3. state academic opera and ballet theater, 3.4. yekaterinburg war memorial, 3.5. visotsky business center and observation platform, 3.6. vaynera street, 3.7. geological museum of the urals, 3.8. qwerty monument, 3.9. boris yeltsin presidential center, 4.1. europe-asia monument, 4.2. ganina yama monastery, 4.3. olenii ruchii national park, 4.4. chertovo gorodishche rocks, 1. yekaterinburg: capital of the urals and a trans-siberian railway stop.

Yekaterinburg is located in the western center of Russia, already within Asia, though by very little. It is the fourth city in the country by its number of inhabitants , behind Moscow (at a distance of 1,667 km), Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk (the latter already in Siberia), and it is located in the territory of the long and low mountain range of the Ural Mountains, a natural border between Europe and Asia.

It is the capital of the oblast (or region) of Sverdlovsk and the federal district of the Ural. It has approximately 1,500,000 inhabitants , and it is located 237 meters above sea level, bathed by Iset River.

Its current prosperity comes from industry and metallurgy, as well as the mineral and geological wealth of its environment, currently combined with other scientific and educational developments.

As a curiosity, the Eiffel Tower in Paris was built with steel from the Urals for its construction and the Statue of Liberty in New York used copper from the same site.

It should be noted that Yekaterinburg today is an important transport and communications hub , from European Russia to Siberia, especially through the railway lines, consisting of seven lines, and it is a mandatory stop of the Trans-Siberian, Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian routes . At the same time, Yekaterinburg and its role of being the Eurasian connection bring us closer to knowing another reality of this fascinating and immense country called Russia.

It is a city with very cold winters and temperatures in the negative for about seven months, subjected to the arctic air that comes down from the north of Siberia, which however we can visit in summer with a joyous average temperature of about 14º C, as days in this season are over 20 degrees. July could be an ideal month.

From a historical perspective, Yekaterinburg is known mainly for its most important and shocking event: it was the place where in 1918 the Bolsheviks murdered Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family.

The name Yekaterinburg comes from Catherine I of Russia, though from 1924 to 1991 it was called Sverdlovsk by the Soviet politician Yakov Sverdlov.

• In 1963, Fidel Castro visited the city, and that same year there were 11 babies with the name of Fidel, in homage to the Cuban leader.
• Another historic episode, much more recent, took place on February 15, 2013, when a large meteorite crossed the city and fell on Lake Chebarkul, in Chelyabinsk, about 210 km south, but the shock wave was felt by the residents.
• The UMMC Yekaterinburg women’s basketball team is one of the best in Europe and has won several Euroleague or European Championships, the last in 2018.
• Many Olympic medalists of different disciplines have come from this city. Also, cross-country skiing is very practical.

To move around the city, you should consider some useful information, as well as having good links for transport and communications. So, you need to know that:

• The time zone is UTC + 6 (two hours ahead of Moscow and six hours ahead of Greenwich). It takes two hours to go from Moscow to Yekaterinburg by plane. By train, the journey can take at least 25 hours. There are very varied overnight offers on the Trans-Siberian trains.
• The main railway station is currently officially called Yekaterinburg- Passazhyrski , formerly Sverdlovsk, a name that is still used.
• Yekaterinburg Metro . From 06 to 00 hours. It was opened in 1991. Nine stations and one line. Very economical and well decorated, with stones from the Urals, granite and marble.
• Koltsovo Airport (SVX). One of the 5 Russian airports with international transit area of ​​the country. The Koltsovo Express train goes to the airport twice a day.
• Ural Airlines . Company that has its base in Yekaterinburg. From there you can fly to many parts of Europe and Asia, especially a good number of Russian cities, former Soviet republics or even Beijing.
• Official municipal website of tourist information . Includes attractions, accommodations, catering and events.
• Yekaterinburg City Pass card . It costs from 500 and up to 1,600 rubles, for one or two days, including discounts, guided tours and free visits to more than 30 historical, military, artistic or other museums that you can visit according to your tastes and interests. The City Pass of Yekaterinburg is a very good option.
• Official tourism portal of the Urals and the region (in English, French, German, Russian and Chinese).

3. What to see in Yekaterinburg

Being a very important railway point and junction of the Trans-Siberian Route, you can stop in Yekaterinburg to visit the city one or two days, as well as its surroundings.

Like any big city, the possibilities are great, but I will focus on what I personally consider most essential.

Thus, it is important to know that there is a tourist circular route following a red line through the center of the city , which will allow you to observe the main buildings and attractions.

The line goes on the asphalt and runs through 5.5 km and 35 points of interest in a project that was carried out by volunteers. The departure starts at 1905 Square, probably the most important in the city, but I will start with the Church on the Blood (number 14 on the map below), the nearest stop to the railway station of Yekaterinburg.

• Website :  http://www.ekbredline.ru/

From these 35 points of interest, which are many, I will show you below those that are the most relevant for me.

The Church on Blood is located around a 20 minutes’ walk from the main railway station, which is currently called and officially Yekaterinburg- Passazhyrski, formerly Sverdlovsk, a name that is still used.

It was built between 2000 and 2003, over the former Ipatiev House (demolished in 1977), where Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, her five children and four workers were killed on July 17, 1918.

This Russian Orthodox church, of neo-Byzantine architecture, serves as a pilgrimage site to honor the memory of the executed Romanovs. It occupies 2,760 m2 and has a museum dedicated to the Russian imperial family.

On July 17th, 2018, around 100,000 people gathered in Yekaterinburg to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family at the hands of the Bolsheviks. The faithful departed on foot at 2:00 am to the place where the execution took place, in the center of Yekaterinburg, where the Ipatiev house was.

The remains of Nicholas II, his wife and his three children were found in 1979, and buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg in 1998.

At a 10-minute walk from the Church on the Blood, you have one of the key centers of the city, which is located in the dike or reservoir on the Iset River, in which you can enjoy the sights, and walk around on your own. It is a very centric backwater site.

Next to the dike is the Sevastyanov House, built in the first half of the 19th century on the banks of the Iset River, a national architectural heritage. It has eclectic style and very colorful. Located on Lenin Avenue, the main artery of the city.

Since it is part of a complex of official buildings, you can’t visit it in principle.

Very close to the dike, there is the State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet , a public theater, baroque style, with very nice interior decoration. With varied and high-level programming. It is a very good opportunity to enjoy quality productions at very competitive prices.

You can buy tickets online. A good place to end the day. The performances normally take place in the afternoon, between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Near the theater, in the Soviet Army Plaza, at the intersection of Mamina-Sibiryaka and Pervomayskaya streets, you can find the Yekaterinburg War Memorial , a memorial against wars, in memory of fallen Russian soldiers in Afghanistan and Chechnya. It has an impressive sculpture, inaugurated in 1996.

If you like heights, then just behind the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater you will see the Visotsky business center , which is located in what appears to be the tallest northern skyscraper in the world, a business tower-building of 188.3 m high, which also has a hotel, spa and restaurants.

On the 52nd floor, it has an open and secure observation deck at 186 meters high, with fabulous views up to 25 kilometers away. You can use audio guides.

Hours: Monday to Friday from 12m to 10:00 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Regular entry fee: 350 rubles and discounts for children under 12 and others. It is free for children under 5 years old. The payment is only in cash at the moment.

The name is due to Vladimir Visotsky, a popular poet, actor and musician, who has his own museum in the skyscraper. Web: http://visotsky-e.ru/en/

The Vaynera Street, known as the Arbat Street (in Moscow) of the Urals, can be reached in about 15 minutes on foot from Visotsky Business Center. It is perfect for shopping. A pedestrian walkway, and with sculptures in its route. You can look for high quality leather bags and wallets in the area.

Vaynera Street begins near 1905 Goda Square, the most important in the city, where the city hall of Yekaterinburg is located, and where you will also find a large statue of Lenin.

At the end of Vaynera Street, at number 39 Kuybysheva Street, you will find the Geological Museum of the Urals , where you can find numerous minerals from the Ural Mountains, worthy of being contemplated. It is a small but very well managed site. You can see various meteorites, including lunar and Martian rocks, as well as the Ural gems used in the Kremlin stars.

In your store you can find precious stones to give as gifts. Entry for 200 rubles.

Accessible by public transport and very close to the Geologicheskaya metro station.

It is a very intriguing and curious visit on the bank of the Iset River. It is the famous computer keyboard with large stones for each key, with a total of 86.

This largest keyboard in the world is located near Ploshchad 1905 Goda metro station.

Finally, though outside the tourist red line, you can find the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center . With a modern and dazzling exterior architecture, and inaugurated in 2015, it is a civic space and museum dedicated to the first president of the Russian Federation (1991-1999), Boris Yeltsin, born in the region, in the small locality of Bukta.

In the museum we can see Yeltsin’s life and get to know more on the formation of the Russian Federation, the previous perestroika or the Soviet era. With latest technologies and with authentic documents, it is a very interesting site.

It is open from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can buy the tickets online. Basic price: 200 rubles. Discounts for families. Optional guided tours in Russian or English (Tuesdays without surcharge on ticket price).

It is worth noting the beautiful views of the river and that it has a restaurant.

4. What to see around Yekaterinburg

The Europe-Asia Monument is located about 40 kilometers west of Yekaterinburg, about 5 kilometers from the city of Pervouralsk. It is located in the middle of the forest area of the Verkh-Isetsky district.

It is a visit where you can take a photo on the border or continental divide between Europe and Asia . The monument is a column or obelisk that measures 30 meters high, on top of a podium, and is made of red marble. It is accessed through a stone staircase, divided into two wings: on one side we will be in Europe and the other in Asia. A double-headed Russian bronze eagle crowns the column.

There are bus departures and excursions from various points, such as those that leave from the side of the main railway station.

And you need to pay attention, because there are a few monuments, landmarks, sculptures, signs or points of reference that mark the limit between Europe and Asia in the Ural Mountains. These are undoubtedly the most relevant.

It is a complex of wooden monastic buildings with different temples dedicated to the Romanov family, who were moved there after their death, which gives it a certain mysterious air. It can be reached on the bus that leaves from the main train station, around 15 kilometers to the north. Website: http://ganinayama.ru/

Around 150 km west of the city. You can get there by bus or train, but more directly by car, in perhaps less than two hours. It is beautiful path of forests and the Serga River. You will find caves, rocks and very marked karstic formations, authentic paleozoological monuments, such as the Druzhba cave (which mean Friendship).

A true outdoor natural history museum with multiple educational and environmental activities for all ages. Web: http://www.olen.ur.ru/

It is a natural geomorphological monument of granite, of volcanic origin of 20 meters high, formed 300 million years ago. It stands out for its strange shapes. It is about 40 km and 1 hour and 30 minutes from Yekaterinburg.

And here we finish this visit to Yekaterinburg and its surroundings. As you can see, it is very worthwhile. If you found this guide useful, you can help me by sharing it on your social networks. You can also leave your comments or thoughts below.

About Irena Domingo

Hello, my name is Irena. I was born in Russia in 1974 during the Soviet era. I worked as a Russian teacher and as a translator and interpreter for the past 30 years. One of my main hobbies is traveling. I started this blog with one aim: to create the most comprehensive guide ever written for traveling to Russia and beyond. Author of the Russia Guidebook 2024 (PDF)

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Russiable Community

Leave a comment…

If you have any comments, questions or concerns about the article you just read, join the Russiable Community to get answers or to leave your opinions or comments.

Discover more

• You are on Realigro website
• Russian Federation
• Sverdlovsk Oblast
• EKATERINBURG
• List your properties
• Estate agents
• Private seller
• Property portals

Preferences

• Publish your free listing
• Rent-holidays

For sale 1 Bedroom, EKATERINBURG, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation, Sherbaova 77

• Send to a friend
• Add to favourites
• Email alert
• Report an error

For sale - Cod. 29133

• Tipology: 1 Bedroom
• Area: 43 m²
• Rooms No.: 1
• Publication date announcement: 26/08/2016

Hello, we are the owners, Irina and Oleg. We sell a bright, comfortable and very beautiful flat, designed in a Scandinavian style. The flat created "for himself", but forced to sell due to moving to Moscow. ( We bought and renovated this flat for us but we have time sell it due to ...) The flat is located in a picturesque location near the Uktus mountains. The residential complex Stony Brook. In the flat: - All necessary equipment. (Dishwasher, washing machine, oven, refrigerator, range hood, stove, TV, microwave, coffee machine) - 2 wardrobes - Ennobled balcony where you can enjoy beautiful views of the forest and mountains, and dream about the most valuable. - Cable TV, wireless internet. - Increased size of window openings make the flat extremely bright. - All items and accessories are in the flat. In building: - High-speed elevator otis, which descends directly into the underground parking. - Concierge. - Courtyard complex located on the podium, which is located at 3 floors. House territory developed according to modern requirements - as a sport, and a playground with a safe finish. - On the first floor there is a trading gallery with a large grocery store, pharmacy, children's and sports goods, cafés and restaurants. The complex has a fitness club. Area: - In walking distance from the complex there is a shopping center "Globus" Waterpark "Limpopo", sports complex, "Planet IGRIK" (children's entertainment center), ICE (fitness center), the ski slopes and ski resorts, subway Botanica. - 8 km to the center. - 100 m bus stop

Page views divided according to country of origin

Change date interval 1 month 2 months 6 months

Price trend (USD/m²)

Inquiry for more info, highlight listings.

For a better use of Realigro website, set your preferences for language, currency, square meters or sq ft.

• Places - European, Western and Northern Russia

YEKATERINBURG: FACTORIES, URAL SIGHTS, YELTSIN AND THE WHERE NICHOLAS II WAS KILLED

Sverdlovsk oblast.

Sverdlovsk Oblast is the largest region in the Urals; it lies in the foothills of mountains and contains a monument indicating the border between Europe and Asia. The region covers 194,800 square kilometers (75,200 square miles), is home to about 4.3 million people and has a population density of 22 people per square kilometer. About 83 percent of the population live in urban areas. Yekaterinburg is the capital and largest city, with 1.5 million people. For Russians, the Ural Mountains are closely associated with Pavel Bazhov's tales and known for folk crafts such as Kasli iron sculpture, Tagil painting, and copper embossing. Yekaterinburg is the birthplace of Russia’s iron and steel industry, taking advantage of the large iron deposits in the Ural mountains. The popular Silver Ring of the Urals tourist route starts here.

In the summer you can follow in the tracks of Yermak, climb relatively low Ural mountain peaks and look for boulders seemingly with human faces on them. You can head to the Gemstone Belt of the Ural mountains, which used to house emerald, amethyst and topaz mines. In the winter you can go ice fishing, ski and cross-country ski.

Sverdlovsk Oblast and Yekaterinburg are located near the center of Russia, at the crossroads between Europe and Asia and also the southern and northern parts of Russia. Winters are longer and colder than in western section of European Russia. Snowfalls can be heavy. Winter temperatures occasionally drop as low as - 40 degrees C (-40 degrees F) and the first snow usually falls in October. A heavy winter coat, long underwear and good boots are essential. Snow and ice make the sidewalks very slippery, so footwear with a good grip is important. Since the climate is very dry during the winter months, skin moisturizer plus lip balm are recommended. Be alert for mud on street surfaces when snow cover is melting (April-May). Patches of mud create slippery road conditions.

Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg (kilometer 1818 on the Trans-Siberian Railway) is the fourth largest city in Russia, with of 1.5 million and growth rate of about 12 percent, high for Russia. Located in the southern Ural mountains, it was founded by Peter the Great and named after his wife Catherine, it was used by the tsars as a summer retreat and is where tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed and President Boris Yeltsin lived most of his life and began his political career. The city is near the border between Europe and Asia.

Yekaterinburg (also spelled Ekaterinburg) is located on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains in the headwaters of the Iset and Pyshma Rivers. The Iset runs through the city center. Three ponds — Verkh-Isetsky, Gorodskoy and Nizhne-Isetsky — were created on it. Yekaterinburg has traditionally been a city of mining and was once the center of the mining industry of the Urals and Siberia. Yekaterinburg remains a major center of the Russian armaments industry and is sometimes called the "Pittsburgh of Russia.". A few ornate, pastel mansions and wide boulevards are reminders of the tsarist era. The city is large enough that it has its own Metro system but is characterized mostly by blocky Soviet-era apartment buildings. The city has advanced under President Vladimir Putin and is now one of the fastest growing places in Russia, a country otherwise characterized by population declines

Yekaterinburg is technically an Asian city as it lies 32 kilometers east of the continental divide between Europe and Asia. The unofficial capital of the Urals, a key region in the Russian heartland, it is second only to Moscow in terms of industrial production and capital of Sverdlovsk oblast. Among the important industries are ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, machine building and metalworking, chemical and petrochemicals, construction materials and medical, light and food industries. On top of being home of numerous heavy industries and mining concerns, Yekaterinburg is also a major center for industrial research and development and power engineering as well as home to numerous institutes of higher education, technical training, and scientific research. In addition, Yekaterinburg is the largest railway junction in Russia: the Trans-Siberian Railway passes through it, the southern, northern, western and eastern routes merge in the city.

Accommodation: There are two good and affordable hotels — the 3-star Emerald and Parus hotels — located close to the city's most popular landmarks and main transport interchanges in the center of Yekaterinburg. Room prices start at RUB 1,800 per night.

History of Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg was founded in 1723 by Peter the Great and named after his wife Catherine I. It was used by the tsars as a summer retreat but was mainly developed as metalworking and manufacturing center to take advantage of the large deposits of iron and other minerals in the Ural mountains. It is best known to Americans as the place where the last Tsar and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918 and near where American U-2 spy plane, piloted by Gary Powers, was shot down in 1960.

Peter the Great recognized the importance of the iron and copper-rich Urals region for Imperial Russia's industrial and military development. In November 1723, he ordered the construction of a fortress factory and an ironworks in the Iset River Valley, which required a dam for its operation. In its early years Yekaterinburg grew rich from gold and other minerals and later coal. The Yekaterinburg gold rush of 1745 created such a huge amount of wealth that one rich baron of that time hosted a wedding party that lasted a year. By the mid-18th century, metallurgical plants had sprung up across the Urals to cast cannons, swords, guns and other weapons to arm Russia’s expansionist ambitions. The Yekaterinburg mint produced most of Russia's coins. Explorations of the Trans-Baikal and Altai regions began here in the 18th century.

Iron, cast iron and copper were the main products. Even though Iron from the region went into the Eiffel Tower, the main plant in Yekaterinburg itself was shut down in 1808. The city still kept going through a mountain factory control system of the Urals. The first railway in the Urals was built here: in 1878, the Yekaterinburg-Perm railway branch connected the province's capital with the factories of the Middle Urals.

In the Soviet era the city was called Sverdlovsk (named after Yakov Sverdlov, the man who organized Nicholas II's execution). During the first five-year plans the city became industrial — old plants were reconstructed, new ones were built. The center of Yekaterinburg was formed to conform to the historical general plan of 1829 but was the layout was adjusted around plants and factories. In the Stalin era the city was a major gulag transhipment center. In World War II, many defense-related industries were moved here. It and the surrounding area were a center of the Soviet Union's military industrial complex. Soviet tanks, missiles and aircraft engines were made in the Urals. During the Cold War era, Yekaterinburg was a center of weapons-grade uranium enrichment and processing, warhead assembly and dismantlement. In 1979, 64 people died when anthrax leaked from a biological weapons facility. Yekaterinburg was a “Closed City” for 40 years during the Cold Soviet era and was not open to foreigners until 1991

In the early post-Soviet era, much like Pittsburgh in the 1970s, Yekaterinburg had a hard struggle d to cope with dramatic economic changes that have made its heavy industries uncompetitive on the world market. Huge defense plants struggled to survive and the city was notorious as an organized crime center in the 1990s, when its hometown boy Boris Yeltsin was President of Russia. By the 2000s, Yekaterinburg’s retail and service was taking off, the defense industry was reviving and it was attracting tech industries and investments related to the Urals’ natural resources. By the 2010s it was vying to host a world exhibition in 2020 (it lost, Dubai won) and it had McDonald’s, Subway, sushi restaurants, and Gucci, Chanel and Armani. There were Bentley and Ferrari dealerships but they closed down

Transportation in Yekaterinburg

Getting There: By Plane: Yekaterinburg is a three-hour flight from Moscow with prices starting at RUB 8,000, or a 3-hour flight from Saint Petersburg starting from RUB 9,422 (direct round-trip flight tickets for one adult passenger). There are also flights from Frankfurt, Istanbul, China and major cities in the former Soviet Union.

By Train: Yekaterinburg is a major stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Daily train service is available to Moscow and many other Russian cities.Yekaterinburg is a 32-hour train ride from Moscow (tickets RUB 8,380 and above) or a 36-hour train ride from Saint Petersburg (RUB 10,300 and above). The ticket prices are round trip for a berth in a sleeper compartment for one adult passenger). By Car: a car trip from Moscow to Yekateringburg is 1,787 kilometers long and takes about 18 hours. The road from Saint Petersburg is 2,294 kilometers and takes about 28 hours.

Regional Transport: The region's public transport includes buses and suburban electric trains. Regional trains provide transport to larger cities in the Ural region. Buses depart from Yekaterinburg’s two bus stations: the Southern Bus Station and the Northern Bus Station.

Regional Transport: According the to Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT): “Public transportation is well developed. Overcrowding is common. Fares are low. Service is efficient. Buses are the main form of public transport. Tram network is extensive. Fares are reasonable; service is regular. Trams are heavily used by residents, overcrowding is common. Purchase ticket after boarding. Metro runs from city center to Uralmash, an industrial area south of the city. Metro ends near the main railway station. Fares are inexpensive.

“Traffic is congested in city center. Getting around by car can be difficult. Route taxis (minivans) provide the fastest transport. They generally run on specific routes, but do not have specific stops. Drivers stop where passengers request. Route taxis can be hailed. Travel by bus or trolleybuses may be slow in rush hour. Trams are less affected by traffic jams. Trolley buses (electric buses) cannot run when temperatures drop below freezing.”

Entertainment, Sports and Recreation in Yekaterinburg

The performing arts in Yekaterinburg are first rate. The city has an excellent symphony orchestra, opera and ballet theater, and many other performing arts venues. Tickets are inexpensive. The Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theater is lavishly designed and richly decorated building in the city center of Yekaterinburg. The theater was established in 1912 and building was designed by architect Vladimir Semyonov and inspired by the Vienna Opera House and the Theater of Opera and Ballet in Odessa.

Vaynera Street is a pedestrian only shopping street in city center with restaurants, cafes and some bars. But otherwise Yekaterinburg's nightlife options are limited. There are a handful of expensive Western-style restaurants and bars, none of them that great. Nightclubs serve the city's nouveau riche clientele. Its casinos have closed down. Some of them had links with organized crime. New dance clubs have sprung up that are popular with Yekaterinburg's more affluent youth.

Yekaterinburg's most popular spectator sports are hockey, basketball, and soccer. There are stadiums and arenas that host all three that have fairly cheap tickets. There is an indoor water park and lots of parks and green spaces. The Urals have many lakes, forests and mountains are great for hiking, boating, berry and mushroom hunting, swimming and fishing. Winter sports include cross-country skiing and ice skating. Winter lasts about six months and there’s usually plenty of snow. The nearby Ural Mountains however are not very high and the downhill skiing opportunities are limited..

Sights in Yekaterinburg

Sights in Yekaterinburg include the Museum of City Architecture and Ural Industry, with an old water tower and mineral collection with emeralds. malachite, tourmaline, jasper and other precious stone; Geological Alley, a small park with labeled samples of minerals found in the Urals region; the Ural Geology Museum, which houses an extensive collection of stones, gold and gems from the Urals; a monument marking the border between Europe and Asia; a memorial for gulag victims; and a graveyard with outlandish memorials for slain mafia members.

The Military History Museum houses the remains of the U-2 spy plane shot down in 1960 and locally made tanks and rocket launchers. The fine arts museum contains paintings by some of Russia's 19th-century masters. Also worth a look are the History an Local Studies Museum; the Political History and Youth Museum; and the University and Arboretum. Old wooden houses can be seen around Zatoutstovsya ulitsa and ulitsa Belinskogo. Around the city are wooded parks, lakes and quarries used to harvest a variety of minerals. Weiner Street is the main street of Yekaterinburg. Along it are lovely sculptures and 19th century architecture. Take a walk around the unique Literary Quarter

Plotinka is a local meeting spot, where you will often find street musicians performing. Plotinka can be described as the center of the city's center. This is where Yekaterinburg holds its biggest events: festivals, seasonal fairs, regional holiday celebrations, carnivals and musical fountain shows. There are many museums and open-air exhibitions on Plotinka. Plotinka is named after an actual dam of the city pond located nearby (“plotinka” means “a small dam” in Russian).In November 1723, Peter the Great ordered the construction of an ironworks in the Iset River Valley, which required a dam for its operation. “Iset” can be translated from Finnish as “abundant with fish”. This name was given to the river by the Mansi — the Finno-Ugric people dwelling on the eastern slope of the Northern Urals.

Vysotsky and Iset are skyscrapers that are 188.3 meters and 209 meters high, respectively. Fifty-story-high Iset has been described by locals as the world’s northernmost skyscraper. Before the construction of Iset, Vysotsky was the tallest building of Yekaterinburg and Russia (excluding Moscow). A popular vote has decided to name the skyscraper after the famous Soviet songwriter, singer and actor Vladimir Vysotsky. and the building was opened on November 25, 2011. There is a lookout at the top of the building, and the Vysotsky museum on its second floor. The annual “Vysotsky climb” (1137 steps) is held there, with a prize of RUB 100,000. While Vysotsky serves as an office building, Iset, owned by the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, houses 225 premium residential apartments ranging from 80 to 490 square meters in size.

Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center

The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center (in the city center: ul. Yeltsina, 3) is a non-governmental organization named after the first president of the Russian Federation. The Museum of the First President of Russia as well as his archives are located in the Center. There is also a library, educational and children's centers, and exposition halls. Yeltsin lived most of his life and began his political career in Yekaterinburg. He was born in Butka about 200 kilometers east of Yekaterinburg.

The core of the Center is the Museum. Modern multimedia technologies help animate the documents, photos from the archives, and artifacts. The Yeltsin Museum holds collections of: propaganda posters, leaflets, and photos of the first years of the Soviet regime; portraits and portrait sculptures of members of Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of various years; U.S.S.R. government bonds and other items of the Soviet era; a copy of “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, published in the “Novy Mir” magazine (#11, 1962); perestroika-era editions of books by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Vasily Grossman, and other authors; theater, concert, and cinema posters, programs, and tickets — in short, all of the artifacts of the perestroika era.

The Yeltsin Center opened in 2012. Inside you will also find an art gallery, a bookstore, a gift shop, a food court, concert stages and a theater. There are regular screenings of unique films that you will not find anywhere else. Also operating inside the center, is a scientific exploritorium for children. The center was designed by Boris Bernaskoni. Almost from the its very opening, the Yeltsin Center has been accused by members of different political entities of various ideological crimes. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00am to 9:00pm.

Where Nicholas II was Executed

On July, 17, 1918, during this reign of terror of the Russian Civil War, former-tsar Nicholas II, his wife, five children (the 13-year-old Alexis, 22-year-old Olga, 19-year-old Maria and 17-year-old Anastasia)the family physician, the cook, maid, and valet were shot to death by a Red Army firing squad in the cellar of the house they were staying at in Yekaterinburg.

Ipatiev House (near Church on the Blood, Ulitsa Libknekhta) was a merchant's house where Nicholas II and his family were executed. The house was demolished in 1977, on the orders of an up and coming communist politician named Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin later said that the destruction of the house was an "act of barbarism" and he had no choice because he had been ordered to do it by the Politburo,

The site is marked with s cross with the photos of the family members and cross bearing their names. A small wooden church was built at the site. It contains paintings of the family. For a while there were seven traditional wooden churches. Mass is given ay noon everyday in an open-air museum. The Church on the Blood — constructed to honor Nicholas II and his family — was built on the part of the site in 1991 and is now a major place of pilgrimage.

Nicholas and his family where killed during the Russian civil war. It is thought the Bolsheviks figured that Nicholas and his family gave the Whites figureheads to rally around and they were better of dead. Even though the death orders were signed Yakov Sverdlov, the assassination was personally ordered by Lenin, who wanted to get them out of sight and out of mind. Trotsky suggested a trial. Lenin nixed the idea, deciding something had to be done about the Romanovs before White troops approached Yekaterinburg. Trotsky later wrote: "The decision was not only expedient but necessary. The severity of he punishment showed everyone that we would continue to fight on mercilessly, stopping at nothing."

Ian Frazier wrote in The New Yorker: “Having read a lot about the end of Tsar Nicholas II and his family and servants, I wanted to see the place in Yekaterinburg where that event occurred. The gloomy quality of this quest depressed Sergei’s spirits, but he drove all over Yekaterinburg searching for the site nonetheless. Whenever he stopped and asked a pedestrian how to get to the house where Nicholas II was murdered, the reaction was a wince. Several people simply walked away. But eventually, after a lot of asking, Sergei found the location. It was on a low ridge near the edge of town, above railroad tracks and the Iset River. The house, known as the Ipatiev House, was no longer standing, and the basement where the actual killings happened had been filled in. I found the blankness of the place sinister and dizzying. It reminded me of an erasure done so determinedly that it had worn a hole through the page. [Source: Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, August 3, 2009, Frazier is author of “Travels in Siberia” (2010)]

“The street next to the site is called Karl Liebknecht Street. A building near where the house used to be had a large green advertisement that said, in English, “LG—Digitally Yours.” On an adjoining lot, a small chapel kept the memory of the Tsar and his family; beneath a pedestal holding an Orthodox cross, peonies and pansies grew. The inscription on the pedestal read, “We go down on our knees, Russia, at the foot of the tsarist cross.”

Books: The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie (Random House, 1995); The Fall of the Romanovs by Mark D. Steinberg and Vladimir Khrustalëv (Yale, 1995);

See Separate Article END OF NICHOLAS II factsanddetails.com

Execution of Nicholas II

According to Robert Massie K. Massie, author of Nicholas and Alexandra, Nicholas II and his family were awakened from their bedrooms around midnight and taken to the basement. They were told they were to going to take some photographs of them and were told to stand behind a row of chairs.

Suddenly, a group of 11 Russians and Latvians, each with a revolver, burst into the room with orders to kill a specific person. Yakob Yurovsky, a member of the Soviet executive committee, reportedly shouted "your relatives are continuing to attack the Soviet Union.” After firing, bullets bouncing off gemstones hidden in the corsets of Alexandra and her daughters ricocheted around the room like "a shower of hail," the soldiers said. Those that were still breathing were killed with point black shots to the head.

The three sisters and the maid survived the first round thanks to their gems. They were pressed up against a wall and killed with a second round of bullets. The maid was the only one that survived. She was pursued by the executioners who stabbed her more than 30 times with their bayonets. The still writhing body of Alexis was made still by a kick to the head and two bullets in the ear delivered by Yurovsky himself.

Yurovsky wrote: "When the party entered I told the Romanovs that in view of the fact their relatives continued their offensive against Soviet Russia, the Executive Committee of the Urals Soviet had decided to shoot them. Nicholas turned his back to the detachment and faced his family. Then, as if collecting himself, he turned around, asking, 'What? What?'"

"[I] ordered the detachment to prepare. Its members had been previously instructed whom to shoot and to am directly at the heart to avoid much blood and to end more quickly. Nicholas said no more. he turned again to his family. The others shouted some incoherent exclamations. All this lasted a few seconds. Then commenced the shooting, which went on for two or three minutes. [I] killed Nicholas on the spot."

Nicholas II’s Initial Burial Site in Yekaterinburg

Ganina Yama Monastery (near the village of Koptyaki, 15 kilometers northwest of Yekaterinburg) stands near the three-meter-deep pit where some the remains of Nicholas II and his family were initially buried. The second burial site — where most of the remains were — is in a field known as Porosyonkov (56.9113628°N 60.4954326°E), seven kilometers from Ganina Yama.

On visiting Ganina Yama Monastery, one person posted in Trip Advisor: “We visited this set of churches in a pretty park with Konstantin from Ekaterinburg Guide Centre. He really brought it to life with his extensive knowledge of the history of the events surrounding their terrible end. The story is so moving so unless you speak Russian, it is best to come here with a guide or else you will have no idea of what is what.”

In 1991, the acid-burned remains of Nicholas II and his family were exhumed from a shallow roadside mass grave in a swampy area 12 miles northwest of Yekaterinburg. The remains had been found in 1979 by geologist and amateur archeologist Alexander Avdonin, who kept the location secret out of fear that they would be destroyed by Soviet authorities. The location was disclosed to a magazine by one his fellow discovers.

The original plan was to throw the Romanovs down a mine shaft and disposes of their remains with acid. They were thrown in a mine with some grenades but the mine didn't collapse. They were then carried by horse cart. The vats of acid fell off and broke. When the carriage carrying the bodies broke down it was decided the bury the bodies then and there. The remaining acid was poured on the bones, but most of it was soaked up the ground and the bones largely survived.

After this their pulses were then checked, their faces were crushed to make them unrecognizable and the bodies were wrapped in bed sheets loaded onto a truck. The "whole procedure," Yurovsky said took 20 minutes. One soldiers later bragged than he could "die in peace because he had squeezed the Empress's -------."

The bodies were taken to a forest and stripped, burned with acid and gasoline, and thrown into abandoned mine shafts and buried under railroad ties near a country road near the village of Koptyaki. "The bodies were put in the hole," Yurovsky wrote, "and the faces and all the bodies, generally doused with sulfuric acid, both so they couldn't be recognized and prevent a stink from them rotting...We scattered it with branches and lime, put boards on top and drove over it several times—no traces of the hole remained.

Shortly afterwards, the government in Moscow announced that Nicholas II had been shot because of "a counterrevolutionary conspiracy." There was no immediate word on the other members of the family which gave rise to rumors that other members of the family had escaped. Yekaterinburg was renamed Sverdlov in honor of the man who signed the death orders.

For seven years the remains of Nicholas II, Alexandra, three of their daughters and four servants were stored in polyethylene bags on shelves in the old criminal morgue in Yekaterunburg. On July 17, 1998, Nicholas II and his family and servants who were murdered with him were buried Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg along with the other Romanov tsars, who have been buried there starting with Peter the Great. Nicholas II had a side chapel built for himself at the fortress in 1913 but was buried in a new crypt.

Near Yekaterinburg

Factory-Museum of Iron and Steel Metallurgy (in Niznhy Tagil 80 kilometers north of Yekaterinburg) a museum with old mining equipment made at the site of huge abandoned iron and steel factory. Officially known as the Factory-Museum of the History of the Development of Iron and Steel Metallurgy, it covers an area of 30 hectares and contains a factory founded by the Demidov family in 1725 that specialized mainly in the production of high-quality cast iron and steel. Later, the foundry was renamed after Valerian Kuybyshev, a prominent figure of the Communist Party.

The first Russian factory museum, the unusual museum demonstrates all stages of metallurgy and metal working. There is even a blast furnace and an open-hearth furnace. The display of factory equipment includes bridge crane from 1892) and rolling stock equipment from the 19th-20th centuries. In Niznhy Tagil contains some huge blocks of malachite and

Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha (180 kilometers east-northeast of Yekaterinburg) has an open air architecture museum with log buildings, a stone church and other pre-revolutionary architecture. The village is the creation of Ivan Samoilov, a local activist who loved his village so much he dedicated 40 years of his life to recreating it as the open-air museum of wooden architecture.

The stone Savior Church, a good example of Siberian baroque architecture. The interior and exterior of the church are exhibition spaces of design. The houses are very colorful. In tsarist times, rich villagers hired serfs to paint the walls of their wooden izbas (houses) bright colors. Old neglected buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries have been brought to Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha from all over the Urals. You will see the interior design of the houses and hear stories about traditions and customs of the Ural farmers.

Verkhoturye (330 kilometers road from Yekaterinburg) is the home a 400-year-old monastery that served as 16th century capital of the Urals. Verkhoturye is a small town on the Tura River knows as the Jerusalem of the Urals for its many holy places, churches and monasteries. The town's main landmark is its Kremlin — the smallest in Russia. Pilgrims visit the St. Nicholas Monastery to see the remains of St. Simeon of Verkhoturye, the patron saint of fishermen.

Ural Mountains

Ural Mountains are the traditional dividing line between Europe and Asia and have been a crossroads of Russian history. Stretching from Kazakhstan to the fringes of the Arctic Kara Sea, the Urals lie almost exactly along the 60 degree meridian of longitude and extend for about 2,000 kilometers (1,300 miles) from north to south and varies in width from about 50 kilometers (30 miles) in the north and 160 kilometers (100 miles) the south. At kilometers 1777 on the Trans-Siberian Railway there is white obelisk with "Europe" carved in Russian on one side and "Asia" carved on the other.

The eastern side of the Urals contains a lot of granite and igneous rock. The western side is primarily sandstone and limestones. A number of precious stones can be found in the southern part of the Urals, including emeralds. malachite, tourmaline, jasper and aquamarines. The highest peaks are in the north. Mount Narodnaya is the highest of all but is only 1884 meters (6,184 feet) high. The northern Urals are covered in thick forests and home to relatively few people.

Like the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States, the Urals are very old mountains — with rocks and sediments that are hundreds of millions years old — that were one much taller than they are now and have been steadily eroded down over millions of years by weather and other natural processes to their current size. According to Encyclopedia Britannica: “The rock composition helps shape the topography: the high ranges and low, broad-topped ridges consist of quartzites, schists, and gabbro, all weather-resistant. Buttes are frequent, and there are north–south troughs of limestone, nearly all containing river valleys. Karst topography is highly developed on the western slopes of the Urals, with many caves, basins, and underground streams. The eastern slopes, on the other hand, have fewer karst formations; instead, rocky outliers rise above the flattened surfaces. Broad foothills, reduced to peneplain, adjoin the Central and Southern Urals on the east.

“The Urals date from the structural upheavals of the Hercynian orogeny (about 250 million years ago). About 280 million years ago there arose a high mountainous region, which was eroded to a peneplain. Alpine folding resulted in new mountains, the most marked upheaval being that of the Nether-Polar Urals...The western slope of the Urals is composed of middle Paleozoic sedimentary rocks (sandstones and limestones) that are about 350 million years old. In many places it descends in terraces to the Cis-Ural depression (west of the Urals), to which much of the eroded matter was carried during the late Paleozoic (about 300 million years ago). Found there are widespread karst (a starkly eroded limestone region) and gypsum, with large caverns and subterranean streams. On the eastern slope, volcanic layers alternate with sedimentary strata, all dating from middle Paleozoic times.”

Southern Urals

The southern Urals are characterized by grassy slopes and fertile valleys. The middle Urals are a rolling platform that barely rises above 300 meters (1,000 feet). This region is rich in minerals and has been heavily industrialized. This is where you can find Yekaterinburg (formally Sverdlovsk), the largest city in the Urals.

Most of the Southern Urals are is covered with forests, with 50 percent of that pine-woods, 44 percent birch woods, and the rest are deciduous aspen and alder forests. In the north, typical taiga forests are the norm. There are patches of herbal-poaceous steppes, northem sphagnous marshes and bushy steppes, light birch forests and shady riparian forests, tall-grass mountainous meadows, lowland ling marshes and stony placers with lichen stains. In some places there are no large areas of homogeneous forests, rather they are forests with numerous glades and meadows of different size.

In the Ilmensky Mountains Reserve in the Southern Urals, scientists counted 927 vascular plants (50 relicts, 23 endemic species), about 140 moss species, 483 algae species and 566 mushroom species. Among the species included into the Red Book of Russia are feather grass, downy-leaved feather grass, Zalessky feather grass, moccasin flower, ladies'-slipper, neottianthe cucullata, Baltic orchis, fen orchis, helmeted orchis, dark-winged orchis, Gelma sandwart, Krasheninnikov sandwart, Clare astragalus.

The fauna of the vertebrate animals in the Reserve includes 19 fish, 5 amphibian and 5 reptile. Among the 48 mammal species are elks, roe deer, boars, foxes, wolves, lynxes, badgers, common weasels, least weasels, forest ferrets, Siberian striped weasel, common marten, American mink. Squirrels, beavers, muskrats, hares, dibblers, moles, hedgehogs, voles are quite common, as well as chiropterans: pond bat, water bat, Brandt's bat, whiskered bat, northern bat, long-eared bat, parti-coloured bat, Nathusius' pipistrelle. The 174 bird bird species include white-tailed eagles, honey hawks, boreal owls, gnome owls, hawk owls, tawny owls, common scoters, cuckoos, wookcocks, common grouses, wood grouses, hazel grouses, common partridges, shrikes, goldenmountain thrushes, black- throated loons and others.

Activities and Places in the Ural Mountains

The Urals possess beautiful natural scenery that can be accessed from Yekaterinburg with a rent-a-car, hired taxi and tour. Travel agencies arrange rafting, kayaking and hiking trips. Hikes are available in the taiga forest and the Urals. Trips often include walks through the taiga to small lakes and hikes into the mountains and excursions to collect mushrooms and berries and climb in underground caves. Mellow rafting is offered in a relatively calm six kilometer section of the River Serga. In the winter visitor can enjoy cross-mountains skiing, downhill skiing, ice fishing, dog sledding, snow-shoeing and winter hiking through the forest to a cave covered with ice crystals.

Lake Shartash (10 kilometers from Yekaterinburg) is where the first Ural gold was found, setting in motion the Yekaterinburg gold rush of 1745, which created so much wealth one rich baron of that time hosted a wedding party that lasted a year. The area around Shartash Lake is a favorite picnic and barbecue spot of the locals. Getting There: by bus route No. 50, 054 or 54, with a transfer to suburban commuter bus route No. 112, 120 or 121 (the whole trip takes about an hour), or by car (10 kilometers drive from the city center, 40 minutes).

Revun Rapids (90 kilometers road from Yekaterinburg near Beklenishcheva village) is a popular white water rafting places On the nearby cliffs you can see the remains of a mysterious petroglyph from the Paleolithic period. Along the steep banks, you may notice the dark entrance of Smolinskaya Cave. There are legends of a sorceress who lived in there. The rocks at the riverside are suited for competitive rock climbers and beginners. Climbing hooks and rings are hammered into rocks. The most fun rafting is generally in May and June.

Olenii Ruchii National Park (100 kilometers west of Yekaterinburg) is the most popular nature park in Sverdlovsk Oblast and popular weekend getaway for Yekaterinburg residents. Visitors are attracted by the beautiful forests, the crystal clear Serga River and picturesque rocks caves. There are some easy hiking routes: the six-kilometer Lesser Ring and the 15-kilometer Greater Ring. Another route extends for 18 km and passes by the Mitkinsky Mine, which operated in the 18th-19th centuries. It's a kind of an open-air museum — you can still view mining an enrichment equipment here. There is also a genuine beaver dam nearby.

Among the other attractions at Olenii Ruchii are Druzhba (Friendship) Cave, with passages that extend for about 500 meters; Dyrovaty Kamen (Holed Stone), created over time by water of Serga River eroding rock; and Utoplennik (Drowned Man), where you can see “The Angel of Sole Hope”., created by the Swedish artist Lehna Edwall, who has placed seven angels figures in different parts of the world to “embrace the planet, protecting it from fear, despair, and disasters.”

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation (official Russia tourism website russiatourism.ru ), Russian government websites, UNESCO, Wikipedia, Lonely Planet guides, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Yomiuri Shimbun and various books and other publications.

Updated in September 2020

•  Facebook
•  Twitter
•  Google+
•  e-mail

 Page Top

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available in an effort to advance understanding of country or topic discussed in the article. This constitutes 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If you are the copyright owner and would like this content removed from factsanddetails.com, please contact me.