Kostroma Oblast

Kostroma Oblast is a region in Central Russia, which borders Ivanovo Oblast to the southwest, Yaroslavl Oblast to the west, Vologda Oblast to the north, Kirov Oblast to the east, and Nizhny Novgorod Oblast to the southeast.

• 🌍 Kostroma — the capital is an old (12th century) Russian city and a treasure trove of Russian art, architecture, and history, especially for its Ipatiev Monastery
• 🌍 Chukhloma — a small town near the Lermontov family estate
• 🌍 Galich — a pretty town on the Golden Ring circuit, most notable for its 14th century Paisiev Monastery
• 🌍 Soligalich — an old small town with several 17th century churches
• Sumarokovo — moose husbandry may be one of the USSR's more bizarre experiments, but an operational "Kostroma Moose Farm" still exists at this village and can be visited on tours organized through the Kostroma tourism bureau; here farmers milk, breed, and harvest antler velvet from moose

Kostroma Oblast has an important legacy as the northern retreat for Muscovite nobles in times of Mongol and Tatar invasion of Central Russia. As such, the city of Kostroma gained numerous architectural treasures, making the city a major attraction of Russia's Golden Ring.

A milkmaid with her moose at Kostroma Moose Farm

English and other major languages are often spoken by people working at major tourist sites in Kostroma, but outside of these places it may be hard to find anyone who speaks anything other than Russian.

Kostroma is about a 6.5 hour overnight or early morning train ride from Moscow, a 2.5 hour elektrichka ride from Yaroslavl, and a daily overnight train from Saint Petersburg. There are also daily buses running between Moscow and Kostroma. The bus is significantly slower than the train if coming from Moscow, but marginally faster if coming from Yaroslavl. Lastly, there is an often crowded 2 hour hydrofoil which runs from Yaroslavl to Kostroma daily in the morning.

Kostroma is nearby Plyos, which can be visited as a day trip by hydrofoil from Pier #1.