The travel service Tutu.ru conducted a survey: "Which New Year's character would you dream of visiting?" More than 1,500 people participated. It turned out that a quarter of tourists dream of visiting Father Frost in Veliky Ustyug or Snegurochka in Kostroma.
As the company's press service told TRN, 16% tourists would like to visit the Japanese Santa Claus, Oji-san, who resembles the European Santa Claus. A slightly smaller number, 14%, voted for Joulupukki from Finland. His name, translated from Finnish to Russian, evokes a smile: in Finnish, "Joulu" means Christmas, and "pukki" means goat.
The options "to the classic Santa Claus in the USA" and "to the little brownies Nisse in Norway" received 91,330 votes each. A total of 71,330 respondents each wanted to visit the Belarusian winter character Zyuza and Befana (the good witch) in Italy. The other fairytale characters were less popular. The least popular character was Jõuluvana from Estonia, who resembles the Finnish "Joulupukki."
Please note that you cannot get to Veliky Ustyug by regular train (not the tourist train, which usually runs during school holidays). The nearest train stations are Yadrikha, 54 kilometers from Veliky Ustyug, and Kotlas, 70 kilometers away. From there, you'll need to take a bus or taxi. It's more convenient to get there from Kotlas, a large city in the Arkhangelsk region. Trains wait longer at the station, and buses to Father Frost's birthplace run frequently.
Veliky Ustyug's popularity remains roughly the same as last year. Prices range from 1,100 rubles for a seat to 5,500 rubles for a compartment on the Moscow-Vorkuta train.
Source: trn-news.ru