[ Aug.2017 ] The symbol of Yaroslavl in Russia is a bear.
One of them was sitting on the bench in the town.
The legend says that when Yaroslav the first founded this town, the indigenous people freed their worshiped bear to attack him, but Yarislav killed the bear with an axe.
That is why they decided a bear to be their emblem.
After our free time, our tour group met up and we were taken to the Assumption Cathedral.
This cathedral was originally built in the 1210s, but the one in front of us was completed in 2012.
It was rebuilt three times and the current one is the fourth.
Because the historic centre of Yaroslavl is listed as the Unesco World Heritage site, the Unesco told them to build the same building as the third one which was destroyed by Soviets.
But they did not follow it and made it bigger and taller.
So they are holding back from building an even higher bell tower at the moment.
For the fund to rebuild it, apparently a wealthy business man in Moscow donated the money.
We listened to the male chorus here again, but it was not as impressive as the one we listened to on the Kizhi Island so I did not buy the CD.
There was a war memorial nearby.
And there were quite a few newly married couples around to take their wedding photos.
This area seemed the most popular spot for that.
According to our guide, Valerie, Friday is the most popular wedding day in Russia and it was Friday.
The last place we visited was the Monastery of the Transfiguration of Saviour.
It has a long history since the 13th century, especially the cathedral which is the oldest building in the town.
Although it was called monastery, in fact it is a public museum at the moment.
But because President Putin insists that they should return it to the church, it will be a monastery in name and in reality in 2019.
Valerie said “In the West, news about Putin seems often distorted. He does a lot of good things, too, like this. About 80% of Russian people support him”.
I am digressing but one of the main things sold in souvenir shops in Russia is the T-shirts with Putin’s face on them.
They are often kitsch, for example, he is riding a bear.
Can you imagine a T-shirt of your prime minister riding a bear, half naked?
Well, they are so peculiar that I bought one for my friend who is a Putin fan.
Back to the monastery, we listened to the performance of bell ringings again here.
Apparently there is a reputable school for bell ringing in this city.
Maybe because we are not used to it, for me it did not touch my heart, though.
Another thing Valerie told us is that in Yaroslavl the unemployment is 2.9 %, which is far below the country average which is about 5.5%.
Yaroslavl seemed a good wealthy city.
