Kirov

Kazanskaya Street and Holy Mandylion Church

Kirov (Russian: Ки́ров KEE-ruhf) is the capital city of Kirov Oblast, Russia.

Understand

The population of Kirov is approximately 507,000 people (2018). The city dates back to at least 1374 and has been known as Vyatka and Khlynov. It is named after Soviet leader Sergey Kirov who was assassinated on December 1, 1934.

Get in

See Russia#Get in for details of getting to Russia.

By train

Kirov Station

See also: Trans-Siberian Railway

Kirov is on the Trans-Siberian Railway, with plenty of trains from Moscow (12-14 hours), Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Izhevsk, and the Russian Black Sea coast.

• 1 Kirov railway station. The main railway station. All Trans-Siberian trains stop at this station. (updated Jan 2022)
• 2 Kirov-Kotlassky railway station. Minor station serving trains on the non-electrified railway from points north (Kotlas, Komi Republic). (updated Jan 2022)

By plane

• 3 Pobedilovo Airport (KVX  ^IATA) (22 km southwest of the city centre), ☏ +7 833 255-15-80. There are regular flights from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Ufa, and Simferopol.  

By bus

Kirov Bus Terminal serves routes from Yoshkar-Ola, Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny, Syktyvkar, Ufa, Cheboksary, Izhevsk, Ulyanovsk, as well as many towns in Kirov Oblast.

Get around

Public transport

Public transport includes a network of buses, trolleys and marshrutkas. A ride on public transport costs 30 руб. Route maps can be found online .

Taxi

Taxis are plentiful.

See

• 1 Kirov State Circus (Кировский государственный цирк), Октябрьский проспект, д. 147. (updated Feb 2021)

Museums

• 2 Chocolate History Museum, Spasskaya 15, ☏ +7 833 232 33 23. Tu-Su 10:00-20:00, closed M. Chocolate and chocolate-making exhibits as well as classes for budding chocolatiers. 
• 3 Vyatka Vasnetsovs' Art Museum (Vyatskiy Khudozhestvennyy Muzey Imeni V.m. I A.m. Vasnetsovykh), Karla Marksa 70, ☏ +7 833 222 50 74. W F-Su 10:00-18:00, Th 12:00-20:00, closed M Tu. A large painting collection of the Vasnetsov Brothers, including their own, showcasing some 230,000 works of European and Russian art. 
• 4 Dymkovskaya Toy Museum, Svobody 67. Recalls a Soviet toy workshop that was a big deal here in Kirov. 
• 5 Kirov Regional Local Lore Museum, Spasskaya 6. Local lore items. Lots of stuffed bobcats and wolverines and such if you are into that. 
• 6 Museum of Paleontology (Vyatskiy Paleontologicheskiy Muzey), Spasskaya 22, ☏ +7 833 225 48 44. Tu-Sa 10:00-18:00, Su 10:00-17:00, closed M. Caution: dino fossils ahead. (updated Feb 2021)
• 7 Diorama Museum Exhibition Centre, Ulitsa Gor'kogo, 32, ☏ +7 833 254 04 55. Tu-Su 10:00-18:00, closed M. Little exhibits about yesteryear in Vyatka/Kirov, woodsmen and ladies in their mink coats, etc. (updated Feb 2021)
• 8 Regional Museum of History of Public Education, Moskovskaya St. About old days' Kirov school life. (updated Feb 2021)
• 9 The Aircraft and Astronautics Museum of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, Preobrazhenskaya St., 16. Cosmonaut stuff. (updated Feb 2021)
• 10 Kirov Railway Museum (Muzey Zheleznodorozhnogo Trasporta), Ulitsa Karla Marksa, 147. Train and old technology stuff on display. (updated Feb 2021)
• Museum of Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Ulitsa Lenin 93. House museum where the eponymous Russian satirist was exiled from 1848-1855.
• 11 Museum of Alexander S. Green, Volodarsky Street 44. Similar story as the aforementioned house museum, another exiled political enemy of the state. (updated Feb 2021)
• Modern Art Center 'Gallery Of Progress', an art exhibit of sorts at Ulitsa Gorkogo 5 over by the Jam Moll.

Religious buildings

• 12 Parish of the Holy Dormition Cathedral (Приход Свято-Успенского кафедрального собора), Ulitsa Gorbacheva, 4. daily 07:00-19:00. Kirov's premier cathedral complex and site of Assumption Trifonov Monastery. Get ready for onion domes and gilded iconostases. (updated Feb 2021)
• 13 Spassky Cathedral, Ulitsa Kazanskaya, 50. Daily 07:00-19:00. Who can resist its peppermint stripe design with gilded dome, this church spanning 250 years? (updated Feb 2021)
• 14 Parish of St. Seraphim Cathedral, Ulitsa Uritskogo, 25. Very intricate design that was put forth by the local architect I.A. Charushin c. 1906 and dedicated to Saint Seraphim, and which has a tribute to the holy Royal Passion-Bearers (i.e. Tsar Nicholas II, Tsaritsa Alexandra and their children, or, in other words, the Romanovs). (updated Feb 2021)
• Aleksandrovskiy Kostel, Ulitsa Derendyayeva, 46. Prominent church that holds concerts and has a stately organ.
• 15 The church in honor of Our Lady of the Theodore Icon, Ulitsa Naberezhnaya Grina, 7. daily 07:00-19:00. A picturesque wooden picture that is the restoration of another vanquished during Bolshevik times, overlooking the Vyatka River - quite possibly the best view in Kirov. A monument to A. Grine stands watch. (updated Feb 2021)

Parks

• 16 Alexander Garden. Big greenspace for checking out the gardens, Coastal Rotunda, Vyatka River, and endless flat land beyond. (updated Feb 2021)
• 17 Botanical Garden (Botanicheskiy Sad), Ulitsa Karla Marksa, 95. Hardy plant specimens that make do in a continental climate. (updated Feb 2021)
• Dendrologic Park, Traktovaya Ulitsa, 6. Forest arboretum where you can take a private walk if you really want to get away from it all. Limited amenities available, as in toilets. (updated Feb 2021)
• Pond near Diorama
• Dvorets Pionerov Memorial Park
• Zarechny Park

Monuments

• 18 Memorial Eternal Flame, Moskovskaya st., 1. It commemorates something (probably victory at the end of World War II), and provides a splendid view of the Vyatka River as well. (updated Feb 2021)
• 19 Marshal Konev Monument, Ulitsa Marshala Koneva, 1. Pretty serious monument to this Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Konev who is credited with taking control of much of eastern Axis-occupied Europe. Behind him there is the Yugo-Zapadnyy Rynok open market. (updated Feb 2021)
• Monument of the Family
• Tank T-34: Monument to the Heroic Work of Residents of Kirov

Do

Theatre

• A. Afanasyev Kirov Puppet Theater
• 1 Regional Drama Theater (Кировский драматический театр). (updated Feb 2021)

Festivals and events

• Ice Climbing World Cup. March. Annual competition. 
• Igloo Building competition - a team competition for the best snow sculpture in different nominations. It is held in the Fairy-Tale Preserve site in the "Zarechniy "park across the Vyatka River usually in March.
• Greenlandia Festival - a 3-day Russian bard music festival that takes place in July every year in Bosharovo not far from Kirov. Alcohol free, kids friendly festival with multiple concerts. Some people camp, some just come for selected concerts.

Buy

Local crafts are unique and beautiful:

• Dymkovo toys - a famous local ceramic toy can be found in big shopping centers, in specialized crafts shops (e.g. Vorovskogo 52 or Upita 13) or in the special Dymkovo toy shop on Svobodi 67.
• Matryoshka nesting doll - Kirov is one of the center of Matreshka production. Matreshka from this region (Vyatskaya Matreshka) is inlaid with straw and is exceptionally beautiful and unique.
• Kukarka Lace (aka Vyatka Lace or Kirov Lace) is a type of traditional handmade bobbin weaving and one of the well-known folk Kirov arts. Together with other local crafts made out of straw, woodknobs (nodule), skein, or juniper keep they can be found in the multiple crafts shops around the city.
• 1 Jam Moll, Ulitsa Gor'kogo, 5а. daily 10ː00-22ː00. Modern mall with cinema. (updated Feb 2021)
• 2 Vyatka-Tsum, Ulitsa Vorovskogo, 77. daily 09ː00-20ː00. Another mall with glass edifice. (updated Feb 2021)

Eat

• "Danar" ("Данар")- is a Turkish doner concept. Fresh ingredients from the region, low prices. More than 20 locations around the city.
• Koleso, Surikova 19. 
• McDonald's, Vorovskogo 100A (adjacent to Globus trading center). 
• Symposium, Krasina 10, ☏ +7 833 240-53-43. Greek food. 
• Tsarskoe Selo, Gertsena 78, ☏ +7 833 240-53-43. 

Drink

• Jackie Brown Pub, Karla Marksa 101. 

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Hotel-Museum Inn, Ulitsa Gertsena, 15, ☏ +7 833 246 12 34. A cozy log cabin-looking place with a hot tub and breakfast (extra). 1252 руб. (updated Feb 2021)
• 2 HD Hostel Kirov, Ulitsa Rozy Lyuksemburg, 102, ☏ +7 964 256 68 40. A little out of the way but pleasant hostel that is pet-friendly. 884 руб. (updated Feb 2021)

Mid-range

• Hotel Kirov, Ulitsa Krasina 10, ☏ +7 (8332) 54-89-90, booking@astorhotel.ru. 32 rooms. Opened in 2012. Free breakfast. Cafe/bar and sauna. From 3020 руб. 
• Staryy Dvorik Na Orlovskoy, Orlovskaya 48, ☏ +7 (8332) 22-00-45, toll-free: +7-800-100-5812, bron@oldkirov.ru. 31 rooms. Opened in 2020. Has a spa and lots of pampering touches. From 2651 руб. (updated Feb 2021)
• 3 Hotel Vyatka, Oktyabr'skiy Prospekt, 145, ☏ +7 800 550 45 03. Has a nice Soviet look, even with some sort of patriotic mural across the top, and a restaurant with buffet (for about 370 руб) and gym. 2210 руб. (updated Feb 2021)

Splurge

• 4 Four Elements Kirov, Oktyabr'skiy Prospekt, 145к1, ☏ +7-8332-744-700. From 4200 руб. 
• Hotel Charushin, Lenin St, 80, ☏ +7 8332 65-30-55. From 5500 руб. 

Go next

Routes through Kirov

Moscow ← Nizhny Novgorod ←

W  E

→ Perm → Yekaterinburg