Why travel to the Komi Republic? A local blogger explains!

The Komi Republic is located in the north-east of the European part of Russia, in the area of the Ural Mountains. About a quarter of the population are Komi, an indigenous Finno-Ugric people, who have managed to preserve their language and culture. There are about 143,000 of them living in the republic and neighboring regions.

In a traditional Komi costume

We talked with Genrikh Nemchinov, one of Komi’s representatives, who has been running a travel blog about his native republic for five years now and making documentaries about the culture of his people.

Komi is in the seventh generation

“I was born in the village of Brykalansk, Izhma District, and I am a seventh-generation Komi. When I was little, I only knew the Komi language and only learned Russian closer to the age of six,” Genrikh says. 

Genrikh only learned Russian closer to the age of six

Most of the people in the republic still know their native language today: along with Russian, Komi is also taught in local schools. 

“I believe tourists should definitely visit the Komi Republic, because it has preserved not only natural wonders, but also both its culture and its language,” the blogger states. 

Chum tent of Komi reindeer herders

It’s especially interesting to study the Komi-Izhem people: this ethnographic group of the Komi people has even a special national costume, bright and magnificent, and very different from any others that can be found in other regions of the republic.

The main ethnic blogger of the Urals

Twenty-two-year-old Genrikh started his blog back in 2016, first doing challenges like the Water Bottle Flip Challenge. But then, he began making videos about the local area, as he realized that this would be more useful content. 

Genrikh has already traveled all around the Komi Republic with his camera

“The most difficult adventure was a snowmobile expedition through the Urals, through the snowcapped mountains, to the ‘Manpupuner’ [rock formations]. I fly there by helicopter these days, but I used to ride a snowmobile through blizzards and the taiga. You're driving all wet, freezing and there's nowhere to get dry. And only when you get to some forest hut, you can light the stove and dry yourself!”

“The most difficult adventure was a snowmobile expedition through the Urals”

Genrikh had already been to ‘Manpupuner’ five times. It’s a series of rock pillar remnants in the Urals and a real natural wonder in a remote place. 

Another favorite place of his in the republic is Vorkuta, an industrial city and one of the largest above the Arctic Circle. Genrikh tries to dispel stereotypes about this place, which many associate with a gloomy, Soviet past complete with abandoned buildings. 

“Yes, it's part of the story. But, Vorkuta is now a very well maintained and interesting city with many stylish and delicious cafes. And there are very kind people living there!”

In Vorkuta, the city above the Arctic Circle

During his travels, Genrikh made an incredible discovery for himself: the Komi Republic is, essentially, Russia in miniature. “There are fields, forests, tundra and mountains here. There is also a thermal spring – the only one in the Arctic – called ‘Pym-Va-Shor’, which means ‘stream with hot water’ in the Komi language.”

Northern lights in Komi

Komi culture to the masses! 

“I see the task of my blog primarily as the popularization of the Komi Republic in Russia and around the world and educating [the world] about such people as the Komi,” he says.

Work in camping conditions

Genrikh tells both local residents and schoolchildren about the importance of preserving traditions and not forgetting the Komi language, which he also teaches his little son. 

Traveling with son

Today, the blogger is also engaged in the educational ‘Komi Territory’ project together with Ruslan Magomedov, an entrepreneur from Vorkuta, Sergey Khodos, an editor, and a team of caring people. 

They make documentaries about the republic, talk about its villages and people, as well as revealing abandoned and incredible places. They’ve even shown them at concerts and other public events, where they talk with the local spectators, who often themselves make suggestions about what else is worth filming. 

Explaining Komi culture to the local school students

“For me, the entire Komi Republic is a place of strength," says Genrikh. “Everyone should love their homeland. I believe my native land heals.”

Top 5 places of the Komi Republic by Genrikh Nemchinov:

• ‘Manpupuner’ rock pillar formations, a real natural wonder of Russia
• Vorkuta, a well-maintained city above the Arctic Circle, with many delicious cafes and very much worth visiting, despite its gloomy Soviet past
• The ‘Pym-Va-Shor’ thermal spring, the only one above the Arctic Circle
• Izhma District, where the Komi-Izhemians live (“They are a very enterprising people; they have preserved reindeer husbandry and you can even pet deer or fish in the Pizhma River, catching graylings.”) 
• Mount Otorten, a horizontal rock outcrop several kilometers long

“I believe tourists should definitely visit the Komi Republic”