Visiting Engels, Russia
How to Get There
The US State Department has a Level 4 travel advisory currently in place. It says: "Do not travel to Russia due to the consequences of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces. U.S. citizens may face harassment or detention by Russian security officials, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, limited flights into and out of Russia, and the possibility of terrorism. The U.S. Embassy has limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia. The Department has determined that there is a continued risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals by Russian authorities. U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia should leave immediately." --June 27, 2024.
For others, however:
To get to Engels, travelers must first go to Saratov and then use local transportation to cross over to the eastern side of the Volga. Russia’s second largest airline, S-7, serves Saratov with nonstop flights from Moscow and Yerevan, Armenia. There are also a surprising number of nonstops from Saratov on S-7 to destinations in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Aeroflot offers flights twice a day to Saratov, every day of the week, from Moscow.
A more leisurely way to get to Saratov is to take a river cruise on the Volga. The number of days depends on the boat and the number of stops en route, but it’s typically a seven-day trip from Moscow and a ten-day trip from St. Petersburg. Because there are also river cruises originating in Volgograd or Astrakhan, it is also possible to arrive in Saratov by river from the south. The problem with the cruise option is that time in Engels would be quite limited.
What to Do Once There
While the German-language theater where Piscator worked no longer stands, the local operetta theater’s mission, “Creating performances to make the world a better place,” aligns with Piscator’s idealistic vision. Located near City Park, the Saratov Regional Operetta Theater was founded in 1968. Its recent programming included eleven nationalistic works under the theme "Youth about the Great Patriotic War: A Touch to Heroism" (2010-2017) and From the Heroes of Bygone Times. This programming suggests that the tradition of political theater has not been lost in Engels and this perception alone might be enough to entice the intrepid traveler.
Engels’ most important attraction is the Engels Museum of Local Lore. The museum opened in 1925, just after the creation of the Volga German ASSR, but was closed in 1941 in conjunction with the deportations. The museum’s collection of early ethnographic materials documenting Volga German life was lost during this period, and it wasn’t until the 1990s that it was politically possible to try to reconstruct the lost past. Today, the museum presents some of the best surviving artifacts of the Volga German experience, as well as contemporary exhibits about the region. Nearby, the Museum Kassil documents the contributions of local Jewish author Lev Kassil, who was known for his young adult novels that promoted the ideals of resilience and fortitude in the 1930s. It too provides a window into the past.
City Park, which overlooks the Volga, is an important gathering place for Engels families and offers an opportunity to observe everyday Russian life in a small city. It features a sculpture of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, sitting next to Sergei Korolev, the Soviet engineer who designed the rocket. There is also a larger monument at Gagarin’s actual landing site, which is about 20 miles south of Engels.
(Image courtesy of ИринаЯ and Wikimedia Commons).
Accommodations
The best lodging option in Engels is the Hotel Volga, which is in a shopping district quite close to City Park. Saratov offers many more options.
(Image courtesy of the Hotel Volga website.)
