Touring all of RUSSIA: how guides work at the Exposition
For several months now, Tatyana Kutuzova has been leading
tour groups along various routes at the exposition. She speaks about culture
and traditions, regional peculiarities, art and architecture of our country.
For Tatyana, each day working at the exposition brings new discoveries and
incredible encounters.
Last year, on November 5, just the second day of the RUSSIA
EXPO, Tatyana decided to see for herself what had been so widely discussed and
written about in the media. Her acquaintance began with the key Pavilion No.
75. The vibrant regional expositions, the scale of the RUSSIA EXPO and its
significance left a strong impression on her. Tatyana decided to stay on as a
guide and conducted her first tour for guests on November 25.
"Of course, we had training and we all went through
certification. The amount of information was daunting at first. But there was
no other way, as we needed to study all the routes and be ready to lead any
tour. This means knowing as much as possible about each pavilion and all the
objects of the exposition," Tatyana explains.
The girl lives in Krasnogorsk and especially enjoys talking
about the stand of her native Moscow region, but she has interesting facts
about every region. For example, few know that Tver was built on the same
principle as Rome, featuring a unique urban planning technique of radial
symmetry. The Vladimir region is the birthplace of the "Vladimir Heavy
Draft" horse breed, often featured in films. The Kostroma region is the
jewelry capital of Russia, and Kolomna in the Moscow region is the birthplace
of the first motorized tram in the Russian Empire.
Today, Tatyana is an experienced guide with numerous tours
under her belt, but she will never forget her first experience. At just 18, she
worked as a camp counselor in Crimea. Once, she took the kids to the Naval
Museum in Sevastopol, but the guide wasn’t there, and she needed to keep the
children occupied. Tatyana improvised and conducted the tour herself without
any preparation. Her childhood love of history, and being a prize-winner of the
All-Russian Olympiad of Schoolchildren, helped her out. The kids were thrilled.
"I realized then that I enjoyed it and was good at it.
By the way, children are still my favorite audience. They are hard to captivate
but are the most appreciative, always ready to support your ideas and
participate in activities," Tatyana explains.
Before becoming a guide at the RUSSIA EXPO, Tatyana spent
two years working in Sochi and Crimea, where she also led tours. She loves
traveling and mountain climbing. Perhaps this is why one of her favorite tour
routes is the "Art Trail".
"It combines fascinating tourist and cultural aspects
and includes visits to my favorite Pavilion D. Here, guests can discover our
beautiful country from entirely unexpected angles. In the pavilion, you can
even find out what each region smells like. It’s amazing!" the guide
marvels.
According to Tatyana, many people don’t realize how
interesting and unique Russia is, but thanks to the exposition, their number is
dwindling.
Tatyana's legal education helps her remember large amounts
of information, while good physical fitness allows her to stay on her feet all
day. To unwind emotionally, she retreats to nature for peaceful walks,
particularly enjoying Arkhangelskoye Park in the Moscow region.
"For a guide, it’s also crucial to protect your voice.
This can be challenging in cold weather. In winter, I even drank egg yolk and
washed it down with hot tea on the advice of opera singers. Not the tastiest
drink, but it did save my voice," she recalls with a smile.
Tatyana's main inspiration is our country and, of course,
its wonderful people. Often, tour participants suggest ways to make the guide's
narrative even more engaging.
"There was a funny incident just three days into my
work at the exposition. I was giving a tour in the 'Atom' pavilion, and one of
my listeners turned out to be a candidate of physical sciences, a scientist.
Not just any scientist! But someone who had been at the forefront of the atomic
industry in the USSR. Despite this, he listened to me very attentively and
politely. After the tour, he shared a lot of interesting information with me to
make my narrative more captivating," Tatyana gratefully recalls.
The integration of special military operation veterans into peaceful life and the interaction between regions and municipalities were discussed as part of the Forum "SMALL HOMELAND – THE STRENGTH OF RUSSIA".
The second All-Russian Municipal Forum "Small Homeland – the Strength of Russia" is taking place at the National Centre RUSSIA.
