The Best Things to See and Do in Perm, Russia

Indulge in some high culture and watch an incredible ballet

Russians are great fans of poetry, classical music, opera and ballet. Indeed, every major city in Russia has an opera and ballet theatre. Perm’s ballet is quite remarkable, and the quality of the pieces they stage puts them in the same rank as the country’s ballet giants: Mariinsky in St Petersburg and Bolshoy in Moscow. Watching a ballet performance in Perm is most certainly a thing to tick off your list even on the shortest visit.

Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, Petropavlovskaya 25A, Perm, Permsky Krai, Russia, +7 342 212 30 87

Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre | © D V S / WikiCommons

Learn about some of the most difficult parts of Russian history right where it happened

Perm-36, a forced labour camp located 100 kilometres (62.1 miles) north-east of Perm, was one of the most prominent Soviet detention centres for political prisoners. It was operating until the 1980s. In the 1990s, a group of former inmates and Memorial, an NGO dedicated to helping victims of the Soviet regime, converted the camp into a museum – the only GULAG museum in Russia on the site of an actual camp. Despite some problems with the current local administration, the museum is still operating and most certainly worth visiting.

Memorial Complex of Political Repressions, Kuchino, Permsky Krai, Russia, +7 342 212 61 29

A special regime cell for political prisoners in Perm-36 | © Wulfstan / WikiCommons

Become a Permyak Salty Ears for a little while

Perm and its nearest surroundings are very rich in minerals. Throughout history, salt was the most prominent of them. Indeed, Perm appeared because people were relocating here to work in the salt mining industry, of which the legacy is a vital part of the locals’ identity. One of the most famous symbols of the region is the sculpture Permyak Salty Ears. In the early days of salt mining, the locals would carry big bags full of salt on their back. Some of the salt would then fall on their ears, making them big and red. The sculpture, located in the very city centre, consists of a frame with big ears attached to it and a figure of a photographer taking a picture of it. Putting your head in the Permyak Salty Ears frame and snapping a photo is an absolute must for every visitor to the city.

Permyak Salty Ears, Komsomolsky Prospekt 27, Perm, Permsky Krai, Russia

😄🐶 #айсон – истинный #пермяксоленыеуши 👂 #пермь #perm #шпиц #немецкийшпиц

A post shared by Юлия Гузан (@guzan_ulya) on Nov 12, 2017 at 5:07am PST

See what Russian contemporary art has to offer

Perm is truly a city full of cultural surprises. On top of the festivals and the theatre mentioned above, it is also home to the only contemporary art museum outside of Moscow and St Petersburg. PERMM is a museum and exhibition space; it also hosts lectures, workshops and festivals. It is an extremely vibrant place and is most certainly worth a visit even on a short trip to the Urals.

PERMM Museum of Contemporary Art, Bulvar Gagarina 24, Perm, Permsky Krai, Russia, +7 342 254 35 73

A sculpture in front of the PERMM museum, reading “Glory to the effort” in Russian | © Evgeny Nikiforow / WikiCommons