Alternatives to Veliky Ustyug: Which Ded Morozes to Visit

Veliky Ustyug is a classic. It's a brand to which the people's path never overgrows. But let's be honest: a trip there during the New Year holidays is a test for both your budget and your nervous system. Crowds of tourists, queues to the tower, and prices soaring into space can spoil the fairy tale experience.

But who said that the country's main wizard is the only one? Russia is a vast and multinational country, and many peoples have their own winter sorcerers. They are no less powerful, they have stunning costumes and unique traditions. We have gathered 5 colorful alternatives to Veliky Ustyug for you, where you can immerse yourself in a real ethno-fairy tale.

Karelian Frost Pakkaine (Olonets)

Pakkaine (meaning 'Frost') is the youngest of all winter wizards. According to legend, he was born into a merchant family right in a sleigh during a severe frost. He is not a grey-bearded old man, but a cheerful, red-haired, and rosy-cheeked young man without a beard. He loves jokes, games, and travel.

Why go:

• Olonets Games of Ded Morozes: every year in early December, winter wizards from all over the country gather in Olonets for their professional festival. It's a grand show with parades and competitions.
• Karelian flavor: you can try kalitki (traditional pies), go dog sledding, and see the real northern nature.

How to get there: the easiest way is to buy tickets to Petrozavodsk on Kupi.com(by train or plane), and from there, get to Olonets by bus or car (about 150 km). , you can get there directly by car or bus (about 300 km).

Tatar Kysh Babay (Novy Kyrlay village)

Kysh Babay is the Tatar winter wizard. He wears a blue or green caftan with national ornaments and a skullcap instead of a hat. He is accompanied not by Snegurochka, but by his beautiful daughter Kar Kyzy. His retinue includes a whole host of characters from Tatar fairy tales: Shurale (forest spirit), Ubyrly Karchyk (an analogue of Baba Yaga), and others.

Why go:

• A trip to Kysh Babay's residence is a real quest through the 'Forest of Wonders'. Children and adults undergo trials, solve riddles, and get acquainted with folklore.
• Where else will you be treated to chak-chak and echpochmaks right in a fairy-tale tower?
• The residence is located in the museum-reserve of the poet Gabdulla Tukay, which adds cultural value to the trip.

How to get there: Fly or travel to Kazan. The residence is located in the village of Novy Kyrlay (Arsky district), approximately 80 km from the city. During holidays, organized buses run there.

Buryat Sagaan Ubgen (Ulan-Ude)

Sagaan Ubgen (White Elder) is not just a New Year character, but an ancient Buddhist deity, guardian of life and fertility. He looks very majestic: in white robes, with a staff whose top is adorned with a dragon's head.

Why go:

• The main holiday is the Buddhist New Year (White Month), which usually falls in February. This is a time of incredible processions, prayers, and festivities.
• A trip to the White Elder is perfectly combined with a journey to winter Baikal. See the famous transparent ice, go ice skating, and eat buuzy (Buryat dumplings).

How to get there: by plane to Ulan-Ude. The residence is located in the Ethnographic Museum of Transbaikal Peoples.

World Cossack Ded Moroz (Gatchina)

The only Ded Moroz with epaulets! He wears a papakha, a shashka, and a blue caftan. He lives not in the forest, but in the city, and instead of a staff, he sometimes uses a nagaika (for peaceful, magical purposes, of course).

Why go:

• This is an excellent option for residents and guests of the Northern Capital. No need to travel far away.
• The program includes trick riding, songs, round dances, and an introduction to Cossack life. It's very lively and fun.

How to get there: if you live in St. Petersburg or the Leningrad region, this is an option for a weekend trip during the holidays – Gatchina is only 40 km from the city, you can get there by electric train from Baltiysky railway station.

Yamal Yamal Iri (Gornoknyazevsk)

Yamal Iri is the grandfather of the North. He wears national clothing (malitsa and kisy), belted with a belt adorned with mammoth bone ornaments. His magical staff is a reindeer herding shovel, and instead of a troika of horses, he rides on sleds pulled by reindeer.

Why go:

• This is a journey for those who want to see the Far North, the aurora borealis, and the life of indigenous peoples.
• Yamal Iri performs rituals of purification and wish fulfillment to the sounds of a tambourine.
• You can go sledding and pet reindeer.

How to get there: Fly to Salekhard. The residence is located in the natural-ethnographic complex in the village of Gornoknyazevsk (15 km from the city).

A trip to a national Ded Moroz is not a surrogate for a holiday, but its expansion. It's an opportunity to show children (and yourself) how diverse and interesting our country can be. Instead of a standard poem on a stool, you get an immersion in culture, new tastes, legends, and, of course, real winter magic without queues.

Choose your wizard, book your tickets, and embark on a fairy tale that your friends might not have even heard of!