International Women’s Club members discover Kaluga Region diversity

Members of the International Women’s Club that comprises the spouses of ambassadors, diplomats, and foreign business executives working in Russia paid a reference visit to the Kaluga Region. The visit was arranged by the Main Administration for Service to the Diplomatic Corps (GlavUpDK) under the MFA of Russia, the government of Kaluga Region, and Kaluga Region Tourism Development Agency.

The trip was part of the traditional introductory tours GlavUpDK organizes for the diplomatic community accredited in Moscow to help the diplomatic corps members to learn more about the regions of the country.

During the one-day trip, the guests discovered the abundance of opportunities the Kaluga Region can offer: its tourist, industrial and cultural potential, as well as its culture and traditions. Larisa Boldyreva and Tatiana Kaledina, Director of the GlavUpDK Protocol Department and Director General of the Kaluga Region Tourism Development Agency, showed the members of the International Women’s Club around.

The guests were welcomed on Kaluga land by Vladimir Potemkin, Kaluga Region Vice Governor and Head of Kaluga Region Government Representative Office under the Government of the Russian Federation, Nikolay Kalinichev, Head of the Borovsk District Administration, and Anzhelika Bodrova, Head of the Borovsk Administration.
The tour around the region started with a visit to the House of Happiness multi-format tourist center located in a renovated historical building. Tatiana Kaledina delivered a presentation on the region’s impressive tourism potential, speaking extensively about the infrastructure for green,rural, industrial and business tourism, as well as the most interesting museums, cultural and sports events. In the House of Happiness center, the guests had an opportunity not only to appreciate the wonderful artworks created by Kaluga artists and artisans, but also taste cheeses made with original technologies, and also have traditional local tea and pies.

Coursing the city streets, the delegation members learned about the efforts to conserve the historical look of Borovsk. In particular, there are restoration plans for one of Borovsk’s main attractions – merchant Fyodor Shokin’s city manor often called the Frilled House. The project will involve young specialists as part of the field restoration schools – a research and academic initiative of the Russian Association of Restorers. 

In Borovsk, the delegation also visited the Monastery of St. Paphnutius standing on the picturesque bank of the Protva River. The pastoral panorama of Borovsk was perfectly complemented by goat milk ice cream, a local specialty made with a signature recipe.

The Kaluga Region trip would be incomplete without the visit to Kaluga, “the cradle of cosmonautics.” The guests were invited to Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, the world’s first and Russia’s largest space museum.  The museum complex impresses not only with the development history of aeronautics, aviation and the rocket-and-space industry housed in the historical building created with direct input from Sergei Korolev and Yuri Gagarin, but also with the formidable exhibition and peculiar hi-tech design of the new building that opened just over a year ago.  

At Bosco manufactory, the guests caught a glimpse of the Kaluga Region potential to use operational capacities of various volumes and types. There, they learned about the labor routine specifics, working conditions and the unique organizational culture. During the tour, members of the International Women’s Club had a chance to watch the manufacturing process of the brand knitwear and down coats.

The eventful day concluded with a visit to Florentika, Russia’s largest flower production in the Maloyaroslavets District. Over 30 cultivars of roses and gerberas, and many other seasonal ones are grown in the area of over 50 ha. Visiting a greenhouses with uncut buds, representatives of foreign countries learned about the subtleties of cultivating flowers that bring joy to thousands of Russian women every day.

Additional information:
Established in Moscow in 1978, the International Women’s Club is a non-political and non-profit organization. The Club’s main goals are strengthening of friendships and development of cultural contacts between representatives of different nations, as well as running charitable programs. 
Throughout the Club’s history, GlavUpDK has provided it with comprehensive practical assistance. 

Traditionally, the club president is elected among the wives of ambassadors.  The Club has over 400 members,  mostly spouses of heads of diplomatic missions, diplomats, and business executives from 110 countries. All the club activities and communications are governed by the principles of cooperation, peace and good-neighborly relations.