In November, Marcus Micheli, the U.S. Consul General in Yekaterinburg, and Michael Ritchie, Consul for Political and Economic Affairs, visited Irbit, Sverdlovsk Oblast. The Ural motorcycle is one of the Oblast’s most iconic brands, and is loved and collected by enthusiasts around the world, including in the United States. Vladimir Kurmachyov, the CEO of the Irbit Motorcycle Plant, took the guests on a tour of the facility, one of very few plants in the world that manufactures motorbikes with side cars, many of which are exported to America. At the Irbit Ethnographic Museum, the guests were given a fascinating tour of the history of the region and city, and enjoyed authentic Russian fare, cooked in a historical Russian oven. Consul General Micheli and Consul Ritchie also visited the Irbit Dairy Plant, where the CEO Sergey Suyetin showed the guests how popular Sverdlovsk Oblast dairy products are produced, and all together they enjoyed a few tasty treats as well.
