Manulover Birthday

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Pavel Burov

5 hours ago • translated from Russian, show original

Officially, the club of utterly unhinged manulovers admits people who have completed at least one manultour. A manultour is a trip to another city and/or country whose main purpose was to visit at least one manul.

Just after midnight on 2 September 2026, I completed my first manultour. Three days in Saint Petersburg, three days in the Leningrad Zoo, three days watching the fluffy gang of manul intellectuals.

It all began in an almost anecdotal way. I settled on the dates, booked a hotel “somewhere near Peter and Paul Fortress, with the zoo, that green patch on the map, closer to it,” bought round-trip train tickets. On my way out to Leningrad Station, I checked the ticket. I learned that the train had left a little less than a day earlier. Indeed, if I need to arrive on Sunday morning, then I need a ticket for the night from Saturday to Sunday; let’s look for tickets for Saturday evening — here it is, the most convenient one, at 00:25. 00:25 on Saturday. By chance, a ticket on the morning Sapsan turned up. The trip was saved.

Then came a hectic Sunday, 30 August, with an early wake-up, the Sapsan at seven, in Saint Petersburg at eleven, a dash to the zoo and shooting, shooting, shooting from the road. There I struck up a conversation with local manulovers, got advice on the enclosures, the family, who to watch for and when. By around four, the rain had washed me out of the zoo. I checked into the hotel, dried off, went out for a walk along Nevsky. And, of course, ended up at the zoo. Indeed, the rain had stopped — why waste time? By the enclosures I noticed a couple with a “Zoo Walks” sticker; one thing led to another, and there it was: a wonderful tour of the Leningrad Zoo. Thanks to Zoo Walks — it was great and very cozy.

Monday pleased me with good weather, brief showers, and the most comfortable temperature. The cats were out walking; I was filming. Everything was great, but by around seven the kittens had worn out not only their mother, but me as well. I had to leave and, in the end, go for a walk along Nevsky anyway. On the avenue I found the “Wonderful Nearby” shops. Be careful. Visiting this chain may cause memory lapses and convulsive bouts of uncontrollable cat-cuteness buying. You have been warned.

Tuesday, 1 September, was sunny. Photographing manuls in the Leningrad Zoo in such weather is pointless and useless until about half past three in the afternoon because of the lighting conditions. Toward evening I managed to take a few shots. At the planned time I headed out. I lingered by Sven’s enclosure. The wisest one saw me off so touchingly that my plan to walk to the train was canceled. Dinner too. That gave me another hour and a half of shooting time. Naturally, the most productive one.

And then it was a dash to the train. The trip is over when the last participant of the event gets home. I’m home, which means another manulover has been born.

And now, to what this text was written for in the first place. Over these three days I received unexpectedly many words of thanks for the photos, videos, and notes from the Leningrad Zoo. Your warm words helped me realize something that seemed obvious. Often manulovers do not have the opportunity to travel and see their beloved cats. At the very least, they are not able to do it often and/or regularly. Far from all of our beloved fluffballs are covered on the Internet, like Timofey, for example. Fans of non-media cats are literally on a meager information diet and are forced to seek out any facts, rumors, and tales about the dearly cherished furballs.

When I set off on a manultour, I was going on an entertainment trip for myself. But it turned into an informational trip for others. And that is an important point. The universe endowed me with both the chance to go to another city to see cats and the skills to photograph them, and even hundreds of stolen jokes and aphorisms for shaping the texts. The time has come to pay my debts. Future tours will be more structured, better prepared, and more focused on educational value and information.

Thank you to everyone who liked the photos and videos, noticed and corrected inaccuracies, advised me, helped me find my way around, and wrote words of thanks. The manulizing community is wonderful; it is an honor to be part of such a marvelous group.

Cats for everyone!

P.S. A little later I’ll spice up the text with photos and videos.

P.P.S. The hotel, chosen at random on the map, turned out to be right opposite the zoo entrance. Less than five minutes on foot. Amazing.