Arkhangelsk, Petrozavodsk, Tula

[Homenuck]

I will be going to one of the following cities for a year - Arkhangelsk, Petrozavodsk or Tula. Already having spent time in Moscow and St. Petersburg, I wanted to avoid big cities.

I've never been in any of these places, but I've read up on each quite a bit and there are so many positive points about each.

My problem is I must narrow it down to one - and I need some of your suggestions!

As I will be studying Russian, I want to avoid areas with too many tourists (I find myself resorting to English far too often with fellow travelers around). OK, I know, there are tourists all over the place... but I figure that Petrozavodsk and Arkhangelsk are *just* out of the way enough.

I don't care if the city is "boring" - all I need is a place with nice weather (I hate humidity, love the cold) and with some little place to practice some form of martial art (from my experience in Russia, any town with more than a dozen people has some martial arts place).

So, long story short, any suggestions or thoughts?

Thanks!
Dave

[Yu_Jing]

If you like cold then Arkhangelsk and Petrozavodsk would be better!

Tula is bigger and hotter. But there can be tourists at Petrozavodsk (Kizhi, Onega lake, Finnish) and at Arkhangelsk (Russian North, folk crafts)