During the Cold War, the Soviet Union produced a huge amount of various military equipment. The country was preparing for the Third World War, but it did not happen. With each passing year more and more of the machinery and equipment became obsolete.

A lot of the machines were dismantled or conserved at special bases. Sometimes, for unknown reasons, large bases full of military equipment simply stopped functioning. The following photos were taken on one of these abandoned bases by saoirse-2010.

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Tags: Abandoned · base · Soviet

Today, after the war, Grozny is once again the administrative center of the Chechnya Republic of Russia. The reconstruction works are in process. In 2005 the railway connection with other parts of Russia was restored and the Grozny city airport, Severny, began to offer flights to Moscow.

Also, after several years of reconstruction, the beautiful Grozny city mosque (the largest in Europe) was opened in 2008. The following beautiful high-res photos of night Grozny were taken by timag82.

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Tags: Grozny city · night

Nerchinsk state prison was a part of penitentiary system of the Russian Empire, the main place in Eastern Siberia for state convicts sentenced to hard labor. It was located on the territory of present Zabaikalsky krai.

The prison system in Eastern Siberia appeared in the beginning of the 18th century as a place of serving sentences for the most serious criminal offenses. The first lead-silver mines and Zerentuyskaya penitentiary began operating in 1739.

By the beginning of the 19th century, it was a system of prisons, mines, factories and other economic facilities managed by the Mining Department. The convicts were working in the mines, foundries, salt plants, construction sites.

The significance of Nerchinsk prison for the ruling system was great. During the 19th century more than one million people were exiled to this place. After the Revolution of 1905-1907 the number of political prisoners increased significantly. After the February Revolution of 1917, all political prisoners were released.

Tags: convicts · Nerchinsk · prison · Zabaikalsky krai

The museum can be found in the exhibition complex “Klinskoe podvorye” in a small town of Klin located near Moscow. The collection mainly includes glass toys produced by local factory “Yolochka”, although there are toys of other factories. I personally still have some toys you can see at the pictures below.

The museum runs a shop where all year round you can buy glass Christmas decorations produced by the same factory. Opening hours of the museum: from 9:30 to 17:00. The last tour begins at 16:00. Day off – Monday. Address: Russia, Moskovskaya oblast, Klin town, Staroyamskaya Str., 4. The site of the museum: http://www.klinvk.ru/. Photos by Yulia Makarkina.

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Tags: Christmas · Klin city · Moskovskaya oblast · toys

Chirkeyskaya hydropower plant is located on the river Sulak in Dagestan Republic. It is the largest hydropower plant in the North Caucasus and the highest arch dam in Russia. It is built in a narrow Chirkeyskiy gorge.

The capacity of the station is 1000 MW; average annual output 2.47 billion kilowatt hours. Photos by Stepanov Slava.

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Tags: Chirkeyskaya hydropower plant · Dagestan Republic · dam

December 28, 2011, just before the New Year celebrations, a new metro station “Admiralteyskaya” was opened in Saint Petersburg. The station is located on the 5th purple line between the stations “Sadovaya” and “Sportivnaya”.

For about 15 years it was in fact ghost-station, the trains passed it without stopping. Active work was resumed several years ago – escalators and platform were assembled. Today, after the opening, “Admiralteyskaya ” has become the deepest metro station in Russia – the length of the escalators is 120 meters. Photos by skydrinker.

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Tags: metro · Saint Petersburg city

The first Chechen War began in the winter of 1994. Grozny was captured by the Russian army in February of 1995 after a battle. A lot of buildings and infrastructure objects of the city were damaged or destroyed because of the Russian Air Force and artillery strikes.

But the resistance to Russian troops was not ended, and numerous Chechen guerrilla raids continued to operate in the city from the nearby mountains. In August 1996, Grozny was recaptured by Chechen guerrilla in a surprise attack. The battle was ended after a ceasefire (in 1996) and peace treaty (in 1997) was signed between Russia and the Chechen Republic.

Grozny city became the center of fighting again during Second Chechen War. Once again it was heavily damaged. The United Nations called Grozny city of Russia the most destroyed city on the planet in 2003. Photos by timag82.

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Tags: Chechnya Republic · Grozny city

Pyatigorsk (“the city of five mountains”) is the oldest balneological and mud resort of Russia and the largest cultural and tourist center of eco-resort region Caucasian Mineral Waters.

On January 19, 2010 Pyatigorsk received the status of the center of North Caucasus Federal District. It is the only center of the federal district not being the capital of the subject of the federation. Photos by timag82. Click the photos for high resolution versions.

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Tags: mountains · Pyatigorsk city

Vologda Kremlin is historical and architectural complex located in the central part of Vologda. It was founded as a fortress in 1567 by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and played the role of defensive fortification in the 16th-17th centuries.

By the 1820s the Kremlin walls and towers were dismantled. Today the territory of the Kremlin is a historical and trade center of Vologda. Several architectural monuments built at the same time as the Kremlin were preserved. They are standing on the Kremlin Square. Photos by Ilya Pokrovsky.

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Tags: churches · Kremlin · Vologda city

There is an abandoned village Ostashevo in Chuhlomskoy district of Kostroma oblast and 100 meters to the east this wooden wonder is standing. The building is an old two-storey house with a tower, full of various carved decoration.

The house was probably built by industrialist Markov at the end of the 19th century. It was his suburban villa (dacha). According to the other version St. Petersburg contractor M.S. Sazonov built this house for his second wife E.A. Dobrovolskaya. Photos by Denis Frantsouzov.

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Tags: Abandoned · house · Kostroma oblast · wooden