Kolomenskoye, a former royal residence located south of the center of Moscow and occupying an area of about 390 hectares, is an interesting art, historical, architectural, and natural museum-reserve.

The main exhibit of Kolomenskoye is a beautiful park with numerous buildings of different times – one of the most popular parks in Moscow. It looks especially picturesque during the golden autumn. Kolomenskoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir d’Ar.

stroll through the autumn park

Tags: Moscow city

Vyborg is a large town located in the north-west of the Leningrad region on the shore of the Vyborg Gulf, in the north-eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, about 135 km from St. Petersburg.

Founded in the Middle Ages by Swedes, Vyborg is the only historical settlement on the territory of the Leningrad region. Until 1940, it was the second largest town in Finland. Photos by: Andrei Kireev.

Vyborg from the tower of the Vyborg Castle.

explore Vyborg

Tags: Leningrad oblast

The Northern Urals is one of the most hard-to-reach areas of the Urals, but it gradually becomes more popular among tourists primarily thanks to two main attractions: the rock formations on the Manpupuner Plateau and the Dyatlov Pass.

Both of these places are covered with legends. Although one of them was created by nature, and the second – by human tragedy that is still an unsolved mystery. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over the Northern Urals

Tags: Komi Republic · Perm krai · Sverdlovsk oblast

Nelazskoye is a small village with a population of about 200 people located in the Cherepovets district of the Vologda region, about 30 km north-west of Cherepovets.

The main attraction of the village is the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady – a wooden church of unique shape built in 1694. Nelazskoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Denis Spirin.

beautiful monument of wooden architecture

Tags: Cherepovets city · churches · Vologda oblast

Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery is a monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church located in the town of Dzerzhinsky in the Moscow region, to the southeast of Moscow in the immediate vicinity of the Moscow Ring Road.

The monastery was founded by the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy on the site of the phenomenon of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in 1380.

explore the monastery

Tags: Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

Krutitskoye Podvorye (Krutitsy Patriarchal Metochion) is a picturesque preserved fragment of old Moscow located almost in the very center of Europe’s largest metropolis.

This is an excellent example of when the natural landscape allowed to preserve the look of a street of the 18th-19th centuries. Krutitskoye Podvorye on Google Maps. Photos by: Kirill Moiseev.

walk around old Moscow

Tags: Moscow city

Vladivostok is a city with a population of about 600 thousand people and a major seaport located in the Far East of Russia. It is the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the last station of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The city is located on the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula and the islands in the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan. The military post of the Russian Empire called “Vladivostok”, which means “holding the east”, was founded in 1860. In 1880, it received the status of a town. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Vladivostok

Tags: Primorye krai · Vladivostok city

Balovnevo is a village with a population of about 600 people located in the Dankovsky district of the Lipetsk region, 94 km north-west of Lipetsk.

On the territory of the village there are remains of the Muromtsev Estate. Balovnevo on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Malder.

At the entrance to the estate you can see an old gate built of red brick in a classic style in the late 17th century.

stroll through the former estate

Tags: churches · Lipetsk oblast

S-189 is a submarine of Project 613 moored at Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment in St. Petersburg and converted into a museum.

Project 613 submarines (according to NATO classification: “Whiskey”) are Soviet medium-sized diesel-electric submarines built in 1951-1957. This series became the most massive in the Soviet submarine fleet (215 submarines). Photos by: deletant.

The conning tower of S-189.

explore the submarine

Tags: museum · Saint Petersburg city · Soviet past

With the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia approaching soon, it’s worth getting to know the featured cities so you can plan your travels accordingly.

With 11 diverse destinations, you can experience the best of this vibrant and colorful nation while enjoying world-class games. This guide will go over the top sights in each World Cup city so you can have the trip of a lifetime!

explore the cities of the World Cup 2018

Tags: World Cup 2018