Kostroma, founded in 1152, is the administrative center of the Kostroma region located about 346 km north-east of Moscow on the Volga River.

The historical center of the city is known for its mostly preserved architectural ensemble of the era of classicism of the late 18th-19th centuries. This city is included in the list of settlements that have the official status of “historical”, and is traditionally included in the “Golden Ring of Russia”. Photos by: Eduard Skvortsov.

Ivan Susanin Square – the central square of Kostroma and one of the most picturesque places in the city. The main architectural dominant of the square is the fire tower of the 19th century.

walk around Kostroma

Tags: Kostroma city

Rostov Boris and Gleb Monastery, founded in 1363, is an Orthodox monastery located in the village of Borisoglebsky in the Yaroslavl region, on the road from Rostov to Uglich, 76 km south-west of Yaroslavl, part of the famous tourist route “The Golden Ring of Russia”.

The architectural complex of the monastery was fully formed in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was one of the richest in the Rostov metropolia, while the Moscow princes and the first Russian tsars considered it as their “home” monastery. After the 17th century, the architectural ensemble remained almost unchanged. Rostov Boris and Gleb Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Mikhail Aritkin.

picturesque old monastery

Tags: Yaroslavl oblast

The Resurrection Monastery or New Jerusalem Monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church is located in the town of Istra in the Moscow region, 73 km north-west of Moscow.

The monastery was founded by Patriarch Nikon in 1656. According to his plan, a complex of holy places of Palestine was to be recreated near Moscow. The New Jerusalem Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Mikhail Aritkin.

amazing monastery

Tags: Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

Berezniki is the second largest city in the Perm region with a population of about 145,000 people, a large industrial center located 191 km north of Perm.

The city stands on a large deposit of potassium and magnesium salts that have been mine-produced for decades. Berezniki on Google Maps. Photos by: Lana Sator.

Administrative and household building in the zone of one of the sinkholes.

sinkholes of Berezniki from above

Tags: Abandoned · Perm krai

Sheremetev Castle is a picturesque palace and park ensemble and an architectural monument of federal significance located in the village of Yurino in the Republic of Mari El, on the bank of the Volga River.

In 1812, Yurino was bought by the landowner Vasili Sheremetev. The construction of the castle, which lasted from 1874 to 1915, involved three generations of Sheremetevs and seven architects. Sheremetev Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Dmitry Gazin.

magnificent brick palace

Tags: Cheboksary city · Mari El Republic · Yoshkar-Ola city

The Lakhta Center, being built in the historical part of the Primorsky district of St. Petersburg, is a public and business complex that will house the headquarters of Gazprom, one of the world’s largest energy companies.

It is planned to finish the construction in Q3 2018. This skyscraper has already become the most northern in the world, the highest in Russia and Europe (462 meters). The Lakhta Center on Google Maps. Photos by: Valery Gikavy.

Saint Petersburg from above

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Torzhok, founded at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries, is a town with a population of about 46 thousand people located in the Tver region, 65 km north-west of Tver.

In the past, it was an important center of trade on the way to Novgorod and St. Petersburg from the southern regions of Russia. The very name of the town means “trading place”. Torzhok on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexander Lipilin.

winter in Torzhok

Tags: Torzhok city · Tver oblast

The cliff of Bolshiye Pritesy, located in the west of the Chelyabinsk region, is one of the most famous and popular sights of the Ay River. The height of this steep rocky wall is up to 100 meters.

The Ay River is one of the most beautiful rivers in the Urals. In the Bashkir language its name means “Moon” or “Moon River”. It flows through the territory of the Chelyabinsk region and the Republic of Bashkiria. The length of the river is 549 kilometers. It has a lot of picturesque cliffs, rocks, caves.

very picturesque cliff

Tags: Chelyabinsk oblast

On the night of June 23-24, the annual show “Scarlet Sails” was held in St. Petersburg – the main graduation ceremony of Russia, a holiday dedicated to all school graduates.

For the first time “Scarlet Sails” was held in Leningrad in 1968. In that year, 25 thousand graduates of Soviet schools and technical schools gathered for the holiday. In 2018, this celebration turned 50, there were about 80 thousand graduates on the streets and embankments of the city. Photos by: Petr Ushanov.

very colorful show

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

The Holy Trinity Convent in Murom, one of the oldest cities in Russia located in the Vladimir region, 129 km southeast of Vladimir, is known for preserving the relics of St. Peter and Fevronia, who are revered in the country as patrons of the family and marriage.

It was founded in the second quarter of the 17th century (1643) by the Murom merchant Tarasy Borisovich Tsvetnov. Holy Trinity Convent in Murom on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

fly over the convent

Tags: Murom city · Vladimir oblast