Norilsk is a city with a population of about 182 thousand people located in the north of Krasnoyarsk Krai, about 300 km north of the Arctic Circle. A major center of non-ferrous metallurgy, it is the northernmost city in the world with a population of over 150 thousand people.

Climatic winter in this city lasts from the beginning of October to the end of May. The average January temperature is about minus 27 degrees Celsius. The polar day in Norilsk lasts from May 20 to July 24, the polar night – from November 30 to January 13. Free entry of foreigners to Norilsk is closed. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Norilsk

Tags: Krasnoyarsk krai · Norilsk city

The Main Cathedral of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or the Patriarchal Cathedral in the name of the Resurrection of Christ is a church “dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, as well as the feats of arms of the Russian people in all wars.”

It is located on the territory of the Patriot Park in the Odintsovo urban district of the Moscow region, about 50 km west of the center of Moscow. The consecration of the cathedral took place as part of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War on June 14, 2020. The Patriot Park on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

unique monument of today’s Russia

Tags: churches · Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

The federal highway R256 “Chuya Trakt” (The Chuya Highway) is a federal highway Novosibirsk – Novoaltaysk (access road to Barnaul) – Biysk – Maima (access road to Gorno-Altaisk) – the state border with Mongolia.

The length of this highway passing through the territory of Novosibirsk Oblast, Altai Krai and the Altai Republic is about 968 kilometers. The Chuysky Trakt on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

probably the most picturesque highway in Russia

Tags: Altai krai · Altay Republic

Franz Josef Land is an archipelago (a group of islands located close together) in the Arctic Ocean, in northern Europe. It is the northernmost archipelago of Russia stretching for 375 km from east to west and 234 km from north to south.

It is part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of more than 200 islands with a total area of about 16,134 square km. Franz Josef Land on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

pristine nature of the Russian Arctic

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast

Vasilyevsky Castle (also known as Shcherbatovsky Castle) is located in the village of the sanatorium named after Alexander Herzen in Moscow Oblast, about 65 west of the center of Moscow.

It was built by the architect Peter Boitsov by order of Prince Alexander Shcherbatov in the right-bank part of his estate in 1881. Vasilyevsky (Shcherbatovsky) Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful brick castle-estate

Tags: Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast · Russian Empire

Katu-Yaryk Pass, one of the most difficult and dangerous passes in the Altai Mountains, is located on the territory of the Ulagan district of the Altai Republic.

Until 1989, there was no road descending from the Ulagan Plateau into the valley of the Chulyshman River. Residents of the surrounding villages used a steep horse trail or a waterway through Lake Teletskoye. Katu-Yaryk Pass on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

very picturesque pass

Tags: Altay Republic

Volodarsk is a small town with a population of about 10 thousand people located in Nizhegorodskaya Oblast, about 60 km west of Nizhny Novgorod. In most cases, the main tourist attraction of small Russian towns is the local museum of local lore and Volodarsk is no exception.

However, the museum in Volodarsk occupies a unique wooden building known as “Nikolai Bugrov’s Summer Dacha” – one of the few surviving houses of similar architecture in the European part of Russia. Photos by: Anna Sukhareva and Yaroslav Gunin.

amazing wooden house

Tags: Nizhegorodskaya oblast · Nizhny Novgorod city · Russian Empire

Maykop (“the valley of apple trees” from the Adyghe language) is a city with a population of about 139 thousand people located in the south of European Russia, the capital of the Republic of Adygea.

The main urban development of Maykop was carried out in Soviet times and it was done quite systematically. The streets of the city for the most part are strictly perpendicular to each other, its entire center consists of identical city blocks. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Maykop

Tags: Adygeya Republic · Maykop city

Lake Teletskoye is a picturesque natural body of water located in the north-east of the Altai Mountains on the territory of the Altai Republic, about 120 km in a straight line from the regional capital Gorno-Altaysk.

One of the most popular natural attractions of Altai, it is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List as part of the complex “The Golden Mountains of Altai”. Lake Teletskoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful lake

Tags: Altay Republic · Gorno-Altaisk city

Gamsutl is an abandoned village located at an altitude of about 1.5 thousand meters above sea level in the southern mountainous part of the Republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus.

Translated from the Avar language, the word “gamsutl” means “at the foot of the khan’s fortress.” It is likely that the khan, the founder of Gamsutl, lived on the top of the mountain, and his troops were stationed on its slopes. The approximate age of the village is 2 thousand years.

very picturesque abandoned village

Tags: Abandoned · Dagestan Republic