Saint Sophia Cathedral is the oldest preserved stone structure on the territory of Vologda, a Russian city known for its particularly valuable historical heritage. It is one of the largest buildings of the era of Ivan the Terrible, constructed in 1568-1570s.

The Assumption Cathedral in Moscow was chosen as an architectural model. In the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Vologda, you can see preserved frescoes of the 17th century and the iconostasis of the first half of the 18th century. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful old cathedral

Tags: Vologda city

Pevek is an Arctic port town with a population of about 4.5 thousand people located on the shores of the Arctic Ocean in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. It is the northernmost town in Russia.

The name of the town comes from the Chukchi word “peekinei”, which means “thick, swollen mountain” – the name of the hill (sopka) at the foot of which Pevek stands. Pevek on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Pevek

Tags: Chukotka okrug

In the USSR, a personal car was a luxury, and for only a few, it was a common means of transportation. Even if you had enough money, you still could not freely buy it at a car dealership like today.

To do this, you had to wait your turn for several years, since the number of cars produced at the factories was significantly lower than the potential demand. Until the early 1970s, the main priority was given to trucks, in particular, army multi-axle tractors and four-wheel drive dual-use trucks.

1961. ZAZ-965 “Zaporozhets”.

Soviet advertising in all its glory

Tags: Soviet past · Tolyatti city

Suzdal is a town-reserve with a population of about 9,600 people located in Vladimir Oblast, about 37 km north of Vladimir.

By the abundance of monuments and the preservation of its original appearance, Suzdal is unique for Russia. You can see a large number of monuments of cult and civil architecture of the 13th – 19th centuries here. Photos by: Vladimir Lipetskikh.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1222-1225) and the Suzdal Kremlin.

amazing old Russian provincial town

Tags: Suzdal city · Vladimir oblast

Zelenogradsk (until 1946 – Cranz) is a resort town with a population of about 17 thousand people located in Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia.

The town stands on the coast of the Baltic Sea, about 25 kilometers north of Kaliningrad. Zelenogradsk on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

picturesque resort town

Tags: Kaliningrad oblast

Targim is an old abandoned settlement located in the southern part of the Republic of Ingushetia at an altitude of 1,080 meters above sea level.

On its territory there is an architectural complex “Targim” with a number of historical objects: tower-type dwellings, 4 battle towers up to 30 meters high, 4 semi-battle towers, and 16 dilapidated residential towers, as well as 19 crypt burial grounds, 2 mausoleums, and 5 sanctuaries. The tower complex “Targim” on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

picturesque old settlement

Tags: Ingushetia Republic

Uelen is a village with a population of 599 people (2021) located in the Chukotka district of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East. This is the easternmost inhabited settlement of Russia and Eurasia. It is only 100 kilometers from this small Chukchi village to the United States (Alaska), and more than 6,000 kilometers to Moscow in a straight line.

The current name of the village probably comes from the Chukchi word “uvelen”, which means “black thawed patches” or “black earth”. Uelen is located at the foot of the hill (sopka), on the slope of which there are black hillocks, which are clearly visible at any time of the year and in the past served as a reference point for travelers coming here. Uelen on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

end of the Earth

Tags: Anadyr city · Chukotka okrug

Park “Krasnodar” (unofficially “Galitsky Park”) is a city park with an area of about 23 hectares located next to the stadium of the football club “Krasnodar”, northeast of the center of Krasnodar, one of the fastest developing cities in Russia.

The park was created with funds from businessman Sergei Galitsky and opened on September 28, 2017. More than 2.5 thousand trees are planted in this park: oak, hornbeam, alder, bonsai, poplar, pine, tulip tree, maple, thuja, decorative plum, and one baobab. Park “Krasnodar” on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

beautiful modern park

Tags: Krasnodar city

Tula, first mentioned in 1146, is a city in Russia located about 180 km south of Moscow, the administrative center of Tula Oblast. On the territory of this city there are more than 300 objects of cultural heritage: monuments of architecture and urban planning, history, archeology, works of monumental art.

It is widely known for three “crafts” of its residents – the production of weapons, samovars and gingerbread. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Tula

Tags: Tula city

Balovnevo is a village of about 600 people located in the north of Lipetsk Oblast in the central part of European Russia. In this village you can see a unique monument of architecture of federal significance built in the style of classicism with elements of Gothic – the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God (1789-1823).

In November 2015, after two and a half years of restoration, the church reopened its doors to parishioners and tourists. Balovnevo on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

very picturesque church

Tags: churches · Lipetsk oblast