Kizhi is an island in the northern part of Lake Onega in the south of the Republic of Karelia. It is known primarily for the exposition of the historical, architectural and ethnographic museum-reserve “Kizhi” located here, including the architectural ensemble of the Kizhi Pogost – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Most of the buildings are monuments of architecture, a lot of them were moved for exposition from other villages of this region. Kizhi Island on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

snow-covered monuments of wooden architecture

Tags: churches · Karelia Republic · Petrozavodsk city

The Ferapontov Belozersky Nativity Monastery is a monastery of the Vologda diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church located in the village of Ferapontovo, Vologda Oblast, about 119 km north-west of Vologda.

This is one of the oldest monasteries in the Russian North founded in the late 14th century. The monastery has survived to our time in the buildings of the 14th-17th centuries and in the wall paintings of the famous icon painter Dionysius. In 2000, this monastery was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Ferapontov Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful old Russian monastery

Tags: churches · Vologda oblast

Veliky Ustyug is a town with a population of about 31 thousand people located in the north-east of Vologda Oblast in the north of the European part of Russia, about 446 km from Vologda.

First mentioned in 1212, it is one of the oldest Russian towns with a rich cultural heritage. There are 28 preserved churches of the 17th-18th centuries in Veliky Ustyug. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

picturesque old Russian town

Tags: Vologda oblast

The Galsky Estate is a picturesque noble estate built in the provincial classicism style on the bank of the Sheksna River in the early 19th century. This monument of history and culture of federal significance is located in the city of Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast.

In addition to the main sky-blue house, all the household buildings have also been preserved here. The museum offers interactive excursions, classes on painting, clay modeling, and making folk dolls. The equestrian section is open to children and adults. The Galsky Estate on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

magnificent noble estate

Tags: Cherepovets city · museum · Vologda oblast

The Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity in Nikitniki (the Church of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God on Varvarka) is a great example of the Russian (Muscovite) uzorochye of the middle of the 17th century.

It was built by Yaroslavl merchants in Kitay-Gorod, a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow, in 1628-1651. In Soviet times, this part of the city was built up with administrative buildings, but the church was preserved and used as a museum. The Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity in Nikitniki on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir d’Ar.

picturesque old church

Tags: churches · Moscow city

The Holy Protection (Pokrovsky) Convent of the Russian Orthodox Church is located on the right bank of the Kamenka River in the northern part of Suzdal, a town-reserve in the north of Vladimir Oblast included in the famous tourist route Golden Ring of Russia.

Founded in 1364, it was formed in its present appearance in the 16th century, when the convent was turned into a place of imprisonment of representatives of aristocratic families who were tonsured as nuns. In the 16th-17th centuries, it was one of the largest convents in the country. Pokrovsky Convent on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful convent

Tags: Suzdal city · Vladimir oblast

The Brianchaninovs’ Estate is a noble estate of the early 19th century located in the village of Pokrovskoye in Vologda Oblast, about 25 km south of Vologda. Built in the style of early classicism, it is a historical and cultural monument of federal significance and a monument of landscape gardening art of regional significance.

The estate includes the main house with wings and galleries (1809-1810), the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (1811), the Brianchaninovs’ necropolis (the 19th century), a park with a pond (the early 19th century), a stable (the second half of the 19th century), and a cellar (the second half of the 19th century). The Brianchaninovs’ Estate on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful preserved noble estate

Tags: Russian Empire · Vologda oblast

The amazingly beautiful complex of buildings of the Nikolo-Vyazhischi Convent of the Russian Orthodox Church is located near the village of Vyazhischi in Novgorod Oblast, about 15 km north-west of Veliky Novgorod.

The architectural structures of the convent are an invaluable cultural monument of the Novgorod land. It is famous for the extraordinary variety of tiles that decorate the buildings of the church complex. The Nikolo-Vyazhischi Convent on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexander Lipilin.

very picturesque convent

Tags: churches · Novgorod oblast

The Akhmat Kadyrov Mosque “Heart of Chechnya” located in the center of Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic, is one of the largest mosques in Russia and Europe. The construction of the mosque lasted from April 2006 to October 2008.

The mosque stands on the picturesque bank of the Sunzha River, in the middle of a huge park (14 hectares) and is part of the Islamic complex, which, in addition to the mosque, includes the Russian Islamic University named after Kunta-haji Kishiev and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Chechen Republic. Photos by: Alexander Popov.

amazing mosque

Tags: Chechnya Republic · Grozny city

The Shoana church, built in the Byzantine architectural style at the end of the 10th century, is one of the oldest Christian churches in Russia.

It is located on the southeastern spur of the very picturesque Shoana Mountain (1,232 meters) on the left bank of the Kuban River in the central part of the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia in the foothills of the northwestern Caucasus. Shoana Church on Google Maps. Photos by: Fedor Lashkov.

picturesque mountain church

Tags: Cherkessk city · Karachay-Cherkessia Republic