The Republic of Kalmykia is located in the extreme south-east of the European part of Russia. The present culture of Kalmykia is closely connected with the culture of the Kalmyk people – the only people in Europe traditionally professing Buddhism.

“The Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha”, located in the center of Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, is the largest Buddhist temple in the republic and one of the largest Buddhist temples in Europe. Photos by: Vladimir Mulder.

beautiful Buddhist temple

Tags: Elista city · Kalmykia republic

Podporozhye is an abandoned village located on the bank of the Onega River in the west of the Arkhangelsk region. Some time ago there was a whole church complex in the village. But only the Church of Our Lady of Vladimir, built in 1757, has survived.

This huge and majestic wooden building is one of the landmark monuments in the development of the architecture of the Russian North. Podporozhye on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

fly over the church

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · churches

Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy of the Russian Orthodox Church was founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia in Moscow in 1909. Today, it is located in the center of the city on Bol’shaya Ordynka Street, 34.

The main attraction of the convent is the Intercession Cathedral built by the famous architect Alexey Shchusev in 1908-1912. This is a unique example of the Neo-Russian style in church architecture. Marfo-Mariinsky Convent on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Dar.

majestic church

Tags: churches · Moscow city

The Russian North is a collective name for the northern regions of the European part of Russia, where a lot of folk traditions have been preserved since the times of Kievan Rus.

In the 16th-17th centuries, a peculiar northern culture developed here with its northern “schools” of painting, bone and wood carving, wooden architecture.

beautiful wooden church

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · churches

Suzdal is a small town-reserve with a population of about 9,700 people located in the Vladimir region, about 30 km north of Vladimir.

First mentioned in the chronicles in 1024, this is one of the oldest towns in Russia famous for its abundance of monuments and preserved original appearance. Photos by: Vasiliy Nikitinskiy.

winter in Suzdal

Tags: Suzdal city · Vladimir oblast

Rostov, founded in 862, is a town with a population of about 31,000 people located in the Yaroslavl region, about 53 km south-west of Yaroslavl. This is one of the oldest towns in Russia included in the famous tourist route “Golden Ring of Russia”.

On the territory of Rostov there are more than 300 cultural monuments, one third of which are monuments of federal significance. Photos by: Alexander Maretsky.

winter in Rostov

Tags: Yaroslavl oblast

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Darna is an Orthodox church located in the village of Darna in the Istra district of the Moscow region, about 65 km north-west of the center of Moscow.

The church was built according to the project of the architect Sergey Shervud in elegant Neo-Russian style in 1895-1900. Darna on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Dar.

beautiful brick church

Tags: churches · Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

Novotroitskoye is a small village with a population of about 150 people located in the Dolgorukovskiy district of the Lipetsk region.

The main attraction of the village is the ensemble of the Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity built on the means of Major-General Petr Andrianovich Pozdnyakov, the owner of the village, in 1809-1819. Novotroitskoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

beautiful church

Tags: Abandoned · Lipetsk oblast

The Cathedral Church in Kaliningrad (former Koenigsberg) is an inactive cathedral located in the historical district of the city – Kneiphof island (also known among locals as the “Island of Kant”).

For centuries, it was the main Catholic church in Koenigsberg. In the Soviet years, the cathedral received the status of an object of cultural heritage and was included in the list of architectural monuments. Photos by: Vasiliy Nikitinskiy.

one of the symbols of Kaliningrad

Tags: churches · Kaliningrad city

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