Volokolamsk, a small town with a population of about 20 thousand people, is located in the Moscow region, 123 km north-west of Moscow.

One of the oldest Russian towns, it was founded on an ancient waterway from Novgorod lands to the Volga-Oka basin. For the first time Volokolamsk was mentioned in chronicles in 1135. Photos by: Dmitry Gazin.

explore the Volokolamsk Kremlin

Tags: Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, in Russia, a real boom in the construction of new Orthodox churches has begun. Most of them are quite similar, without interesting architectural solutions. However, there are some exceptions.

For example, take a look at the Church of the Holy Igor of Chernigov in Novo-Peredelkino – a district of Moscow located 30 km from the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (MKAD). Church of the Holy Igor on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Dar.

amazing church in the new Russian style

Tags: churches · Moscow city

The former Rukavishnikov Manor located in Nizhny Novgorod (Verkhnevolzhskaya Embankment Street, 7) is an architectural and cultural monument and perhaps the most beautiful building in the city.

It was built by M.G. Rukavishnikov, the owner of the first steel plant in Nizhny Novgorod. His heir S.M. Rukavishnikov turned the estate into a magnificent complex with a house in the style of an Italian palazzo. Photos by: Ruslan Viktorov.

architectural gem of the city

Tags: Nizhny Novgorod city

The Astrakhan Kremlin is a historical and architectural complex, which is an integral ensemble of monuments of defense architecture, cult and civil architecture.

Today, it is not only a monument of Russian architecture. There is an ethnographic museum with a very rich collection of exhibits. Photos by: Dmitry Gazin.

take a stroll in the Astrakhan Kremlin

Tags: Astrakhan city

Arsenal is a park pavilion built in 1819-1834, designed by the architects Adam Menelas and Alexander Ton. It was used as the Imperial Weapons Museum that became one of the first museums in the country.

This building in the “Gothic” style, crowned with crenellated towers, is located in the center of the Alexander Park in Tsarskoye Selo – a museum-preserve in the town of Pushkin in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. Photos by: Dmitriy Gazin.

explore the museum

Tags: museum · Saint Petersburg city

The Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery is one of the largest and most famous monasteries in Russia with a long history.

This is one of the most valuable and interesting historical and architectural complexes in the country. It is located on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Pechora in the Pskov region, near the border with Estonia. Pskov-Caves Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Denis Spirin.

explore the fortress-monastery

Tags: Pskov oblast

Staritsa, founded in 1297, is a small town with a population of about 8,000 people located in the Tver region, 65 km south-west of Tver. There are several churches and estates in the town and its surroundings.

One of the most interesting churches is the complex of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary – unique in its appearance. Staritsa on Google Maps. Photos by: Dmitriy Gazin.

picturesque abandoned church

Tags: churches · Tver oblast

Alexandrovsky Park is a park in the State Museum-Reserve “Tsarskoe Selo” located in the city of Pushkin in St. Petersburg, an architectural monument of the 18th-19th centuries.

One of the attractions of the park is the so-called “White Tower” – a pavilion built in the style of a medieval knight castle. Photos by: Dmitriy Gazin.

miniature castle

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Vyborg is a town with a population of about 79,000 people located in the Leningrad region, on the shore of the Vyborg Gulf, in the north-eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, 120 km from St. Petersburg, and 35 km from the border with Finland.

Since 2010, this town, founded in the Middle Ages by the Swedes, is the only historic settlement on the territory of the Leningrad region. Until 1940, it was the second largest town in Finland. Photos by: Dmitriy Gazin.

walk around the town

Tags: Leningrad oblast

Kolomna is a city with a population of about 143 thousand people located about 113 km southeast of Moscow. This is one of the oldest (the first mention in 1177) and the most beautiful cities of the Moscow region.

One of the main attractions of Kolomna is a partially preserved rare monument of ancient Russian defensive architecture – the grandiose Kolomna Kremlin (1525-1531). Photos by: maximus101.

magnificent fortress

Tags: Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast