Today, Vytegra is a small town (since 1773) with a population of about 10,000 people standing on the banks of the Vytegra River, 337 km north-west of Vologda, in the Vologda region.

You can see how this place looked like 108 years ago, in 1909. It is possible due to unique color photographs made by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky. Source.

General view of Vytegra and the Vytegra River.

back to the past

Tags: Russian Empire · Vologda oblast

St. George’s Cathedral, a white-stone church located in the central part of the ancient Russian town of Yuryev-Polsky in the Vladimir region, is an outstanding monument of ancient Russian architecture.

The cathedral was built by Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich in 1230-1234. In 1326-1327, on the model of St. George’s Cathedral, the first stone church was built in Moscow – the Cathedral of the Assumption. Photos by: Pavel Labutin.

beautiful ancient temple

Tags: Vladimir oblast

Ekaterinburg (in 1924-1991 – Sverdlovsk), the fourth largest city of Russia, is an administrative center of the Sverdlovsk region and the Urals Federal District. It is the biggest administrative, cultural, scientific, and educational center of the Urals.

Over almost three hundred years of its existence, Ekaterinburg was rebuilt several times. The project “Ekaterinburg. Then and Now” shows how much the city has changed over the 100 years. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

Ekaterinburg – past and present

Tags: Ekaterinburg city

“Malye Korely” is a state museum of wooden architecture and folk art of the northern regions of Russia. The area of ​​the museum is 139.8 hectares.

The museum is located in the rural settlement of Uyemskoye in Primorsky district of the Arkhangelsk region, on the right bank of the Northern Dvina River, 25 km south of Arkhangelsk. Photos by: Denis Spirin.

explore the museum

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · museum

Church of Nikola Mokryi (St. Nicholas the Wet) in Yaroslavl, built in 1662-1675, is located at Chaikovsky Street, 1.

The church was named after St. Nicholas, in honor of whom the icon “Nikola Mokryi” was painted on the basis of an ancient story. Photos by: Kirill Moiseev.

beautiful old church

Tags: churches · Yaroslavl city

Gamsutl is a picturesque Avar village located on top of Mount Gamsutlmeer, in Gunibsky district of Dagestan. This village is one of the oldest settlements on the territory of the republic.

Translated from the Avar, the word “gamsutl” means “at the foot of the khan’s fortress”, from what historians have concluded that once, in ancient times, Khan chose this place to build his fortress or tower. Gamsutl on Google Maps. Photos by: Olga Stanina.

explore the abandoned settlement

Tags: Abandoned · Dagestan Republic

The building of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the former main imperial palace of Russia, was constructed by the Italian architect B.F.Rastrelli in magnificent Elizabethan Baroque style with elements of the French Rococo in the interiors in 1754-1762.

Since Soviet times, the palace is occupied by the main exhibition of the State Hermitage – one of the largest and most significant art and historical museums in Russia and abroad. Photos by: deletant.

luxurious historical interiors

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

July 16, 2016, the cruiser “Aurora” returned to the place of its permanent parking on the Petrograd embankment in St. Petersburg. Since September 2014 the ship was undergoing repairs at the Kronstadt sea plant.

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

The State Art-Architectural Palace-Park Museum-Reserve “Pavlovsk” is a palace and park ensemble of the late 18th – early 19th centuries, located in the town of Pavlovsk, a suburb of St. Petersburg.

The centerpiece of the complex is the Pavlovsk Palace, the summer palace of Paul I, Emperor of the Russian Empire in 1796-1801.

incredible luxury

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Pskov is a city located in north-west Russia, the capital of the Pskov region. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, which was first mentioned in the Laurentian Chronicle in 903.

In 1348-1510, this town was the capital of the independent Pskov Republic. In 1510, it was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Prior to the beginning of the 18th century, Pskov was one of the largest cities of Russia and Europe, the most important defensive and commercial center of the country. Photos by: Andrei Kireev.

The Pskova River and the walls of the Pskov Kremlin.

explore the Pskov Kremlin

Tags: Pskov city