The source of the Volga is a monument of nature, unique natural object located in Ostashkov area of Tver oblast in the village Volgoverkhovye about 68 km from Ostashkov town.

The village itself is very small, most houses are abandoned. It is prohibited to drive the car on the territory of the village. Next to the Source you can buy souvenirs, though usually there are not a lot of vendors, as well as tourists. Photos by Alexander Lipilin.

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Tags: Tver oblast

The Valley of Geysers is one of the largest geyser fields in the world and the only one in Eurasia. It is located in Kamchatka on the territory of Kronotsky State Biosphere Reserve. The Valley of Geysers is one of the seven wonders of Russia.

Kronotsky State Biosphere Reserve is one of the oldest reserves in Russia established in 1934. The reserve covers an area of 1,142,134 hectares (11,421 sq. km.) including 135,000 hectares (1,350 sq. km.) of sea area of the eastern coast of Kamchatka.

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Tags: Kamchatka krai

There are about 400,000 various historical and cultural monuments in Smolensk oblast of Russia. The territories of the region also played an important role in Russian military history. Unfortunately a lot of the architectural monuments are abandoned and if nothing changes they will be lost forever in near future. Photos by Denis Frantsouzov.

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Tags: Abandoned · churches · landscapes · smolensk oblast

Beautiful time-lapse video of the surroundings of Gnilyovo village located in Bryansk oblast.

Tags: Bryansk oblast · landscapes · time-lapse

Astrakhan oblast is situated in Caspian lowland where Volga River flows into Caspian Sea. The largest part of Astrakhan oblast is occupied by semideserts. But some parts of the region are looking like the real desert and here is an example.

It is “Big Brother” – one of the largest and highest barkhans in Astrakhan oblast. The height of this sand dune is about 20 meters. Photos by Maxim Korotchenko.

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Tags: Astrakhan oblast

Run Bear Run! :)

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Krasnaya Polyana is a small town in the Adler district of Sochi (Krasnodar krai) located 39 km from the Black Sea coast.

The population of the town is 3972 people (2009). There is a highway from Adler and Sochi airport to Krasnaya Polyana. The town will be one of the places hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2014 and probably the most picturesque one.

Tags: Krasnodar krai · Sochi city

Karabash is a town in Chelyabinsk oblast, Russia located about 90 kilometers from Chelyabinsk.

It is one of the largest copper smelting centers of the country. For a time, according to UNESCO, Karabash was considered the most polluted city in the world.

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Tags: Chelyabinsk oblast

Currently the icebreaker “50 let Pobedy” (“50 years of Victory”) is the largest nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world. Its construction was carried out at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad (later St. Petersburg). The construction began on October 4, 1989.

In 1993, further construction was suspended due to lack of funds. In 2003, the construction was resumed, and, February 1, 2007, the icebreaker went on sea trials, which lasted two weeks. The flag was raised March 23, 2007 and April 11 the icebreaker came to its home port in Murmansk. The estimated maximum thickness of ice that the icebreaker can go through is 2.8 m.

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Tags: Murmansk city

I have found the following interesting video from boat trip to the Pacific Ocean near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The song is “You hear the sea”, children’s choir of the Leningrad Radio and Television (1981). Filming – Eugene Firsov, editing – Oleg Vereshchagin.

Tags: Kamchatka krai · Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city