Suzdal is a small town-reserve with a population of about 9,300 people located in the northern part of Vladimir Oblast in the center of the European Russia. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, first mentioned in written sources about 1,000 years ago.

Let’s see what Suzdal looked like in the relatively recent past, in the last years of the Russian Empire. In 1912, it was visited by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, a Russian chemist and photographer known for his pioneering work in color photography. At that time, the population of Suzdal was about 7,700 people. Photos by: Open research project “The Legacy of S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky”.

General view of Suzdal.

back to the past

Tags: Russian Empire · Vladimir oblast

Kamchatka, a peninsula in Russia, is located in the north-eastern part of Eurasia. The peninsula, stretching from north to south for 1,200 km, is washed by the Sea of Okhotsk in the west, the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean in the east. The total area of Kamchatka is about 270 thousand square km.

A significant part of the territory of the Kamchatka Peninsula is allocated to specially protected areas. Among them are 3 state reserves, 5 natural parks, 8 federal and 23 local reserves, 105 natural monuments, 2 sanatorium-resort areas, and some other types of protected areas. The most photogenic representatives of the local fauna are numerous bears and foxes. Photos by: Andrei Kireev.

the beauty of untouched nature

Tags: Kamchatka krai

The period from 1853 to 1917 was the most interesting period in the development of the Russian Navy. After the Crimean War of 1853-1855, steam Navy began to develop rapidly. By the end of the 1850s, the Russian fleet started to operate in the oceans.

During the second half of the 19th century, the Russian Empire created a modern for that time armored fleet. In the early 20th century, the country had the third largest fleet in the world. On these photos made in this period you can see the battleships of this once mighty fleet.

historical photos of the Russian Imperial Fleet

Tags: Russian Empire

Syktyvkar is a city with a population of about 220 thousand people, the capital of the Komi Republic, located in the north-east of the European part of Russia.

The distance from Moscow to Syktyvkar (in a straight line) is about 1,000 km in a northeasterly direction. Its name, translated from the Komi language, means “the city on the Sysola River”. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Syktyvkar

Tags: Komi Republic · Syktyvkar city

The anthropological album “Russians” by Anatoly Petrovich Bogdanov and Matthias Zikov was published in 15 copies in Moscow in 1867. Source

Abram Gavrilov, Svishchevo village, Uglich district, Yaroslavl Governorate (37 years old).

Russians in 1867

Tags: Russian Empire

Franz Josef Land is an archipelago (a group of islands located close together) in the Arctic Ocean, in northern Europe. It is the northernmost archipelago of Russia stretching for 375 km from east to west and 234 km from north to south.

It is part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of more than 200 islands with a total area of about 16,134 square km. Franz Josef Land on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

pristine nature of the Russian Arctic

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast

Vorkuta is a city with a population of about 52 thousand people located in the very northeast of the Komi Republic, about 180 kilometers from the coast of the Arctic Ocean. It is the sixth largest city in the Arctic Circle and the most eastern city in Europe.

After the collapse of the USSR and the crisis in the mining industry, a lot of residents left the city for the southern regions of Russia. The city’s population has more than halved since 1991. One of the major city districts is completely abandoned now. In winter, the temperature in the city can drop to minus 50 degrees Celsius and here is the result. Photos by: Lana Sator.

frozen Vorkuta

Tags: Abandoned · Komi Republic · Vorkuta city

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 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

The Bykovo Estate is a manor complex located in the park in the village of Bykovo in Moscow Oblast, about 40 km southeast of the center of Moscow. This is an outstanding example of Russian architecture and gardening art of the era of Emperor Nicholas I. The territory of the estate and the adjacent park is about 30 hectares.

The main architectural attraction of the Bykovo Estate is the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God – a famous monument of Russian pseudo-Gothic architecture of the 18th century. The Bykovo Estate on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

unusual Orthodox church

Tags: churches · Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast