Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic, is a city with a population of about 300 thousand people located in the North Caucasus in the south of the European part of Russia.

During the First and Second Chechen Wars, the city, especially its central part, was almost completely destroyed. In 2003, Grozny was recognized by the UN Commission as the most ruined city on Earth since the Second World War. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Grozny

Tags: Chechnya Republic · Grozny city

Lermontovsky Uranium Mine #1 is a former uranium mining enterprise located on Mount Beshtau near the city of Pyatigorsk, about 200 km south-east of Stavropol. The mine was closed in 1975.

Today, it is a popular object with diggers and other extreme lovers. The official name “Mine #1” was used in the documents due to the high secrecy of this object. Mount Beshtau on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Mulder.

explore radioactive tunnels

Tags: Abandoned · Pyatigorsk city · Stavropol krai

These picturesque photos were taken on one hot summer evening in the Volga River delta somewhere in the Astrakhan region. The delta of the Volga is the largest river delta in Europe and the 8th in the world.

Due to the lowering of the level of the Caspian Sea, the delta area has increased ninefold over the past 130 years. The unique flora and fauna of the delta (sturgeon, lotus, flamingo, Siberian cranes, pelicans) are under state protection as the Astrakhan Nature Reserve. Photos by: Fedor Lashkov.

beautiful nature scenery

Tags: Astrakhan oblast

Yelets, first mentioned in chronicles in 1146, is one of the oldest cities in Russia. This city with a population of about 100 thousand people is located in the Lipetsk region, about 82 km west of Lipetsk.

It is the only city of the Lipetsk region included in the list of Russian cities with ensembles and complexes of urban development, natural landscapes, examples of old town planning, as well as an archaeological cultural layer, which are valuable in historical, artistic and town planning terms. Photos by: Vladimir Mulder.

fly over Yelets

Tags: Elets city · Lipetsk oblast

The Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the main church in Stavropol, was originally built in 1843-1847, the bell tower – in 1858-1873. In the 1930s, the cathedral was destroyed and the bell tower was used as a radio mast, and then – a parachute tower. May 11, 1943, the bell tower was blown up by order of local party leaders.

The cathedral was restored on the old foundation in 2004-2012. April 25, 2019, the main dome with a cross was installed on the bell tower of the Kazan Cathedral of Stavropol. It was on this day that the cathedral finally found its original appearance. Photos by: Fedor Lashkov.

beautiful cathedral

Tags: churches · Stavropol city

Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery is a monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church located in the city of Dzerzhinsky in the Moscow region, about 26 km south-east of the center of Moscow. The monastery was founded by the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy in 1380, in the place of the appearance of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

According to legend, it was in this place that his army stopped to rest on the way to the Kulikovo field. The appearance of the icon strengthened Dmitry Donskoy with faith and hope. He said “Siya vsya ugresha serdtse moye” (“This has warmed my heart”). Since then, this place is called Ugresha, and the monastery itself was named Nikolo-Ugreshsky. Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

fly over Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery

Tags: churches · Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

Tutayev is a historic town with a population of about 40 thousand people located on both banks of the Volga River in the Yaroslavl region, about 35 km north-west of Yaroslavl. This is one of the twelve places included in the Golden Ring of Russia – a popular tourist route passing through the old towns of North-Eastern Russia.

The churches of Tutayev, picturesquely scattered on the hilly banks of the Volga, are the main sights of this town and attract tourists and architecture lovers. The photos were taken in March when Tutayev was still covered with snow. Photos by: Roman Smirnov.

fly over Tutayev

Tags: churches · Yaroslavl oblast

Oleg Dmitriyevich Kononenko is the 102nd cosmonaut of Russia and the 473rd cosmonaut of the world. As of April 2019, he is on the International Space Station and during the three previous flights he already spent 533 days in space.

From the ISS, he took a lot of photographs of various regions of the Earth. Let’s see how the cities of Russia look at night from orbit. Source: Roscosmos.

Moscow – the capital of Russia.

Russian cities from space

Tags: Angarsk city · Astrakhan city · Grozny city · Irkutsk city · Krasnodar city · Moscow city · Novorossiysk city · Orenburg city · Saint Petersburg city · Samara city · Saratov city · Tolyatti city · Tver city · Vladivostok city · Volgograd city

“Vitoslavlitsy” is an open-air museum of folk wooden architecture located on the shore of Lake Myachino a few kilometers south of Veliky Novgorod, near the St. George’s (Yuriev) Monastery. The name “Vitoslavlitsy” comes from the village of Vitoslavlitsy, which existed here from the beginning of the 12th to the 18th centuries.

The museum was opened on May 16, 1967. The exhibition includes the oldest Russian wooden architectural monuments of the 16th century, as well as residential and outbuildings of the 18th-19th centuries. Vitoslavlitsy Museum on Google Maps. Photos by: Stanislav Konstantinov.

picturesque old churches and houses

Tags: museum · Novgorod city

Murmansk is a city with a population of about 295 thousand people located in the northwest of Russia, the administrative center of the Murmansk region. It is the largest city in the world located above the Arctic Circle.

The city stands on the rocky east coast of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. This is one of the largest ports in Russia. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Murmansk

Tags: Murmansk city