November 18, 2014, one of the mines of “Uralkali” company, located near the town of Solikamsk in the Perm region, was flooded, all workers were evacuated. A little bit later, a huge sinkhole was found on the territory, occupied by garden plots of local residents. At that time, the hole in the ground had a diameter of 30 meters.

Over the past nine months, the sinkhole greatly expanded and its current size is 120×125 meters. The following photos were taken in August 2015. Solikamsk sinkhole from space.

the sinkhole becomes bigger and bigger

Tags: Perm krai

Karabash is a small town with a population of about 12 thousand people located in the southern Urals, in the Chelyabinsk region, about 90 km from Chelyabinsk. This town is one of the largest copper smelting centers in Russia, known for its severe environmental situation.

Large quantities of pollutants, mainly gases, are generated during the production of copper from copper ore. All these gases were being released into the atmosphere without cleaning for decades.

the place of ecological disaster

Tags: Chelyabinsk oblast

Mutnovsky volcano is an active volcano (2322 meters) located in the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, 80 km south of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

The area around the volcano is one of the toughest in Kamchatka. Most of the year powerful cyclones are raging here, bringing huge amounts of snow. Snow depth sometimes reaches 15 meters, and summer lasts for less than 2 months.

take a walk on the volcano

Tags: Kamchatka krai · landscapes

Yaroslavl region is a subject of the Russian Federation located in the north of European Russia, in the center of the East European Plain. The distance from Yaroslavl, the regional center, to Moscow is 282 km.

Previously, almost all the territory of the region was occupied by dense coniferous and mixed forests (spruce, pine), but, today, they are mostly substituted by birch and aspen forests, and cropland. Also, large areas are occupied by marshes. It seems to be nothing special, but these pictures tell a different story. Photos by: Andrey Grachev.

wonderful Russian nature

Tags: landscapes · Yaroslavl oblast

In the south of Gamov peninsula in the Sea of Japan (Primorye krai), there is a cape of the same name. It was named in honor of an officer of the frigate “Pallada” that arrived here in 1854.

This area, characterized by strong winds and frequent fogs, was very dangerous for navigation. That’s why it was decided to build a lighthouse here. The construction began in 1901, and the lighthouse was opened in 1906.

on the eastern edge of Russia

Tags: Primorye krai

Just look at this beautiful summer scenery found on the territory of Smolensk region located in the western part of European Russia – misty morning and afternoon on a field of lupine on the Ugra River. Photos by: Petr Ushanov.

beautiful nature views

Tags: landscapes · smolensk oblast

Smolensk is a city with a population of about 330 thousand people; administrative, industrial and cultural center of Smolensk region. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia celebrated its 1150th anniversary in 2013.

The city is located about 400 km west of Moscow, in the upper reaches of the Dnieper River. It has a favorable geographical position on the ways from Moscow to Belarus, Baltic States, Central and Western Europe.

scenic views of Smolensk

Tags: Smolensk city

May 1, the Universal Exhibition Expo Milano 2015 was opened in Milan, Italy. The exhibition runs until October 31. The motto of the expo is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” More than 140 countries participate in the event.

The Russian pavilion, occupying more than 4 thousand square meters, is one of the five most visited pavilions. Since the beginning of the exhibition, it was visited by more than 450 thousand people, who learned not only about the natural riches of Russia, but also tasted the national cuisine and traditional Russian drinks. Photos by: Alexey Naroditskiy.

visit the pavilion

Tags: No tags

Let’s visit the vast expanses of Zabaikalsky region – the territory of about 432,000 sq. km., part of Siberian Federal District. These wonderful photos were taken near Chernyshevsk – a small urban village with a population of 13 thousand people located 389 km north-east of Chita.

It is a great place where every evening is filled with summer freshness of wildflowers and grass after the rain. Photos by: Anna Anikina.

beautiful landscapes

Tags: landscapes · Zabaikalsky krai

In Soviet times, a very significant part of the budget was spent on various military purposes, including the construction of numerous defensive structures all over the country.

And here is one example. This artillery battery is located somewhere on the coast of the Kola Peninsula, in the northwest of the European part of Russia, in Murmansk region. Photos by: Ralph Mirebs.

get inside the battery

Tags: Abandoned · Murmansk oblast