In the fifties, Semyon Osipovich Friedland, Soviet photographer and journalist, made a lot of high-quality color photographs in all parts of the Soviet Union.

Thanks to his work, we can now see people’s life in the USSR after World War II. Of course these photos are staged but nevertheless quite interesting from a historical perspective.

Soviet historical photos

Tags: Soviet past

Cosmodrome “Vostochny” is being built in the Far East of Russia in Amur region, near the village of Uglegorsk. The total territory reserved to the needs of the cosmodrome is 1035 square km.

The first launch is scheduled for the end of 2015, the first launch of manned spacecraft – in 2018. The total cost of the project is about $ 9 billion. Several new photos from the construction site taken two days ago (June 1, 2014) by Dmitry Rogozin.

future of Russian space program

Tags: Amur oblast

The Altai Mountains are a complex system of the highest in Siberia ridges separated by deep river valleys and vast intermountain hollows.

This mountain system is located on the borders of Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. On the territory of Russia, the Altai Mountains are located in two regions – Altai Republic and Altai Krai. Photos by Andrey Grachev

beautiful landscapes

Tags: Altai krai · Altay Republic · landscapes

Suzdal is a small town located in Vladimir oblast. It is standing on the Kamenka River, 26 km north of Vladimir.

Suzdal is a town-reserve, included in the Golden Ring of Russia. Photo by Victor Periakin

Tags: Suzdal city · Vladimir oblast

Wonderful view of one of the most beautiful bridges in St. Petersburg – Trinity Bridge, Trinity Square and Peter’s Embankment. Photo by Sergey Degtyarev

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Lake Baikal has many names in Russia: “The Holy Sea”, “The Great Lake”, “The Pearl of Siberia”, etc. But you can’t pick up a few words to reveal the essence of this unique creation of nature, this amazing corner of the Earth.

Baikal is the deepest lake in the world (1642 meters) and the largest reservoir of fresh water (more than 23,000 cubic km., or about 20% of world reserves).

spectacular scenery

Tags: Buryat Republic · Irkutsk oblast · landscapes

Yoshkar-Ola is a city in Russia, the capital of Mari El Republic, with a population of about 260,000 people. The city was founded in 1584 as a military fort in the center of the Volga-Vyatka region, on the banks of the river Malaya Kokshaga.

Present day Yoshkar-Ola is one of the cultural centers of the Finno-Ugric peoples. Cultural heritage of the city reflects different historical periods of formation of Yoshkar-Ola.

interesting cityscape

Tags: Yoshkar-Ola city

Since Soviet times, free flying over Moscow is limited, so the following set of photos may be interesting.

These photos taken during a rehearsal of the Victory Parade let you see how the capital of Russia looks like if you are on board of a military transport helicopter Mi-26. Photos by Stepanov Slava

flight over Moscow

Tags: Moscow city

This beautiful photo can be a good illustration of classic Russian landscape. It was taken in ancient Suzdal, city-reserve included in the Golden Ring of Russia, by Victor Peryakin.

Tags: landscapes · Suzdal city

The Weathering Pillars is a geological monument, located in the Troitsko-Pechorsky region of Komi Republic in the territory of the Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve on Mount Man-Pupu-Ner (on Mansi people language it means “Little Mountain of Idols”). The pillars height varies from 30 to 42 meters.

About 200 million years ago, there were high mountains in this area. Gradually, frost and sun, snow and wind destroyed them leaving these amazing objects. The Weathering Pillars location on Google Maps. Photos by aventure

it is a real miracle of nature

Tags: Komi Republic · landscapes