On the territory of Torzhok (small town in Tver oblast) the 344th Training Center of Army Aviation Pilots is located. The center includes the 696th instructors’ helicopters testing regiment. The regiment conducts the testing of all current models and modifications of Russian military helicopters.

Since 1989 there is a helicopter museum on the territory of the center. The unique collection of the museum has 14 machines representing the history of the helicopters in the USSR. Photos by Denis Mokrushin.

Mi-1. The first Soviet helicopter constructed in 1948. It was used for training in flight schools until the mid-1970s.

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Tags: museum · Soviet past · Tver oblast

Tyumen was the first Russian city in Siberia. Being an administrative and business center of the largest oil- and gas-extracting region Tyumen is unofficial “oil and gas capital” of Russia.

The following pictures were captured from the tallest building in Tyumen, residential complex “Parusa” (25 floors, 78 meters). The building is located at the intersection of Melnikaite and Taimyr streets. Photos by Stepanov Slava.

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Tags: Tyumen city

“Nalychevo” is a nature park on the Kamchatka Peninsula (Kamchatka krai) created in 1995. The total area of the park is about 287 thousand hectares.

The park is located in the valley of Nalycheva River and is bounded by the chain of volcanoes. On the territory of the park there are a lot of hot and cold mineral springs with medicinal properties. Photos by Ilya Stepanov.

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Tags: Kamchatka krai · Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city

Stavropol region is a land of natural contrasts. The vast plains and semi deserts lie in the eastern and north-eastern areas. Famous Stavropol fertile steppes are located in the west and north-west.

Stavropol krai has highly developed agriculture. High-quality wheat, grapes, fruits, vegetables and melons are grown there. Also the region produces meat, milk and wool.

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Tags: landscapes · Stavropol krai

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

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

Welcome to Batkovsko-Olkhovsky peat extraction site located in Yaroslavl oblast of Russia. In 2010 the significant part of the area was flooded. Today it is the cemetery of abandoned peat extraction machinery.

The place has become popular among local fishermen. They are calmly catching the fish living among the drowned tractors and harvesters. It could be a great place to shoot some kind of post apocalyptic movie. Photos by borh_84.

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Tags: Abandoned · Yaroslavl oblast

Rostov is one of the oldest cities in Russia located in Yaroslavl oblast. It is a part of famous tourist route Golden Ring of Russia. The town was first mentioned in the year of 862. Rostov is often called Rostov the Great (Rostov Veliky) to distinguish it from Rostov-on-Don city.

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Tags: Yaroslavl oblast

Transpolar railway (Gulag construction sites #501 and #503) is a railroad running on the way Chum – Salekhard – Igarka.

The construction of the railway began in 1947. Among the most likely reasons of the construction were the developing of infrastructure of Russian North, the simplification of supply of Norilsk, as well as improving the supply of the Northern Fleet.

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Tags: Abandoned · Salekhard city · Yamalo-Nenets okrug

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