Saint Petersburg is not only about a pompous European architecture and prim, but merry Petersburgers. It is also a beach resort. Sounds weird? And what in Russia is not weird?

The resort area stretched a narrow strip along the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Here are the best sandy beaches, wide and beautiful, and the smell of the sea is mixed with the scent of pine trees. In the resort villages – Sestroretsk, Repino, Komarovo, Zelenogorsk – there are popular sanatoria, country hotels and restaurants. Photos by: Anton Putyatin.

beaches of the northern capital of Russia

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The sight of the unassailable beauty of Putorana Plateau, located in the north-west of the Krasnoyarsk region, is breathtaking. Here the mountains do not have peaks, and the canyons seem bottomless. The lakes are hundreds of kilometers long, and the rivers are torn from the rocks, forming the highest waterfalls in Russia.

There are no typical landscapes for Russia on Putorana Plateau. The fairy-tale nature of this place pushes us to reflect on ancient creatures, originating from Slavic myths and fairy tales. If Peter Jackson saw this place in preparation for the shooting of The Lord of the Rings, New Zealand would have to try very hard to stay in the place of the favorite.

one of the most beautiful places in Russia

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Lake Seliger is a famous Russian landmark. Located in the center of Valdai, it is quite far from the noise of civilization and at the same time only seven hours of going by car from Moscow. The ideal geographical location made it a very popular place for tourism.

Here come not only the Russians but also guests from many different countries. The special atmosphere of Seliger provides leisurely, comfortable rest, long and interesting conversations. Does the world have a more fertile soil for cultivating the colors of love?

Seliger – a great place for outdoor recreation

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Veliky Ustyug is a town with a population of about 30,000 people located in the northeast of the Vologda region, 446 km from Vologda. In 1999, it was declared the birthplace of the All-Russian Father Frost.

Founded in 1147, Veliky Ustyug is one of the oldest towns in the Russian North that has preserved a rich cultural heritage, a popular tourist center. Covered with snow, the town looks especially picturesque on a clear sunny day. Veliky Ustyug on Google Maps. Photos by: Marina Lystseva.

walk around Veliky Ustyug

Tags: Veliky Ustyug city · Vologda oblast

Parus (Sail) Rock is a natural monument located on the Black Sea coast, 17 km southeast of the resort town of Gelendzhik in the Krasnodar region.

The rock is a sandstone monolith standing vertically on the beach, separated from the main rock mass by a gap. The shape of the rock resembles the shape of a quadrangular sail, hence its name. Parus (Sail) Rock on Google Maps. Photos by: Andrei Kireev.

magnificent monument of nature

Tags: Gelendzhik city · Krasnodar krai

Vasilevo open-air architectural and ethnographic museum is located in the village of Vasilevo in the Tver region, 76 km north-west of Tver.

The museum was opened on the basis of the former nobleman’s estate in 1976. Masterpieces of wooden architecture from different parts of the Tver region were brought here. Vasilevo Museum on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexander Lipilin.

Ascension Church (1732).

Vasilevo museum in winter

Tags: museum · Tver oblast

Podporozhye is an abandoned village located on the bank of the Onega River in the west of the Arkhangelsk region. Some time ago there was a whole church complex in the village. But only the Church of Our Lady of Vladimir, built in 1757, has survived.

This huge and majestic wooden building is one of the landmark monuments in the development of the architecture of the Russian North. Podporozhye on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

fly over the church

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · churches

The Russian North is a collective name for the northern regions of the European part of Russia, where a lot of folk traditions have been preserved since the times of Kievan Rus.

In the 16th-17th centuries, a peculiar northern culture developed here with its northern “schools” of painting, bone and wood carving, wooden architecture.

beautiful wooden church

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · churches

Valdai is a picturesque lake located in the territory of the Valdai National Park in the Novgorod region. The area of the lake is about 20 square kilometers, the average depth is 12 meters (the maximum depth – 60 meters).

On an island in the center of the lake, there is a historical and architectural monument of the 17th-18th centuries – an ensemble of buildings of the Iversky Monastery. On the western shore of the lake the town of Valdai is located. Lake Valdai on Google Maps. Photos by: Konstantin Antipin.

fly over Lake Valdai

Tags: Novgorod oblast

Novotroitskoye is a small village with a population of about 150 people located in the Dolgorukovskiy district of the Lipetsk region.

The main attraction of the village is the ensemble of the Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity built on the means of Major-General Petr Andrianovich Pozdnyakov, the owner of the village, in 1809-1819. Novotroitskoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

beautiful church

Tags: Abandoned · Lipetsk oblast