If you are going to visit Lake Baikal in the Irkutsk region, you should definitely take part in the following trip – a train ride along the shore of Baikal on the historical part of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The Circum-Baikal Railway was the most complex and expensive part of the Trans-Siberian Railway of the Russian Empire. Today, it has become a place for a unique guided tour. Photos by: Alexander Belenkiy.

an amazing journey

Tags: Irkutsk oblast

Kamchatka, a peninsula stretching from north to south for 1,200 km, is located in the north-eastern part of Eurasia, in Russia. This is one of the most beautiful regions in the country known mainly for its volcanoes.

One of the interesting places can be found at a distance of one-day walk from Pauzhetka village, on the outer slope of Koshelev volcano. The water in the local rivers and waterfalls has a distinct white color due to the concentrated alumina. Photos by: lusika33.

amazing scenery of Kamchatka

Tags: Kamchatka krai

Tolbachik is a volcanic massif located in the east of Kamchatka. It consists of two major volcanoes – Ostry Tolbachik (extinct) (3,682 m) and Plosky Tolbachik (active) (3,140 m). Around them there are dozens of smaller ridges and cones.

The lava fields of Tolbachik, a huge river of lava emerged only a few years ago, look like landscapes of Mordor. Tolbachik on Google Maps. Photos by: Anton Petrus.

alien landscapes

Tags: Kamchatka krai

Gamsutl is a picturesque Avar village located on top of Mount Gamsutlmeer, in Gunibsky district of Dagestan. This village is one of the oldest settlements on the territory of the republic.

Translated from the Avar, the word “gamsutl” means “at the foot of the khan’s fortress”, from what historians have concluded that once, in ancient times, Khan chose this place to build his fortress or tower. Gamsutl on Google Maps. Photos by: Olga Stanina.

explore the abandoned settlement

Tags: Abandoned · Dagestan Republic

The Marian Tikhvin Assumption Monastery is an Orthodox monastery located in the town of Tikhvin in the Leningrad region, about 220 kilometers east of St. Petersburg.

Pimen, the Archbishop of Novgorod, founded the monastery by the order of Ivan the Terrible in 1560. The main relic of the monastery is the miracle-working Tikhvin Icon of the Holy Mother. Tikhvin Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Dmitriy Gazin.

very picturesque monastery

Tags: Leningrad oblast

Altai is a true sanctuary of wild flowers. You can easily find large flower meadows of all colors – from bright orange to sky blue.

Most of the following photos were made during a trip on the Ukok plateau located in the extreme south of the Altai Republic, on the border of Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and Russia. Photos by: Anton Petrus.

Forget-me-nots.

beautiful Altai scenery

Tags: Altay Republic

In the Chukhlomsky district of the Kostroma region, hidden between forests and abandoned villages, there is a beautiful wooden palace designed by the famous architect Ivan Ropet (1845-1908).

The house was built by Martyan Sazonov for Yelizaveta Dobrovolskaya, his second wife, in the late 19th century. He was of peasant origin but that did not stop him to go to St. Petersburg and become a major construction businessman. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

beautiful wooden house

Tags: Kostroma oblast

Staritsky Holy Assumption Monastery is an Orthodox monastery located in the town of Staritsa, on the right bank of the Volga River, in the Tver region.

The ensemble of the monastery is one of the most important and interesting architectural complexes in the region. This is one of the oldest monasteries in Russia, officially founded in the first half of the 16th century, although the first monks came here from Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in 1110.

explore the monastery

Tags: churches · Tver oblast

Vvedenye is a small village with a population of about 500 people located in the Shuyskiy district of the Ivanovo region, about 10 km north-west of the town of Shuya and 32 km from Ivanovo, the regional capital.

This is one of the most interesting villages of the Ivanovo region with a rich history and a number of temple complexes. The history of the village is directly connected with Nikolo-Shartomskiy monastery founded in the 14th century.

one foggy morning in Russian province

Tags: churches · Ivanovo oblast

Kalyazin is a small town with a population of about 13 thousand people located in the Tver region, on the right bank of the Volga River (Uglich Reservoir), 200 km from Moscow and 160 km from Tver.

In 1939-1940, part of the territory of the old town, including all the main historical and architectural monuments, was flooded during the construction of the Uglich hydroelectric power station.

the bell tower in the middle of the Volga

Tags: Tver oblast