The Republic of North Ossetia – Alania is a federal subject of the Russian Federation located on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus. The city of Vladikavkaz is the capital of the republic.

Foothill and mountainous areas occupy almost half of the territory of the republic, about 3,850 square kilometers. Majestic mountains covered with coniferous and deciduous forests, picturesque gorges, alpine meadows, glaciers, numerous mineral springs make a vacation in North Ossetia – Alania unforgettable. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

magnificent mountain scenery

Tags: North Ossetia Republic · Vladikavkaz city

The Chara Sands is a sandy massif located in the north of Zabaykalsky Krai, a geological natural monument of federal significance. It is surrounded by larch taiga and swamps and stretches from southwest to northeast for 9 km.

Sands form ridges, dunes and chains of dunes. The length of several dunes is 150-170 m, the height – up to 80 m. The Chara Sands are outwardly similar to the deserts of Central Asia. The Chara Sands on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

snow and sand

Tags: Chita city · Zabaikalsky krai

The Republic of Ingushetia is located on the northern slopes of the foothills of the Greater Caucasus Range (in its central part) and on the adjoining small ranges of Tersky, Sunzhensky and Skalisty.

The length of this region from north to south is 144 km, from west to east – 72 km. In the northern districts the relief is steppe, in the south – it is mountainous consisting of ridges separated by valleys and gorges. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful mountainous region

Tags: Ingushetia Republic

The Svyato-Vvedensky Island Convent is located on an island in the middle of Lake Vvedenskoye, about 4 km from the town of Pokrov in Vladimir Oblast.

It was founded by the monks Sergius and Timothy at the very end of the 17th century. They retired to an island in the middle of the lake and built a wooden chapel and a wooden cell there. Their seclusion, according to legend, did not last long. Soon other people wishing to join them began to come here. Svyato-Vvedensky Island Convent on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

picturesque island convent

Tags: churches · Vladimir oblast

In the 11th-12th centuries, Egikal was one of the largest settlements of medieval Ingushetia located on the northern slopes of the foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range.

Today, on this territory there is a picturesque architectural complex “Egikal”, which includes, in addition to military and watchtowers, residential towers that belonged to old clans, as well as structures of a religious cult. Egikal on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful old towers

Tags: Ingushetia Republic

The Ferapontov Belozersky Nativity Monastery is a monastery of the Vologda diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church located in the village of Ferapontovo, Vologda Oblast, about 119 km north-west of Vologda.

This is one of the oldest monasteries in the Russian North founded in the late 14th century. The monastery has survived to our time in the buildings of the 14th-17th centuries and in the wall paintings of the famous icon painter Dionysius. In 2000, this monastery was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Ferapontov Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful old Russian monastery

Tags: churches · Vologda oblast

The Brianchaninovs’ Estate is a noble estate of the early 19th century located in the village of Pokrovskoye in Vologda Oblast, about 25 km south of Vologda. Built in the style of early classicism, it is a historical and cultural monument of federal significance and a monument of landscape gardening art of regional significance.

The estate includes the main house with wings and galleries (1809-1810), the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (1811), the Brianchaninovs’ necropolis (the 19th century), a park with a pond (the early 19th century), a stable (the second half of the 19th century), and a cellar (the second half of the 19th century). The Brianchaninovs’ Estate on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful preserved noble estate

Tags: Russian Empire · Vologda oblast

Cape Dezhnev is the extreme eastern point of the Chukotka Peninsula, mainland Russia and all of Eurasia.

It is an isolated flat-topped mountain range up to 740 m high, which drops abruptly to the sea and is located in the Bering Strait, which connects the Arctic Ocean (Chukchi Sea) with the Pacific Ocean (Bering Sea). Cape Dezhnev on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

the very edge of Russia

Tags: Anadyr city · Chukotka okrug

On June 30, 2020, about 7 km south-west of the city of Rzhev and 200 km north-west of Moscow, the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier was opened. It was installed in the place where the Battle of Rzhev took place from January 5, 1942 to March 21, 1943 – one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War.

The losses of the Soviet side amounted to more than 1 million people killed, wounded and missing, the German side – more than 390 thousand people. The Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier on Google Maps. Photos by: zavodfoto.

very soulful memorial

Tags: Tver oblast

Dargavs is a small village located in the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania, about 36 km southwest of Vladikavkaz. The area where the village is located has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. A large number of archaeological sites have been discovered here.

The village is very rich in various architectural monuments. The main one is the so-called “City of the Dead” – an old necropolis consisting of 97 stone memorials, which from afar resemble a small mountain village. It is the largest surviving burial of this type in Russia. Dargavs on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexey Zhirukhin.

unique necropolis

Tags: North Ossetia Republic · Vladikavkaz city