The Pskov Krom (Kremlin), the core of the Pskov Fortress, is the historical and architectural center of Pskov – one of the oldest cities in Russia located in the north-west of its European part, just a few dozen kilometers from the border with Estonia.

The height of the walls is up to 6-8 meters, the height of the towers is up to 35 meters, the thickness of the walls of the towers is 2.5-6 meters. The total area is 3 hectares. Photos by: Stanislav Konstantinov.

feel the spirit of medieval Russia

Tags: Pskov city

Ulan-Ude is a city with a population of 435 thousand people located about 100 km east of Lake Baikal, the capital of the Republic of Buryatia, a major cultural, scientific, industrial center of Eastern Siberia. Also it is one of the centers of Buddhism in Russia, along with Elista.

Ulan-Ude has a unique historical and cultural heritage. There are more than 200 cultural heritage sites in the city: monuments of architecture and city planning, as well as monuments of art. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Ulan-Ude

Tags: Buryat Republic · Ulan-Ude city

The Bermamyt Plateau is an amazingly beautiful place, one of the best panoramic sites of the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic. It is located on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus, about 30 km south-west of Kislovodsk in the Malokarachayevsky district of the republic.

The main part of the plateau – Bolshoy (Big) Bermamyt – reaches a height of 2,591 m. Nearby there is a southern rocky ledge – Malyy (Small) Bermamyt (2,643 m). In clear weather, you can enjoy scenic views of the snow-covered peaks of the Greater Caucasus and Mount Elbrus. The Bermamyt Plateau on Google Maps. Photos by: Andrey Vasiliskov.

amazingly picturesque place

Tags: Karachay-Cherkessia Republic

The federal highway R256 “Chuysky Trakt” (968 km), the oldest route from Siberia to Asia, begins in Novosibirsk and ends at the border with Mongolia, passing through the territory of the Novosibirsk region, the Altai krai and the Altai Republic.

In 2014, National Geographic magazine included the Chuya Highway in the list of the 10 most beautiful highways in the world. Photos by: Alexey Zhirukhin.

take a ride

Tags: Altai krai · Altay Republic · Novosibirsk oblast

Kolomna, founded in 1177, is one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the Moscow region located about 100 km south-east of Moscow.

One of the architectural landmarks of Kolomna is the Church of St. John the Apostle built in 1733-1756. In 1826-1846, a new five-tiered bell tower in the Empire style was built. Today, this 67 meters high bell tower still remains one of the tallest buildings in the city. Church of St. John the Apostle on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Dar.

very elegant church

Tags: churches · Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

Tobolsk, the center of the development of Siberia founded in 1587, is a city with a population of about 100 thousand people located in the north of the Tyumen region, at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers.

In the past, it was the capital of the Siberian province – one of the largest in the Russian Empire. Today, Tobolsk is one of the most important centers of educational tourism in Siberia and a major industrial center of Russia in the field of gas chemistry. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over the former capital of Siberia

Tags: Tobolsk city · Tyumen oblast

Yekaterinburg (from 1924 to 1991 – Sverdlovsk) is a city with a population of about 1.5 million people, the administrative center of the Ural Federal District and the Sverdlovsk region, the fourth largest city of Russia.

Located on the eastern slope of the Middle Urals, along the banks of the Iset River, it was founded as an ironworks in 1723 and named after Empress Catherine I. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Yekaterinburg

Tags: Ekaterinburg city · Sverdlovsk oblast

Kolomna is a city with a population of about 140 thousand people located in the south of the Moscow region, about 113 km southeast of the center of Moscow. It is one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the region.

The city has a rare monument of old Russian defensive architecture – the Kolomna Kremlin. Its main attraction is the Assumption Cathedral (1672-1682), the main cathedral of Kolomna. Photos by: Vladimir Dar.

beautiful cathedral

Tags: churches · Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast

Given there’s such an abundance of things to see and do in Russia, one interesting way to explore this massive country is to add a theme to your visit. For those of us who are passionate about classic literature, this is a land which has inspired some of the greatest classic authors and their works, providing us with an opportunity to visit locations that undoubtedly inspired their writings.

Considered one of the greatest psychologists in world literature, Fyodor Dostoevsky is perhaps best known for his 1866 masterwork, Crime and Punishment, or subsequent novels such as The Idiot published in 1869 and Demons in 1872. Many of his great works offer an unrivaled view of life in Tsarist Russia during the mid-to-late 19th century, shaped by the environment in which he lived and worked, along with the social and political landscape of the era.

In this article, we take a look at key locations in Russia where Dostoevsky is fondly remembered, which inevitably helped formulate the great literary works for which he is renowned.

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one of the greatest Russian writers

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There is a rather unique place located about 60 km west of Ekaterinburg, the capital of the Sverdlovsk region – a huge abandoned railway tunnel named after the village of Didino, which is also almost completely abandoned at the moment. But in the past life was in full swing here.

Construction of the tunnel lasted from 1914 to 1918. During the Civil War in Russia, this tunnel was of great strategic importance. Kolchak’s echelons passed through it retreating to Siberia, which gave rise to legends of countless treasures, which the White Command left somewhere in these places saving them from the Bolsheviks. The Didino Tunnel on Google Maps. Photos by: Dmitry Solodyankin.

explore the tunnel

Tags: Abandoned · Ekaterinburg city · Sverdlovsk oblast