The ensemble of the Monastery of St. Jacob Saviour (Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery in Russian) stands on the shore of Lake Nero on the western outskirts of Rostov Veliky (Rostov the Great) – one of the oldest towns in Russia, located 58 km south-west of Yaroslavl.

The panorama of this monastery with a picturesque combination of architectural forms of various styles – pseudo-Gothic towers, baroque and classical churches – gives the impression of a fairy tale castle perfectly fitting the lake landscape. Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

fly over the monastery

Tags: churches · Yaroslavl oblast

The Borisoglebsky Monastery in Torzhok, a town located 63 km north-west of Tver, is considered the oldest monastery in the Tver region.

It was founded by the boyar Efrem, a former stableman of Kiev Prince Vladimir I Svyatoslavich, in 1038. That year a stone church was built, named in honor of Boris and Gleb – the first saints of Kievan Rus. Torzhok on Google Maps. Photos by: Dmitry Gazin.

beautiful old monastery

Tags: churches · Tver oblast

1. To make the longest train trip in the world.

What comes to your mind when you hear “traveling to Russia“? Probably first thing is that Russia is the biggest country in the world. The second thing is Russian winter and fur hats, and the third stereotype is an expectation to see Russian bear playing on balalaika and drinking vodka.

Russia is not only these things mentioned above, though it’s hard to meet a bear somewhere in the street. Russia is first of all diversity. Diversity means a range of different cultures, traditions, cuisines, natural landscape, people.

explore Russia by train

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“Grand Maket Rossiya”, a private museum located in St. Petersburg (Tsvetochnaya Street, 16), is a 1:87 scale model layout with a total area of 800 square meters, where typical scenes from life of different regions of the Russian Federation are combined.

This is the largest model layout in Russia and the second largest in the world (after Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany). It is very detailed, let’s look only at some of the presented mini-plots. Grand Maket Rossiya on Google Maps. Photos by: Stanislav Konstantinov.

amazing mini Russia

Tags: museum · Saint Petersburg city

Krasnoye is a village with a population of about 400 people located in the Staritsky district of the Tver region, 100 km south-west of Tver.

The main attraction of the village is a beautiful pseudo-Gothic church – the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior (1785-1790) built on the territory of the former estate of the noble family of Poltoratsky. Krasnoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

magnificent church

Tags: churches · Tver oblast

Nativity of the Virgin St. Paphnutius of Borovsk Monastery is located on the outskirts of the town of Borovsk in the Kaluga region, about 90 km north of Kaluga and 100 km south-west of Moscow.

The monastery was founded by the monk Paphnutius of Borovsk in 1444. In the 16th century, the monastery was surrounded by stone walls and fortifications, it turned into a strong border fortress. St. Paphnutius of Borovsk Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Dar.

very picturesque monastery

Tags: Kaluga oblast

The Central Children’s Store on Lubyanka or Tsentral’nyy Detskiy Magazin (in Russian) is a department store with goods for children and youth built in the center of Moscow in 1953-1957. Opened in 1957, it became the biggest children’s store in the USSR.

In 2005, the building received the status of a cultural heritage site of the regional level. In 2006-2015, the building was completely reconstructed. The Central Children’s Store on Google Maps. Photos by: Stanislav Konstantinov.

center of Moscow from the roof

Tags: Moscow city

Novosibirsk, the administrative center of the Siberian Federal District and the Novosibirsk region, is the third largest city in Russia. It is the largest trade, business, cultural, industrial, transport, and scientific center of Siberia.

The population of Novosibirsk is about 1.6 million people. The city is located on both banks of the Ob River near the Novosibirsk reservoir. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Novosibirsk

Tags: Novosibirsk city

Vladimir is a city with a population of about 350 thousand people located 188 km east of Moscow, the administrative center of the Vladimir region.

One of the largest tourist centers in the European part of Russia, Vladimir was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir in the 12th-14th centuries. Let’s take a short walk through the streets of the city. Photos by: Sergey Rubtsov.

explore Vladimir

Tags: Vladimir city

Magadan is a port city with a population of about 93 thousand people located on the shore of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk about 5,900 km east of Moscow (in a straight line), the administrative center of the Magadan region.

It was founded as a settlement of workers engaged in the development of mineral resources of the Kolyma region in 1929. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Magadan

Tags: Magadan city