Smolensk is a city with a population of about 329,000 people located in the west of the European part of Russia, the capital of the Smolensk region. This is one of the oldest cities in the country founded more than 1,150 years ago.

The city is located 378 km south-west of Moscow, in the upper reaches of the Dnieper River, on the way from Moscow to Belarus, Baltic States, the countries of Central and Western Europe. Photos by: Denis Mukimov.

explore the ancient Smolensk

Tags: Smolensk city

Murmansk, located in the northwest of Russia, is the largest city in the world in the Arctic Circle. The city stands on the rocky east coast of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea.

This is one of the largest ice-free ports in Russia and in the world built during the First World War, in 1915, to deliver military supplies from the allies because of the blockade of the Black and Baltic Seas. Photos by: Konstantin Antipin.

snow-covered Murmansk

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Sunduki (meaning “chests”) is a mountain range, natural and historic monument located in Ordzhonikidze and Shirinsky districts of the Republic of Khakassia.

One of the most mysterious places in Khakassia, this mountain range got its name from the most northern mountain – “Sunduk” (“chest”), on top of which there is a rock in the form of a cube. Sunduki on Google Maps. Photos by: Sergey Filinin.

stone waves of Khakassia

Tags: Khakassia republic

The Pashkov House is one of the most famous classic buildings in Moscow. Today, it is owned by the Russian State Library. The building is located on a hill overlooking the western wall of the Moscow Kremlin, at Vozdvizhenka Street, 3/5, building 1.

This architectural monument, built by order of the captain of Semyonovsky life-guards regiment Peter Pashkov in 1784-1786, was designed presumably by the architect Vasily Bazhenov. Photos by: Vladimir d’Ar.

beautiful building

Tags: Moscow city

Serguei Fomine, a photographer from Russia, began his project “Russia From Above” in 2003. The project is an artistic photo shoot of the most visually attractive natural, historical and architectural sites located on the territory of the country.

A lot of his photos are unique because these hard to reach places have never been photographed before. Let’s take a look at some of these photos.

Acid lake in the crater of Maliy Semyachik volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

fly over Russia

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · Kamchatka krai · Khabarovsk krai · Krasnodar krai

Lago-Naki is a famous plateau located at an altitude of about 2,000 meters in the Western Caucasus, in Maikop district of the Republic of Adygea.

It is a place of stunning natural beauty known for its flowering alpine meadows. Almost the entire territory of the plateau is included in the Caucasian Reserve. Photos by: Vladimir Mulder.

beautiful alpine scenery

Tags: Adygeya Republic

Astrakhan is a city in Russia with a population of about 532 thousand people. The oldest economic and cultural center of the Lower Volga and the Caspian region, it is the capital of Astrakhan oblast.

The city is located in the upper part of the delta of the Volga River, on 11 islands of the Caspian depression. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Astrakhan

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“Malye Korely” is a state museum of wooden architecture and folk art of the northern regions of Russia. The area of ​​the museum is 139.8 hectares.

The museum is located in the rural settlement of Uyemskoye in Primorsky district of the Arkhangelsk region, on the right bank of the Northern Dvina River, 25 km south of Arkhangelsk. Photos by: Denis Spirin.

explore the museum

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · museum

Petr Kosyh, an amateur photographer from St. Petersburg, traveled about 10,000 km on the Russian North and visited such places as Solovki, Kizhi, Valaam, Pushkinogorye, Vitoslavlitsy, Kenozersky National Park, Ruskeala, Ladoga Skerries, Veppsky forest, abandoned and forgotten villages.

As a result, you can enjoy the following picture collection of magnificent landscapes and monuments of wooden architecture united under a single name “the Soul of Russia.”

Parts 2 and 3

Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · Karelia Republic · Leningrad oblast · Murmansk oblast

Erzi translated from the Ingush means “eagle.” “In bad weather, when the entire lower part of the Armkhi valley is covered by clouds, the towers of Erzi resemble an eagle nest” writes in his book “In the country of towers and legends” the historian and ethnographer Batyr Malsagov.

The medieval tower complex Erzi, one of the largest tower complexes in Ingushetia, is located in the south of the republic, in Dzheyrakhsky district, opposite the village of Olgeti. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

fly over the ancient towers

Tags: Ingushetia Republic