Belogorsky St. Nicholas Orthodox monastery is a monastery located on the edge of the Ural White Mountain, 120 kilometers south of the city of Perm.

Holy Cross Cathedral of the monastery, built in the neo-Byzantine style on the model of St. Vladimir Cathedral in Kiev, is particularly picturesque in winter when the building and everything around it is covered with snow. Belogorsky monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Mikhail Turkeev.

a real winter fairy tale

Tags: churches · Perm krai

If you’ve never been to Russia and you’re planning your first trip, you’re almost certainly considering a visit to either Moscow or St. Petersburg. Maybe you even plan to see both. But as they are roughly 400 miles apart, perhaps it’s wise to visit only one of these great cities – especially as there is so much to see and do in each place.

Anyone who has been to both will testify how different the cities are to each other. Since the time of Peter the Great, Moscow has been described as “the heart of Russia”, and St. Petersburg “the head”. Let’s take a quick look at what each city has to offer tourists, so that you can choose the best city for your next holiday.

Differences in architecture

Lukoil Building, Moscow (Source – Licence)

(more…)

Tags: No tags

Chara Sands, a tract in Kalarsky district of the Zabaikalsky region, is a sandy area (10×5 kilometers) located in Chara valley, in the foothills of Kodar ridge, 9 km from the village of Char, between the valleys of the rivers Chara, Middle Sakukan, and Upper Sakukan.

It is a geological monument of nature surrounded by larch taiga and swamps. Novaya Chara, a station on the Baikal-Amur railway, is located 10 km from this place.

explore unique desert

Tags: Zabaikalsky krai

Lake Teletskoye is a lake located in the south of Western Siberia, in the Altai Republic, to the south-east of Gorno-Altaisk. It is the largest lake in the Altai Mountains.

Indigenous peoples call it Altyn Kol (Golden Lake). The length of the lake is 77.7 km, the width – 2-3 km, the depth – up to 325 meters.

Lake Teletskoye during snowfall

Tags: Altay Republic

St. Petersburg (Petrograd in 1914-1924, Leningrad in 1924-1991), located in the northwest of Russia on the coast of the Gulf of Finland at the mouth of the Neva River, was the capital of the country for more than 300 years, from 1712 to 1918.

It is the northernmost city in the world with a population of over one million people and one of the most important centers of tourism in Russia. The historic center of St. Petersburg is included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Photos by: Stanislav Zaburdaev.

let’s fly over St. Petersburg

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

This year, the center of Moscow was completely transformed to celebrate the Christmas holidays. All together it is called a festival “Journey to Christmas.” Everything looks pretty nice and cozy.

In Red Square, for example, a large fair and skating rink were opened. Here you can taste Russian pancakes, hot Christmas drinks. Let’s walk through the streets of the city and see how Moscow prepared to welcome the new year. Photos by: Dmitriy Chistoprudov for VOSTOK agency.

beautiful Moscow

Tags: Moscow city

Ufa, a city with a population of over one million people, is the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The city stands on the banks of the Belaya River, 1340 km east of Moscow.

Ufa is the third longest city in Russia after Sochi and Volgograd. Let’s fly over Ufa and look at the city in winter time. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

winter in Ufa

Tags: Bashkortostan Republic · Ufa city

The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula with a total area of about 100,000 sq. km located in the northwest of the European part of Russia, in the Murmansk region.

Almost the whole area is located above the Arctic Circle. On the north, it is washed by the waters of the Barents Sea, in the south and east – by the waters of the White Sea.

beautiful winter scenery

Tags: landscapes · Murmansk oblast

Magadan is a city and seaport on the Sea of Okhotsk, located in the northeastern part of Russia, in the Far East, the capital of Magadan oblast.

In Soviet times, it was the center of the industrial development of Kolyma – a historical region in north-eastern Russia, covering the upper reaches of the Kolyma River and the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. For many years, prisoners were used as the main labor force here. Photos by: Sergey Dolya.

explore Magadan

Tags: Magadan city

The State Nature Reserve “Stolby” (“Pillars”) is located in the north-western spurs of the Eastern Sayan. From the northeast it borders the city of Krasnoyarsk. There is a city bus running to the reserve (the bus stop “Turbaza”).

The reserve was founded in 1925 on the initiative of Krasnoyarsk residents to preserve this beautiful natural complex. Today, the total area of the reserve ​​is 47219 hectares.

enjoy the beauty of the reserve

Tags: Krasnoyarsk city