Lena Pillars is a geological formation and nature park of the same name located on the banks of the Lena River in Yakutia, about 104 km from the town of Pokrovsky. It is a complex of vertically elongated rocks up to 100 meters height piled along the banks of the Lena River.

The total area of the park is 485 thousand hectares, the main goal – the development of ecological tourism. Lena Pillars are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lena Pillars location on Google Maps. Photos by Sergey Dolya

look at the bizarre rocks

Tags: Sakha Republic

Great mosque of St. Petersburg, constructed in a stylized form of Samarkand and Cairo schools of architecture, was opened in 1913. The length of the mosque – 45 meters, width – 32 m, height of the main dome – 39 m, height of minarets – 48 m, capacity – 5000 people.

Non-Muslims can visit the mosque during a tour “The East Face of St. Petersburg” organized by the State Museum of the History of Religion. The rest of the time access to the mosque is closed to non-Muslims.

enjoy the beautiful architecture

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

“Alye Parusa” (“Scarlet Sails”) is an All-Russian party of school graduates celebrated in St. Petersburg, usually on Saturday closest to the shortest white night. This year’s celebration was held on the night of June 23-24.

The celebration is carried out in two stages: a big concert with elements of theatrical performance at the Dvortsovaya Square and Vasilievsky Island, and Grand light and pyrotechnic multimedia show on the Neva River. Photos by Petr Ushanov

enjoy the beautiful show

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

The Russky (Russian) Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge located in Vladivostok. The bridge connects Nazimov Peninsula and Novosilsky Cape on the Russky Island.

Construction of the bridge started September 3, 2008 as part of the city’s preparations for the APEC summit in 2012. The bridge has the world’s largest span among cable-stayed bridges (1104 meters), and the highest pylons – 324 meters.

Climb to the top of the Russky Bridge

Tags: Vladivostok city

Ingushetia is located on the northern slopes of the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. The length of the republic territory from north to south is 144 km, from west to east – 72 km.

Northern part of the republic has steppe relief, in the south – the terrain is mountainous, consisting of ridges separated by valleys and gorges. The highest point is Mount Shan (4500 meters).

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Tags: Ingushetia Republic · landscapes

The Republic of Karelia is located in the north-western part of Russia, bordering Finland. The region is of great interest in the first place from a tourist point of view. Active, cultural and green forms of tourism are the most popular.

Karelia attracts tourists for its environmentally friendly nature, low population density and relatively low prices. A large part of the region is above the Arctic Circle and at night in the sky you can see fascinating pictures of Aurora Borealis like the following ones taken near the village of Rabocheostrovsk (Google Maps location of the place). Photos by Denis Frantsouzov

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Tags: Karelia Republic

These photos were taken near Mutnovsky volcano, Kamchatka krai, in 2012. Last winter was not snowy, and the summer was hot. Therefore huge snow piles that never melt reduced in size greatly. As a result, a passage in the snow was opened leading to the cave underneath.

At the entrance to the cave the ceiling is not thick and sunlight breaking through it gives unique beautiful views. As you go further away from the entrance, the arch of the cave becomes thicker, and less sunlight comes through it, but you can still see various bizarre images, both in form and color.

Photo © Denis Budkov

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Tags: Kamchatka krai

Tourism in Russia is a relatively small, but growing industry. The rich cultural heritage and natural diversity of places put Russia in a prominent place among the countries with the potential growth of tourism.

There are 24 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia. Different regions and ethnic groups have a wide variety of traditions. From 1995 to 2011, foreign tourism to Russia increased by 27%. The number of foreign tourists increased from 1.8 to 2.3 million per year.

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Tags: No tags

Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, the deepest lake in the world, the largest natural reservoir of fresh water (23615.39 cubic km which is about 19% of the world’s fresh water reserves in lakes). Local residents usually call it the Baikal Sea.

Lake Baikal is located in the center of the Asian continent on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. The lake stretches from north-east to south-west by 620 km in the form of a giant crescent. Baikal width ranges from 24 to 79 km.

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Tags: Buryat Republic · Irkutsk oblast

The Valley of Geysers is one of the largest geyser field in the world and the only in Eurasia. The valley is located in Kronotsky State Biosphere Reserve in Kamchatka.

The territory of the geyser field is about 2 square km. There are around 20 large geysers and a lot of small ones that periodically emit fountains of almost boiling water (95° C) or hot steam.

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Tags: Kamchatka krai