There is a widespread belief that Stalin’s Soviet Union was a country almost completely closed to foreigners. However, advertising of “Intourist” (organization responsible for foreign tourism in the USSR) created in 1930ies, gives somewhat different look at the issue.

The country was in desperate need of foreign currency for industrialization, so all the ways to lure wealthy foreign tourists to the USSR were used. And it was not just about the major cities – Moscow and Leningrad.

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Tags: posters · propaganda · Soviet past

Even sleeping areas of St. Petersburg may surprise you. Among the usual residential buildings of Moscow district there is a unique museum project – the largest miniature of Russia (total area is about 800 square meters).

Miniature is a collective image of Russia, which has absorbed all of its most characteristic features, and objects. You will be able to find the Moscow Kremlin, Karelian Kizhi, Peter and Paul Fortress, and other sights of Russia here.

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Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Yakutsk is surrounded by many hills. In the Soviet era the tunnel in one of them, located near the mountain Chochur Muran, was used as a huge cellar for food storage. In November 2008, tourist center “The Kingdom of Permafrost” was opened here.

At the entrance to the “Kingdom” visitors receive warm coats and boots. It is necessary because in summer the temperature in the tunnel is minus 4 degrees Celsius. But in winter the temperature does not fall below minus 10 degrees C, so after minus 50 degrees C outside it is a good place to get warm. Photos by Alex Cheban

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Tags: Yakutsk city

November 27, 2012 in Kamchatka, after a 36-year interval, volcano Plosky (Flat) Tolbachik began to erupt. Volcanoes Plosky Tolbachik (altitude 3140 meters) and Ostry (Sharp) Tolbachik (3682 meters) are the parts of one single large volcanic massif (volcanoes location on Google Maps).

Tolbachik is located in the south-western part of the Klyuchevskaya volcano group, 63 kilometers from Kluchi village and 343 kilometers from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Previous eruption began in July 1975 and continued until October 1976. Magnificent views! Photos by Sergey Gorshkov

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Tags: Kamchatka krai

The Solovetsky Islands (also known as Solovki) is an archipelago in the White Sea (total area is about 347 sq km) in the Arkhangelsk region. It consists of 6 large and about 100 small islands (Google Maps location of the largest island).

The archipelago, including five-kilometer area of the White Sea, is the protected area – Federal State Institution “Solovetsky state historical-architectural and natural museum-reserve.” Photos by Dmitry Mordolff

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Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · monastery

There is a wide range of extremely famous sights in St. Petersburg, such as the Hermitage and the Winter Palace, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and Savior-on-the-Blood (the last one has a very Russian look).

It’s a must for everyone visiting this marvelous city to see all the main attractions. But on the other hand, falling the victim of guidebooks can be very upsetting, and this makes the travelers look for something new and exotic which is not necessarily mentioned in the guidebooks.

Are you one of the off-the-beaten-track seekers?

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Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Built in 1580-1620, Astrakhan Kremlin is a fortress in Astrakhan located on the place where new city was founded by the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible who captured Astrakhan in 1556.

On the territory of the fortress you will find such architectural monuments as Assumption Cathedral (1698-1710, cubic, with five domes and a rich decor of the facade), Trinity Cathedral (16th-18th centuries), Bishop’s House (16th-18th centuries) with the home church, St. Cyril Chapel (17th-19th centuries), Prechistinsky gate (the bell tower), and others. Photos by Alexander Lipilin

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Tags: Astrakhan city

Saint Petersburg is located in northern Europe, in the north-west of the Russian Federation, on the shore of Finnish Gulf and on Neva River. St. Petersburg is the only city in the world with the population over 1,000,000 which is located so far in the north.

Saint Petersburg is the largest city located in Europe which is not a capital. Last week the population of the city exceeded 5 million people. Our congratulations and to celebrate this event here is a great time-lapse video of the city.

Tags: Saint Petersburg city · time-lapse

The history of Nizhny Tagil dates back to 1722 when the ironworks was built by Demidov dynasty. At the time Nizhny Tagil plant was one of the biggest, not only in Russia but also in Europe.

The plant was expanding for three centuries. In 1987, after working for more than 260 years, old blast furnace shop was shut down and Russia’s only plant museum was created. Photos by Vitkaravan

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Tags: museum · Nizhny Tagil city

August 1, 2012 the bridge to the Russian (Russky) Island was opened to private traffic. It is a cable-stayed bridge in Vladivostok, connecting Nazimov Peninsula with Novosilsky Cape on the Russian Island.

The construction of the bridge began September 3, 2008 as part of the city’s preparations for the APEC summit in 2012. The total cost of the project including the access road to the bridge is about $ 2 billion.

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Tags: Vladivostok city