Excursions in Saint Petersburg never get bored because the city is fraught with many secrets and stories.

You can see the city from the view of its founder Peter the Great if you take a river tour in St. Petersburg. After going aboard of boat you will dive into the atmosphere of the times of Peter the Great because the city was originally planned as Venice of the North or New Amsterdam.

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Tags: Saint Petersburg city

“Nalychevo” is a nature park on the Kamchatka Peninsula (Kamchatka krai) created in 1995. The total area of the park is about 287 thousand hectares.

The park is located in the valley of Nalycheva River and is bounded by the chain of volcanoes. On the territory of the park there are a lot of hot and cold mineral springs with medicinal properties. Photos by Ilya Stepanov.

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Tags: Kamchatka krai · Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city

The source of the Volga is a monument of nature, unique natural object located in Ostashkov area of Tver oblast in the village Volgoverkhovye about 68 km from Ostashkov town.

The village itself is very small, most houses are abandoned. It is prohibited to drive the car on the territory of the village. Next to the Source you can buy souvenirs, though usually there are not a lot of vendors, as well as tourists. Photos by Alexander Lipilin.

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Tags: Tver oblast

The Valley of Geysers is one of the largest geyser fields in the world and the only one in Eurasia. It is located in Kamchatka on the territory of Kronotsky State Biosphere Reserve. The Valley of Geysers is one of the seven wonders of Russia.

Kronotsky State Biosphere Reserve is one of the oldest reserves in Russia established in 1934. The reserve covers an area of 1,142,134 hectares (11,421 sq. km.) including 135,000 hectares (1,350 sq. km.) of sea area of the eastern coast of Kamchatka.

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Tags: Kamchatka krai

Rostov is one of the oldest cities in Russia located in Yaroslavl oblast. It is a part of famous tourist route Golden Ring of Russia. The town was first mentioned in the year of 862. Rostov is often called Rostov the Great (Rostov Veliky) to distinguish it from Rostov-on-Don city.

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Tags: Yaroslavl oblast

Krasnaya Polyana is a small town in the Adler district of Sochi (Krasnodar krai) located 39 km from the Black Sea coast.

The population of the town is 3972 people (2009). There is a highway from Adler and Sochi airport to Krasnaya Polyana. The town will be one of the places hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2014 and probably the most picturesque one.

Tags: Krasnodar krai · Sochi city

Currently the icebreaker “50 let Pobedy” (“50 years of Victory”) is the largest nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world. Its construction was carried out at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad (later St. Petersburg). The construction began on October 4, 1989.

In 1993, further construction was suspended due to lack of funds. In 2003, the construction was resumed, and, February 1, 2007, the icebreaker went on sea trials, which lasted two weeks. The flag was raised March 23, 2007 and April 11 the icebreaker came to its home port in Murmansk. The estimated maximum thickness of ice that the icebreaker can go through is 2.8 m.

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Tags: Murmansk city

I have found the following interesting video from boat trip to the Pacific Ocean near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The song is “You hear the sea”, children’s choir of the Leningrad Radio and Television (1981). Filming – Eugene Firsov, editing – Oleg Vereshchagin.

Tags: Kamchatka krai · Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city

Karst lake Marine Eye situated near the village Shariboksad, Volga district of Mari El Republic stands out as a form of volcanic crater. The depth of the lake is 37 meters, 45 to 50 m in diameter. Water transparency is significant, up to 5.5 m. The water of the lake is known for its unique characteristic emerald green color.

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Tags: Mari El Republic

Tutaev is one of the towns of famous “Golden Ring” of Russia located in Yaroslavl oblast. The churches of Tutaev are picturesquely scattered on the hilly banks of the Volga and attract numerous tourists and architecture lovers from all over the world. The following nice winter views of Tutaev churches were taken by Petr Ushanov.

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Tags: churches · Yaroslavl oblast