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

May the new year bring you greater heights of success and prosperity. Have a happy New Year!

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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

Traditionally, summing up the year, let’s take a look at some blog posts about Russia that were the most popular in 2015.

1. Propaganda posters of Soviet space program (1958-1963) – Part 1. It is also the most popular post in our blog of all time.

Top 10 posts about Russia

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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

Novy Urengoy is a city located in the northern part of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region. It is the unofficial “natural gas production capital” of Russia.

This city, located on the boundary of the subarctic climate, is a great place for watching the Northern Lights. Here is an example. If you visited the territory around the city in the first half of November 2015, you would see the following beautiful scenery. Photos by: Kamil Nureev.

night landscape in shades of green

Tags: Yamalo-Nenets okrug

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

Every year, in September, the Grand Cascade of fountains in Peterhof is used as a venue for the Festival of Fountains. In recent years, you can see the show within 2-3 days from Friday to Sunday.

Everyone can attend this show after buying a ticket at the ticket office of the museum-reserve. Also, this service is provided by numerous travel agencies in St. Petersburg.

colorful show

Tags: Saint Petersburg city

Tsarskoye Selo, the former country residence of Russian emperors, is a museum-reserve located in the town of Pushkin (part of St. Petersburg).

The museum includes the palace and park ensemble of the 18th-19th centuries and the former country residence of the Russian imperial family, converted into a museum after nationalization in March 1918. Photos by: Eduard Gordeev.

riot of colors

Tags: Saint Petersburg city