2013 Ice Hockey U20 World Championship is the 37th World Junior Hockey Championship, which takes place in the city of Ufa, Russia from December 26, 2012 to January 5, 2013.

Competitions are held on two ice arenas: Ufa Arena (capacity 7,950) and Palace of Sports (capacity 4,043). Top ten strongest teams in the world participate in the championship.

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Murmansk is a city in north-western Russia with a population of 304,000 people, the administrative center of Murmansk region. It is the world’s largest city, located north of the Arctic Circle, in the permafrost zone.

The city stretches for more than 20 kilometers along the rocky coast of the Kola Bay, 50 kilometers from the open sea. The basis of the city’s economy is the Murmansk sea port – one of the largest ice-free ports in Russia. All Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers are assigned to it.

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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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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

Nice video of Ekaterinburg, the center of the Urals, shot this November when the city was covered by first snow. Ekaterinburg is located in the region with a moderate continental type of climate with special sharp changeable weather and well expressed seasons.

Today the city is a strategically important center of Russia which provides connection between European and Asian parts of the country.

Tags: Ekaterinburg city · time-lapse

This majestic Savior Cathedral, built in the early 20th century, is standing in the center of the small village Kukoboy (population about 1,000). The cathedral is a picturesque temple constructed in high artistic style.

It is considered one of the most beautiful churches in Yaroslavl region and in all Russia. The temple impresses in its beauty and amazing proportions, rich ornamentation of white facing stone. Photos by Denis Spirin

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Tags: churches · Yaroslavl oblast

Earlier this place, located in the north of the Moscow region, was Olkhovskoye swamp. In 1936, the swamp was drained, and peat extraction began in 1955.

In 2010, one of the sites began to fill with water because of its depletion. A lot of different machines for peat extraction were left creating a very beautiful post-apocalyptic landscape now. Photos by rotweller

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Tags: Abandoned · Moskovskaya oblast

The Petrovsky Palace was built as stopover palace at the entrance to Moscow from St. Petersburg. It is an example of Russian neo-Gothic architecture.

The palace was built by the order of Catherine II in 1776-1780 after the victory in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 as a residence for nobility to rest after a long journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Photos by av_otus

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Sochi is a resort city in Russia located on the Black Sea coast of Krasnodar region. Sochi is the largest resort city in the country. Adler district of the city (Adler and Krasnaya Polyana, located 39 km from the coast of the Black Sea) will host the Winter Olympic Games 2014.

Krasnaya Polyana ski resort was opened in 2007. It will hold open air winter sports (cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, bobsled, etc.), while Sochi will host indoor sports (hockey, figure skating, etc.). Also in 2014, it is planned to hold first Grand Prix Formula 1 in Russia here.

Tags: Sochi city · Sochi2014 · time-lapse

It seems you can find everything in Russia. For example, this unusual ship made of concrete found its last haven in the lower reaches of the Volga (Astrakhan region), a few kilometers from the Caspian Sea.

The hull of the ship is made of reinforced concrete. Those parts of the hull where concrete couldn’t be used were made of iron. This ship is not unique. In a number of countries different concrete ships were designed and built during periods of acute shortage of metal. Photos by zhgalin_photo

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Tags: Astrakhan oblast