Perm is a city in the east of the European part of Russia, in the foothills of the Urals, the administrative center of Perm Krai. The city is a major industrial, scientific, cultural, and logistic center of the Urals.

Perm was founded in 1723. In 1876, first in the Urals and Siberia railroad was built through the city. In 1979, the city’s population exceeded 1 million people.

In 2009, the authorities of the region started an ambitious project – “Perm – Cultural Capital.” The project significantly increased the number of cultural events held in the city, a lot of various art objects appeared in the streets.

Tags: Perm city · Perm krai · time-lapse

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

The nature of Astrakhan region is unique for Russia. Nowhere else in the country will you be able to find a territory composed of semi-deserts and deserts, where camels live, and the most famous Russian river Volga carries its waters.

Astrakhan oblast is located in the south-east of the East European Plain. The region is situated in the Caspian lowland where the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea. The region stretches over 400 km in the form of a narrow stripe. Photos by GeoSerzh

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Tags: Astrakhan oblast · landscapes

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

Ekaterinburg (also spelled Yekaterinburg) with the population of about 1.4 million is the fourth largest city in Russia. The city is located 1667 km to the east of Moscow and is one the Russian cities which will host several matches of FIFA World Cup 2018.

As Ekaterinburg city is the main administrative, cultural, scientific, and educational center of the whole Ural region (Ural Federal District), it is also known as “the capital of Ural”. Lately the city is becoming more and more attractive to tourists. There is large international airport “Koltsovo” located nearby.

Tags: Ekaterinburg city · time-lapse

The White Sea is an inland sea located in the north of the European part of Russia (washes the shores of Karelia and Arkhangelsk region), refers to the Arctic Ocean. Of the seas surrounding Russia, the White Sea is one of the smallest. The average water depth is 67 meters. All the sea is internal waters of Russia.

The temperature of the surface layer of sea water varies greatly depending on the season in different parts of the sea. In winter the temperature of the White Sea surface water is about -1,3 … -1,7 ° C in the center and north of the sea, up to -0,5 … -0,7 ° C in the bays. Photos by borh-84

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Tags: Arkhangelsk oblast · Karelia Republic

Barnaul, founded in 1730, is the capital of Altai krai. The city is located in the south of Western Siberia. As of 2012 the city’s population is about 622 thousand people, it is the 20th largest city in Russia.

There are over 20 monuments of architecture and history of the 18th and the first half of 19th centuries built in the style of classicism in the city. One of the sights of the city is “BARNAUL” sign that can be found in Nagorny Park resembling the sign “HOLLYWOOD” on Hollywood hills.

Tags: Barnaul city · time-lapse

Bears really walk the streets of cities in Russia :)

This video was captured at the pass-through of one of the companies located in Kostomuksha, a small town with the population of about 29,000 located in the Karelia Republic.

Tags: Omsk oblast

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

In the past it was a swamped karst chasm, and today it is one of the most polluted bodies of water on the planet known as the “Black Hole.”

The lake is located between Nizhny Novgorod and Dzerzhinsk, on the outskirts of Dzerzhinsk eastern industrial zone (coordinates 56.2635788 43.6624149, Google Maps location). The lake is surrounded by barbed wire with banning-warning labels. Photos by Lana Sator

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Tags: Dzerzhinsk city · Nizhegorodskaya oblast