Russia is rich in deposits of various natural resources, but for the most part, they are located in wild and undeveloped areas of the Far North, Siberia and the Far East.

Driving a car or even a truck in these areas is very dangerous because of the lack of normal roads; drivers have to cross numerous rivers, etc. A lot of people died on these roads, the number of lost vehicles can’t be counted.

Tags: Siberia

Picturesque view of Saint Petersburg is determined by architecture: straight streets, large squares, gardens and parks, rivers and numerous canals, embankments, bridges, monuments and decorative statues.

Among the other interesting places of Saint Petersburg are the fountains. Saint Petersburg is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Gulf Stream causes humid sea climate in Saint-Petersburg. Most days in the year are cloudy and gloomy. Photos by Sergei Nagorny.

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Tags: Saint Petersburg city

“Under Yesteryear’s Snowfall” is an animated film made in 1983 by the Soviet filmmaker Alexander Tatarsky based on a script of Sergey Ivanov. The cartoon is performed in the technique of plasticine animation.

It is a funny psychedelic Christmas story about a peasant going to forest in search of a Christmas tree.

The cartoon is distinguished by the fact that the aphoristic remarks of the characters, full of absurdist humor, turned to folk sayings.

Tags: cartoon · Soviet past

Novosibirsk is the third city of Russia by population after Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city is business, cultural, industrial, scientific, trade and transport center of Siberia.

Novosibirsk was founded in 1893. The population of the city reached one million in 1962 making it the world youngest city with such a large population.

Tags: Novosibirsk city · time-lapse

Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan with the population of 1.1 million people. In 2005 the millennium of Kazan was celebrated. In 2013 the city will host the 27th World Summer Universiade, and in 2015 – World Championship of Water Sports.

Today Kazan is the center of Tatar people culture. Kazan Kremlin is among UNESCO world heritage and a 1000 year history of Kazan makes it one of Russian cities most often visited by tourists. Photos by Stepanov Slava.

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Tags: bird's eye views · Kazan city · Tatarstan Republic

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

Saint-Petersburg is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, being an important center of tourism in Russia. In 18th-20th centuries the city was the capital of Russian Empire.

Tags: Saint Petersburg city · time-lapse

One billion rubles (1,000,000,000 rubles) was a banknote used in the Caucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic in the period of hyperinflation of the early 1920’s.

Nominal value in figures and words, and warning labels are depicted on the obverse of the banknote.

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This Sunday, March 4, will be the day of the Russian presidential elections, and with high probability we can say that the “winner” will be Vladimir Putin, the man who has been the President of Russia from 2000 to 2008. In 2008-2012 he has been holding the post of prime minister.

What will happen after the return of Vladimir Putin is not clear, may be we will see new repressions, reforms, or even revolution.

Russian artist Zhgun shows in this video, how it all began, what happened over the years and what lies ahead.

Tags: caricature

“Dunai-3U” is early warning radar station of Soviet missile defense system A-35M located in Moskovskaya oblast. The station was put in service in 1978. NATO’s code for radar station “Dunai-3U” is “Cathouse”.

Today the station operates partly; most of the equipment was dismantled. Once it was one of the most secret military facilities of the Soviet Union. Today the station is practically deserted. Photos by artuniar.

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Tags: Abandoned · Moskovskaya oblast · Soviet past

The sale of Alaska was a deal between the governments of the Russian Empire and the North American United States. In 1867, Russia for 7.2 million USD (about 108 million USD in 2009), sold its territories in North America (total area 1,518,800 square km or 586,412 square miles).

At the time of the sale the entire population in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands was about 2,500 Russian and approximately 60,000 American Indians and Eskimos. At the beginning of the 19th century Alaska brought income from the fur trade.

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