The rally “For Fair Elections” was held on Sakharov Avenue in Moscow. The participants protested against ballot rigging in the elections to the State Duma on December 4.

The officials of Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the meeting was attended by about 30 thousand people. According to the organizers of the rally about 120 thousand people came to protest. The symbols of protest were white chrysanthemums and white ribbons. Photos by Ilya Varlamov.

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Tags: Moscow city

Kuban Cossacks (Kuban Cossack Army) is a part of Russian Cossacks of the North Caucasus, living on the territory of present Krasnodar krai, Stavropol krai, as well as the Republic of Adygeya and Karachay-Cherkessia. The military headquarters is located in Krasnodar (former Ekaterinodar).

Historically Kuban Cossacks were free militarized agricultural population. At the head of the Kuban Cossack Army was the chieftain (ataman), who was the military chief of the division and also the governor.

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Tags: Krasnodar city

Pyatigorsk (“the city of five mountains”) is the oldest balneological and mud resort of Russia and the largest cultural and tourist center of eco-resort region Caucasian Mineral Waters.

On January 19, 2010 Pyatigorsk received the status of the center of North Caucasus Federal District. It is the only center of the federal district not being the capital of the subject of the federation. Photos by timag82. Click the photos for high resolution versions.

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Tags: Pyatigorsk city

Omsk located about 2,600 km to the east of Moscow is the second largest city in Siberia. The city is standing on the banks of Irtysh river at the confluence with Om river.

The rivers connect Omsk with various coal and other mineral mining cities and towns of Kazakhstan and with oil, natural gas and lumber rich regions of Siberia. Video by Vladimir Skorokhod and Sergey Kotov.

Tags: Omsk city · time-lapse

Vologda Kremlin is historical and architectural complex located in the central part of Vologda. It was founded as a fortress in 1567 by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and played the role of defensive fortification in the 16th-17th centuries.

By the 1820s the Kremlin walls and towers were dismantled. Today the territory of the Kremlin is a historical and trade center of Vologda. Several architectural monuments built at the same time as the Kremlin were preserved. They are standing on the Kremlin Square. Photos by Ilya Pokrovsky.

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Tags: churches · Vologda city

Dagestan Republic is a federal subject of Russian Federation, part of North Caucasian Federal District, located in the North Caucasus region. The capital city and administrative center is Makhachkala.

The name of the republic is meaning “The country of mountains”. About 30 peaks in Dagestan are above 4,000 m, the highest peak Bazardyuzyu is 4,466 m. Dagestan Republic of Russian Empire was formed in 1860 after the Great Caucasus War.

Tags: Dagestan Republic · landscapes

There is an abandoned village Ostashevo in Chuhlomskoy district of Kostroma oblast and 100 meters to the east this wooden wonder is standing. The building is an old two-storey house with a tower, full of various carved decoration.

The house was probably built by industrialist Markov at the end of the 19th century. It was his suburban villa (dacha). According to the other version St. Petersburg contractor M.S. Sazonov built this house for his second wife E.A. Dobrovolskaya. Photos by Denis Frantsouzov.

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Tags: Abandoned · Kostroma oblast

Catherine’s Palace is the former imperial palace, one of the largest in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. The palace is located in the town of Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoye Selo), 25 km south of St. Petersburg.

The architectural trends of each era the palace survived, and personal predilections of Russian rulers of the time were reflected in the history and architecture of the palace. The palace was built in 1717 under the direction of German architect Johann Friedrich Braunshtein as the summer residence of Empress Catherine I.

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Tags: Leningrad oblast · Saint Petersburg city

Ekaterinburg (from 1942 till 1991 – Sverdlovsk) is the fourth largest city in Russia (after Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Novosibirsk), an administrative center of Sverdlovsk oblast.

The city is one of the largest financial and business centers in Russia, offices of transnational corporations are located here as well as representations of foreign companies, a great number of federal and regional financial institutions.

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Tags: bird's eye views · Ekaterinburg city

Saratov region (oblast) is located in the southeastern part of European Russia. Main river of the region is Volga dividing the region into two parts.

Saratov oblast is traditionally an agricultural region. The oblast is the 10th among Russian regions in the amount of agricultural product. The specific feature of the region is a great number of farmers having lands under crops.

The following video showing the beautiful nature of Saratov region was made by Anton Starikov.

Tags: landscapes · Saratov oblast