The Ay River is the largest tributary of the Ufa River and one of the most picturesque places in the Southern Urals. Ayskiye Pritosy is a unique natural geological object located on the Ay River, on the border of Chelyabinsk Oblast and the Republic of Bashkortostan. These beautiful limestone cliffs, which are steep walls up ..read more

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (1832-1898) was one of the greatest Russian landscape painters, who created very photorealistic pictures. In his paintings, he often depicted the nature of the central zone of the East European Plain, also known as the Russian Plain, one of the largest plains in the world. Rye (1878). Marsh. Polesie (1890). View of Valaam Island (1858). Rain in an Oak Forest (1891). In the Rye (1866). Oak Trees (1886). Oak Grove (1887). Oaks (1887). Winter (1890). The Kama River near Yelabuga (1895). The Morning in a Pine Forest (1889) – the most famous painting of Ivan Shishk ..read more

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is a city in Russia, the administrative center of Kamchatka Krai. It is located on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the shores of Avacha Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The distance to Moscow in a straight line is almost 6,800 km. The population of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is about 163 thousand people, slightly more than half of the total population of the region. The elevation difference in the city is 513.6 meters from sea level (Avacha Bay) to the top of Mount Rakova. Photos by: Slava Stepanov. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky lies south of Moscow and on the ..read more

Tobolsk is a city in Russia with a population of about 100 thousand people, located at the confluence of the Tobol and the Irtysh rivers, about 250 km northeast of Tyumen. It was founded as the center of the development of Siberia in 1587, about 17 km from the Tatar settlement of Sibier (also known as Kashlyk, Isker), the capital of the Siberian Khanate (1468-1598). From the end of the 16th to the 18th centuries, it was the main military, administrative, political, and religious center of Siberia. Today, Tobolsk is the second most populous city in Tyumen Oblast. Photos by: Anton Petrus. Since ..read more

Discover vibrant poker scenes in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Malacca, and Genting Highlands, offering competitive tournaments, diverse game options, and luxurious settings. From upscale poker rooms in city centers to high-stakes experiences with panoramic views, Malaysia caters to all levels of players. The thriving poker culture in different regions provides unique opportunities for immersive gaming experiences and professional tournament structures. Explore these top destinations to elevate your poker gameplay and immerse yourself in the excitement of Malaysia’s diverse poker landscap ..read more

Severnaya Zemlya (literally “Northern Land”, until 1926 – Land of Emperor Nicholas II) is an archipelago located in the central part of the Arctic Ocean north of the Taimyr Peninsula on the border of the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. This is the northernmost part of Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia. The archipelago consists of 4 large islands (October Revolution, Komsomolets, Bolshevik, Pioneer) and a number of small ones. The area of Severnaya Zemlya is about 37 thousand square km. The length from north to south is 380 km, from west to east – 340 km. There is no permanent population on the islands ..read more

“The Motives of Russian Architecture” was a magazine published in St. Petersburg from 1873 to 1880. It published projects of residential buildings, public buildings, furniture and decor created by followers of the Russian style. The goal of this movement was to revive the techniques and motifs of old Russian architecture. After a series of European revolutions in 1848-1849, known as the Spring of Nations, the middle class was quickly becoming rich. They strived to have luxurious and rich interiors. Workshops and factories producing furniture and interior items tried to please wealthy customers ..read more

The Dolgiye Mountains is one of the southern spurs of the Ural Mountains, stretching 14 km from north to south from the Ural River to the Sakmara River, on the 135th km of the Orenburg – Orsk highway. The mountains are not high, but for the surrounding steppe terrain they look quite impressive and from a height they look like the backbone of a huge dragon. The Dolgiye Mountains on Google Maps. Photos by: Slava Stepanov. The Ural Mountains are among the oldest in the world. The Dolgiye Mountains were formed about 250-300 million years ago. The maximum height of the ridge is 414 meters above se ..read more

The Church of John the Baptist in Yaroslavl is an inactive Orthodox church, a unique monument of Russian architecture of the 17th century and one of the most famous works of the Yaroslavl school of architecture during its peak period. It is located in the southern part of Yaroslavl, on the right bank of the Kotorosl River. This church is a monument of history and culture of world importance included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list. It was built in 1671-1687. Its 45-meter bell tower was built in the Moscow Baroque style in 1690. This is the only church in Russia with fifteen domes, divided ..read more

The private fairy-tale park-courtyard “Vikhlyandiya” in the town of Kozelsk, Kaluga Oblast, is a unique architectural work of art, born of a creative tandem of the local entrepreneur-philanthropist Vladimir Vikhlyandtsev (whose last name gave the name to the complex) and the architect-artist Vladimir Kolesnikov. There are no analogues of such a fabulous complex anywhere else in Russia. This fairy-tale kingdom has already become one of the sights of Kozelsk. Vikhlyandiya is especially popular among families with children. Vikhlyandiya on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Lipetskikh. The const ..read more