Power plants, downtown

I've always been fascinated (and a bit shocked, at first) to see how Russian cities still have active power plants right in the middle of the city, often in nice, upscale, residential neighborhoods. This is not a case of a city "growing around" industrial buildings that were, once, in the outskirts or even in the... Continue Reading →

The huge masterpiece that Tretyakov could never buy (and a Photo Tip!)

Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov was a Russian businessman, patron of art, collector, and philanthropist who gave his name to the Tretyakov Gallery. The Moscow merchant acquired works by Russian artists of his day with the aim of creating a collection, which might later grow into a museum of national art. He started collecting art in the middle of 1850. The founding year of the Tretyakov Gallery is considered to be... Continue Reading →

Sunset on the Volga

I wrote in a previous post about how, originally coming from a city surrounded by mountains, I am fascinated by the "vast skies" of the Russian Plain, that spans approximately 4,000,000 km2 (2,000,000 sq mi) without a single mountain. This creates the ideal conditions for absolutely spectacular sunsets, thanks mostly to the fact that you can see the sun disappearing over... Continue Reading →

Evening walk in the Ostankino park – Photo tip!

Ostankinsky District , also called simply Ostankino, is one of the 125 raions of Moscow. VDNH exhibition center and the Ostankino Tower, the tallest structure in Europe, are located in Ostankinsky. The rayon is also rightfully known for the Ostankino Palace, the third-largest wooden building in the world, which is a former summer residence and private opera theatre of Sheremetev family, originally situated several kilometres to the... Continue Reading →

Tsarskoe Selo Parks – off season

Tsarskoye Selo (or "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former Russian residence of the Romanov imperial family and visiting nobility. It is located 24 kilometers (15 mi) south from the center of Saint Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin ( which got its name in 1937 to to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of the Russian... Continue Reading →

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