Russian Travel Guide

Mikhailo-Afonsky monastery

 At the end of the 19th century, there was no monastery larger than that of St. Michael’s Monastery of Mount Athos in the Northern Caucasus. In 1877 the monastery’s location on the slope of Gora Fiziabgo was decided. It was constructed with the help of many hands from people all over the world - following the suggestion of Father Martyrius, the monastery’s first abbot, each pilgrim travelling to the monastery brought a stone with him that would be used to help build the holy structure. Over ten years the monks managed to build an entire religious complex with multiple churches: The Church of the Transfiguration, of the Holy Trinity and of the Assumption as well as churches built in the name of Archangels Michael and Alexandra. A century ago thousands of pilgrims visited St. Michael’s Monastery of Mount Athos every day. After the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 however, the r...

The bears of Kamchatka

The Kamchatka Peninsula is known for its breathtaking northern nature full of volcanos, hot springs, endless tundra, impassable forests and protected lands, which are teeming with wild animals. This is turf where the great and mighty brown bear reigns strong and people can meet him almost anywhere – in the forest, mountains, valleys, rivers or a lake – these are all bear territory. The area around Kuril Lake is a particularly good place to observe such wildlife. Every year, at the end of summer, thousands of bears come here in search of Pacific salmon. Giant schools of salmon travel to the lake in order to lay eggs and are met by these sharp-clawed, hungry landlords who tirelessly feast on fish. Such a filling food-fest helps local brown bears to build up the fat reserves they need in order to spend the winter in hibernation. During this time the bears are so involved in their intense fi...

Коллекция Russian Travel Guide. Природа. Республика Карелия