Russia is a land of contrasts comprising a vast array of geography, climates, fauna and cultures.  The train is the most common means of moving about the country for the average Russian.  A new photo exhibit presents the sights of Russia from a uniquely Russian point of view. You can view the exhibit here.

These days the beauty and unique variety of the Russian nature as subject of national pride - are spoken about all over the world. Few Russians not to mention the foreigners can imagine all the geographical peculiarities of our country. The exhibition shows Russia seen through the camera lens of the traveller. It is the country where railways just as threads put together boundless spaces allowing one to reach the most remote areas. While traveling, the tourist observes changing landscapes and pictures of life through the train window, which in the end form the complete image of Russia.

For the first time Russia to be exact the Russian empire was photographed in color during the well-known expedition (1905-1916) of the outstanding Russian photographer S.M. Prokudin-Gorskiy. One hundred years later the open stock company «Russian railways» and photographer Anton Langhe carry out a unique project - a series of photo-expeditions across Russia which geography is exceptionally wide. Appreciating the past and creating a symbolic connection with the project of Prokudin-Gorskiy the author shot enormous by volume material on a film – thousands of photos, which show contemporary Russia in its variety.

The exposition has more than two hundred photographs the material for which was gathered during railway expeditions to the most unique regions of the country - Lake Baikal, the Far East and Island Sakhalin, Siberia, Northwest, Southern Ural, the Black Sea coast and Northern Caucasus, the Gold ring and the Central zone of Russia. (Russia through a train window)

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Krasnodar’s new golf course is still under construction, but a new driving range is open and business is brisk. For now. golf is only for the affluent since the course is part of a private country club.

On June 17, 2008, we opened Orange Golf Driving Range in the village of Yablonovsky in New Adigeya. The driving range is a first step as we continue to move forward with our project to build Krasnodar’s first private country club community.

Since the actual golf course will not be open for another two years, we built Orange Golf as a place for people to learn golf now and improve their skills. We hope that many Krasnodarians will use our facility to learn the basics of golf and then on their next trip abroad try the game at the resort where they might be staying. (Russia Blog)

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Mark Ames travels to Tatarstan republic where he visits the largest truck-factory in Russia, KAMAZ, the oldest Kremlin in Kazan and discovers new parts of the national cuisine.

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A few of the sights around Barnaul City in a nicely done 3 part video.

Visit the Russiatrek Altai portal for more information on Barnaul and Altai

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Offering climate and conditions similar to the Swiss Alps, Altai’s resorts are preparing facilities to handle 200,000 visitors per year. With so many unique natural features and comfortable lodging, I’m sure that there will be plenty of people traveling to Altai over the next few years,

The Altai Mountains offer unique scenic, cultural and historical attractions, with rushing streams, alpine meadows, rocky mountains and caves. The air has twice as many ions as in the Swiss Alps. Azure Katun, a tourist complex opened in 2001, bills itself as the “Altai Adventure Park” and will be geared to youth, sports and extreme tourism. The Altai Valley project is aimed at familes, with an artificial lake and three artificial islands and hotels to suit various incomes, sports grounds, an aqua park and an ethnographic village. Two ski resorts with 32 tracks and 15 lifts are to be built near Lake Mangerok and the Karakol mountain lakes.

The Altai Valley has some extra lures: it borders the other tourist attractions of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China; and investing in tourism is safer and more profi table where there is high liquidity and the Republic of Altai is near the top of the relevant regional ratings.

In addition, one of Russia’s four gambling areas, “Russian Las Vegases”, is to be set up in the Altai area. (By July 1, 2009, gaming will be banned everywhere in Russia apart from the four gambling zones.) (Russia Beyond the Headlines)

For more on Altai, visit our Altai Portal.

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This clip is of Irina Shishkanova playing a Finnish / Mari instrument called a Kantele or called the Kusle by the Volga Finns or Mari. The instrument has been a folk music staple for centuries. The Mari are one of the ethnic minorities native to the Russian Federation with theit largest population in the Republic of Mari-El.

The oldest forms of kantele have 5 or 6 horsehair strings and a wooden body carved from one piece, more modern instruments have metal strings and often a body made from several pieces. Modern concert kanteles can have up to 40 strings. Modern instruments with 15 or fewer strings are generally more closely modelled on traditional shapes than the concert kantele, and form a separate category of instrument known as small kantele. The playing positions of concert kantele and small kantele are reversed, ie to the player of a small kantele the longest low pitched strings are furthest away from his body, whilst to a concert kantele this side of the instrument is nearest, and the short high pitched strings furthest away. The instruments have different though related repertoires.

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The Mari-El Republic is off the beaten path for the usual English speaking person visiting Russia. That’s a shame! It’s natural beauty, unique culture and friendly residents make it a refreshing departure from the big Russian cities.

Taken in the summer of 1993, these photos present a look at the daily life of the average resident of Yoshkar-Ola city and some of the surrounding Mari El Republic. Our sincere thanks to Irina King for sharing. You’ll find the most complete information on Mari-El in the English Language anywhere on our Mari-El portal.

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