Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye | Russia

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The Church of the Ascension was built in 1532 on the imperial estate of Kolomenskoye, near Moscow, to celebrate the birth of the prince who was to become Tsar Ivan IV ('the Terrible').  In the XVI and XVII centuries, this church served as a summer family chapel of the Russian Tsars.

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Solovetsky Islands | Russia

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The Solovetsky Islands are six islands located in the forbidding waters of the White Sea in northern Russia, just 165km from the Arctic Circle. Known for their scenic beauty but difficult to access even today, the islands have long been used for both retreat and exile.

Founded in the 15th century, Solovetsky Monastery was one of Russia's most famous and holy monasteries, and became a major pilgrimage destination. But it was also a place of exile, and in the 20th century it was used as a brutal Soviet prison camp. Over a million prisoners are estimated to have died here, many of whom were priests, artists and writers. The prison was closed in 1939.

Today, Solovetsky Monastery is a World Heritage Site, museum, and home to a handful of monks.

(source: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/russia/solovki-solovetsky-monastery)

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Hanseatic League member Tikhvin | Russia

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Tikhvin is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River.

The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe. 

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Virigin Komi Forests | Russia

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The Virgin Komi Forests is a natural UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Northern Ural Mountains of the Komi Republic, Russia.

Virgin Komi Forests are rich in natural monuments with sometimes unusual shapes. Like the Manpupuner rock formations, a set of 7 gigantic abnormally shaped stone pillars, rising up 30 to 40 metres. 

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Qolşärif Mosque in the Kazan Kremlin | Russia

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A kremlin is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. The Qolşärif Mosque is located inside the Kazan Kremlin, the main historic citadel of Tatarstan. The mosque can accommodate 1,500 believers, while more than 10,000 can be accommodated in the adjacent square. 

The “Historic and Architectural Complex of the Kazan Kremlin” is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000.

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Alexeev Island | Russia

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Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is the Russian name for a province located in Russia’s far east. Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, so in English translation it is known as the Maritime Territory.

The back of the postcard reads "Alexeev Island". But I couldn’t find any information about it.   

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Lena Pillars Nature Park | Russia

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Lena Pillars Nature Park is marked by spectacular rock pillars that reach a height of approximately 100 m along the banks of the Lena River in far eastern Siberia.

Lena Pillars is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2012.

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Balaklava Bay | Russia

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Balaklava is part of the city of Sevastopol, located in the Russian annexed Crimea region. David sent me this card from his recent travels. Thank you so much!

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The order "For Military Merit" and the order "For Naval Merit". Both stamps are part of a souvenir sheet with 18(!) stamps depicting "State awards of the Russian Federation".  

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Nikolskoe village on Bering Island | Russia

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Bering island is treeless, desolate and experiences severe weather, including high winds, persistent fog and earthquakes. It had no year-round human residents until roughly 1826. Today, the village of Nikolskoe is home to 600 to 800 people.

The Commander Islands are located in the Bering Sea, 175 kilometers to the east of Kamchatka. Bering Island is the largest and westernmost of the Commander Islands.

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Ai-Petri Mountains Cable Car in Crimea

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Ai-Petri is a peak in the Crimean Mountains. There is a Cable Car that takes passengers to the main area in Ai-Petri. The upper station is located at an altitude of 1153 meters and offers spectacular views of the southern coast of Crimea. 

 

The peak is actually the weathered remains of a huge coral reef formed millions of years ago, when this area was under the sea.

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On the left you see “Swallow’s Nest”, a castle built in the late XIX century near Yalta, in the South of Crimea. 

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Medny Island | Russia

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Medny Island is one of the two main islands in the Commander Islands. In 1970, all citizens of the island were moved to neighboring Bering Island. Today the island is totally uninhabited.

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The stamp on the right is to celebrate 20 years of Commonwealth of Independent States,  a regional organization whose participating countries are some former Soviet Republics.

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Bering Island | Russia

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The Commander Islands are located in the Bering Sea, 175 kilometers to the east of Kamchatka. Bering Island is the largest and westernmost of the Commander Islands. The island is treeless, desolate and experiences severe weather, including high winds, persistent fog and earthquakes.

In 1741 Commander Vitus Bering, sailing for the Russian Navy, was shipwrecked and died on Bering Island, along with 28 of his men.

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Trinity-St Sergius Monastery | Russia

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The Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius is the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about 90 km from Moscow.

 

The monastery was founded in 1345 by St. Sergius of Radonezh, a highly revered monk and the patron saint of Russia. The monastery started as a simple wooden church in an isolated area, but soon grew much larger.

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Novodevichy Convent | Russia

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The Novodevichy Convent is situated in south-western Moscow. It was founded in 1524 by Grand Duke Vasily III to celebrate the recapture of Smolensk from the Lithuanians. After the Revolution, the Convent was turned into the Museum of the Emancipation of Women.

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The Church of Elijah the Prophet | Russia

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Yaroslavl is a Russian city located 250 kilometers of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Church of Elijah the Prophet was built in the 17th century and is one of the most complete and best-preserved monuments of Yaroslavl. 

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Suzdal Kremlin | Russia

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The Suzdal Kremlin is the oldest part of the Russian city of Suzdal, dating from the 10th century. The building with the blue toppings is the Cathedral of the Nativity.

UNESCO World Heritage site since 1992, inscribed under the name White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal.

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Ferapontov Monastery | Russia

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The Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery is a Russian-Orthodox monastic complex dating from the 15th-17th centuries. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000. 

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The Putorana plateau | Russia

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The Putorana plateau is a stunningly beautiful landscape, located in the northern part of Central Siberia. It is a complex of high flat-topped mountain massifs divided by deep and wide stepped canyons.

The part of the plateau inscribed on the World Heritage List harbours a complete set of subarctic and arctic ecosystems in an isolated mountain range, including pristine taiga, forest tundra, tundra and arctic desert systems, as well as untouched cold-water lake and river systems. (source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1234)

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The 175th Anniversary of the World's First Postage Stamp - One Penny Black (issue 2015).

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Vologda Kremlin | Russia

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Vologda is one of Russia’s Hanseatic cities. Located on the Vologda River, the history of this city dates back to 1147. The Vologda Kremlin was founded as a fortress in 1567 by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. By the 1820s the Kremlin walls and towers were dismantled.

 

The Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe.

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(left) Part of a set of four stamps about Russian Uniforms. Here you see two other stamps from this set.

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Veliky Novgorod Kremlin | Russia

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Situated on the ancient trade route between Central Asia and northern Europe, Veliky Novgorod was Russia's first capital in the 9th century. Surrounded by churches and monasteries, it was a centre for Orthodox spirituality as well as Russian architecture.

 

The Novgorod Kremlin is the most ancient out of the preserved Kremlins in Russia, first mentioned in the chronicle of 1044. Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings is a Unesco World Heritage site.

In medieval time it was the largest centre of international commerce and was the only Hanseatic city of Russia.

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