"Sentries of Russia "

Krasnoyarsk Stolby National Nature Reserve

one of miracles

near the megalopolis...

taiga and rocks

http://www.stolby.ru/eng/

The Lenskie Stolby

unique place

water, heat, and cold

remains of mammoth

http://www.yakutiatravel.com/en/ecotours/lenskie-stolby-national-nature-park.html

Niagara Falls

a beautiful show-

between Canada and USA -

Horseshoe noise

Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States; more specifically, between the province of Ontario and the state of New York. They form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge.

From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls lie on the Canadian side and the American Falls on the American side, separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island. The international boundary line was originally drawn through Horseshoe Falls in 1819, but the boundary has long been in dispute due to natural erosion and construction…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls

Land of wind and fog (The Commander Islands )

Commander Islands-

on the rim of the Pacific Ocean

jewel of nature

The Commander Islands are the westernmost extension of the Aleutian Islands , though they are separated from the rest of the chain by 207 miles (333 km). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander_Islands The Commander Islands are situated east of the Kamchatkan Peninsula in the Bering Sea. However in 1825, Aleuts from the Aleutian Islands were relocated to the Commander Islands to expand the Russian fur trade and bolster Russian claims to sovereignty.These first settlers populated both Medney and Bering Islands but today the entire population of about 800 lives in the small village of Nikol'skoye on Bering Island http://heritage-expeditions.com/destination/commander-islands/ The Commander Islands form the westernmost part of the Aleutian islands' arc. This arc can be considered as a connecting link between Asia and North America - a bridge, along which plants and animals were settling apart. Some of them cannot be found anywhere else in Russia… . http://www.nhpfund.org/nominations/commander.html

http://www.aqua-firma.com/Russia_Commander_Komandorsky_Islands_wildlife/ 

Pacific Ocean….

land of wind and fog

Commander Islands

http://en.ria.ru/photolents/20110917/166901517.html

Volcanoes of Kamchatka

Kamchatka--

silhouettes of volcanos

beauty and majesty

This is one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world, with a high density of active volcanoes, a variety of types, and a wide range of related features. The six sites included in the serial designation group together the majority of volcanic features of the Kamchatka peninsula. The interplay of active volcanoes and glaciers forms a dynamic landscape of great beauty….

A dark silhouette of volcano against the clean dawning skies does not imply a threat - it is usually a token of nice weather for the people of Kamchatka. http://kamchatka.org.ru/eng/about_volcanoes.shtml

The Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia) is one of the most volcanically active volcanic places on earth, second only perhaps to Iceland and Hawaii. http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/kamchatka.html

Descending into the depths of the crater, fearless photographer Sergey Krasnoshchekov took these amazing shots of Plosky Tolbachik, an active volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the far east of Russia.Picture: SERGEY KRASNOSHCHEKOV/CATERS NEWS http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/earth/10237658/The-volcanoes-of-the-Kamchatka-by-photographer-Sergey-Krasnoshchekov.html

photograph of snow-covered volcanoes on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula illustrates one of the unique attributes of the International Space Station—the ability to view landscapes at an angle, rather than the straight-down view typical of many satellite-based sensors. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=47514

Russian icon painters (UNESCO World Heritage in Russia)

Dionisy (Dionisius). c.1450–c.1520

Dionisy (Dionisius). c.1450–c.1520 Dionisy was the first Russian layman known to have been a religious painter and to have run a large, professional workshop. He was associated with the Moscow School and is considered the most outstanding icon painter of the later fifteenth century in Russia…http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404100362.html The main cathedral of the former Ferapontov monastery, the Virgin Nativity Cathedral, houses frescoes that were created in 1502 by famous Moscow artist Dionisy and have survived until now. … http://www.dionisy.com/eng/museum/ Icons made by Dionisy for the Volga monasteries: St. Paul Obnorsk ,Saviour Priluki and St. Cyril Belozero survived intact. It is also known that Dionisy painted the iconostasis of the Kamenny Monastery, situated near Vologda. Russian chronicles mention Dionisy’s frescoes adorning cathedrals of the St. Joseph Volokolamsk Monastery  outside Moscow and the Chigasov Monastery  in Moscow.

The art of the eminent icon painter reached its peak at the beginning of the sixteenth century during his work in the Northern Volga monasteries in Belosero and Vologda regions. Then, in 1502, Dionisy together with his sons  created a unique group of frescoes and icons for the Virgin Nativity Cathedral of the St. Ferapont Monastery, the only surviving mural by Dionisy where the artist’s artwork has been preserved practically intact.

According to historical documents, the following works of Dionisy (the dates indicate the year of their painting) are known: 

The St. Paphnutius Borovsk (Pafnutiev-Borovsky) Monastery. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. Between 1467 and 1476 

The Moscow Kremlin. The Cathedral of the Dormition. 1480-1481 

The Saviour Kamenny (Spaso-Kamenny) Monastery. The Saviour Transfiguration Cathedral. 1481 

The Moscow Kremlin. The Ascension Monastery. The Ascension Cathedral. 1482 

The St. Joseph Volokolamsk (Iosifo-Volokolamsky) Monastery. The Cathedral of the Dormition. After 1485 

The Chigasov Monastery. The Saviour Transfiguration Cathedral. The late 1480s 

The St. Paul Obnorsk (Pavlo-Obnorsky) Monastery. The Trinity Cathedral. 1500 

The St. Ferapont Belozero (Ferapontov Belozersky) Monastery. The Cathedral of the Virgin Nativity. 1502 

The St. Cyril Belozero (Kirillo-Belozersky) Monastery. The Dormition Cathedral. 1497 

The Saviour Priluki (Spaso-Prilutsky) Monastery. The Saviour Transfiguration Cathedral. 1503

Andrei Rublev (Russian: Андре́й Рублёв, IPA: [ɐnˈdrʲej rʊˈblʲɵf], also transliterated Andrey Rublyov and other permutations;^[1] born in the 1360s, died 29 January 1427 or 1430 although 17 October, 1428 also commemorated) is considered to be the greatest medievalRussian painter of Orthodox icons and frescoes.

Daniil Chyorny (Russian: Даниил Чёрный) (c. 1360 – 1430) was a Russian monk and icon painter. Together with his companion Andrei Rublev and other painters, Daniil Chyorny worked at the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir(1408) and Trinity Cathedral in the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra in Sergiyev Posad (1420s). Some icons for these cathedrals are believed to have been painted by Daniil Chyorny. The icons of the Assumption Cathedral are currently displayed at theTretyakov Gallery in Moscow and Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

Gury Nikitin (1620, Kostroma, - 1691, Kostroma) was a Russian painter and icon painter. He worked principally on wall paintings and frescos, but also produced icons on wood panels and designed engravings. He was head of the Kostroma Brotherhood of Painters, an artists guild, until his death. In 1653, he is believed^[who?] to have participated in the decoration of the Moscow Church of the Holy Trinity, Nikitinki. Later churches decorated by the Kostroma Brotherhood the Church of Elijah the Prophet in Yaroslavl, the Assumption Cathedral in Rostov, the Holy Savior of St. Yefim Monastery in Suzdal^[1] probably involved Nikitin, however it is very difficult to distinguish his work from that of his associates.^[2]

In 1688, he painted several icons on wood panels for the Patriarch of Antioch, Makarius. He also painted military banners for Tsar Alexeiand designed the engravings of the Koren Picture-Bible.^[3] His work combines biblical themes with carefully observed scenes from life. In his icon painting he adhered to the canon, except in some complex scenes where he borrowed from the iconography of Johannes Piscator's bible.

Simon (Pimen) Fyodorovich Ushakov (Russian: Симон (Пимен) Федорович Ушаков) (1626 – 25 June 1686) was a leadingRussian icon painter of the late 17th-century. Together with Fyodor Zubov and Fyodor Rozhnov, he is associated with the comprehensive reform of the Russian Orthodox Church undertaken by Patriarch Nikon.

Fyodor Zubov (1615 - November 3, 1689), was a Russian painter, engraver, miniaturist and illuminator. Zubov was born in Solikamsk, a member of the noble Zubov family. He began working in Veliky Ustyug and Yaroslavl. In 1662 he moved to Moscow where he worked with Simon Ushakov. His work included icons, illuminated manuscripts, drawings for engravings, and wall paintings. When Ushakov died in 1686, Zubov took over as the Director of the Imperial Workshop of Icon Painters in the Kremlin Armoury.^[1]He died in Moscow, in 1689. Saviour Not Made by Hands, written by Ushakov for the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra in 1658, is a key piece of the 17th-century Muscovite icon-painting.

Bogdan Saltanov (Russian: Богдан Салтанов; 1630s – 1703^[1]), also known as Ivan Ievlevich Saltanov,^[2] was an Armenian-born Russian painter at the court of Alexis I of Russia and his successors. Saltanov headed the painting workshop of the Kremlin Armouryfrom 1686. Saltanov's legacy include Orthodox icons for church and secular use, illuminated manuscripts, secular parsuna portraits including the portraits of Stepan Razin and Feodor III of Russia as a young man (see Attribution problem).

Léonid Alexandrovich Ouspensky (1902–1987) was a famous Russian icon painter and art historian.

He was born in 1902 on his father’s estate in the village of Golaia Snova (now Golosnovka) in the north of the Voronezh region in Russia and died in 1987.^[1]

Ouspensky specialised in both the painting and study of icons. He studied and taught art in Paris.

One of his students was the Egyptian Coptic icon painter and scholar Isaac Fanous.