Russian Federation, Lithuania. Curonian Spit

Date of Inscription: 2000
Criteria: (v)
Localization: N55 16 28.5 E20 57 44.6
Klaipeda Region, Neringa and Klaipeda (Lithuania); Kaliningrad Region, Zelenogradsk District (Russian Federation)
Ref: 994  

 Human habitation of this elongated sand dune peninsula, 98 km long and 0.4-4 km wide, dates back to prehistoric times. Throughout this period it has been threatened by the natural forces of wind and waves. Its survival to the present day has been made possible only as a result of ceaseless human efforts to combat the erosion of the Spit, dramatically illustrated by continuing stabilisation and reforestation projects.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/994

With many thanks to Julia from Kaliningrad!

Russia. Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye

Date of Inscription: 1994
Criteria: (ii)
Moscow, the South District
N55 39 20 E37 40 26
Ref: 634rev  
 
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'). One of the earliest examples of a traditional wooden tent-roofed church on a stone and brick substructure, it had a great influence on the development of Russian ecclesiastical architecture.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/634

Thanks to Julia from Moscow!

Russia. Central Sikhote-Alin

Date of Inscription: 2001
Criteria: (x)
Property : 1553928.0000 ha
Buffer zone: 65250.0000 ha
Ternejski, Krasnoarmejski, Dalnegorski, and Pozharski Districts, Primorski Region
N45 19 60 E136 10 0
Ref: 766rev  
 
The Sikhote-Alin mountain range contains one the richest and most unusual temperate forests of the world. In this mixed zone between taiga and subtropics, southern species such as the tiger and Himalayan bear cohabit with northern species such as the brown bear and lynx. The site stretches from the peaks of Sikhote-Alin to the Sea of Japan and is important for the survival of many endangered species such as the Amur tiger.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/766

With many thanks to Aljona from Primorye, Russia!

Russia. Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad

Date of Inscription: 1993
Criteria: (ii)(iv)
Moscow region, town Sergiev-Posad (ex Zagorsk)
N56 18 37.3 E38 07 52.3
Ref: 657  

This is a fine example of a working Orthodox monastery, with military features that are typical of the 15th to the 18th century, the period during which it developed. The main church of the Lavra, the Cathedral of the Assumption (echoing the Kremlin Cathedral of the same name), contains the tomb of Boris Godunov. Among the treasures of the Lavra is the famous icon, The Trinity, by Andrei Rublev.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/657

Thanks to Tatjana!

Russia. Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl

Date of Inscription: 2005
Criteria: (ii)(iv)
Yaroslavl Oblast
N57 39 10.0 E39 52 34.0
Ref: 1170  

Situated at the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl Rivers some 250 km north-east of Moscow, the historic city of Yaroslavl developed into a major commercial centre from the 11th century. It is renowned for its numerous 17th-century churches and is an outstanding example of the urban planning reform Empress Catherine the Great ordered for the whole of Russia in 1763. While keeping some of its significant historic structures, the town was renovated in the neoclassical style on a radial urban master plan. It has also kept elements from the 16th century in the Spassky Monastery, one of the oldest in the Upper Volga region, built on the site of a pagan temple in the late 12th century but reconstructed over time.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1170

Thanks to Tatjana!

Russia. Cultural and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands

Date of Inscription: 1992
Criteria: (iv)
Property : 28834.0000 ha
Arkhangelsky region, Solovetsky district.
N65 05 E35 40
Ref: 632  

The Solovetsky archipelago comprises six islands in the western part of the White Sea, covering 300 km2. They have been inhabited since the 5th century B.C. and important traces of a human presence from as far back as the 5th millennium B.C. can be found there. The archipelago has been the site of fervent monastic activity since the 15th century, and there are several churches dating from the 16th to the 19th century.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/632

Many thanks to Tatjana!

Russia. Historic and Architectural Complex of the Kazan Kremlin

Date of Inscription: 2000
Criteria: (ii)(iii)(iv)
City of Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan
N55 47 28 E49 05 42
Ref: 980  

Built on an ancient site, the Kazan Kremlin dates from the Muslim period of the Golden Horde and the Kazan Khanate. It was conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552 and became the Christian See of the Volga Land. The only surviving Tatar fortress in Russia and an important place of pilgrimage, the Kazan Kremlin consists of an outstanding group of historic buildings dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, integrating remains of earlier structures of the 10th to 16th centuries.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/980

Thanks to Olga, Irina and Renata! 

Russia. White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal

Suzdal . The Kremlin. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, 13-16th centuries

Vladimir

Date of Inscription: 1992
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)
Vladimir region
N56 09 E40 25
Ref: 633  

These two artistic centres in central Russia hold an important place in the country's architectural history. There are a number of magnificent 12th- and 13th-century public and religious buildings, above all the masterpieces of the Collegiate Church of St Demetrios and the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/633

Thanks to Katja, Galina, Tatjana and Elena!

Russia.Golden Mountains of Altai

Date of Inscription: 1998
Criteria: (x)
Property : 1611457.0000 ha
450 km southwest of Novosibirsk, in the Altai Republic
N50 28 0 E86 0 0
Ref: 768rev

The Altai mountains in southern Siberia form the major mountain range in the western Siberia biogeographic region and provide the source of its greatest rivers – the Ob and the Irtysh. Three separate areas are inscribed: Altaisky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Lake Teletskoye; Katunsky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Mount Belukha; and the Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok plateau. The total area covers 1,611,457 ha. The region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation. The site is also an important habitat for endangered animal species such as the snow leopard.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/768

Thanks to Olga, Maria and Aljona!

Russia. Kizhi Pogost

Date of Inscription: 1990
Criteria: (i)(iv)(v)
Karelian Autonomous S.S.R., Medvezhjegorskij Region
N62 04 17 E35 13 39
Ref: 544

The pogost of Kizhi (i.e. the Kizhi enclosure) is located on one of the many islands in Lake Onega, in Karelia. Two 18th-century wooden churches, and an octagonal clock tower, also in wood and built in 1862, can be seen there. These unusual constructions, in which carpenters created a bold visionary architecture, perpetuate an ancient model of parish space and are in harmony with the surrounding landscape.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/544

Thanks to Tatjana,  Nina and Julia!

Russia. Lake Baikal

Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Property : 8800000.0000 ha
Irkutsk and Chita regions, Republic of Buryatia
N53 10 25 E107 39 45
Ref: 754

Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It contains 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve. Known as the 'Galapagos of Russia', its age and isolation have produced one of the world's richest and most unusual freshwater faunas, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/754

Thanks to Alisa and Nadya!

Russia. Moscow Kremlin and Red Square

Date of Inscription: 1990
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)(vi)
City of Moscow
N55 44 45 E37 37 47
Ref: 545  

Brief Description
Inextricably linked to all the most important historical and political events in Russia since the 13th century, the Kremlin (built between the 14th and 17th centuries by outstanding Russian and foreign architects) was the residence of the Great Prince and also a religious centre. At the foot of its ramparts, on Red Square, St Basil's Basilica is one of the most beautiful Russian Orthodox monuments.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/545

Thanks to all Russian postcrossers who has sent me these cards!

Russia. Ensemble of the Ferrapontov Monastery

Date of Inscription: 2000
Criteria: (i)(iv)
Vologda region
N59 57 0 E38 34 0
Ref: 982

The Ferapontov Monastery, in the Vologda region in northern Russia, is an exceptionally well-preserved and complete example of a Russian Orthodox monastic complex of the 15th-17th centuries, a period of great significance in the development of the unified Russian state and its culture. The architecture of the monastery is outstanding in its inventiveness and purity. The interior is graced by the magnificent wall paintings of Dionisy, the greatest Russian artist of the end of the 15th century.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/982

Russia. Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments

Date of Inscription: 1990Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)(vi)
St. Petersburg region
N59 57 00 E30 19 06
Ref: 540  

The 'Venice of the North', with its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great. Later known as Leningrad (in the former USSR), the city is closely associated with the October Revolution. Its architectural heritage reconciles the very different Baroque and pure neoclassical styles, as can be seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/540

Thanks to all Russian postcrossers who has sent me these cards!