If you enjoy old arcade and video games, the “Museum of Soviet arcade machines” looks like one tourist stop you do not want to miss!  At the museum, foreign tourists will get a look at what gaming was like behind the “Iron Curtain” while Russians might remember playing these games and enjoy the nostalgia. Check out their outstanding site which shows off many of their over 40 arcade games – and even lets you play some of them online! (Tip: You can play more of the games if you enter the Russian version of the site)

Museum of Soviet arcade machines.

Treehugger.com has published a photo gallery of some of the more unusual Metro stations of the Soviet Union. We often see photos of the Moscow Metro, but this photo gallery takes us to the rarely seen stations of Ukraine, Armenia and beyond. It’s well worth a look.

The Unusual Metro Systems of the Soviet Union

“NEW MOON: Reds Launch First Space Satellite”: The First American Newsreel About Sputnik

Leningrad – Nevsky Prospect – 1955 from sonobugiardo on Flickr.

The Russian town of Kalyazin is located on the Volga river north of Moscow (view Kalyazin on Google Maps).  This town of about 15,000 people was founded in 1134 but most of the historical city is now under water. In 1940, most the town was flooded during the creation of the Uglich Reservoir.  While most of the town was relocated to higher ground, the bell tower of the Makaryevsky monastery can still be seen sticking out of the Volga.  Here are some historical and modern photos of Kalyazin.

Kalyazin – on Yandex Photos

Kalyazin – on Yandex Photos

Bell tower in Kalyazin on Yandex Photos.

“Invitation to a tour …” on Yandex Photos.

Belfry by peterdanilov on Flickr.

You can see many more photos on Yandex Photos and Flickr.

Flickr user SebastianBerlin recently published this beautiful picture of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan in Kolomenskoye, Russia.

Kolomenskoje by SebastianBerlin on Flickr.

“The cost of producing a kopeck is now 45 times higher than the value of the coin itself, which is equal to one hundredth of a rouble or one hundredth of $0.32. A five-kopeck coin costs 69 kopecks to make.”

via Russia’s kopeck coin may soon be scrap metal -FT.com.

We often see pictures of beautiful Russian monasteries and churches online. Recently, these photos caught our eye. These photo of the Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery show the real progress that has been made in restoring Russia’s many historic churches and monasteries. Compare these recent photos to the ones found on the monastery’s website and read about the incredible 300-year history of the Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery.

Раифа Raifa by Paprikash27 on Flickr.

by diletant28 on Yandex Photos

Historical photos from raifa.ru

Flickr user izvetlana recently posted a fascinating photo set of bears fishing on the Kuril Islands. Here are a few samples of these fantastic photos of the amazing Russian bear.

Kuril islands by izvetlana.

clutches by izvetlana.

The winner by izvetlana.

by izvetlana.

White night in St Petersburg by ErikAnna on Flickr.