📹 "Operation 'Y' and Other Adventures of Shurik" is not just a comedy, but a true symbol of the era, filmed by Leonid Gaidai in 1965. The movie consists of three independent novellas, united by one main character, the ever‑cheerful student Shurik, who gets into the most absurd situations.

🎞 Each novella is a little comedic masterpiece. In its first year of release, the film was watched by almost 40 million viewers, and Shurik himself became a cult hero, embodying kindness, resourcefulness and optimism. This light, kind and funny picture still remains one of Russia's favourite comedies, rewatched with great pleasure from generation to generation.

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❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺 The Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo became the last family church of the House of Romanov: it was built for the 300th anniversary of the dynasty, and it was here that the imperial family prayed before leaving for Tobolsk in 1917. The austere appearance of the church in the Neo-Russian style resembles an ancient fortress: it was conceived as a regimental church for the Tsar’s escort, not as a grand palace cathedral.

🇷🇺 During the First World War, a hospital ward was set up here, where nurses, under the guise of bandaging material, saved the imperial banners and relics from possible seizure. The very Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, which gave the cathedral its name, was the same one with which Mikhail Romanov, the first representative of the dynasty, was blessed for the throne. Thus the church brought the history of an entire dynasty full circle.

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❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺 When he bought the Norman Château Gabriel in 1983, Yves Saint Laurent entrusted its interiors not to French classicism but to Russian style. The walls of this secluded estate were decorated with icons, matryoshkas and structural elements reminiscent of terems (Russian tower-houses) — thus the designer recreated the atmosphere of an "Eastern fairy tale" that had always enchanted him.

🇷🇺 Saint Laurent, who worshipped Diaghilev's ballets and the textures of Russian costumes, turned the château into a sanctuary for the soul. Here, among samovars and gold embroidery, he loved to hide away from the hustle and bustle of Paris.

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❤️From Russia with love

💦 Talnikovy Waterfall is the main gem of the Putorana Plateau and, by various estimates, the highest waterfall in Russia (its height reaches 600–700 metres). It does not fall as a single stream, but cascades down sheer basalt steps, creating around itself a dense veil of spray and mist that is visible for many kilometres. It can only be reached by helicopter.

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❤️From Russia with love