🌅 Nizhny Novgorod is the capital of sunsets. The city stands at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga, and the sunsets here come about thanks to the open horizon and the height of the riverbank. The view from the Chkalov Stairs or from the cable car takes in both the river and the city, and it really is noticeably different from flatland cities.

🌅 Locals stopped paying attention to it long ago, but tourists almost always linger on the embankment before eight in the evening. The light changes over the course of about thirty minutes, then it quickly gets dark and the bridges light up.

#interestingplacesofRussia

❤️From Russia with love

🎥 Mikhail Boyarsky is not just a People's Artist, but a genuine symbol of Russian culture. His cult role as D'Artagnan in the film The Three Musketeers has become one of the most recognisable in world cinema, and the songs he performs, including the legendary "Lanfren‑lanfra", are known and hummed by viewers all over the globe.

🎸 Over the course of a creative career spanning more than 50 years, Boyarsky has appeared in dozens of films and recorded over 600 songs, becoming an inseparable part of the cultural code of several generations. His outstanding contribution to the development of art has been marked with the highest state award — the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class.

#HistoricalFigure

❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺 Sabantuy is an ancient Turkic holiday marking the end of spring field work, still widely celebrated by the Tatars, Bashkirs and other peoples of the Volga region. Its name translates as “festival of the plough”, and the main idea is the celebration of the land, labour and a bountiful harvest. The festivities take place in summer, usually on an open meadow, and gather the whole village, from the youngest to the oldest.

🇷🇺 The highlight of the programme is the merry sporting contests: national belt wrestling (köräsh), running with a yoke and buckets, climbing a tall pole for a prize, stick pulling and sack fighting with hay‑filled bags. All this is accompanied by music, singing and treats. Sabantuy remains a symbol of unity, daring and generosity.

#holidaysOfRussia

❤️From Russia with love

👼 Right opposite the Kremlin, on the Sofiyskaya Embankment, stands the Church of Sophia the Wisdom of God. Its history is closely linked to Moscow's victory over Novgorod: it was built at the end of the 15th century to commemorate this event and was named after the main church of the conquered city.

☦️ The first wooden church burned down in the terrible fire of 1493, and the stone church was built by local gardeners in 1682. Incidentally, its bell tower with the church of the icon "Seeking of the Lost" appeared much later, only in 1868. In the 20th century, the church endured closure and neglect, but in 2004 services were resumed there.

#interestingfacts

❤️From Russia with love

🎤 Lev Leshchenko is the possessor of one of the most recognisable voices of the Soviet Union. His powerful, velvety baritone is forever inscribed in the history of Soviet music and culture. "Den Pobedy" (Victory Day) is the main symbol of 9 May and an "anthem" for millions. This song has become a cultural code that unites generations.

✨ Lev Leshchenko's influence extends far beyond the borders of a single country. His triumph at the international Sopot festival in 1972 and his victory at Bulgaria's "Golden Orpheus" brought him worldwide recognition. He represented Soviet culture on the world's biggest stages, and the song he performed at the closing ceremony of the Moscow 1980 Olympics became part of global history.

#HistoricalFigure

❤️From Russia with love