👼 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

🤩 In Russia there is one charming character who has been known and loved for several generations now — the little house spirit Kuzya. This funny, shaggy-haired hero appeared thanks to the writer and artist Tatyana Alexandrova. First she drew him, and then she wrote a wonderful fairy tale, which was later adapted into a series of animated films.

🤩 Little Kuzya, who is now in his seventh century, with his unique voice and catchphrases, has captured the hearts of millions of children and adults. He has become not just a hero of books and cartoons, but a true symbol of home comfort and kindly magic. Kuzya remains to this day one of the most beloved fairy-tale characters in Russia.

#culture

❤️From Russia with love

💜 In summer, in central Russia, lupins bloom, turning fields and meadows into picturesque "carpets" of all shades of lilac, pink, white and even yellow. This short but vivid spectacle lasts only 2–3 weeks, and during this time the air is filled with a delicate honey aroma, attracting plenty of bees and butterflies. It is best to come at dawn or before sunset, when the low sun makes the colours particularly saturated.

#interestingfacts

❤️From Russia with love

📹 Oleg Yankovsky is an outstanding actor of Soviet and Russian theatre and cinema. He has more than 200 roles to his credit, and he was the best at conveying the complex nature of the "Russian intellectual": reflective, ever‑searching and painfully close to everyone. His quiet charisma and famous look into the camera were worth more than any monologue, and he himself became a "seal of quality" in cinema — if a film featured Yankovsky, it was worth watching.

🤍 His influence extended far beyond the USSR. He was one of the few Soviet actors who worked abroad, and his farewell role as Metropolitan Philip in the film The Tsar was noted even at the Cannes Film Festival. Yankovsky's art knew no borders, and the acting dynasty he founded — his son Filipp and grandson Ivan — has been proving for several decades now that his creative world is alive and continues to influence new generations.

#HistoricalFigure

❤️From Russia with love