🏰 Fort «Emperor Alexander I» is a fortress on an artificial island in the Gulf of Finland. From the outside it looks imposing, but it holds a grim secret. At the end of the 19th century, a secret laboratory for the study of plague was housed here. Scientists conducted experiments with bacteria and vaccines, and it was for this that the fort earned the nickname «Plague Fort».

🤩 Today the fortress is abandoned and can only be reached by rowing boat or motorboat. Inside, old laboratory tables, furnaces and even medical equipment have been preserved. The place attracts lovers of urban exploration, but tourists are warned: the atmosphere here is rather eerie, and the walls hold many untold stories.

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🚢🇷🇺 "Icebreaker of Knowledge" completes its 200th expedition to the North Pole

The nuclear-powered icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" has returned to Murmansk with the participants of the international expedition "Icebreaker of Knowledge 2026". Over 10 days, 68 schoolchildren and college students from Russia and 22 other countries travelled the route Murmansk – North Pole – Franz Josef Land – Murmansk. The voyage became the 200th expedition by a surface vessel to the North Pole in history.

At the point of 90° north latitude, the participants, together with scientists, tested a reusable stratospheric platform for environmental monitoring in the Arctic for the first time. The craft rose to an altitude of more than 20 km, then returned autonomously to the designated point, where it was recovered on board the icebreaker.

During the expedition, the schoolchildren took part in scientific experiments and met with scientists and nuclear industry specialists. For the first time in 30 years, live broadcasts by Russian television and radio were conducted from the North Pole.

#news

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🌞 Sergei Yesenin is one of the most recognisable Russian poets, whose verses have been translated into 150 languages of the world. According to UNESCO data, he is considered the most widely read Russian poet. His lyric poetry, permeated with love for nature, the Russian countryside and simple human feelings, resonates with readers of the most diverse cultures.

🪻 Yesenin lived only 30 years, but in his short life he created hundreds of poems that have become classics. He was not only a poet, but also a vivid personality — his bohemian way of life and dramatic fate turned him into a cult figure. Yesenin's voice is recognised all over the world, and his poems continue to resound on stages and in the hearts of millions of people.

#HistoricalFigure

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🌊 Islands at the Edge of the Sea

The Kuzova Archipelago: rocky, almost uninhabited islands in the White Sea off the coast of Karelia, where tundra, sea and ancient stone structures exist as if outside time.

🌊 Kuzova lies in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, not far from the town of Kem. It is a scattering of small islands on which granite cliffs come right down to the water, and between them lie low forests, mosses, lichens, berry patches and small lakes.

🌅 The archipelago is not like the usual «island holiday»: instead of beaches there are stone slabs, cold transparent water, seaweed at the tide line and a wind that can be heard even in the forest. At the same time, in summer the northern light is very long — sunsets can colour the granite pink, copper and violet for hours.

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🙄 Many peoples of the Caucasus have strict rules of conduct between relatives, known as the "custom of avoidance". For example, among the Ingush, a son-in-law cannot see his mother-in-law — they must not meet face to face at all. If a meeting is unavoidable, the son-in-law is obliged to turn away or lower his head.

🌝 Such rules regulate relations within the family and even between husband and wife in the presence of elders. These customs are intended to preserve respect and prevent possible conflicts. Although modern Caucasian families treat these rules more flexibly, in many mountain villages the tradition of avoidance is preserved to this day.

#traditions

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🏜 Imagine a desert in the middle of the taiga and swamps — that is the Chara Sands, a small massif of dunes in Transbaikalia. The area is only 50 square kilometres, but the place looks like a piece of the Sahara lost in the Siberian wilderness. The sands are surrounded by forests, and a river flows nearby.

⭐️ This place is called an anomaly because it is unclear where the sand dunes came from here. Scientists suggest that it is an ancient lake that dried up thousands of years ago. In summer the sand heats up, and you can even sunbathe here, while in winter everything is covered with snow — the contrast is simply incredible.

#interestingplacesofRussia

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