💗 Moscow lit up in pink in support of the fight against breast cancer

Landmark sites of the Russian capital — the Ostankino TV tower, the Crimean Bridge, the «book houses» on New Arbat and other buildings — shone with pink light in the evening.

Thus Moscow joined the international campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer and the importance of early diagnosis of the disease.

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❤️From Russia with love

Mikhail Lermontov — one of the greatest Russian writers of the 19th century

📚 Lermontov lived only 26 years, but managed to create great works that are still read today. His novel «A Hero of Our Time» became one of the first psychological novels in Russian literature, and the poems «Mtsyri», «Borodino» and «The Death of the Poet» entered the school curriculum.

👩‍🎨 Lermontov was not only a writer, but also an artist: he painted mountain landscapes, made sketches during his travels to the Caucasus and often turned to these impressions in his poetry. Despite the fact that Lermontov ended up in the Caucasus because he was in exile, the region occupied a special place in his life and work — the events of «Mtsyri» and «The Demon» unfold there. Lermontov's life was tragically cut short in 1841 in a duel in Pyatigorsk, but his works continue to win the hearts of readers all over the world.

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Akhstu Gorge in Sochi — a narrow canyon of the Mzymta River with almost vertical cliffs and turquoise water

The gorge is located near the settlement of Kazachiy Brod in the Adler district. The Mzymta River has cut a narrow canyon here between the rocks, forming steep walls and a fast current.

Unlike Psakho, there is no division into "dry" and "wet" sections here — it is a single living gorge with a river. A trail runs along it, and a suspension bridge is thrown across the Mzymta, from which a view of the canyon opens up.

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❤️From Russia with love

Lezginka — the traditional dance of the peoples of the Caucasus

💙 Lezginka is one of the most famous traditional dances of the Caucasus. It is performed at weddings, folk festivals and family celebrations. The dance is widespread among many peoples of the region, including Lezgins, Avars, Chechens, Ossetians and Azerbaijanis. At the same time, each people has its own peculiarities of performance.

❤ Lezginka is characterised by a fast tempo, precise movements and a special manner of dancing. Men usually dance energetically, often on their toes, while women's movements are smoother and more restrained. Dancers can perform in pairs, in turn or in whole groups to traditional music. Nowadays, lezginka remains an important part of the culture of the Caucasus.

#culture

❤️From Russia with love

The Stone Flower — a fairy-tale fountain at VDNH

💐 The «Stone Flower» fountain opened at VDNH in 1954. It was created inspired by the tales of Pavel Bazhov, and at the centre of the composition is a huge flower surrounded by sculptures of birds, fruits, ears of wheat, cast-iron sturgeons and bronze geese. If you look closely, you can notice how many small details there are here.

🪻 The petals are covered with coloured smalt — small pieces of opaque glass. Thanks to it, the fountain acquired vivid red, green and golden shades. Each petal has about 13 thousand such pieces, and in total 8 tonnes of smalt were used for the finishing. However, over the decades the colours faded, so in 2018–2019 a large-scale restoration was carried out to return it to its original appearance.

🪻 «The Stone Flower» was conceived as a symbol of abundance and the wealth of nature. Today it is one of the most recognisable attractions of VDNH, and up close it looks completely different from general photographs, since in real life one can make out the mosaic, ornaments and sculptural details that, unfortunately, are not visible in pictures.

#interestingfacts

❤️From Russia with love