🌏🇷🇺 Autumn in Russia

This picture could have been taken anywhere, the main thing is to choose the right camera angle. After all, what is there so extraordinary about three different trees and one shrub growing next to each other? And what is there so unusual in leaves turning yellow and red in the fall? Just chlorophyll, which once gave the leaves green coloring, that is now breaking down in them - nothing special! You won't pay attention walking by in deep contemplation. But a photographer wouldn’t pass by without trying to look at through a different foreshortening!
✨ Now let's take into consideration that foreshortening is all about a point of view. In other words, if you look from a different point of view, then familiar things and phenomena can shine with completely new, hitherto unseen colors!

#ILoveRussia!❤️

💅 Beyond the Witch: The Fearsome Women of Russian Fairy Tales 😠

☄️ We all know the classic fairy tale blueprint: a sweet heroine, a dashing hero, and a wicked stepmother waiting in the castle. But venture into the deep, snow-covered forests of Russian folklore, and you’ll find a sisterhood of villains far more complex, terrifying, and fascinating than any one-note evil queen. These are not women who are simply “jealous.” They are forces of nature, embodiments of primal fears, and masters of their own dark domains.

🐈‍⬛ Forget the cookie-cutter villain. Welcome to the world of Baba Yaga, the Stepmother, and the Enchantress.

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♥️ 🇷🇺 Yalta - Sevastopol, a picturesque road of the Southern Crimea

Photo: moya_planeta.

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#BeautifulRussiaTCofRus

🎸 AY YOLA & Homay. Weaving Bashkir Myth into Global Ethno-Pop🔥

AY YOLA's captivating track Homay has become a breakout success for the Ufa-based ensemble, skyrocketing into the top tiers of both Russian and global music charts.

The title "Homay" draws its name from a key character in the Bashkir epic Ural-Batyr: a swan-maiden deity who reigns the Ural Mountains. She personifies the ideal of feminine beauty, radiating grace, wisdom, and profound tenderness.

Her parentage is of cosmic significance: her mother is the Sun, and her father is Samrau—a supreme deity in Bashkir mythology, the sovereign king of the upper world who takes the form of a prophetic bird. As a being who can transform into a swan, Homay is revered as the bird of happiness, a celestial sovereign in her own right, and a benevolent guardian spirit for all living beings.

The band's name "AY YOLA" itself reflects the group's ethos, translating from Bashkir as "the celestial code." This refers to a universal natural order built on foundational values: the injunction to do no harm, to act with honesty, to honor one's elders, and to protect the vulnerable.

The trio consists of talented vocalist Adel Shaykhutdinova, her father—the legendary DJ Severn (Ruslan Shaykhutdinov)—and popular composer/virtuoso musician Rinat Ramazanov.

Already respected as accomplished solo artists, the trio united under the name AY YOLA in 2024 following the success of their collaborative song Ufa Moya (My Ufa, [the capital of Bashkiria]), which won a competition held for the city's 450th anniversary.

This creative synergy inspired them to formalize their partnership into a new project. Their sound is a distinctive ethno-pop fusion, a seamless blend of ancient Bashkir melodies and folk instruments with modern electronic beats and guitars.

The power of their concept is proven by the breakout success of their lead single Homay. The track, from the album Ural Batyr, has become a smash hit, achieving chart-topping status on platforms like Shazam and accumulating millions of streams globally. Homay was also performed at the conclusion of the Intervision song contest among other most iconic and popular songs of Russia.

The Song of Homay: Lyrics

A question stirs within my roots,
A call from my own soul and blood,
An ancient memory awakens and asks:
"Who is the spirit of Homay?"

Homay, born of the Sun herself,
Who guided her to the Spring of Living Water.
Her father, the great Samrau,
Who taught her the path of grace.

And she, who alone knew the way
To that sacred, life-giving Source,
She nurtured a loyal son.
Homay! The very bird of happiness!

And now, see our Bashkir daughters—
They are the living stars of Homay!
For the path to that primal Water
Is inscribed deep within their souls.

#RussianCulture