Russia Beyond

Manpupuner, a natural wonder of the Urals Video by: instagram.com/maxkudryashov Russia Beyond

This pink lake in Crimea looks completely unreal! Video by: instagram.com/dem_ev 🔔 Russia Beyond

Why is Andrei Rublev's ‘Trinity’ icon so important? On June 23, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated Holy Trinity Day. And, on the eve of this holiday, Andrei Rublev's famous ‘Trinity’ icon returned to the St. Sergius Trinity Lavra. The icon had been kept in the Tretyakov Gallery from 1929 until 2023, when it was moved to Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. There have always been many heated public discussions about the return of the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church. So, what is so special about Rublev's ‘Trinity’? The iconographer painted this image between 1422 and 1427, specifically for the St. Sergius Trinity Lavra. The icon is based on the biblical story ‘The Hospitality of the Patriarch Abraham’, in which the Lord appeared to Abraham in the form of three travelers. Rublev first proposed just such a visual solution for the plot. He stripped it of secondary detail and turned it into a symbolic representation of the mystery of the Holy Trinity - God being one, but in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Rublev not only created a masterpiece of art, but was the first iconographer to understand and express the three hypostases of God. His icon helped the believers to feel and correctly understand this difficult to comprehend, but extremely important for Orthodoxy, dogma. From that moment, Russian Orthodox iconography was oriented in the depiction of the Holy Trinity precisely how Rublev saw it. 🔔 Russia Beyond

Привет! Russians love going mushroom-picking and cooking cream of mushroom, or serving them with fries. I’ve gathered the most popular mushrooms to pick in Russia! Here is some etymology to remember the names: 🍄 Подосиновик - растёт под осиной (grows under aspen trees) 🍄 Подберёзовик - растет под берёзой (grows under birches) 🍄 Лисички - рыжие, как лиса (red as a fox) 🍄 Белый гриб - белый внутри (white inside) ❓Have you ever tried any of these mushrooms? P.S. More info on this topic here 📷: Ekaterina Smirnova; Marina Bagrova; Marina Bagrova; Anton Nikitinskiy; Evgeniya Petrova; MikhailZykov; Vera Tikhonova/Getty Images #russianclasses

Why was Tolstoy excommunicated from the Church? And what for? On February 24, 1901, the Holy Synod (supreme administrative governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church) shocked Russia, announcing that Leo Tolstoy was a “false teacher” and the Church no longer reckoned him as its member. The event was unprecedented. Excommunication used to be applied to Old Believers or to criminals of the state like ‘False Dmitry’ and rebels like Stepan Razin and Emelyan Pugachev. From 1869 until the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, no one had been excommunicated from the Church, as it was considered too serious a punishment. But, the ultra-popular writer was, indeed, walking on a knife edge and, as we would now say, “offended the feelings” of the Church: he denied the divine origin of Christ, he urged people to pray without priestly intermediaries, he stopped following the rituals of the Church and a whole sect of followers, the ‘Tolstoyans’, developed around him. Tolstoy's religious works were also banned from publication, but this had the opposite effect. Secular society became even more interested in the writer's ideas. However, ironically, Tolstoy was never “officially” excommunicated. The message of the Synod was composed in careful terms, not according to all the canons, so Tolstoy was not technically excommunicated, but, rather, had “fallen away” from the Church like a kind of prodigal son. At the end of the decree, it was even stated that the Church would pray that God would send Tolstoy repentance and turn him back to the holy Church. 📷 Ilya Repin/State Russian Museum 🔔 Russia Beyond

‘Our Lady of Vladimir’ - One of Russia's most worshiped icons Almost every #Russian #church has a recognizable image. According to legend, the first such image was painted by Evangelist Luke himself and the Mother of God blessed that image. Around the year 1130, a copy of Luke's Virgin image was brought from Byzantium to #Russia. The first home of the icon was a monastery in Vyshgorod, not far from Kiev. There are legends about the many miracles that happened with its appearance. It started to be called ‘Vladimirskaya’ after Russian Prince Andrei took it with him to the city of Vladimir. On the way, he had an epiphany of the Mother of God and, since then, the nickname Andrei ‘Bogolyubsky’ (literally “loving God”) has stuck with him. Since then, the icon proved it's wonder-working on numerous occasions. It was even transported to Moscow to protect the city from Timur's invasion. The Mother of God became to be considered as a defender of Russia and the icon finally took its place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. While a highly artistic copy was painted by Andrei Rublev for the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. As time passed, new copies of the icon appeared, also becoming wonder-working. The original 12th century image is held in Tretyakov Gallery, while Rublev's copy is in still in Vladimir's Assumption Cathedral. There is also one highly worshiped medieval copy in the Moscow Kremlin Cathedral. 📷 ‘Vladimir Icon of Our Lady’. The 12th century (c) Tretyakov gallery 🔔 Russia Beyond

Vladivostok Fortress: A masterpiece of military engineering in the Far East Just imagine: 150 kilometers of defense line and almost 10 km of underground galleries! One of the most powerful island fortresses in Russia is located in Vladivostok. It was built on Russky Island near the city in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The main line of defense appeared after the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The fortress had 16 towers and about 50 coastal batteries. All the main structures had underground communication cables and were supplied with electricity. Tunnels and galleries were laid between the towers. The most advanced technologies of the time were used during construction. In Soviet times, the island housed a Pacific Fleet base with artillery batteries, heavy naval guns and radar stations. Today, the fleet is based in Vladivostok and the Vladivostok Fortress Museum is now located on the island. 📸 Legion Media 🔔 Russia Beyond

10 INCREDIBLE Russian monasteries in black & white For almost a year, architectural photographer Mikhail Rozanov traveled around these cloisters, choosing the right time of year for each one. His goal was to capture eternity. - St. Sergius Trinity Lavra, Moscow Region - St. Seraphim Diveyevo Convent, Nizhny Novgorod Region - Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Vologda Region - Verkhoturye St. Nicholas Monastery, Sverdlovsk Region - Posolskiy Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Republic of Buryatia - Optina Monastery, Kaluga Region - Pskov-Caves Monastery, Pskov Region - Abalak Znamensky Monastery, Tyumen Region - Kostomarovo Savior Convent, Voronezh Region - Solovetsky Monastery, Arkhangelsk Region 📷 Mikhail Rozanov/Courtesy of Tretyakov gallery 🔔 Russia Beyond

How the Red Army unleashed a Soviet-style blitzkrieg against the Nazis On June 23, 1944, exactly 80 years ago, the Byelorussian Offensive Operation began. It is also commonly known as ‘Operation Bagration’. The Soviet troops then demonstrated to the Wehrmacht that they had learned the bitter lessons of 1941 and could now effectively use the “lightning war” strategy themselves. The enemy was expecting an offensive in #Ukraine and the Red Army’s powerful strikes in Byelorussia came as a complete surprise. The German defense was broken through and #Soviet tank formations rushed into the gaps. Assault aviation struck the crossings and columns of retreating German troops without interruption, not giving them the opportunity to reorganize or gain a foothold on new defensive lines. At the same time, partisan detachments became more active behind enemy lines. In the course of hostilities, Army Group Center was completely defeated - dozens of German divisions either died in the “cauldrons” or were rendered incapable of further combat. Total Nazi losses amounted to about half a million soldiers. The irrecoverable losses of the Soviet troops, meanwhile, exceeded 178,000 people, with an additional 587,000 wounded. In two months of fighting, the Red Army advanced westward by 550-600 kilometers. It liberated the entire territory of Byelorussia and a significant part of eastern Poland, reaching the approaches to Warsaw and the border of East Prussia. “The art of command, skill and courage of the troops led to the collapse of the strongest German grouping in the Berlin strategic direction,” Marshal Georgy Zhukov said of ‘Bagration’. “The end is approaching...” - is how German General Siegfried Westphal, in turn, described the results of the operation. Credit: Maks Alpert 🔔 Russia Beyond

Bear Supports His Injured Mentor Video by: Ruptly 🔔 Russia Beyond