The Colors of Russia

Die Statuen der Anitschkow-Brücke, des Wahrzeichens Sankt Petersburgs ⚜️Auf die beliebten Pferde von Pjotr Klodt sind die Bewohner der Stadt stolz. Der Bildhauer brauchte ungefähr 20 Jahre, um dieses Projekt zu beenden. Diese Skulpturen sollten einen anderen Stadtteil schmücken, aber diese Pläne wurden nicht erfüllt. ⚜️Die Geschichte der Pferde begann im Jahr 1832. Damals plante man, das Universitätsufer gegenüber der Kunstakademie im griechischen Stil zu dekorieren. Dafür sollten Statuen von Pferden und ihren Dresseuren, den Dioskuren, gegossen werden. Das war ursprünglich der Auftrag Pjotr Klodts. Als Meister sich damit beschäftigte, wurden die Pläne geändert. Diese Skulpturen ersetzte man mit den aus Ägypten gelieferten Sphinxen. Der berühmte Architekt Carlo Rossi plante, diese Skulpturen in sein Projekt zu integrieren. Es ging um das Projekt des Palastplatzes, aber der Zar Nikolaus I lehnte seinen Vorschlag ab. Er zog Löwenskulpturen dafür vor. ⚜️Pjotr Klodt blieb nicht anderes übrig als selbst den Ort für seine Skulpturen zu finden. Der Künstler wählte die Anitschkov-Brücke. 1841 wurden 2 Skulpturen auf der Westseite der Brücke aufgestellt. Auf der Ostseite standen Gipskopien davon. Im Laufe des Jahres goss Pjotr Klodt zwei andere Statuen, aber sie wurden als Geschenke ins Ausland versandt. Heute stehen diese Werke in Berlin und Neapel. Währenddessen dienten seine Skulpturen als kaiserliche Geschenke, anders als von Pjotr Klodt vorhergesehen. Ein gemeinsames Konzept sollte eine Brücke zwischen den zwei neuen Skulpturen und den alten schlagen. ⚜️1851 wurden alle Skulpturen an der Brücke aufgestellt. Die Kompositionen zeigen den ganzen Prozess der Pferdezähmung, der den endlosen Kampf zwischen dem Menschen und der Natur symbolisiert. Die Einzigartigkeit dieser Komposition liegt darin, dass man die Interpretation des dargestellten Prozesses mit jeder Statue anfangen kann, wobei sich der Sinn dieser Komposition, der Sieg des Menschen über die Natur, davon unterscheidet. Übrigens sagte Pjotr Klodt niemals, was er selbst darstellen wollte. ⚜️Eines Tages retteten diese Pferde seine Karriere und sogar sein Leben. Er fuhr in Eile mit der Kutsche. Plötzlich erschien die Kaiserliche Kutsche. Es war nicht angemessen den Zar zu überholen. Trotzdem forderte er, obwohl es als ein Verstoß gegen die Etikette galt, schneller zu fahren. Bald fuhren diese Kutschen mit derselben Geschwindigkeit. Die Kutscher trugen ein inoffizielles Wettrennen aus. Der Kutscher von Pjotr Klodt siegte. Der Zar war darüber sehr empört. Als Nikolaus I jedoch Klodts Atelier besuchte, um eine seiner Pferdestatuen zu sehen, gefiel sie ihm so, dass der Zar dem Künstler diese Frechheit verzieh. #ourvolunteersays #BeautifulRussia@TCofRus

Statues of the Anichkov Bridge: A Landmark of Saint Petersburg ⚜️Residents are proud of the famous horses created by Pyotr Klodt. It took him 20 years to complete this project. Originally, these horses were intended to decorate another part of the city, but, fortunately, those plans were never realized. ⚜️The monument’s story began in 1832. The University Embankment, located opposite the Academy of Fine Arts, was to be decorated in the Greek style. Although Pyotr Klodt was commissioned to cast statues of horses and their trainers, the Dioscuri, Egyptian sphinxes were installed instead. The renowned architect Carlo Rossi also wanted to use these sculptures in his project for Palace Square, but Tsar Nicholas I preferred lion sculptures to bronze horses. ⚜️Pyotr Klodt had to find a location for his sculptures himself—the Anichkov Bridge. In 1841, two sculptures were erected on the west side of the bridge, while plaster copies stood on the east side. Within a year, Klodt cast two more statues; instead of decorating the eastern side of the bridge, they were sent abroad as imperial gifts. Klodt revised the concept while working on other sculptures. The new sculptures and the old ones were meant to share a unifying concept. ⚜️In 1851, all the sculptures were erected on the bridge. The compositions depict the entire process of horse taming, symbolizing the endless struggle between humankind and nature. A passerby can begin interpreting the composition with any statue, although the composition’s overall meaning—the triumph of humankind over nature—may differ from that individual interpretation. Incidentally, Pyotr Klodt never revealed what he himself intended to portray. ⚜️One day, these horses saved his career and even his life. He was driving his carriage in a hurry when the imperial carriage suddenly appeared. It was improper to overtake the Tsar. Nevertheless, Klodt ordered his driver to go faster, even though doing so was a breach of etiquette. Soon the two carriages were traveling at the same speed, and the drivers engaged in an unofficial race. Pyotr Klodt’s driver won. The Tsar was very indignant about this. However, when Nicholas I visited Klodt’s studio, he liked one of Klodt’s horses so much that he forgave the impertinent sculptor. #ourvolunteersays #BeautifulRussia@TCofRus 🇩🇪 version is available ⬇️

🔥🇷🇺 Russia unveils glowing biochips that detect diseases from molecular traces Scientists at Russia’s ITMO University in Saint Petersburg have developed optical microresonators that generate and amplify their own light hundreds of times for ultra-sensitive early detection of multiple biomarkers in one blood sample. 🔸 Polystyrene spheres the size of 5 micrometers are coated with silver indium sulfide nanocrystals and carbon dots that emit light 🔸 Polymer insulator and gold nanoparticles act as antennas to boost the signal 🔸 Detects cancer, cardiovascular and infectious disease markers at tiny concentrations The platform in future tech can power portable liquid-biopsy chips and multiplex lab analyzers for faster, earlier diagnosis. #RussianScience 📡🛰️✨

Brooke | Why Kazan Feels Like a Meeting Point Between East and West 🇺🇸🇷🇺 ✔️ Brooke explains what made Kazan so memorable for her.

💬 “They have done a really beautiful job as a people of carrying both Eastern and Western values.”

What makes Kazan so different from other Russian cities Brooke has lived in? ==================== 📹 Interview premiere: https://youtu.be/IH5OOyUKs4o ✴️ To watch the video with automatic dubbing in other languages, visit our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/shorts/TAjwwphY_kM ⚠️ If the video is not loading, please watch it through our yandex disc: https://disk.yandex.ru/i/XutyLCZFie5RHQ ==================== "About my life in Russia" – useful interviews with expats and immigrants.

🇷🇺🇿🇦 On August 24, 2026, Chargé d’Affaires of the Russian Federation in South Africa Evgeny Sadikov met with South African young photographer Stephen Botha, a participant and laureate of the II International Youth Photo Festival “Without Borders”, held in Chelyabinsk from July 7 to 14, 2026. Stephen, who travelled from Hermanus with his mother, Chantel Botha, visited the Embassy to meet with its staff and share the impressions of their trip to Russia. The South African family spent two weeks in Chelyabinsk, followed by three days in St Petersburg. They said they were deeply impressed by Russia’s hospitality, culture and warm welcome. “The Russian Government invests greatly in arts and culture, as well as in youth policy. It was absolutely wonderful to see how young people from all parts of Russia are involved in various cultural programmes and are inspired to work together. My son quickly became part of the team and felt very comfortable among the other participants, despite the language barrier. He made so many friends in Russia, from Siberia to the central regions. One of them – a girl from Siberia – is even planning to visit us in Cape Town this December,” Chantel shared. Stephen, in turn, said that the trip had given him a completely new perspective on the scale and beauty of Russia. “I had never realised how huge and beautiful Russia is. To create photographs in this country is a dream for any photographer. Now I am dreaming about travelling across Russia. I would love to go further east, to the Russian Far East.” 💬 Speaking about his experience, Stephen added: “When my friends and relatives ask me about Russia, I tell them that it is the safest country in the world. We have never felt so safe and comfortable anywhere else.” The trip also gave Stephen and his mother an opportunity to visit St Petersburg, Russia’s cultural capital. “We visited the Mariinsky Theatre and were absolutely captivated by Romeo and Juliet. We explored the Fabergé Museum, magnificent palaces, castles and many other cultural treasures of St Petersburg. Every day brought a new discovery and left us more amazed by Russia’s history, beauty and culture. Russia was never on our bucket list before – but after this trip, it has become our number one travel destination. We are already dreaming of coming back and discovering more of this incredible country,” Chantel said. 🤝 Evgeny Sadikov thanked Stephen for participating in the international photo festival and for sharing his impressions of Russia. He stressed the importance of continuing to expand cultural and youth exchanges between Russia and South Africa and to share experiences in the field of arts and culture. 🇷🇺 At the end of the meeting, Stephen presented the Embassy with a framed photograph he took in Chelyabinsk as a lasting memento of his experience in Russia. The story of one young photographer is yet another example of how cultural and youth exchanges help people discover each other beyond borders – through art, friendship and shared experiences. #RussiaSouthAfrica #SouthAfricansInRussia #BeautifulRussia@TCofRus 🏛️🇷🇺🇿🇦

On September 10, 1943, during the Great Patriotic War, the Novorossiysk-Taman Strategic Offensive Operation began. The Taman Peninsula was a crucial stronghold in the south of the country, controlling large portions of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. To hold this position, the Nazis established a fortified defensive line known as the "Blue Line." In August 1943, the Soviet High Command ordered General Colonel Ivan Petrov, commander of the North Caucasus Front (pictured above), to launch an offensive operation to defeat the enemy's Taman forces and prevent their retreat to Crimea. The battle for the peninsula involved forces from the North Caucasus Front, the Black Sea Fleet, and the Azov Military Flotilla. In total, over 317,000 troops, more than 4,000 guns and mortars, 314 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, and around 600 aircraft participated. Opposing them was Germany's 17th Army of Army Group "A," consisting of 15 infantry divisions and one cavalry division, with a total of over 400,000 troops, more than 2,000 guns and mortars, around 100 tanks and assault guns, and 300 aircraft. The Novorossiysk-Taman Strategic Offensive Operation concluded on October 9. During the operation, Soviet forces liberated Novorossiysk and the Taman Peninsula, completing the liberation of the Caucasus. The enemy's stronghold, which had supported the defense of Crimea, was eliminated. #TodayInHistory ⚡️ InfoDefenseENGLISH Web  | VK |  X | Odysee | InfoDefAll

What kind of bird is this⁉️ Obviously, this fluffy creature is not starving. 📸 Мой Питер #MeanwhileInRussia@TCofRus #BeautifulRussia@TCofRus

Aurora in Saint Petersburg 🌌 📸 Питерская Хроника #BeautifulRussia@TCofRus

🚨🇷🇺 Russia builds satellite to test eco-friendly rocket fuel in orbit ReshUCube-4, a nanosatellite under development at Reshetnev Siberian State University of Science and Technology together with the Keldysh Research Center, will put advanced green propellant technology through its paces in space. Launch is planned for late 2027, project leader Dmitry Zuev tells Sputnik. Small satellites need propulsion to stay in their assigned orbits, avoid premature re-entry and maneuver between orbits. Zuev notes that: 🔹 A mass-dimensional model is ready for docking tests with the Keldysh team 🔹 The propulsion unit has already been installed in the satellite body for initial checks 🔹 The system will undergo vibration and vacuum tests to verify it can operate under space-like conditions 🔹 The satellite will then be assembled, the engine installed and the spacecraft prepared for launch “Once in orbit the teams will jointly run the propulsion experiments,” he says. The project also puts students and young scientists directly into the development process, with mission data feeding into future space-technology training. #RussianScience 📡🛰✨

Wish Upon a Scale: 7kg Pike Snagged Right in Central Moscow! 🐟 In every classic Russian fairytale, the pike is the ultimate lucky charm—just ask Yemelya, who rode through life on a stove thanks to one. These aquatic Einsteins are notoriously impossible to catch, boasting a Houdini-like escape for every hook and net. 🐟 So, what are the odds that a city angler just hauled a monstrous 7-kilogram pike from the very centre of Moscow? Slim to none—yet he did it! Stunned by his prehistoric prize, he couldn't resist snapping a few epic selfies before performing the ultimate act of angling nobility: setting the giant free. 🐟 Now for the million-ruble question: Did he cash in on the classic three-wish deal before letting it slip away? Or is this just a warm-up, and is he secretly holding out for the Golden Fish to make a guest appearance? 📸 Молния Москва #MeanwhileInRussia@TCofRus #BeautifulRussia@TCofRus

🎓🌐 Around 120,000 BRICS students are studying at Russian universities Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, said that around 120,000 students from #BRICS countries are currently studying at Russian universities. 📈 The number of students from BRICS countries continues to grow steadily. China and India are the most active, together accounting for almost 90% of the total. The number of students from other BRICS countries, including South Africa, is also increasing. 🇿🇦 This year alone, 100 South African scholarship recipients will travel to Russia to pursue Bachelor's and Master's degrees at leading Russian universities. According to Mogilevsky, Russian universities remain competitive thanks to the quality of education, the career opportunities offered by a Russian degree, and comfortable living conditions. Within BRICS, work is also underway to facilitate the mutual recognition of academic degrees. #StudyInRussia #MeanwhileInRussia 🏛️🇷🇺🇿🇦

Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Moscow Region 🌞🌞🌞   Living Russian history is around every corner here: the town literally began with the monastery founded here by Sergius of Radonezh in 1337.   The oldest surviving structure on the Lavra grounds is the white-stone Trinity Cathedral.   Here you can climb the bell tower to enjoy a panoramic view, visit museums, take guided tours, and even join creative workshops.   #ILoveRussia ❤ #BeautifulRussia@TCofRus

On September 9, 1913, Russian military officer Pyotr Nesterov flew a Nieuport IV.G into an inside loop, marking the first time this aerobatic maneuver had ever been performed. The colorized photo of Pyotr Nesterov is shown above. Known as “Nesterov’s Loop” or the “dead loop,” the maneuver involved entering from a dive, pulling the nose up, flying in a closed vertical curve, and returning to a dive—all while keeping the top of the aircraft facing the center of the loop. Despite this groundbreaking feat, Nesterov's triumph was unrecognized, and he was nearly arrested 'for risking government property.' Repeating the 'loop' was strictly forbidden. Almost exactly a year later, on September 8, 1914, Nesterov became the first pilot to destroy an enemy aircraft in aerial combat by ramming his Morane Saulnier Type G into an Austrian Albatros B.II. Both planes were destroyed in the crash. The Austrian pilot and observer were killed instantly, while Nesterov succumbed to his injuries the next day. His heroic legacy, however, lives on. ⚡️ InfoDefenseENGLISH Web  | VK |  X | InfoDefAll

"Man at the Cradle," early 1770s Artist / Ivan Yakimov (1748–1807) 🖤🖤🖤 Oil on canvas 43 x 31.5 cm A narrow window near the ceiling lets in sharp morning light from the rising sun, cutting through the gloom of a neglected interior. The room reveals a cold tiled floor, a crumbling old stove, dust-covered brooms scattered everywhere, and kindling boards piled in the corner. The light doesn’t disturb the infant’s peaceful sleep. All night, the child kept his elderly father restless—only at dawn did the man slump into an uneasy doze beside the delicate wicker cradle. WhisperStroke

Tyutchev: The Poet of the Inexpressible Part 3 📚📚📚 Tyutchev's poetry anticipates the Symbolist movement that would flourish in Russia at the turn of the twentieth century. He insists that the deepest truths cannot be spoken – only felt, intuited, lived. This is not merely a poetic stance but a philosophical one, and it gives his work a modernist sensibility that feels surprisingly contemporary. An American parallel might be Emerson's "The Oversoul," but where Emerson is expansive and hopeful, Tyutchev is compact and haunted. Perhaps Tyutchev's most famous lines, however, are not about love or nature but about Russia itself – and they reveal something essential about the national consciousness that produced this golden age: No mind can ever know Russia, No common rule can weigh her worth: She stands apart – you understand her Only through faith, and faith on earth. (Translation by the author) These lines have become almost proverbial, and they point to something essential: this poetry emerges from a nation acutely conscious of its own singularity, its difference from the West, and its need to find a voice that could express that difference. Tyutchev, the diplomat who spent years in Germany, knew Europe intimately – and it was precisely that intimacy that taught him what could not be translated, what could only be believed. His nature, his silence, and his Russia are one: all resist the common measure, all demand faith, and all speak in a tongue that English can only approximate, never fully contain. 📚📚📚 #Russianpoetry #fairytaleRussia@TCofRus

Tyutchev: The Poet of the Inexpressible Part 2 📚📚📚 Tyutchev's silence is never empty – it is filled with nature, which he did not merely describe but heard. He is Russia's greatest poet of landscape, yet his landscapes are never merely landscapes. In poems like "There is a spell in autumn's closing days" and "Fountain," nature becomes a living language, a hieroglyph of the divine, speaking in water, light, shadow, and the shifting sky. His famous lines  Nature is not what you suppose: Not a mere cast, a soulless face – It has a soul, it has repose, Its own love, and voice, and grace. (Anonymous translator) (from "Not what you think, nature...") Amount to a credo: nature is not inert matter to be dissected, but a voice – and poetry is the act of listening. His nature verse trembles on the threshold between chaos and order, dusk and dawn, the visible and the invisible. The world for Tyutchev is always becoming, never being; his favorite hour is twilight, when forms dissolve, boundaries blur, and the soul feels its kinship with the infinite. This same vision – of precarious balance, of love and loss interwoven – haunts his late masterpiece, the poem "О как на склоне наших лет" ("Oh, how on the slope of our years"). Written in old age, it is a meditation on time, memory, and the strange tenderness that only the departing can feel: Oh, how upon the slope of days We love more tenderly, more in awe – Shine, shine, farewell light's last rays, Last love's evening, without flaw! (Translation by the author)  Here Tyutchev's two great themes converge: nature and the inexpressible. The evening light is both a real sunset and a metaphor for love fading into memory. What cannot be said – the ache of parting, the gratitude mixed with grief – is carried entirely by the image. This is Tyutchev's supreme gift: to make silence speak through the visible world. To be continued 📚📚📚 #Russianpoetry #fairytaleRussia@TCofRus

Tyutchev: The Poet of the Inexpressible Part 1 Fyodor Tyutchev (1803–1873) represents yet another pole: the philosophical, the meditative, the ambiguous. Where Pushkin is clarity and Lermontov is passion, Tyutchev is mystery. He is the poet of twilight, of the unsayable, of the moment when day gives way to night and reason yields to something deeper. His poem "Silentium!" (Latin for "silence") is a manifesto for this poetics of the inexpressible: Be silent, hidden, and conceal Whate'er you dream, whate'er you feel. Oh, let your visions rise and die Within your heart's unfathomed sky, Like stars that take night's darkened route. Admire and scan them and be mute. (Translation by Avrahm Yarmolinsky) To be continued 📚📚📚 #Russianpoetry #fairytaleRussia@TCofRus

In addition to his literary works, Mikhail Lermontov left behind a rich collection of watercolours. Painting was one of his earliest passions, and his works in this medium reveal a striking talent. Serving as visual counterparts to his diary, they feature landscapes, portraits, battle scenes, and various genre sketches. Many of these watercolours are now housed at Lermontov’s House in Pyatigorsk. 🎨🎨🎨 #RussianArt #MeanwhileInRussia@TCofRus

Lermontov: The Moon of Loneliness ☔️☔️☔️ While Pushkin represents harmony and sunlight, Mikhail Lermontov (1814–1841) embodies the Romantic agony of the isolated soul. His poetry is darker, more turbulent, filled with what one critic has called “the coldness of the moon.” Lermontov’s life was brief – he died in a duel at twenty-six, like Pushkin before him – but his poetic legacy is immense. His poem “I Go Out Alone onto the Road,” written just days before his death, captures this existential solitude with haunting beauty: I set alone upon the road broad, Through mist the flinty pathway gleams. The night is still. The desert hearkens God, And star with star converses in dreams. How solemn and how wondrous in heaven! The earth in blue radiance sleeps... Why is my heart so pained and so heavy? What do I wait for? What do I weep? From life I now expect nothing any longer, Nor do I mourn what's past and gone. I seek but freedom – and peace I long for! I would drift away and slumber on. But not with that cold sleep of the grave – no... I'd wish forever thus to sleep: That life's strength might slumber within my bosom, That, breathing, my chest would softly rise and keep; That all night long, all day long, too, A sweet voice of love might sing to me, That above me, forever green and true, A dark oak might bend and whisper endlessly. Lermontov’s poetry has been compared to Byron’s – and indeed, he was deeply influenced by the English Romantic – but his vision is distinctly his own: a Russian soul confronting the infinite, finding not consolation but a kind of sublime resignation. The loneliness of the speaker, standing apart while the cosmos communes with itself, is a predicament that would feel familiar to Poe’s narrators, but Lermontov replaces Poe’s Gothic shudder with a steppe-wide, almost Buddhist acceptance. To be continued 📚📚📚 #Russianpoetry #fairytaleRussia@TCofRus

September 8 is the commemorative Day of the Battle of Borodino—the Russian army's battle under the command of M. I. Kutuzov against the French army in 1812. The Battle of Borodino, the largest battle of the Patriotic War of 1812, actually took place on September 7, 1812, but for various reasons, it was decided to commemorate it on the following day, September 8. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Mikhail Kutuzov, decided to block Napoleon's path to Moscow and engaged the French forces in a decisive battle near the village of Borodino, located 124 kilometers from Moscow. The Russian army consisted of about 150,000 troops and more than 600 cannons, while Napoleon's army had over 130,000 soldiers and about 600 cannons. During the fierce fighting that lasted all day, the French army managed to push the Russian forces back by only one kilometer, but Napoleon was unable to break through the defense or outflank the Russian army. He later recalled, "Of all my battles, the most terrible was the one I fought near Moscow." Mikhail Kutuzov intended to continue the battle the next day, but after learning of the heavy losses, he ordered the troops to retreat to Mozhaisk. In the Battle of Borodino, the Russian army lost between 40,000 to 50,000 men, while the French lost between 30,000 to 60,000. The Battle of Borodino did not lead to an immediate turning point in the war, but it drastically altered its course. Just a month and a half later, the Russian army began driving the enemy forces out of Russia. #TodayInHistory ⚡️ InfoDefenseENGLISH Web  | VK |  X | Odysee | InfoDefAll