Kazan

This card I've got from Elena.

Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,535, it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia.

 The Qolşärif mosque located in Kazan Kremlin, was reputed to be -at the time of its construction- the largest mosque in Russia, and in Europe outside of Istanbul. Originally, the mosque was built in the Kazan Kremlin in the 16th century. It was named after Qolşärif who served there. Qolsharif died with his numerous students while defending Kazan from Russian forces in 1552. It is believed that the building featured minarets, both in the form of cupolas and tents. Its design was traditional for Volga Bulgaria, although elements of early Renaissance and Ottoman architecture could have been used as well. In 1552, during the storming of Kazan it was destroyed by Ivan The Terrible.

Tatar scholars speculate as to whether some elements of Qolşärif mosque can be seen in Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow (8 minarets, a central cupola, not typical for Russian architecture). Since 1996 the mosque has been rebuilt in Kazan Kremlin, although its look is decisively modern. Its inauguration on July 24, 2005 marked the beginning of celebrations dedicated to the Millennium of Kazan. It can accommodate 6,000 worshipers.

Several countries contributed to the fund that was set up to build Qolsharif mosque, namely Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Qolsharif is considered to be one of the most important symbols of Tatar aspirations. Nowadays the mosque predominantly serves as a Museum of Islam. At the same time during the major Muslim celebrations thousands of people gather there to pray.

The Qolsharif complex was envisioned to be an important cornerstone of Kazan’s architectural landscape. Besides the main mosque building it includes a library, publishing house and Imam's office.

The Kazan is the chief historic citadel of Tatarstan, situated in the city of Kazan. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. (from wikipedia)

Petrograd

Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербург, tr. Sankt-Peterburg) is a city and a federal subject (a federal city) of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. In 1914 the name of the city was changed to Petrograd (Russian: Петроград), in 1924 to Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград,) and in 1991 back to Saint Petersburg.

In Russian literature and informal documents the "Saint" (Санкт-) is usually omitted, leaving Petersburg (Петербург, Peterburg). In common parlance Russians may drop "-burg" (-бург) as well, leaving only Peter (Питер, pronounced as "Piter").

Saint Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 [O.S. 16 May] 1703. From 1713 to 1728 and from 1732 to 1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Russia. In 1918 the central government bodies moved from Saint Petersburg (then named Petrograd) to Moscow. It is Russia's second largest city after Moscow with 4.6 million inhabitants. Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural centre, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.

Saint Petersburg is often described as the most Western city of Russia. Among cities of the world with over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is also home to The Hermitage, the largest art museum in the world. A large number of foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and other businesses are located in Saint Petersburg. (from wikipedia)

Apple trees :)

I don't know from who Yuliya knew that I love apples :) 

She sent me a postcard with apples trees orchard :) Yuliya lives in Saratov which is situated on the right bank at beautiful Volga river. 

Symbol of youths dreams

I have got the postcard from Russia - another card which is official postcrossing card:) This time the sender - Victoria - lives on St. Petersburg.

On the postcard we can not find nothing about  this wonderful city, but....we can see a symbol of youths dreams :)

The Scarlet Sails festival on the Neva is held approximately five years. On the 18th of June graduates from School with parents, friends and teachers come to the centre of the city and party all night :). The symbol of the youths dreams is...the ship with scarlet sails.

This festive  is the most massive and famous public event in St. Petersburg. Its title has originated from a romantic novel with the same name (1922) by Alexander Grin – the book, known practically to every Russian. Two main characters of this touching story are a young lady Assol, seeing in her dreams a captain, who one day will arrive to her sailing a ship with scarlet sails and the captain Gray, who had heard about Assol’s best wish and made it come true. When at school each of us associated him/herself with these charming persons.

Now everyone can see this fairy tale – a ship with the scarlet sails – which is the unforgettable event in the lives of St. Petersburg high school graduates, who celebrate their leaving high school with farewell parties.

This celebration was originally introduced in 1968 and was arranged for 10 years in succession, followed by a long break of having no this festivity and only in 2005 it was renewed.

Now the “Scarlet Sails” is a large-scale show, gathering thousands of spectators not only from Russia, but also from all over the world.


As you can see, this postcard travelled big distance and appeared in my mailbox quite fast:)

Canyon with marble

On the pic is Republic of Karelia - Ruskeala - a marble canyon. 

Ruskeala is a rural locality under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of Sortavala in the Republic of Karelia Russia.
 

The Republic of Karelia is situated in the northwest of Russia; it is a part of the Northwest federal district of the Russian Federation. It was founded on June 8, 1920 as the Karelian Labour Commune in territory of former Olonets province. On July 25, 1923 it was transformed into Karelian ASSR, on March 31, 1940 – in Karelian-Finnish SSR. On July 16, 1958 the republic has restored the status of Karelian ASSR, and since November 13, 1991 the republic has its modern name. The area of Karelia is 180,5 thousand square kilometers – this mean 1,06% of the total territory of Russia. Its length from north to south is 660 kilometers, from west to east on the latitude of the town of Kem is 424 kilometers. Karelia borders on Finland in the West, on Leningrad district in the South, on Murmansk and Archangelsk district in the East. In the North-West the Republic is washed by the White Sea. The western border line of Karelia coincides with the state border of the Russian Federation on Finland and its length is 798 kilometers. Distance from the administrative centre of republic, city of Petrozavodsk to Moscow makes 925 kilometers, 703 kilometers to Helsinki 1050 kilometers to Murmansk, and 401 kilometers to Saint Petersburg. 

Marble from this canyon is used in many buildings in Saint Petersburg, for example: Hermitage, Saint Isaac's Cathedral, interior of The Winter Palace.

I like this postcard. For now it is one of the most beautiful cards which I have got. :)

This postcard need 2 weeks to appeared in my mailbox.