Vladimir was one of the country’s medieval capitals (in the 12th and 13th centuries), with significant buildings surviving from this time.  It’s original purpose was as a defensive outpost for the Rostov-Suzdal region.  It had a “Golden Age”, between 1108 … Continue reading →

Suzdal was built on the Kamenka river as a fortress in the the 10th century. It suffered the fate of many other Russian cities when it was conquered and sacked by the Mongol-Tatars during their invasion of Rus in 1238 … Continue reading →

A population of about 80,000, 30kms from the Finnish border, Vyborg sits as a gateway between the East Slavic and Finnish worlds, with the town ‘changing hands’ several times during history, mostly recently in 1944 when Stalin got it as … Continue reading →