Karymsky Volcano, Russia

Named after a Russian ethnic group, the Karymsky is a stratovolcano which last erupted in 2011 and will continue to do so in the years to come.  It is the most active volcano in the Kamkatcha Peninsula, located in the Russian far east and is in between the Sea of Orhotosk and the Pacific Ocean.

I received this postcard in June 2011 from Olga of Novosibirsk, the third most populous city in Russia, just after Moscow and St. Petersburg.

It came with these stamps:

Hare and Elk stamps issued in 2008 and a joint issue with Serbia stamp of Mary and the child Jesus 

St. Petersburg, Russia

I was surprised to receive this card from Laura of Finland through the Mystery RR Group 11.

This postcard shows the Palace Bridge and the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.

Between 1901 and 1911, over 50 proposed designs for a bridge to cross the Neva River were rejected.  In 1912, Andrey Pshenitsky's designs were used to start the construction of the Palace Bridge, but because of WWI, the work was delayed.  The bridge was open to the public in 1916, but was fully completed 23 years later, in 1939, when the last decorative elements (such as iron-cast railings and street lamps) were installed.

And behind the bridge is the Winter Palace, home to Russian royalty since the 1760s.  Anyway this palace deserves its own blog entry so I'll write about it next time.

A year after its inauguration, it was called the "Republican Bridge", and restored to "Palace Bridge" in 1944

Like I said, this postcard came from Finland.  Here's the stamp to prove it:

The Rose Blossom stamp issued in 2009

Moscow, Russia

I got this multiview through a direct swap with Svietlana in May.

The top image features The Kremlin at night.  In the Russian language, кремль means fortress.  Though there are many other kremlins in Russia, the word is usually used when referring to the most popular one found in Moscow.

The administration of the Russian President (currently Dmitry Medvedev, but I'm pretty sure is once again going to be Vladimir Putin next year) is located in the Moscow Kremlin.

In the bottom image, we can see the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, and once again, the Moscow Kremlin.

The Cathedral of the Assumption is the oldest and the most important church in the Kremlin.  In 1326, the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church was transferred from Vladimir to here, making it the center of the state of Muscovy, the most powerful of the Russian principalities.  Here, tsars, Grand Dukes, and more importantly, emperors, were crowned.  Patriarchs, metropolitans, and bishops were also consecrated here.  Read more about the Cathedral's history here.

The Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, standing at 81 meters, was the tallest building in Russia for almost 400 years.  There are 21 bells in the tower and the belfry.  The largest is the Assumption Bell weighing 70 tons, and is the first bell to ring during church holidays.  Read more about the Bell Tower here.

Moscow is Russia's capital city

And what better way to send this postcard than together with a stamp of a kremlin?

The Ryazan Kremlin was founded in the year 800

The Pashkov House in Moscow, Russia

This white palace, standing on Pskov Hill, is one of the most beautiful buildings in Moscow.  It was built in the 18th century by the renowned architect, Vasily Bazhenov, for the rich landowner, Peter Yegorovich Pashkov.

Today the building is currently owned by the Russian State Library, the biggest library in Europe (second in the world, after the US Library of Congress).

The Pashkov House is one of the places in Russia with a permanent rat problem

I got this from Marina through the Other Languages RR 195.  She shared a Russian saying, "Не имей сто рублей, а имей сто друзей" (Don't have 100 roubles, but have 100 friends).

The postcard came with the following stamps:

Part of the Mint Never Hinged Lighthouse set released in 2006 

Death-cup and meadow mushrooms, inedible mushrooms

The badger stamp on the left came from a joint issue with Belarus in 2005.  The Amur (Siberian) Tiger (scientific name: Panthera tigris altaica) is listed as an endangered species

Read more:
http://www.masterandmargarita.eu/en/04mappen/pasjkov.html
http://russia.rin.ru/guide_e/5/2.html