RIA Novosti is inviting its readers on a photo tour of Russia. Today's city is Vologda.
Vologda was founded in 1147 on the banks of the river Vologda (northwest Russia). Photo: Vologda Kremlin
Vologda is one of a number of cities with an especially valuable historical heritage. Photo: St. Sophia Cathedral in Vologda. St. Sophia Cathedral was built between 1568 and 1570 along the lines of the Uspensky Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin and was the first stone structure in Vologda.
Vologda was under the subjugation of Novgorod until the end of the 14th century. The city's favorable location on the intersection of waterways made Vologda a repeated target of civil wars between Novgorod and the Tver and Moscow princes. Photo: Vologda Kremlin
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, Vologda became one of the main transit centers in Russia's foreign trade with England, Holland and other western countries on the Severodvinsk route. Photo: Resurrection Cathedral (left) and St. Sophia Cathedral (right) in Cathedral Square in Vologda.
The founding of St. Petersburg opened up a sea route to Europe through the Baltic Sea, signaling a sharp decline in Vologda's significance as a center for Russia's foreign trade. Photo: Fishermen on the Sukhona River in Vologda.
The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is in the city of Kirillov, 120 km from Vologda. Photo: View of the monastery from Siversky Lake.
The monastery was founded in 1397. Photo: The water gates and above them the Church of the Transfiguration.
The Hospital Church of Euphemia the Great in the grounds of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.
The Vologda region is famous for its lacework weaved on bobbins. In 1820, on the estates of the Vologda feudal landlords, serf craftswomen started weaving trims on dresses and linen, in imitation of the Western European style. It was at this point that Vologda lace weaving became a folk industry
Another pride of Vologda os Vologda butter with its distinctive slightly nutty flavor. The recipe for making the butter from melted cream was invented by Nikolai Vereshchagin, the elder brother of battle painter Vasily Vereshchagin.
