A monument to the defenders of the Arctic in Murmansk, Russia.

A surreal pile of colorful junk fills a small yard in an otherwise gray neighborhood.

Some Moscow residents once claimed the bizarre, contorted mass of metal on top of the building was used to manipulate minds.

A uniquely authentic display of traditional Russian culture.

Former prison camp dedicated to the victims of political repression.

This nostalgic Russian museum is full of USSR cultural artifacts from the 1970s and 80s.

A man-made island fort that has housed soldiers, scientists, and ravers.

Dark, eerie exhibits make for a surreal exploration of the subconscious.

Specimens collected by the author of "Lolita" and self-taught lepidopterist are exhibited in his childhood home.

An ever-growing literary collection housed in the apartment where the Russian author penned his final novel.

Dozens of padlock-trees along the Moscow River.

The coldest city in the world.

The avant-garde design was able to bypass strict Soviet regulations on architecture.

Siberian ghost town built by gulag prisoners.

A Marxist summer camp full of fantastical statues lies tucked away and forgotten in the forests of Moscow.

Its front wall is striped with a menagerie of fantastic beasts and magnificent monsters.

The villagers of the coldest inhabited place on Earth adjust to unique challenges presented by day-to-day living.

Legends of time travel and magical woodland creatures bolster the natural charm of this verdant sanctuary in the midst of Moscow.

Palace where the nearly un-killable Rasputin was murdered.

It's hard to believe the dizzying patterns covering this abandoned mine are completely natural.

This ancient village and its adjoining cemetery have a beautiful history of death and remembrance.

A museum in the childhood house of a medical pioneer.