The ghost town left by the worst nuclear disaster of all time is being taken over by nature and urban explorers.

An iconic Soviet statue of working-class people.

Thousands of biblical and pagan images are carved into this small 12th-century church.

Propped high atop the peak of Mount Gamsutlmeer, this abandoned village is one of the oldest settlements in the region.

Fascinating early attempt at a Jewish autonomous settlement.

300-year-old villagers houses and traditional churches preserve a nearly lost piece of Russian history.

This massive glowering Lenin head gazes out over eastern Siberia.

Stalinist skyscraper built with help of cryotechnology.

Gargantuan home of Russian science.

This massive monument honors the first human in space.

This 15th-century cave complex is one of the very few monasteries to stay open throughout World War II and the Soviet regime.

An abandoned town of skeletal wooden homes.

Siberian whale bones stand as cairns marking location of an ancient butcher yard.

The world's tallest statue of a woman wields the world's tallest sword and is at risk of toppling over.

No one knows why ancient labyrinths were built on this tiny northern island.

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

The tallest hotel in Europe.

An early-20th-century "dacha" village of quaint cottages curiously located in a modern part of Moscow.

Once frequented by heavyweights of the Russian arts scene, this café is stuck in the 1800s.

A remote forest of stone pillars along the Lena river.

Moscow's imposing monument to the Space Age.

The oldest museum in Russia is home to a fascinating collection of nearly two million anthropological artifacts and anatomical curiosities.

An 18th century wonder of the world, lost in WWII, re-created at the Catherine Palace.

A little church on a tiny island looks like something from a fairy tale.