Iconic pyramid from famed British architect Norman Foster designed to represent all of the world's religious faiths.

An abandoned Soviet-era mining town in the mountains of South Kazakhstan.

The lovely lake that was naturally dammed, then naturally destroyed, then unnaturally saved.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

World's oldest and largest space launch facility, once a secret missile testing site.

Rusting ships sit in a desert where a sea used to be.

Submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake.

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

One of the largest collections of socialist realist art shows the surprising depth of the official art of the Soviet Union.

A collection of iconic Soviet car models on display.

Is it an island or a volcano? That question probably explains why it's uninhabited.

This late-brutalist masterpiece everyone forgot about was originally created to get the proletariat jazzed about the arts.

One of the notorious Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's many summer retreats.

One of the most popular attractions in the small resort town of Kabardinka.

The Uyghur settlement in the middle of a lake continues to raise questions.

A former special storage facility for documents during the Cold War.

Russia's own leaning tower was built on a tragic historical fable.

An enormous Soviet aircraft, the only one of its kind, stands at the deserted shore of the Caspian Sea.

Fascinating early attempt at a Jewish autonomous settlement.

One of the most well-preserved mammoth specimens in the world.

An incredibly random collection of wax figures is displayed in a shopping center walkway.

Europe's highest peak is a key pillar of the Seven Summits mountaineering challenge.

This massive glowering Lenin head gazes out over eastern Siberia.

What was once the base for Russia's first nature reserve is now a ghost town, right on the shore of Lake Baikal.