Photo Gallery

Eastern facade of Massandra Palace in a cloudy Autumn day. Resembling a French chateau, the palace of Emperor Alexander III is situated 5 km North-East from Yalta in Crimean village Massandra that located on elevated and cliffy cape. The castle originally built in 1881-1900 for Tsar Alexander III, but after his death in 1894, the palace in Massandra was finished in 1900 by his son and the last Russian Tsar, Nicolas II. This castle was used by Romanovs only as a hunting lodge and the royal family never stayed for a night here, but during the Soviet times, Joseph Stalin decided to use it as his dacha in Crimea.

Photo #045 taken on September 14, 2013

The sign in Russian “Livadiysky Dvorets 1911-2019” (Eng: Livadia Palace 1911-2019) made from snow-white pebbles in amazing park with palms in front of the former summer residence of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II Romanov, in Crimea. The palace was built outskirts of Yalta city in 1911 by the project of Russian architect Nikolay Krasnov.

Photo #036 taken on August 14, 2019 during the tour of Livadia Palace and Park with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within Six Days”.

Breathtaking view from the peak of Sokol (Falcon) Mountain, which lies 474 metres above the peaceful “Zelenaya Buhta" (Green Bay) and the settlement of Novy Svet (New World), Crimea. This tranquil bay with its crystal clear water is protected on both sides by imposing mountains.

Photo #426 taken on September 31, 2015

View of a bird flying over the famous figured teeth at the peak the highest point of Ai-Petri mountain, the peak in the Crimean Mountains. The teeth of Ai-Petri consist of four large (60-80 m high) and a number of small ridges on the crest formed during the weathering of heterogeneous reef limestones at 1200 meters above sea level. Beautiful relict pine trees can be seen on the top and between the ridges that growing all around in the Crimean mountains.

Photo #193 taken on May 04, 2017

Crimean landscape on the road between Koktebel and Shebetovka in the background of the mountains of Karadag Nature Reserve.

Photo #304 taken on September 14, 2013

Interior of work cabinet of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in his summer residence in Gurzuf. Here, in a very small secluded house at the beautiful South Coast of Crimea near Yalta city, he created his masterpieces “Three Sisters” and “ Cherry Orchard”. Bronze chandelier, wooden cabinet, table and chairs, and over items of the interior of the room are the real objects preserved in the house-museum “Dacha Chekhova”.

Photo #060 taken on September 10, 2013

A small yacht is sailing the Black Sea before the storm on in bay of Gurzuf, south coast of Crimea.

Photo #086 taken on September 15, 2013 from a terrace of a local restaurant “Salambo” located on the beach about 16 m (52 ft) above sea level.

Porcelain sculpture of the main characters from the novel of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov “Three Sisters” created by sculptor Brzezinskaya A.D. on display in the house-museum “Dacha Chekhova” in Gurzuf, Crimea.

Photo #062 taken on September 10, 2013

View from the motorway in the southeast of the Crimean peninsula on the mountain landscape with vegetation, trees and vineyards, blue sky with clouds on a beautiful summer sunny day. It is the place between the villages of Morskoye and Privetnoye, not far from the Black Sea coast, between the two large cities of Sudak and Alushta.

Photo #027 taken on August 19, 2019

Looking on the splendid park with fountain, sculptures, and columns from a window on the second floor at the south-western side of Massandra Palace. This beautiful park was developed in a French style during the reconstruction of the palace, the summer residence of Alexander III in Crimea, by the project of Messmacher in the 1890s. Behind the fountain are growing two giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron Giganteum), the highest mammoth trees in Crimea. They were planted 130 years ago, so in the present time, the trunk girth of these trees is about nine meters, and the height is about forty meters.

Photo #136 taken on August 13, 2019 during the tour of Massandra Palace with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

Evening view from the observation platform at Staroye Svestopolskoye Shosse (Old Sevastopol Highway) on the Church of Christ's Resurrection rising on the high Red Cliff over covered with low clouds (fog) the Black Sea in the twilight. A car light trail on the curved mountain road to the church gives an additional touch to this landscape composition.

Photo #802 taken on May 05, 2017

View from a hill on a pleasure boat returning back to a peer in the Gurzuf bay and seagulls flying over the Black sea.

Photo #304 taken on September 14, 2013

The relief of the rocky coast of a small bay of Anton Chekhov in Gurzuf against the background of the famous twin rocks “Adalary”. In this bay, the famous Russian writer bought a small Tatar house (saklya) in late 1899, which became the place of his creative solitude. In a letter to his brother at the beginning of 1900, Anton Pavlovich describes his purchase: "A small bay with a beautiful view, its own cliffs, swimming, fishing, etc., etc."

The twin cliffs Adalary is a visiting card of not only Gurzuf resort, the Southern coast of Crimea, but also the whole Crimea. The rocks are located some distance from the sea in front of the Artek International Children's Center (the former famous pioneer camp in the USSR). On one of the cliffs, there is a tricolor, the national flag of Russia.

Photo #288 taken on August 13, 2019 during the tour of Dacha Chekhova in Gurzuf with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

A small waterfall in the Grand Canyon filling the deep natural bath Kara-gol formed by Auzun-Uzen river (stream). The river flows at the bottom of the Canyon with multitude of blocks and boulders, forms over hundred of 2-3 meter deep erosive cauldrons and gullies that look like porcelain sinks. These are so called baths. Kara-gol is the largest natural font, located on the road from Yalta to the peak of Ai-Petri. Even in extreme heat, the water temperature in the font nicknamed “Bath of Youth” does not exceed 11-12 degrees. Kara-gol has an average diameter of about 5 meters, or rather, the bath is almost rectangular, 3 by 6 meters and a depth of 6 meters. From a ledge, 3 meters high, jets of a very pretty waterfall flow into it. The parameters of the "bath" completely allow those who wish to dive from a towering stone ledge without fear of injury. But the waterfall is just the appearance of filling the font. In fact, water enters the small mountain lake from a spring that does not dry during the hottest time, and is 150 meters higher from the ground.

Photo #693 taken on May 04, 2017

Angle view of white-stone Livadia Palace decorated with colorful bright red, white, vinous and yellow tulips at fountain areas in the springtime. The palace is a beautiful pearl and architectural monument of the Southern coast of Crimea located not far from Yalta city. It was the summer home of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, built in 1911 by Russian architect N.P. Krasnov. In Livadia Palace held Yalta Conference of “Bif Three” in February 1945.
Location: Suburb of Yalta, Crimea, Russia

Photo #065 taken on May 05, 2017

View from Yuzhnoberezhnoye Shosse (South Coast Highway) near Gurzuf on the white clouds hovering over the Black Sea.

Photo #251 taken on September 14, 2013

Old wooden worktable, shelf with books, family pictures and the portrait of Lev Golitsyn hanging on the wall, in the living room of the house-museum of the famous Russian winemaker in Novy Svet.

Photo #232 taken on August 12, 2019 on the 2nd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within 6 Days”) with my Dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky.

My picture in the background of Gurzuf bay, the pier “Dacha Chekhova” (Chekhov’s Dacha) and rocks where it is located the summer house (dacha) of the famous Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. In 1900 Chekhov purchased here a small tatar saklya (house) with a small piece of the shore where he wrote his famous plays “Three Sisters” and “Cherry Orchard”.

Photo #164 taken on September 10, 2013 from a restaurant terrace of restaurant “Salambo” where opens a panoramic view over the entire bay of Gurzuf.

Interior of Enoteca of Novy Svet Winery, the repository of elite sparkling wines, in one of the old tunnels cut in the monolith of Koba-Kaya Mountain (Mount Orel, Eagle) at the end of 19th – beginning of 20th century. In the tunnel is hanging the yellow banner with the words Vir, Est, Vis (“It was. It is. It will be.”) from the coat of arms of Golitsyn family. Several tunnels were constructed below the sea level, so it helps to maintain permanent temperature of 8-12 degrees necessary for aging. The old tunnel cellars are in perfect condition, and most of them are used by the Novy Svet Winery even today.

Photo #278 taken on August 12, 2019 during Champaigne Factory tour in Novy Svet on the 2nd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days” with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky.

Bust of Russian Emperor Alexander III (years of life 1845-1894) at the Massandra Palace in Crimea. During Alexander’s reign (1881-1894) the country was not involved in major wars, so that is why he was called by all people of Russia "The Peacemaker". He was a man of amazing fortitude, beauty, and harmony, courage and devotion to his Fatherland.

The grand opening ceremonial and consecration of the bust took place on the grounds of the former estate of Alexander III in Massandra on June 1st, 2017. The event was timed to such anniversaries as 175 years since the birth of the palace architect Maximilian Mesmacher, 135 years since the founding of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society and 25 years since the beginning of the work of the Massandra Palace as a museum.

Photo #027 taken on August 13, 2019 during visiting Massandra Palace with my Dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

Illuminated at nighttime the Church of Christ's Resurrection stands under moonlight on 400-metre (1312 ft) cliff near Baidarsky Pass in Foros settlement, the southernmost resort in the Crimea.

Photo #727 taken on September 12, 2013

My car Honda CR-V in the background of the village of Vesyoloye (Eng translation: Cheerful, Fun) located in the valley of the Kutlak River on the southeastern slope of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains. A quick stop at an observation platform overlooking landscapes in 10 kilometers East from Sudak, even closer to the village of Novy Svet (New World).

Photo #425 taken on May 06, 2017

Overlooking the beach of settlement Novy Svet (New World) from Sokol Mountain at the height about 350 meters. The settlement is located about 6 km West from Sudak at picturesque Zelenaya Buhta (Green Bay). This tranquil bay with its crystal clear water is protected from wind on both sides by imposing mountains.

Photo #253 taken on August 31, 2015

View from a tourist path of Golitsyn on the Sokol (Falcon) Mountain framed by a pine tree and a rock at the bottom of Oryol (Eagle) Mountain at Novy Svet (New World) settlement after sunset, before it was get dark. The popular village-resort is located on the coast of the Zelenaya Buhta (Green Bay) between these mountains.

Photo #388 taken on April 30, 2017

View on the famous Golitsyn trail and rocky beach with small cave near settlement Novy Svet (New World) near the cape Kapchik.

Novy Svet (New World) settlement is the well-known resort in Sudak district, the South-eastern part of the Crimean Peninsula, Black Sea, Russian Federation, that boasts its beautiful landscapes, mountains, beaches and factory of sparkling vines established by Prince Lev Golitsyn in 1878.

Photo #150 taken on May 01, 2017

Beautiful view at the beginning of hiking tour to the peak of Sokol mount on the Green Bay, Koba-Kaya Mountain (Mount Orel, Eagle), and resort settlement Novy Svet (New World).

Photo #083 taken on August 31, 2015

The round table at which at 5 p.m. on February 4, 1945 met the Big Three, Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill in the Great White Hall (former Parade Dining room) of the Livadia Palace. It was the first meeting of the Crimean (Yalta) conference that was held on February 4-11, 1945 between the allies of the anti-Hitler coalition, delegations of the USSR, USA and Great Britain.
The decisions adopted at the Livadia Palace at the round table of negotiations showed the possibility of fruitful cooperation between states with various social systems.

In the photo, on the left is the chair of the head of the USA, Franklin Roosevelt, on the right is the chair of the head of the USSR, Joseph Stalin, and the chair of the head of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, is located on the opposite side of the table in the center.

Currently, the round table as a museum exhibit is located in the parade lobby of the palace.

Photo #206 taken on May 05, 2017

Overview beautiful sunset over Crimean Mountains from the peak of Sokol (Falcon) mountain (about 470 meters from a sea level) at Novy Svet, few kilometers from Sudak, the Sothern shore of Crimean Peninsula.

Photo #208 taken on August 11, 2019 during hiking tour on the peak of Sokol mountain with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky (1st day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within 6 Days”)

Beautiful landscape at the peak of Mount Ai-Petri (St. Peter) with the view of the Figured Teeth, the 60-80 m high ridges formed during the weathering of heterogeneous reef limestones, and the coast of Black sea where located resort settlements Koreiz (down at the left) and Alupka (down at the right).

Vorontsov Palace and Park, one of the oldest and largest palaces in Crimea, situated in Alupka, at the foot of Ai-Petri Mountain.

Photo #070 taken on May 04, 2017

View from the observation platform at Alupkinskoye highway on the decorative castle “Swallow Nest” rising on the Aurora Cliff in the background of the blue waters of the Black Sea. The small, neo-Gothic decorative castle was built in Gaspra (13 km from Yalta by car) in 1911-1912 closer in style to various German Gothic castle follies, such as Lichtenstein Castle, specifically to catch visitors' attention with its fairy tale appearance. It is the most famous landmark and symbol of Crimea.

Photo #432 taken on August 14, 2019 in Gaspra on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days” with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky.

View from the top of Aurora Cape on the Neo-Gothic castle “Swallow's Nest” (Russian: “Lastochkino Gnezdo”) under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds in the background of the water of the Black Sea and the bay of Yalta city in Autumn season. The castle is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the Crimea, becoming the symbol of the Crimea's southern coastline. It was constructed by the design of the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood between 1911 and 1912 on the money of Baron von Steingel.

Photo #068 taken on September 12, 2013

The family portrait of Romanovs in the White Hall was presented to Livadia Palace by the Crimean Prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya on July 12, 2016. Commissioned by the head of the prosecutor's office of Crimea, the historical portrait of Nicholas II with his wife and kids measuring 1.6 by 2 meters was painted within 2 months by Oksana Kairo, the Crimean artist from Yalta.

Photo #094 taken on August 14, 2019, during a tour of Livadia Palace with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther, and Ricky on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

Angle view of the interior of the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty in Massandra Palace made by the tradition of classicism. Molded elements with gilding are successfully implemented in the strict ceiling design (master M. A. Zhilkin). The useful area of the cabinet was increased due to a niche at the northern facade of the palace. Niche, doors, panels are made of walnut, in harmony with the fireplace, lined with gray marble (at the right). Items of furniture and arts and crafts are typical for palace interiors at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries.

A sculpture of the horse of the German master Slodenbek (Berlin, beginning of the XX century) is placed on a round table with a carved table stand (the work of Russian masters of the late XIX century) in the middle of the cabinet. Armchairs around the table by Russian masters of the first third of the 19th century in the Empire style are ornamented with gilded woodcarvings in the form of laurel wreaths, garlands, stylized military armor. In the depths of the niche is a marble bust of Emperor Alexander II (1818-1881), the sovereign reformer, made by an unknown sculptor in the early 60s of XIX century.

Photo #084 taken on August 13, 2019 during visiting Massandra Palace with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

View from Golitsyn trail at the rocky seashore near Novy Svet (New World) settlement on the Cape Kapchik that resembles a head with long neck of a huge dinosaur drinking water from the Black Sea, in the old times, called the Russian Sea.

Photo #162 taken on May 01, 2017

Ancient stone steps to the upper level of the Genoese fortress of Sudak consisting of Consular castle and four neighboring towers connected by walls. The fortress situated on an ancient coral reef – a conical mountain called Kyz-Kulle-Burun was built between 1371 and 1469 by Genoeses as a stronghold of Soldayya (Sudak) colony, about 55 km from ancient Caffa(Feodosiya).

Photo #255 taken on April 30, 2017

Under the huge branches of Sequoiadendron giganteum, evergreen coniferous tree of gigantic size in Massandra park. With branches resembling mammoth tusks, these sequoias also called Mammoth trees. The two giant trees were planted on the western facade of the Massandra Palace 130 years ago during the reconstruction of the residence of Emperor Alexander III according to the project of the famous architect Messmacher in the 1890s. In the present time, the trunk girth of the giant sequoias is about nine meters, and the height is about forty meters.

The first seeds of Sequoiadendron giganteum Nikitsky Botanical Garden (located in few kilometers from Massandra) received in 1840 from the former Russian colony Ross in California. Later, the giant sequoia dedron came to Europe from the South of Crimean peninsula.

Photo #005 taken on August 13, 2019 during visiting Massandra Palace with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

View from Baidarsky Pass on the Church of Christ's Resurrection raising on the Red Cliff (Krasnaya Skala) over the low clouds at Foros settlement on the Black Sea in a spring season. The magnificent church, that combines Rastrelliesque Baroque, Russian Revival, and Byzantine Revival styles, was built in 1892 by the project of Russian architect Nikolai Chagin on the abrupt 400-meter (1312 ft) cliff. Alexander Kuznetsov, the Moscow merchant and the Russian "tea king" who had his palace built on the seashore, commissioned Nikolai Chagin, the celebrated architect from Wilno, to built the church of Christ's Resurrection in memory of the miraculous rescue of Emperor Alexander III and his family in 1888 train crash in the Borki, on the way to St. Petersburg. The temple is notable for its luxurious exterior and picturesque interior.

Founded and named by medieval Greek merchants, Foros settlement was rediscovered in the late 19th century by Alexander Kuznetsov. It is located at the most Southern coast of Crimean Peninsula, in the middle between Yalta and Sevastopol.

Photo #593 taken on May 05, 2017

The view on the edge of the ancient coral reef of the Jurassic period, the mount Karaul-Oba (Tatar: Qaravul Oba, Russian: Karaulnaya), from Cape Kapchik, located a few kilometers westwards from Novy Svet (New World) settlement, on the tourist path of Golitsyn. The Karaul-Oba massif with its mystic rocky ledges is the state complex natural monument. Almost from the very sea, sharp teeth of the cliffs are jutting out, that is a distinctive feature of the mountain. ‘Karaul-Oba’ means ‘Watch Mountain’ or ‘Guard Peak’ in Crimean Tatar. It is reckoned among many unique natural wonders of Sudak’s surroundings.

Photo #079 taken on May 01, 2017

Angle view of the decorative Neo-Gothic castle "Swallow's Nest" (Russian: Lastochkino Gnezdo) at twilight. It is the symbol of the south coast of Crimea located in Gaspra, between Yalta and Alupka. The beautiful castle was constructed by design of the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood between 1911 and 1912 on money commissioned by the owner of this land, Baron von Steingel, a Baltic German noble who had made a fortune extracting oil in Baku, acquired the timber cottage and within a year had it replaced with the current building almost within a year.

In 2011, after 3 months of restoration work estimated to cost $150,000 USD, it was opened as a museum. The Swallow's Nest is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the Crimea, becoming the symbol of the Crimea's southern coastline.

Photo #714 taken on May 02, 2017

The reception rooms and offices of Their Majesties are located on the second floor of Massandra Palace, as well as their bedchamber and bathrooms. Conventionally, the entire floor of the castle can be divided into two halves - male and female, and each of them has a spiral staircase at the left and right sides of the building.

On the picture is shown decorations of ceiling in reception room of Maria Fedorovna. The finest molding of the ceiling is painted that allows to examine its ornament. Artfully mounted in the ceiling lattices of ventilation system was made by the project of Professor Lukashevich. The interior of reception room supplemented with nice bronze chandelier.

Photo #126 taken on September 14, 2013