Photo Gallery

Large yellow cable car cabin moving down from a station at the top of Ai-Petri (St. Peter) Mountain. Buildings at the edge of Yalta city are visible don’t the mountain (1200 meters above sea level) in the background of the picture.

Photo #038 taken on May 04, 2017

19th century muselet (or muzzler) machine to put wire cage on a bottle of champagne on display in the house-museum of the famous Russian winemaker, Lev Golitsyn, in Novy Svet.

Photo #240 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.

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”.

Angle view on the monument to Alexander III, emperor of Russia from 1881 to 1894, the Russian Tsar who strove to maintain peace in Europe, which earned him the moniker of "Peacemaker", in the park of the Livadia Palace, outskirts of Yalta, Crimea. President of Russia Vladimir participated in the unveiling ceremony for the monument on November 18, 2017. The impressive four-meter-tall bronze monument was designed by sculptor Andrei Kovalchuk, head of the Artists’ Union, People’s Artist of Russia, and created at a plant in the Urals. Alexander III is presented as sitting on a tree stump, dressed in military uniform and resting on his sword, with a stele behind him topped with a double-headed eagle. An inscription at the bottom of the monument repeats his alleged saying “Russia has only two allies: the Army and the Navy.”

Photo #021 taken on August 14, 2019

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

Flowering standard pink rose-tree at the picturesque antique patio near the eastern facade of Massandra Palace in the background of the curved stonewall with fountains.

Photo #051 taken on August 13, 2019 during tour of Livadia Palace and Park with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 3rd day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea in 6 Days”.

Mind-blowing icon of Our Lady of Kazan from the church of St. Nicholas of Wonderworker of Myra in Malorechenskoye village (near Alushta) created by talented artist Vladimir Denshchikov using his own technique of “netting-macramé-collage”. Only linen is used in the process and each painstaking handwork takes for almost six months (and some even longer). Just imagine, the thickness of this is no more than 2 mm, and all the narrow parts are without tools and machines. Each of many great works of the master of the new type of iconography consists of more than 8 million knots.

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”.

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

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

View on the White Marble Fountain surrounded by blooming tulips flowerbed in the park in front of Livadia Palace in the fog. The area of Livadia park is known for its rich history, and the local amazing nature has always inspired artists and poets, writers and composers. Travelers from all over the world come here to admire the beautiful park surrounding the palace, breathe the clean and healing sea air.

Photo #145 taken on May 05, 2017

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

View of Italian Courtyard with palms and fountain for walk and relation in Livadia Palace, the summer residence of Romanov family outskirts of Yalta, Crimea. Such patios for walks and relaxation were characteristic of Italian Renaissance architecture. It was created by the talent architect N.P. Krasnov in 1909-1911 and still attracts travelers from all over the world.
On February 9, 1945, the participants of the Crimean Conference took pictures in the center of the Italian courtyard. Here was made one of the most famous photographs of the "Big Three" - I.V. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill.

Photo #148 taken on August 14, 2019 during visiting Livadia Palace with my dear clients from Hong Kong, Esther and Ricky on the 4th day of the adventure trip “Discovering Crimea within Six 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 hotel Romantik on the ancient walls and towers built between 1371 and 1469 by Genoese as a stronghold of Soldayya (Sudak) colony. A silver dome of the Temple with Arcade can be seen behind the fortress walls.

Photo #113 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”)

Magnificient interior of the Church of Christ's Resurrection in Foros with the view from the middle of the church on the carved oak iconostasis (icon screen) with the gilded the Beautiful Gates (Holy Doors) in the center and shining church chandelier (Greek: Panikadilo) hanging from its cupola (dome). The walls of the church decorated with Byzantine ornamentation.

Photo #692 taken on May 05, 2017

The working fountain in a beautiful park in front of Massandra Palace on a nice sunny morning.

The Palace in Massandra resembling a French chateau was built in 1881-1900 for Tsar Alexander III, but after his death in 1894, it was finished in 1900 by his son and the last Russian Tsar, Nicolas II. The castle is located on elevated and cliffy cape. It 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 #174 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”.

This exceptional Stankevich pine grows on a steep slope, almost at the peak (about 410 metres above sea level) of Sokol (Falcon) mountain in Novy Svet (New World). Such pine trees are very rare in nature, but they are endemic to the Sudak district on the southern coast of the Crimea peninsula. First described by the Russian botanist V.N. Stankevich, the pines were named by the academic V. N. Sukachev in 1906 in his honor. They are also known as “Sudak Pines”- after the region in which they are found. The pine tree in this photograph is about 200 years old.

Photo #222 taken on August 31, 2015

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

View from the highest point of Ai-Petri mountain, the peak in the Crimean Mountains with the famous figured teeth, on the aerial cableway with a cute yellow car on the way down from the plateau (height about 1200 meters). The bay of Yalta city located on the site of an ancient Greek colony is in the background of the picture.

Photo #209 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 on the “Bolshoy House” (Big House) of Golitsyn’s family in Novy Svet from the entrance doors into the grand winery cellar of the famous Russian winemaker. A wooden column balustrade above the cellar is located on the high level in front of the main entrance into the one story 200 square meter house constructed by project of Lev Golitsyn in 1880. Due to the difference in relief at the Mount Koba-Kaya (Orel / Eagle Mountain), the building stands on such a high basement.

Photo #208 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.

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

Beautiful colorful red and yellow tulips in a flowerbed of a fountain area at Livadia Palace in the springtime.

Photo #063 taken on May 05, 2017

View from Livadia park on the home church of Romanov’s family with a small old style belfry at the side of their palace, the royal summer residence in Crimea, framed by trees in a foggy spring day. The Christian Orthodox Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was constructed in 1864-66 by the project of Russian architect Ippolit Monighetti and connected with Livadia Palace.

Photo #084 taken on May 05, 2017

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

View from a terrace of Dacha Chekhova (Chekhov's summer residence) on the picturesque bay (very often called Bay of Quietness) framed by trees. The small secret dacha of the famous Russian writer is located in Gurzuf, the resort in Southern part of Crimea near Yalta city.

The Adalary twin-rocks can be seen from this bay and appear far away in the background of this picture.

Photo #055 taken on September 10, 2013

Beautiful view on the church-lighthouse of St. Nicholas of Myra at Malorechenskoye village at sunset. The unique project located few kilometers from Alushta became a part of the Memorial Complex "In Memory of the Dead on the Waters" opened on May 7, 2009. A patron and sponsor of the project became the Russian businessmen Alexander Lebedev, who took a decision and invested funds in constructing here the new Crimean Wonder in 2004.

Photo #215 taken on May 01, 2017

View at the peak of Sokol (Falcon) Mountain, 474 meters above the level of Black Sea, peaceful “Zelenaya Buhta" (Green Bay) and the settlement of Novy Svet (New World), down the mountain at sunset.

Photo #254 taken on August 31, 2015

View of the Palace of Russian Emperor Alexander III in Massandra from local garden on a sunny spring day. Resembling a French chateau, the palace 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 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 as his dacha in Crimea.

Photo #235 taken on May 02, 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”)

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

Beautiful Crimean landscape with the exceptional Stankevich pine growing on a slope of Sokol (Falcon) Mountain in Novy Svet (New World) in the background of the mountain range.

Such pine trees are very rare in nature, but they are endemic to the Sudak district on the southern coast of the Crimea peninsula. First described by the Russian botanist V.N. Stankevich, the pines were named in his honor by the academic V. N. Sukachev in 1906. They are also known as “Sudak Pines”- after the region in which the trees were found.

Photo #348 taken on August 31, 2015

Front view of a small secret house of Anton Chekhov framed by trees and plants. It is the former Tatar sakli, that the famous Russian writer purchased in 1899 in Gurzuf on the Black Sea coast to escape from the annoying attention of friends and fans.

Photo #044 taken on September 10, 2013

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

The Silver Arbor framed by trees on the way from Yalta to the top of Ai-Petri mountain by car. It is an ecological and educational object located the Pendikul mountain at the height of 848 meters above sea level. The arbor was established in 1894 in honor of builders of the road Yalta - Ai-Petri - Bakhchisarai.

In the winter the arbor becomes covered with light hoarfrost, creating an illusion of transfusion in the sunshine a thin layer of silver. From this, the name “Silver Arbor” appeared. From a rotunda of the arbor opens the scenic views on the Yalta amphitheater, Nikitskaya Yayla, Mount Au-Dag, the oak and juniper woods of the cape Martyan and the amazing coast of the Black Sea.

Photo #032 taken on May 04, 2017

The decorative Neo-Gothic castle "Swallow's Nest" (Russian: Lastochkino Gnezdo) is the symbol of the south coast of Crimea located between Yalta and Alupka. The beautiful castle was constructed by design of the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood between 1911 and 1912 on money commissioned from 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 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 #055 taken on September 12, 2013

Interior view from the entrance of the Christian Orthodox Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Livadia with bright blue and red colors of the paintings on its vaults and attractively carved marble iconostasis with icons decorated with fresh flowers in the spring season. The church was constructed in 1864-66 by the project of Russian architect Ippolit Monighetti and connected with Livadia Palace, the former residence of Russian Tsars. It became a home church of Romanov family.

Photo #104 taken on May 05, 2017

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.

Quick stop on a serpentine road in mountains to overview a valley near the famous Crimean Mountain Demerdzhi in Alushta covered with clouds and fog.

Photo #406 taken on May 06, 2017