Participants of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 piloting contest 'The Best in the Sky' in the cockpit of a SSJ-100 Full Flight Simulator (FFS) in Aeroflot's Water-Land training facility at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow.

People dressed as characters from Harry Potter novels take part in a parade in Novy Arbat Street. The parade marks the launch of the Russian edition of J.K.Rowling's new book titled "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Parts One and Two". 

White Bengal tiger cubs born in a zoo in Yalta.

As part of the UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature, a group of British artists took a journey many travelers only dream of — a trip along the Trans-Siberian Railway with stops in Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk. They shared their stories at an event in Moscow on Nov. 7.

The team included Russian writer Alisa Ganieva, literary critic Konstantin Milchin, sound artist Francesca Panetta, Gruff Rhys, the leader of the psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals, Andrew Dickson, a writer, critic, and expert on Shakespeare, as well as the aforementioned Joe Dunthorne. 

Dunthorne’s muses during the trip were not just Soviet space memoirs but also the “world’s saddest fox,” which the group saw in Novosibirsk. Dunthorne wrote a poem, “Anthony,” in honor of the fox. 

The latter wrote an essay about the whole trip, which you'll be able to read soon at rbth.com 

The trip was initiated by the British Council. In December they will launch a multimedia-project devoted to the journey, made with the assistance of all the travelers, plus cameraman Arseniy Khachaturian and prominent Russian photographer Max Avdeev.  

Cadets in uniform and girls in evening dresses take part in the International Kremlin Cadet Ball at Moscow's Gostiny Dvor, Dec. 8.

The Kharp reindeer farm in the village of Krasnoye, Nenets Autonomous Area.

Julian Korolkova, first runner-up in the Miss Russia 2016 pageant, during preparations for the "Miss Universe 2016" competition at the Palestra Sport fitness club in Moscow.

Sugar candy for sale at a Christmas market in Moscow's Red Square, Dec. 5.

Фото опубликовано Official TheStra1k (@thestra1k) Дек 4 2016 в 5:46 PST

Фото опубликовано Евгения (@evgenia11041995) Дек 4 2016 в 9:42 PST

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Those further from the coastline, in the mountains, also felt the full force of nature. On 4 December, a huge snow storm caused havoc. According to the TASS information agency, two men were trapped by the snow. Both were rescued but seriously injured: one had broken legs, the other suffered spinal injuries.  

Видео опубликовано Красная Поляна Роза Хутор (@funsochi) Дек 4 2016 в 11:55 PST

Videos showing hotel workers wading through waist-high snow drifts immediately went viral. Meanwhile, snowboarders trying to descend from the mountain soon got stuck in snow.

Ded Moroz (or Father Frost) visits Sverdlovsk Regional Cancer Center in Yekaterinburg on Dec. 4, 2016.

Russian conductor and violinist Yuri Bashmet and his Moscow Soloists chamber orchestra performing at the Moscow Metro station Park Kultury on Dec. 3 night.

In the list of the world's most geotagged cities of 2016 Russia is mentioned twice: Moscow is in the third place right after New York and London, while St. Petersburg, Russia’s cultural capital, is in seventh.

Фото опубликовано Hella (@fresh_hell_) Ноя 27 2016 в 9:21 PST

More than eighty years ago, Moscow saw the birth of the VDNKh project, the most grandiose exhibition park in the Soviet Union and a showcase of the country's economic achievements. 

Фото опубликовано Moscow & St.Petersburg (@mskpit) Ноя 9 2016 в 9:00 PST

Now it is a Soviet Era theme park that attracts tourists as well as locals wanting to admire Soviet architecture and national crafts and to take a look at the fountains encircled by golden statues.

Фото опубликовано Olim M Shirinov (@olimmshirinov) Ноя 22 2016 в 2:10 PST

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Want to know more about VDNKh? Check out our long read about its history, architecture, myths, and legends.

A full-size portrait of Russia's last tsar Nicholas II was put on display on Dec. 1 at the Museum of Applied Arts of the Stieglitz Art and Industry Academy.

The painting (1896) by Ilya Galkin was recently discovered on the reverse of the canvas used for a portrait of the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin by Vladislav Izmailovich (1924).

Primary School No. 206 asked for the portrait of the Bolshevik leader, which was ripped at the bottom, to be restored. When the Stieglitz Academy restorers took the painting out of the frame, they saw that the back of the canvas was covered with black water-soluble paint. Beneath the paint they found a well preserved portrait of Tsar Nicholas II.

Invented in the 18th century in France, Napoleon cake for some reason became Russia's favorite pastry. Served in restaurants and cooked at home, this multi-layer cake with pastry cream is the first choice for a holiday feast.

The cake initially named mille-feuille (which means a "thousand layers" in French) was brought to Russia in the early 19th century and was widely cooked during the festivities after the victory against the French army of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1812. The cake tickled Russians’ fancy so much that after two centuries many of them consider it to be a part of their national culinary heritage. 

Putting aside its splendid taste (creamy and tender, it just melts in the mouth), Napoleon cake’s enduring appeal can be explained by the simplicity of the ingredients. Milk, butter, sugar, eggs: you really don't need anything special. 

So let's begin!

For the dough you need:

Let's go!

Now for the cream. These are the ingredients:

Here we go!

Now we assemble the cake.

Tip: don't eat the cake immediately. To get the best taste, leave it for around 2 hours at room temperature, then put in the fridge for 10-12 hours or overnight. 

Enjoy!

Russian Oven is a video series devoted to Russian pastries, featuring traditional age-old pies and cakes, inventive cookies and tarts of recent years, plus Soviet classics and much more. Stay tuned!

A man riding a wave on stand up paddle board in the Ussuri Bay.

Fishermen during ice fishing in Vladivostok.

The clocks at Moscow’s Kievsky railway station have a unique ancient mechanism with a 120kg weight and lots of gears and components. They have been in operation since 1917.

Clock fixer Maksut Safin has worked with the mechanism for the last 3 years. He used to be a railway engineer, but when his predecessor retired he took over the job, though there’s no explicit instruction manual for this mechanism. He says it's no big deal, but maybe that's just false modesty.

Tourist is taking a selfie in front of Red Square and Kremlin in Moscow.

Victory Day in Moscow, 9 May 1945. Photo by Mikhail Runov.

Soviet athletes on Red Square during the Parade. 1937. Photo by Ivan Shagin.

A room full of Soviet agitprop about Red army with a Lenin bust, Kostroma region, 1931. Photo by Mikhail Smodor. 

First passengers of the Moscow Metro. The workers who built the system were also its first passengers, 1935. Photo by Ivan Shagin

Ulyanov family photo, 1879. The child on the right is the future leader of the Soviet revolution Vladimir Lenin (Ulyanov was his real surname). Archive image.

Navy soldiers hoist a Soviet flag at the bay of the Chinese city of Port-Artur, 25 August 1945. Photo by Evgenyi Khaldei.

Vladimir Lenin with a cat, 1922. Archive image. 

Russian plane Beriev Be-200 helps in efforts to extinguish fire in Nataf near Jerusalem, Israel.

Visitors watch as members of a local winter swimmers club pour buckets of cold water over their daughters, 7-year-old Liza Broverman and 2-year-old Alisa Smagina during a celebration of Polar Bear Day at the Royev Ruchey zoo, with the air temperature at about minus 5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit), in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

A woman lays a bunch of flowers to pay her last respect to Cuban President Fidel Castro at the Cuban Embassy in Moscow.

On weekdays 9 million people (almost the population of New York City) use the metro.  

Фото опубликовано Tirrey (@tirrey) Сен 25 2015 в 9:08 PDT

As a result, the Metro comes to life – couples kiss and set up dates at stations, passengers carefully hold on to pets, children try to guess station names, and everyone admires the view from the open stations (Izmailovskaya or Vorobievy Gory). Youngsters go to Halloween parties all bloodied up with make-up, sitting there in the rail cars (text on the window - Do not lean on doors).

Фото опубликовано Tirrey (@tirrey) Ноя 29 2015 в 10:49 PST

The Moscow Metro is a whole new world. Each Muscovite will tell you stories about how they once ran after the last train, or traveled inside a rail car decorated with water color paintings or Shakespeare quotes, or tried to push a stroller, bicycle, or large bag inside, or got acquainted with someone there...

Фото опубликовано Tirrey (@tirrey) Мар 4 2016 в 4:59 PST

In the daytime, avoiding the rush hours, musicians entertain passengers with accordions, guitars, violins, contrabasses and singing as they make their way through the carriages. 

Фото опубликовано Tirrey (@tirrey) Май 10 2016 в 10:27 PDT

“For 5 years I’ve been taking photos of life in the Moscow Metro, capturing it on my phone, while going to work and back. For 5 years I’ve been dreaming about making a photo exhibition about it. And finally I have time and I am brave enough.” 

The project is called Memento Metro – a reference to the famous phrase Memento Mori. It means, “Remember it’s the Metro”. Remember this story happened here, at this very place, and will never happen again."/p   p ">Видео опубликовано Tirrey (@tirrey) Ноя 21 2016 в 4:13 PST

"People underground seem more vulnerable and tense. I find a special attractiveness in that and it’s a challenge to capture the moment. For me, this exhibition is endless, and the Metro itself is a large exhibition hall.”

The submarine Kolpino is officially transferred to the Russian Navy at a ceremony in St. Petersburg.

If you’re a meat lover, you don’t have to restrict yourself to the steak house. Russian cuisine offers a variety of meat dishes. One of them is zalivnoe, a traditional dish made of beef jellied in broth.

Zalivnoe has for centuries been a treat for special occasions. It takes time and patience to cook, but those who make the effort are honored by the very rich and authentic taste.

Maxim Tarusin, chef at Moscow's Voronezh restaurant and meat club, cooks his own brand of zalivnoe, combining beaf with pickled saffron milk cap mushrooms and apple horseradish dressing, topped with unagi sauce. This fresh and bold constellation will surely work for sophisticated tastes!

So let's get down to business.

For Voronezh-style zalivnoe you need:

That will make 10 portions 230 g each

For broth with gelatin:

For apple horseradish:

Stir all ingredients thoroughly.

How to make it:

Fry the meat on both sides until medium.

Make strong beef broth, add spreaded gelatine, stir.

Mix pickled mushrooms with garlic and parsley.

Cut the meat along the grain into thin pieces, add salt, pepper, unagi sauce, and mix. Put the meat into the dish (you can cover the bottom with a plastic food wrap for extra convenience), cover with broth. Then put it into the fridge and wait for 40 minutes to an hour, until it jellifies. Then put the mushrooms on top, cover with the remaining broth and freeze again for the same period of time.

Serve with apple horseradish.

If you haven't yet been in the Moscow Metro, one of the key attractions of the Russian capital, you should definitely try it.

At Ploshchad Revolyutsii [Revolution Square] we can view the Metro from a different angle, without raising our heads – it’s like walking down a hall of fame along this station platform. 

At the foot of the pillars the sculptors, headed by Matvei Manizer, placed bronze statues of Soviet people. Parents, pioneers and athletes can be found here.... 

... along with students, a Red Army officer, a sailor, a peasant and even a guard with a dog, whose nose and paw have been rubbed to a golden shine.

Anna Ludina, a tour guide from the Moscow Museum, says that the dog carries one of the main superstitions of the metro: "One should rub the dog's nose for good luck. Nearby is a poultry girl with a rooster, but he shouldn't be touched. He is thought to bring bad luck. But the rooster is also shiny from being touched."

A view of the Grozny City business center from the Akhmat Kadyrov Mosque located at Vladimir Putin Avenue in Grozny, Chechnya.

Following two brutal wars in Chechnya in the 1990s, sectarian violence and the ongoing insurgency spilled over into neighbouring regions over the next decade. In 2010, then-President Dmitry Medvedev announced a broad initiative to channel federal funding into mostly tourist projects across the entire scenic North Caucasus Mountains.

The Chechen Republic is not yet safe for independent tourists, but the region is working on attracting tourists from all over the world by offering various “all-included” tours for foreigners. The nature here is well preserved, and the lack of big cities makes the air fresh and the lakes crystal clear.

Officially, the Chechen Republic consists of 3 cities and 17 administrative divisions, and each border has a checkpoint where local authorities check travelers’ documents. The checkpoints are one of the region’s "terrorism prevention" measures.

A view shows the main building of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (back) and a tower of the Kremlin (front) during sunset in Moscow, Russia.

A team of cheerleaders performs during the Russian Cheerleading Championship of students in Moscow on November 20, 2016.

Omsk citizen are accustomed to the winter weather extreme

A young woman smiles as she attends the opening of a skating rink in the Gorky park in Moscow, Russia. Skating, the popular winter fun, has come to Moscow's streets again as winter takes its place.

Фото опубликовано saratov_zbs (@saratov_zbs) Сен 15 2016 в 9:24 PDT

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"What we need is to fix the law: the opportunity to, at a distance of, for example, I don't know, 25-30 meters, to freely express one’s opinion, without bothering others, to peacefully express one’s opinion on events taking place, whether it is an exhibition, a performance, a film, on the side without disturbing anyone,” said Bortko during a meeting of the committee.

In his opinion, police should not prevent citizens from holding protests.

Several art exhibitions in Russia have been controversially forced to close in the last two years following protests by conservative and religious activists, including an attack by Orthodox activists on an exhibition by Soviet sculptor Vadim Sidur at Moscow’s Manege exhibition hall in 2015 in which a number of exhibits were damaged.

"The weather was new to me, I'd never even seen snow before." For Ramnik Kohli from New Delhi, India, Russia turned out to be a completely new world.

He first came to Russia in 1997 to study at the State University of Management in Moscow after he got a scholarship from the Russian government. Having completed his PhD in economics and marketing in 2007, Ramnik returned to India only to come back to Moscow in 2013 — this time as head of the Russia and CIS branch of Micromax Infomatics Ltd, an Indian producer of mobile phones.

Since then Russia has become his second home. He has a wide circle of friends in Moscow and has traveled to almost every corner of the country. For Ramnik, the Russian soul is no longer a sealed book: "Russians take some time to open up. And smile a bit less. But when people get to know you, they start smiling."

The Russian language has a saying: “Truth is spoken by infant lips”. We decided to tap this source of wisdom by going to a Moscow school London Gates Supplementary Education Center to talk to 6-year-old kids about their vision of the future. Misha, Miroslava, Danya, and Dasha have studied in the same group for several years.

In light of the recent news about the unsuccessful joint EU-Russia Schiaparelli probe, we invited the children to fantasize about life on Mars. Why do humans want to colonize Mars? How will they get there? How will they live there?

Russia plans to send the first humans to Mars by 2040-2050. Our respondents will be about 35 years old, so will have a chance to join the expedition if they wish.

Margarita Moltanova, 5, plays with reindeers in the family traditional reindeer herding camp in Russia's northern Yamal Region. The indigenous reindeer herders in Russia’s northern Yamal Region, a remote section of Siberia where winter temperatures can sink below minus 50 degrees Celsius, are facing a man-made threat as officials push ahead with an unprecedented culling that calls for at least one in seven of the Yamal’s reindeer to be slaughtered.

A group of Syrian children with serious chronic diseases are delivered to St. Petersburg to undergo treatment at Kirov Military Medical Academy.