Rare animals and stunning views of Russia’s most beautiful and inaccessible places by top photographers.
Every year, nature photographers from across the country take part in the Primordial Russia Nature Festival. They present rare images of UNESCO-protected natural monuments in Russia, plus unique photos of IUCN red-listed animals in their natural habitat.
Here are the best photos of 2020.
1. Snowy owl returns to her nest after an unsuccessful hunt, Wrangel Island
Alexey Bezrukov/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
2. Bear in the Valley of Geysers, Kamchatka
Igor Shpilenok/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
3. Start of the reindeer migration to the Putorana Plateau
Sergey Gorshkov, Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
4. Lower Gate on the Shchugor River
Elena Shubnitsina/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
5. Trans-Ural pelicans
Oleg Panteleev/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
6. Singing cliffs: the Sinsk Pillars in Yakutia
Alexey Kharitonov/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
7. Blue River in Yakutia, left tributary of the Lena. Sinsk Pillars natural monument
Sergey Gazetov/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
8. “Where the Dragon sleeps” — Kamchatka. River of incandescent lava from the eruption of Tolbachik Volcano
Denis Budkov/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
9. Crystal shores
Andrey Grachev/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
10. Baikal seal
Andrey Sidorov/Courtesy of ROSPHOTO
The exhibition Primordial Russia runs at the ROSPHOTO State Museum and Exhibition Center in St Petersburg from Nov. 9 to Dec. 6, 2020.
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