Kizhy, Russia

This great card was sent to me by my dear Anasty as a RAS!

This is the Intercession Cathedral in Kizhy, and is also a UNESCO whs.
An architectural ensemble of timber churches gracefully crowned by an array of cupolas, adorned with aspen shingles. For centuries, if not millennia, the small, outstretched Kizhi Island in Lake Onega has attracted attention. Located in the now Republic of Karelia in the Russian north, this once pagan ritual playground today houses a state-run museum of the region's monumental timber architecture. This includes a group of wooden churches built here in the eighteenth century and a later bell tower, as well as Orthodox-sanctified structures of crossroads and chapels that were relocated here. Together with impressively ornamented peasant houses from the nineteenth century (also relocated), the Kizhi outdoor museum allows visitors to experience the ancient cultures and crafts of the Russian north; externally expressed in wood, internally, in elaborate woven and embroidered textiles.
The carved crown of the Intercession Church hovers in the air beside its taller neighbour, creating harmony between the two with its single-storey, multi-cupola form. It was built 50 years later, in 1764, and is a 'warm' temple, recently opened again for religious services. Built as an elongated rectangle with a central axis, it differs from the Church of Transfiguration, which is also located in Kizhy.
Just a great place, so much worth visiting!

большо́е спаси́бо Настја!!!!

the stamps arent anything less amazing, and as i have probably said before, Russian stamps are among my favourites...esp. since there are always a few...thats coz as Anasty told me ones, they dont issue stamps with the value enough for a postcard, so they have to use more...which can be annoying sometimes when you have to make all those (im)possible combinations, but i dont mind getting such cards...they just look lovely :)The small stamp on the left belongs to the set of 11 stamps from the third issue  of standard postage stamps of the Russian Federation, with this one depicting Oil Industry (sea drilling platforms and drilling vessel).
The one in the middle is from this year's EUROPA issue with its Astronomy theme. The stamp represents the Terskolsk observatory of the Institute of astronomy of Russian academy of science and an armillary sphere against the background with Big Dipper constellation.
The third stamp is from a set of 4 issued in 2006, under the name of The World Nature Heritage in Russia, West Caucasus.