These picture look like an artist has painted abstract patterns on canvas – but in fact they are natural rivers captured on camera. The spectacular rivers in Iceland's central highlands and southern parts originate from glaciers, which is why the water is a milky colour. They are shallow rivers and the water spreads quickly over a flat and sandy surface, creating random and beautiful patterns. Photographer Andrey Ermolaev from Moscow, Russia, flew 500ft above the unique sight in a small plane. (Photo by Andrey Ermolaev/Solent News)

“Exactly one year before the long awaited Sochi Olympics, Vladimir Putin went to Sochi personally to see how the construction is going. After receiving a report saying the ski jumps that were supposed to be ready in 2011, are not completed still, while their price has sky-rocketed from 1.2 billion to 8 billion roubles, he commented, “Good for you. Good job”, and then fired the vice president of the Olympic committee. Russian artist Vasily Slonov painted his view of the upcoming games, giving a new interpretation to the adored Russian mascot Cheburashka, and combining officially endorsed stereotypes of Russia with grimmer and less accepted ones”. – Ruskie.info. (Photo by Vasily Slonov)

Soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army march with their weapons during a training session for a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, at a military base in Beijing, China, August 22, 2015. Troops from at least 10 countries including Russia and Kazakhstan will join an unprecedented military parade in Beijing next month to commemorate China's victory over Japan during World War Two, Chinese officials said. The parade on September 3 will involve about 12,000 Chinese troops and 200 aircraft, Qi Rui, deputy director of the government office organizing the parade, told reporters in Beijing on Friday. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A soldier of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment falls off a horse during a practice to participate in the state ceremonial surrounding this year's Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Hyde Park in London, Thursday, March 31, 2022. Around 170 horses and personnel of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment left their Hyde Park Barracks to form up and be inspected by the General Officer Commanding the Household Division, Major General Christopher Ghika. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP Photo)

Indigenous women participate in the Hanal Pixan (Food of the Souls), in the community of Tres Reyes, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, 31 October 2022. With the Hanal Pixan, the celebration of the Day of the Dead begins Monday to remember people's loved ones in the State of Quintana. (Photo by Alonso Cupul/EPA/EFE)

Natalia Grossman of the USA competes during the women's finals of the IFSC Climbing World Cup Meiringen on April 09, 2022 in Meiringen, Switzerland. (Photo by Marco Kost/Getty Images)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

These otherworldly images give a rare glimpse inside caves barely ever seen by the human eye. With its peculiar pools of water and strange colored sediments, the bizarre looking tunnels of the Shakuranskaya cave could be a set straight out of a science fiction film. Found in the disputed region of Abkhazia, around 75 miles outside of Sochi, Russia, it is rumored the incredible underground chambers were formed after a huge earthquake struck the area in 1892. After causing part of a nearby mountain to collapse into the Amtkel River, it is thought the dam-like affect has created a series of interconnecting underground tunnels. Here: a large pool of water inside one of the tunnels. (Photo by Vladimir Mulde/Caters News)