The Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft is transported from an assembling hangar to its launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, August 31, 2015. The Soyuz is scheduled to blast off with Aidyn Aimbetov of Kazakhstan, Sergei Volkov of Russia and Andreas Mogensen of Denmark to the International Space Station (ISS) on September 2, 2015. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

Hornets are insects that are the largest eusocial wasps. Some species can reach up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in length. The true hornets make up the genus Vespa and are distinguished from other vespines by the width of the vertex (part of the head behind the eyes), which is proportionally larger in Vespa and by the anteriorly rounded gasters (the section of the abdomen behind the wasp waist). The best known species is the European hornet (Vespa crabro), about 2–3.5 cm in length, widely distributed throughout Europe, Russia, North America and Northeast Asia.

Moscow riot policemen detain an activist during an unauthorized protest anti-Putin opposition rally to defend Article, 31 of the Russian Constitution which guarantees the right of assembly, in Triumfalnaya Square in Central Moscow, Russia, on December, 31, 2011 (Photo by Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images)

Photo by: Sergey A.; Source: LiveJournal

Son doong cave is a cave in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Bố Trạch district, Quảng Bình Province, Vietnam. Currently the biggest known cave in the world, the cave is located near the Laos-Vietnam border. Inside is a large, fast-flowing underground river.
In early August 2013, the first tourist group explored the cave on a guided tour at a cost of US$3,000 each. The group had six members from Australia, Norway, Russia and USA and spent 7 days and 6 nights for the tour. Next exploration trips will be arranged.

Russian political artist Nadezhda Khuzina was born December 12, 1982 in the city of Serpukhov, Russia. In 2001 she graduated from Moscow Region Pedagogical College, in 2008 – St. Petersburg Art and Industry Academy. Now Nadezhda Khuzina is living in San Diego, CA. Nadezhda Khuzina “Nadia” has devoted her last paintings to Winter Olympics in Sochi, featuring Russian president Putin in different roles. Vladimir Putin is able to perform any sport – skater and skier, hockey player and snowboarder, such James Bond of Olympics, able to cope with any task. The creative artist is inspired by the image of Russian president, a charismatic man Vladimir Putin

Deputies in the Ukrainian parliament brawled in the chamber on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 after a communist leader accused nationalists of playing into the hands of Russia by adopting extreme tactics early in the Ukrainian crisis. Two deputies from the Svoboda far-right nationalist party took exception to the charges by communist Petro Symonenko and seized him while he was talking from the rostrum. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

“Elat’ma, the Ryazan Oblast region of Russia. This small town is only 300 kilometers (186 miles) from modern Moscow but remains 60 years in the past, dominated by the spirit of socialism. The air of the communist ‘50s can be seen in the town’s architecture, celebrations and other occurrences. But neither its beauty nor its ties to a socialist past brought photographer Anastasia Rudenko to this village. Elat’ma is unique in that it functions as a town for mentally disabled people”. – Michelle Cohan via CNN. (Photo by Anastasia Rudenko)

Ralph Mirebs, an urban explorer and photographer in Russia, has revealed extraordinary photos of Soviet space shuttle prototypes gathering dust in an abandoned hangar. The abandoned hangar is located at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which is still in operation today (with the close of NASA’s shuttle program, Russian Soyuz shuttles are the only way for astronauts to reach the International Space Station). The Buran prototype shuttles found by Mirebs, however, are from an earlier era – they are the last remnants of a space program that began in 1974 and was finally shuttered in 1993. (Photo by Ralph Mirebs/Exclusivepix Media)