Eternal outskirts of Moscow and beyond (LOTS of pics!)

The Moskva river bend near Kur'yanovo village was always just a bunch of fields. Until in the 70's there was builded the Kur'yanovskaya aeration station - a modern water treatment facility serving 1/3 of Moscow sewage water.

Behind said facility, just by the river bank, a large wasteland appeared. There was some attempts to gentrificate this wasteland, but it still stands and didn't lose its character.

My path to a legendary Kur'yanovo wasteland starts from Pechatniki district, where river Nischenka flows into Moskva river through settling basins.

1. Since the Moscow is a relatively northern city, summer nights is never dark enough. There is always some light in the sky, all night long.
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2. Dam in Pererva helps to maintain a proper level of water in Moskva river.
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3. A view to the Nikolo-Perervinsky monastery across a settling basins of Nischenka.
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4. The paths to a Kur'yanovo wasteland is a secret knowlege. Only a trained eye can find a way through thickets behind a vast industrial area.
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5.
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6. The wet trails in the night are dark and mysterious.
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7. Sometimes a stone gardens suddenly appear from the darkness.
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8.
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9. A gravel road in the middle of nowhere - what a nice surprise!
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10. A proper high-speed highway!
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11. Let's ride it to south-east and find out what comes next.
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12. The gravel road turns to a narrow trail again. My way was alongside a beautifully broken fence.
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13.
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14.
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15. What a strange smell. Like someone died in a pile of an old garbage. Maybe it's true, who knows...
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16. Suddenly i've found myself on a "wrong" side of a fence. The trail went to a territory of a demolished wood processing plant. That wasn't my plan, so i've turned back.
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17. Overgrown stair to a an old abandoned pier.
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18. Since i've turned back to north-west i've started to notice nice views to a river in time just before sunrise.
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19. Looks like view to a city from beyond it's limits. It's an illusion, of course. The Moscow is all around me.
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20.
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21. The trail is barely noticeable in the undergrowth.
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22.
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23. Time to sit back and enjoy the view.
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24. A view to a Pererva hydro-electric station. Yes, there is a couple very small hydroelectric plants in the Moscow!
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25. The apartment buildings of Nagatino district still sleeping on the other side of Moskva river.
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26.
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27.
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28. Back to the gravel road. Which is barricaded with a fallen trees on purpose.
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29. Someone really don't like unwelcomed guests here.
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30. And expecting them.
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31.
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32. The sun started to paint skies on the west.
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33.
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34. Dandelions.
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35. Someone's parted with them shoes.
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36.
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37. The gravel road finally took me to a sunrise.
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38.
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39. Let's wait and see, what the sunrise would bring.
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40.
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41. And sunrise delivers one of the best views to a famous church in the Kolomenskoye (the Kolomenskoye is a very popular tourists attraction, always in top-3's or top-5's).
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42. As i've often said before - the best views are from the landfills and wastelands!
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43.
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44.
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45.Time to move on. The next stop - is a discharge channel of a Kur'yanovo water treatment facility. Lot's of fishermans and seagulls.
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46.
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47.
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48.
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49.
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50.
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51.
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52. "Guarded area".
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53.
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54.
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55. Kur'yanovo wasteland saying goodbye to me with a view to a neverending diggings of an old discharge channel.
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56.
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57. A wasteland suddenly turns to a "civilisation".
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58. The new unnamed streets of Moscow called "Проектируемый проезд" - "The projected road" with a some crazy number after. This nice avenue with chestnuts and spruce trees in the middle of a industrial area called "Проектируемый проезд № 5112".
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59.
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60.
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61.
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62.
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63.
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64.
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65.
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66.
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67.
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68.
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69. Windows of a workshop are lighted by a morning sun. No one is working there - it's too early and a weekend after all. It's time to me to go home too.
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That's all for this week!
 
99t4 said:
I didn't notice any graffiti. Did you come across any?

Yep, i did! As far i can remember, i've posted some couple of years before (following with a little discussion), here's the link: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=102124&p=1576411#p1573401.

We have official street art (mostly on the walls of small standalone utility buildings, like transformers or boiling rooms) and dedicated fences allowed to paint upon. "Illegal" street art we also do have, mostly on the back walls of garages alongside railroads, so passengers in the trains can enjoy :) Abandoned places (if it's popular enough) can be illegally painted, places underneath the bridges, overpasses and causeways are good to find graffiti too. Most of the places i've visit recently is too secluded, so graffiti artists won't paint there since it's no one to enjoy the fruits of they labor.

Amount of illegal graffiti decreasing for the last years, maybe it's out the fashion, maybe security cams everywhere makes it impossible to get away. You gonna be fined for vandalism (a little community service is possible too) and your art would be quickly painted over. "Cybergulag" in action (a running joke about vast impact of a security cams and other hightech solutions on a public security).

I.E.: we had an official graffiti mural (a cartoony abstract cityscape in black and white) under a overpass not far from my home, it's been there for some years, got weared down and painted over, no replacement for now.

2013:
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2018:
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2021:
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If i'm gonna find some interesting graffiti in my next trips, i would took some photos.
 
goatman said:
i still like how i never see a chemtrail in the Russian sky

Delivered by a popular demand! 8)

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A early morning treasure hunt - looking for random peculiar artifacts in the Bitsa forest. The Bitsa forest is famous for its size and diversity - ravines, clearings, thick forests. Lots of MTB bikers riding there with every shade of extremity of riding style. And it's all right within a city limits!

1. The morning was already promising with a thick fog covering bends of Moskva river:
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2. The Bitsa welcomed me and my friend with a nice lighting effects:
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3.
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4. What is it, down there?
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5. There is a new bridge growing from a old one down there!
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6. The upper parts of a Gorodnya river:
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7.
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8.
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9. Subway vents and П-3 buildings in a morning sun:
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10. Cranesbill in bloom:
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11. One of the artifacts was the rectangular-shaped pond. Looks like a ditch:
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12.
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13.
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14. From the thick of the forest a mighty bellowing we heard:
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15. There was a subway ventilation booth:
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16. It could produce the best scenting air for the Moscow subway, but no luck, that vent working as exhaust in summertime:
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17.
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18. The next artifact we saw was a small bridge:
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19. And right alongside it was a much bigger bridge:
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20. What a well build construction:
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21. Build with love:
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22.
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23.
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24. Time to took some pics:
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25.
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26. It's time to go further by a shady trails of a Bitsa park:
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27.
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28. Thick forest suddenly ended and became dandelions:
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29. Dandelions suddenly ended and became hogweed and a Butovo district buildings in the horizon:
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30.
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31.
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32. Crooked ventilation booth:
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33.
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34. КОПЭ buildings of a Butovo in the morning sun:
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35.
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36.
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37. Honeysuckle in bloom:
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38. There should be garages... Where is the garages?
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39. Garages is no more:
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40. That might been a grease pit or a cellar:
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41. But wait, what is those stairs?
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42.
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43. It's a swiming pool!
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44. What a surprise.
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45.
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46. Собачий пруд - means Dog pond:
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47.
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48.
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49.
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50.
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51. Khroolyoff pond:
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52.
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53.
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54. Looks like an oak growing out of a birch:
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55. I've just like how white wall of a garage looks on a blue skies:
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56. The mighty КОПЭ rising to the skies:
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57. Gates are wide open, looks like this territory is living its last days:
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58. Descend to a ravine of a Gorodnya river from a II-49Д buiding tiled with white and dark green ceramic tiles:
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59. The Gorodnya river:
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60.
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61. Flows its waters to a underground drain collector:
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62. "We should take a pic of that!":
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63. So i did:
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64. There is a lot of mud in this ravine, time to go up:
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65. There was a pond with a fountain in it:
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66. "Where is my fountain?!":
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67. By the way things going those heating pipes over Chertanovka river can be next to disappear:
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68.
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69.
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70. The groundworks already going on:
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71. The bum's delight:
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72.
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73.
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74. Something is blooming, some kind of a poplar, i guess:
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75. The trail is going up and down to Chertanovka:
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76. That's it. The summer has begun!
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77. "Where is that next artifact... Should be near!":
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78. There it is, an old survey marker post!
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79. "There should be a metal survey mark in this round hole!":
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80. A 1909 year. More than a century ago.
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81. The unattended communication line amplifier:
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82.
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83. Nothing inside, just a water and some garbage:
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84. The upper parts of Dubininskaya rechka river:
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85. And a small bridge over it:
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86.
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87. My e-moped took a flower as a souvenir:
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It's all for this week!
 
Very cool. So is this area popular with urban hikers/bikers/dog walkers?
 
99t4 said:
Very cool. So is this area popular with urban hikers/bikers/dog walkers?

Extremely popular. I've counted districts which directly adjacent to Bitsa park - they got summary population of 1.2 million people. All those people had direct access to this park ranging from "i just need to step outside from my building and i am in the park" to "i had to walk or ride couple of blocks before i may enter the park". For those, who not that fortunate there are 14 subway stations around Bitsa (and three of those stations has direct exit to the park territory).

This park has a pedestrian asphalt road with a bike lane, and sometimes there is a traffic jams of bikers and people. But even in such days you can just divert from this road for a couple of hundred meters into the woods and you'll find yourself totally alone. So there is a room for everyone.

This park is so popular so it had a dedicated serial killer once!

Our "treasure hunt" went on for 5 hours and had a distance of about 20 kilometers, but we covered only a half of our goals. So there is a plenty of interesting activity was left for the other time.

There is a screenshot of a map, the big green area in the middle - is a Bitsa forest park:
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Summer night in Moscow, yet again.

1. I just like to shoot every peculiar tower i meet on the way:
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2. This tower is a subway construction headframe:
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3. This tower is a SS-8 ICBM:
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4. A headframe again:
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5. Power line tower is a tower too.
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6. All seems more wonderful in the night:
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7. A closed train stop called "Станколит" ("stankolit", after a plant where a machining tools were cast):
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8. A water tower:
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9.
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10. Three apartment towers:
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11.
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12. The Ostankino tower:
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99t4 said:
I didn't notice any graffiti. Did you come across any?

13. Especially for a 99t4:
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14. That sort of a treacherously low bridges called "a fool's bridge":
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15.
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16.
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17.
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18.
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19.
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20. Entrance to a worker's cafeteria (dining hall):
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21. That little cleaner is exhausted after a long working day and peacefully sleeping at night:
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22.
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23. The Moon that night was always hidden from me by a city skyline or a clouds. But i've catched her anyway!
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24.
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25.
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26.
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27. Not especially a tower... but anyway:
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28.
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29.
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30.
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31. The Shukhov's tower:
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32.
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33.
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34. The sunrise is raging!
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35.
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36. The morning Moscow at sunrise and the Moon:
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That's all for this week!
 
Bitsa forest again. My daughter was so interested in a "treasure hunt" so she ask to went along. And so we did!

1. The weather is nice:
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2. П-46 building:
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3. Chertanovka river goes underground:
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4. A cliff over Chertanovka:
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5.
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6. "There it is!"
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7. Chertanovka river:
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8.
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9.
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10. My daughter's bike:
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11. Forcing a Chertanovka by crossing a ford:
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12.
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13.
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14.
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