Traditional nesting Matrushka dolls being painted in Mandrogy, a recreated village on the banks of the Svir between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, Russia

Woman sews traditional embroidered linens in a workshop at the open-air museum on Kizhi Island in Lake Onega, Russia

Historic wooden buildings that have been relocated to Kizhi Island, in the center of Lake Onega, Russia, serve as an open-air museum

Iconostasis in the smaller nine-domed winter Church of the Intercession on Kizhi Island, Lake Onega, Russia. First built in 1694 as a single-dome structure, it was expanded to its nine-dome design by 1764. Smaller than its sister church, the 22-domed Church of the Transfiguration, it is used for winter services, as it is easier to … Read more

The 22-domed Transfiguration Church on Kizhi Island in Lake Onega, Russia, was built in the early 1700’s, entirely of wood, without the use of a single nail. Legend insists that the main builder used one axe for the construction, which he threw into the lake upon completion with the words, “There was not and will … Read more