Monument to Komsomol Youth of the Urals in front of the Cathedral-on-Blood (built on the site where the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks.)

The Ascension Cathedral, built in 19th century.

Inside the Cathedral. All the vaults and main dome typical for Orthodox churches do not exist now as the cathedral was transformed into an administrative building by the Bolsheviks. (At least it was not transformed into a garage—as was done with many other churches.)

The frozen Iset River and its well-worn path—warnings be damned.

Graffiti in -20 degrees Celsius

Rastorguev House. A magnificent example of Nineteenth century Russian architecture commissioned by Rastorguev, one of the richest merchants of the Ural region during that era.

The Soviets placed a Pioneer Palace, a cultural center for Red Youth, inside the Rastorguev House. The building is still used as a culture center for children. The slogan above the doors is still there even after the demise of the Pioneers and their palace and proclaims: "For our happy childhood - thank you, my native country!"

The river dam in the middle of Yekaterinburg. The Iset, though frozen at its upper reaches, flows easily from the dam down river. The sign reads: "On November the 14th, 1924 Yekaterinburg was renamed Sverdlovsk". Sverdlov was one of the Bolshevik leaders and led many Communist operations through out the Urals (he died in 1919 of flu).

The giant unfinished tower as seen from the dam. The incomplete television transmitter from the Eighties was part of a plan to erect a tower higher than Ostankino Tower in Moscow, which is one of the tallest buildings in the world. Financial problems intervened and the construction has been frozen ever since.

Anton Verstakov, getting ready for filming

Anton Verstakov, visiting the Discovery Institute in Seattle, Washington in April 2006.

General view of the city

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UPDATE1: One of our readers asked a question about the spot in Yekaterinberg where Czar Nicholas II and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Here is a reply from our friend Anton Verstakov:

Привет! Там вопрос задали про дом, где убили царскую семью и проч. Вот ответ (не знаю, как его поместить на твоем блоге):

Here is the house (the house of "engineer Ipat'ev) where Nicolas II was killed together with his family. In this photo from 1925 you can also see the monument to Karl Marx in front of the house. For some period of time the house was used as a Museum of the Revolution. When future President Boris Yeltsin was "in charge" of the Urals region at the end of 1970s, in the early 1980s the house was demolished in order to widen the central Sverdlovsk avenue (which the Soviets renamed Karl Liebknecht Street).

UPDATE2: During the 1990s, Yekaterinburg had a reputation as a city popular with Russian organized crime. Not anymore - as even resting in peace. (Check out the photos by English Russia)