A Russian Railways schedule of train stops between St. Petersburg and Moscow

Inside the train from St. Petersburg to Moscow

A Russian village by a stream near the Valdai Hills

A Russian village in Novgorod Oblast, October 18, 2007

Another view of a Russian village in Novgorod Oblast, October 18, 2007

Train platform in Vyshny Volochek, Novgorod Oblast

Another view of Vyshny Volochek October 18, 2007. Vyshny Volochek is not far from the town of Valdai near Lake Valdai, where President Putin has a vacation home. A few years ago Valdai lent its name to an annual inivitation-only gathering of foreign academics and journalists for candid discussions with Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders.

In September 2007 University of Rhode Island scholar and Russia Blog contributor Professor Nicolai N. Petro participated in the Valdai Discussion Club meeting held in Kazan, capital of the Muslim-majority Russian republic of Tatarstan. One of the major topics for discussion presented to the 70 scholars in attendance from around the world was "The World in the 21st Century: The Return of Religion?"

Church spires on the horizon. The town of Valdai was once a center for bell-making in Russia and the historic Iversky Monastery sits on Ryabinovy Island in Lake Valdai. The monastery was founded by Nikon, the Patriarch of Moscow, in 1653

Moving on to Moscow

Russian Orthodox church spires at sunset

All of these photos were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 5600 digital camera without a tripod. Link and reference to Russia Blog required when reposting these photos.

Charles Ganske is the co-founder and first fellow of the Real Russia Project and former editor in chief of Russia Blog.