January 28, 2016

Best Destinations of 2015


Best Destinations of 2015
Lake Bled, Slovenia taken by Jillian Schneeman

MIR Corporation – the name means "peace" and "world" in Russian – is an award-winning tour company that has been specializing in creative, culturally immersive small group, custom and private journeys along the Silk Route, the Trans-Siberian Railway, to Russia and beyond, since 1986. This article originally appeared on their blog

Mir shared their nine best Instagram photos from their fascinating destinations. We wanted to share them with you.

The “2015bestnine” includes these photos taken in Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey, LatviaChina, Kyrgyzstan and Russia:

  1. Krka waterfalls in Croatia
  2. Dubrovnik rooftops in Croatia 
  3. Lake Bled in Slovenia
  4. A cloudy day in Istanbul, Turkey 
  5. Lake Bled in Slovenia (another view)
  6. Sunrise in Riga, Latvia
  7. The Forbidden City in Beijing, China
  8. Yurt builder in Kyrgyzstan
  9. Winter wonderland in Suzdal, Russia

For a daily dose of more photos, follow Mir at mir_corporation. Be sure to like and share their photos via your smartphone, and also like Mir on Facebook, to check out what’s new and noteworthy in their fantastic destinations.

The cream of the Instagram crop.<br> Photographers Top Row: Martin Klimenta, Peter Guttman<br> Second Row: Jered Gorman, Jillian Schneeman, Peter Guttman<br> Third Row: Jake Smith, Vlad Ushakov, Jonathan Irish The cream of the Instagram crop.
Photographers – First Row: Martin Klimenta, Peter Guttman
Second Row: Jered Gorman, Jillian Schneeman, Peter Guttman
Third Row: Jake Smith, Vlad Ushakov, Jonathan Irish

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Some of Our Books

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  

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