Drone Videos of Central Russia

Top contributor pushkinflyteam brings us this incredible albeit shocking drone video from Moscow as Europe's largest city was virtually shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020. This DVOW nominated film opens with a shot looking toward the ultra-modern Moscow City skyscraper district.  Starting at about 1:20 there's a shot flying over the nearly-empty Krymsky Bridge, and at 3:35 you'll see the Church of Christ the Savior.  This video earned a nomination in the Lockdown category at the NYCDFF. 

This 2017 AirVūz Video of the Year by contributor Timelab.pro showcases the beauty of Moscow, the great capital city of Russia. Shot with a Zenmuse X7 camera on a DJI Inspire 2 drone, the video captures "three Moscows": (1) the original core around the Kremlin complex and the adjacent St. Basil's Cathedral; (2) the Seven Sisters Stalinist-era skyscrapers, led by the Moscow State University building; and (3) the sleek skyscrapers of the new Moscow International Business Center, west of the city center.

Russia's Golden Ring is a large area northeast of Moscow defined by a ring-like arrangement of historically important cities.  Since the term was coined in the 1960's, it's become an important tourist route, comparable to India's Golden Triangle.  Its eight principal cities - Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal, Vladimir, Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalessky and Rostov Veliky - all played roles in the development of the Russian state its Orthodox Church.  Take a virtual tour of the Golden Ring in this excellent drone video by nikybwd.

Check out this stunning drone video of the region of Central Russia, compliments of AirVuz content creator and pilot Buots Vladimir.  The Central Federal District is one of the eight official regions of Russia; it consists of 18 oblasts (provinces) that form a rough arrow pointed to the east with the base being a stretch of Russia's western border.  The area forms the heart of the great East European Plain, which covers the former western Soviet republics and extends east to the Ural Mountains.  

Kaluga is a city in Russia's Central Region.  It's the largest city in the Kaluga Oblast, and is located about 150 km (just over 90 mi.) southwest of Moscow.  Kaluga was originally built as a fortress city during the 14th century to protect Moscow.  During World War II, the area around Kaluga saw intense fighting in the course of the German invasion of Russia in 1941.  During that titanic struggle, Kaluga was occupied for several months during Operation Typhoon, Germany's (ultimately failed) attempt to take Moscow.  

One of the things which distinguishes western Russia is its flatness.  Most of this vast territory is covered by the great East European Plain, which extends from Poland to the Ural Mountains.  While the terrain is almost uniformly flat, its character varies considerably - vast forests, open grassland, and innumerable lakes, rivers, and marshes.  In this drone video by smmaxim you will see a section of this great expanse in the Central region; the mist-covered land presents a kind of hypnotic beauty.  

Top contributor DroneProduction.ru created this beautiful drone video from the Tver Oblast (province) in western Russia.  Tver is one of the oblasts which make up the country's Central administrative region, traditionally considered the heart of Russia.  Mostly covered by the great Eastern European Plain, the province is also home to the Valdai Hills, which is the source for three of Russia's mightiest rivers: the Volga, Dneiper, and Daugava.  Tver was known as Kalinnin during Soviet times.

Visitors to, and in historical times invaders of, the heart of Russia have often commented on the plains which seem to extend to infinity.  In this video by Maikl_rus, you'll see what they were talking about.  The video was shot near the village of Troitskoe in the oblast (province) of Ryazan.  Ryazan is one of the seventeen oblasts (plus Moscow) which make up the Russian Central Federal District.  Considered the heart of Russia, much of this vast region lies on the even vaster Great Plain of Eastern Europe.  

Drone pilot and Drone Video of the Week winner DroneProduction.ru created this beautiful drone video of a historic town in Central Russia called Kostroma.  The city of about 275,000 is the capital of the oblast (province) of the same name, one of the 18 which make up Russia's Central region.  It's situated at the point where the Kostroma River joins the Volga.  Kostroma is part of the so-called Golden Ring of cities northeast of Moscow which played a critical role in the development of the Russian Orthodox Church.  

Check out this fantastic drone video of the important Russian city of Ryazan, compliments of AirVuz contributor romanblats.  The capital of its namesake province, Ryazan is situated about 200 km (around 120 mi.) southeast of Moscow.  It's located on the banks of the Oka River (one of the largest Volga tributaries), on the border between the Russian steppe and Taiga.  Settled since the 6th century AD, the original city was sacked by the Mongol Horde of Batu Khan in 1237 and subsequently moved 55 km (34 mi.) to its present location.  

Contributor Maikl_rus created this drone video of an important historical site in Central Russia.  It's called the Zaraysk Kremlin, and it's a 16th century citadel (essentially a small fortress-city) near the town of the same name.  It's situated in the Moscow Oblast (province) but is some distance (aroound 160 km or 100 mi.) southeast of Russia's capital city.  The fortress played an important role in defending the heart of Russia from attacks by Crimeans Tartars, which occurred through the late 17th century.

In this video by contributor and drone pilot Vaterlou, you'll get a bird's eye view of a well known Eastern Orthodox monastery in the heart of Russia.  The Kursk Root Hermitage of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God  is located in the Kursk province, one of the 18 which make up Russia's Central Federal District.  The monastery, which dates to the turn of the 16th century, was built to commemorate the Kursk Root Icon of the Sign, a painting which was found in the forests of Kursk around 1300 AD. 

Russia's Central Region is known for its flat landscape, which consists largely of forests, lakes, and meadows on the great Eastern European Plain.  In this video by drone pilot Maikl_rus, you'll get a bird's eye of the area around the Listvyanka River.  It's in the Ryazan Oblast (province), one of the 18 which make up Russia's official Central Federal District.  The province lies to the southeast of Moscow, with most of its populated areas lying along one of the highways which radiate out from the Russian capital.  

Kaluga is one of the 18 oblasts (provinces) which make up the Central Region of Russia.  It lies immediately to the west of Moscow, in the heart of the East European Plain.  It's traditionally been a battleground for conflicts between Russia and its various adversaries to the west, most recently during the German invasion of the USSR in World War II.  In this drone video by contributor Drone Nest, you'll get an aerial view of an abandoned church in this quintissentially Russian province.  

Check out this drone video of a fascinating spot in western Russia, compliments of contributor DroneProduction.ru.  It's a partially submerged bell tower near the town of Kalyazin in the Tver Oblast (province), part of the Central Russia Federal District.  The tower was built in the late 18th century as part of the Monastery of St. Nicholas.  In the 1930's, the damming of the Volga River near here created the Uglich Reservoir; the monastery itself was relocated but the tower remains, partially submerged.

New contributor Davidikaero brings us this excellent drone video of Yaroslavl, Russia.  The capital of its namesake province, Yaroslavl is part of the Golden Ring, an array of cities north and east of Moscow which played an important role in Russian history.  The video opens with shots of the Assumption Cathedral and the adjacent monument to the city's 1000 year anniversary, located on the Volga River waterfront.  Other featured locations include the black-domed church of Elijah the Prophet, the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, and more.

AirVuz contributor VadimUshKa brings us this excellent drone video of Tula, an important city in Central Russia.  The capital of its namesake oblast (province), Tula is located about 190 km (around 125 mi.) south of Moscow on the Upa River.  An important center of armaments production for centuries, Tula saw heavy fighting during World War II when German forces attempted to encircle Moscow in late 1941.  The video features footage of the Tula Kremlin, the Arsenal Stadium, the Belousov amusement park, the Tula State Arms Museum, and more.  

Contributor Alexeykalinin created this beautiful drone video of a steam train running through the forests of western Russia.  The video was filmed around Kuzhenkino, a town in the Bologovsky District.  The district is part of the Tver Oblast (province), which lies to the northwest of Moscow.  Tver is one of the 18 provinces which make up Russia's official Central Region.  Apart from the great city of Moscow, much of the region is covered in forests like the landscape you'll see in this video.  

Contributor Valius Video used a drone to create this bird's eye view of the New Jerusalem Monastery, which is not located anywhere near Israel.  Rather, it is in metropolitan Moscow, the great Russian capital city.  It was built in the 17th century on a site which was (vaguely) reminiscent of the "real" Jerusalem.  The monastery was heavily damaged by invading German troops in late 1941, marking very nearly the furthest advance made by Germany during that campaign before being driven back.

The Golden Ring is a circle of cities northeast of Moscow that's become what's known as a theme route - an itinerary based on some intrinsic connection between the stops.  The cities of the Ring were all founded in the 9th-12th centuries (well before Moscow) and played  critical role in the early development of the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church.  In this drone video by XG121, you'll get a great air/ground tour of two of these cities: Suzdal and Vladimir, located just a few mi/km apart on a Volga tributary.   

Russia is home to about a quarter of the world's forested land.  While much of Russia's forests lie in its vast Siberian region, large stretches of the country's Central, Northwest, and Urals Federal Districts are also heavily forested.  In this drone video by romanblats, you'll get a great bird's eye view of a wintertime forest scene in the Ryazan Oblast southeast of Moscow.  The spot filmed is near the village of Kriusha, a bit east of the Oka River which marks the dividing line between the provinces forested and grassland halves.

Here is something you've probably never seen: a drone video of a reconstruction of a battle during Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia in 1812.  During the momentous struggle, the French leader's Grand Armee plunged into the depths of Russia and captured Moscow, only to find it emptied and devoid of food.  The army was forced to retreat, harried along the way by Russian Cossack and other forces.  The video was shot around Afineevo, a town southwest of the capital near its outer ring road.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Winner DroneProduction.ru brings us this stunning drone video of stand-up paddleboarders on Russia's Volga River.  Shot at sunrise, the video was filmed near the town of Konakovo in the Tver Oblast, northwest of Moscow.  It's on a southern bend in the great river, which takes it to its closest point from Moscow before veering to the northeast and away from the national capital.  As you'll see in the video, the glass-smooth waters of Europe's longest waterway are perfect for stand-up paddleboarding.  

Check out this beautiful drone video of an abandoned boat on Russia's Moscow River, compliments of contributor sokolkola.  The Moskva, while not especially long, is one of the country's most important rivers.  It connects Moscow to the Oka River, one of the main tributaries of the mighty Volga River.  The Moscow River rises about 110 km (around 70 mi.) west of Moscow and then turns to the southeast after running through the center of the city, which came to eventually dominate the (older) downstream cities.  

Here's an aerial view of a well known modern "art park" in western Russia.  It's called the Nikola-Lenivetz Art Park.  It's situated in the Kaluga Oblast (province), one of the 18 which make up the Central Russia Federal District.  The pieces here were created by the artist Nikolay Polissky.  The park is the site of the annual Archstoyani Land Art Festival, held in July.  The area is situated just to the northwest of the Kaluga provincial capital and is about a 90 minute drive southwest of Moscow.  

Here's a nice aerial view of one of Russia's largest power plants, compliments of AirVuz contributor romanblats.  The Novo-Ryazan Thermal Power Plant is located in the town of Novomichurinsk in the Ryazan Oblast, about 285 km (around 170 mi.) southeast of Moscow.  It's powered by a type of low-grade coal called lignite.  With a rated capacity of about 3.1 gigawatts, the plant is the country's fifth-largest electricity generating station.  Commissioned in 1971, its 320 meter (1.05k ft.) chimney is one of the world's tallest. 

New AirVuz contributor SKYCINEMADRONES is one of the top commercial drone piloting companies in Russia.  In this excellent video, they give us a behind-the-scenes look at the work they did for a major Russian motion picture which was released in 2019.  It's called Salvation Union, and it's a historical drama about the 1825 Decembrist Revolt, in which a group of army officers challenged the assumption to the throne of Tsar Nicholas I.  The key scene battle scene filmed in the video was shot outside of Moscow.

Here's a rather stunning aerial view of a beautiful church in Central Russia, compliments of AirVuz content creator and drone pilot romanblats.  It's called the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity, and it's located in the village of Gus-Zhelezny in the oblast (province) of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow.  The church was built in a semi-Gothic style, with some elements of Baroque and Classicist architecture.  It's located about a two-hour drive east-northeast of the oblast's namesake capital city.  

For decades during Soviet times, most of Russia's electric power generation was fired by coal, particularly the low-grade variety called lignite.  While coal-fired plants now provide less than 20% of the country's electricity supply, the massive amounts of lignite mined to date have fundamentally transformed the landscape of former coal-producing areas.  In this fascinating drone video by romanblats, you'll get an aerial view of one of these areas in Tula; south of the national capital, it's in the heart of the Moscow Coal Basin.

The Don River is one of the most important waterways in Russia.  With a length of almost 1.9k km (about 1.15k mi.), Europe's fifth-longest river rises in the oblast of Tula (south of Moscow) and empties into the Sea of Azov.  In this drone video by AirVuz contributor ExclusiveLogin, you'll get an aerial view of the great river as it winds its way through the oblast of Veronezh.  The oblast's namesake capital is one of two major cities that lie along the banks of the Don, the other being the city of Rostov-on-Don.  

Contributor Supasanya brings us this excellent drone video of two cities on Russia's Volga River.  The first is Kostroma, which lies at the confluence of the Voga and Kostroma Rivers in its namesake oblast (province) which is part of Russia's Central Federal District.  Kostroma is part of the group of cities northeast of Moscow known as the Golden Ring, which played an important part in the historical development of Russian Orthodoxy.  The second city is called Plyos; it's located about 45 mi (around 70 km) downriver in the Ivanovo Oblast.

Russia's Ryazan Oblast is split by the Oka River (a major Volga tributary) into two halves: grassy steppe to the west and south of the Oka and a land of forests and lakes to its north and east.  In this excellent drone video by romanblats, you'll get a great bird's eye view of the frozen lake Ozero Laskovskoye, which sits near the edge of the forested part of Ryazan.  The lake-cum-skating rink is just a few km/mi to the east of the Oka, and about 20 km (about 12 mi.) northeast of the oblast's namesake capital city.

Perhaps as much as any country, Russia's geography is defined by its rivers.  With much of the western part of the country on the vast East European Plain, rivers represented some of the only defensible positions, and historically were vital to the country's internal transportation.  In this drone video by brand-new contributor Leonid_Brezhnev, you'll get a stunning aerial view of one of Russia's rivers semi-hidden under a blanket of fog.  The video was filmed in the Moscow Oblast, a region which surrounds the national capital.

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist VadimUshKa brings us this excellent video from the historic city of Rybinsk, Russia.  Created with a combination of drone and ground camera footage, the video will take you through and over this city at the confluence of the  Volga and Sheksna Rivers, about 150 mi. (around 270 km) northeast of Moscow in the oblast (province) of Yaroslavl.  Settled for nearly 1,000 years, Rybinsk was one of the most important trading towns on the upper reaches of the Volga River, Russia's most important waterway.  

AirVuz contributor VAdimUshKa brings us this excellent drone video of the historic city of Kolomna, Russia.  Located in the oblast (province) of Moscow about 100 km (around 60 mi.) southeast of central Moscow, Kolomna dates to the 12th century.  Strategically situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, in medieval times the city became part of the Great Abatis Line, a string of fortifications established to protect the Muscovite Rus (the predecessor to modern Russia) from invasion by hostile forces to the south.   

Contributor iOleg brings us this excellent drone video of an important World War II memorial in Central Russia.  It's called the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier, and it's located in the oblast (province) of Tver, northwest of Moscow.  Completed in 2020, the momument is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers killed in the Battles of Rzhev, a series of bloody clashes which ran for 14 months beginning in January, 1942 as Soviet forces attacked a salient formed by the late 1941 German retreat from the gates of Moscow.

AirVuz contributor and pilot Aleksandr Davidik brings us this excellent drone video of the city of Rostov in the Yaroslavl Oblast (province) of Central Russia, one of the oldest cities in the country.  Part of the Golden Ring of historically important cities northeast of Moscow, Yaroslavl is located on the shores of Lake Nero.  The video features magnificent aerial footage of the walled Rostov Kremlin, which was constructed in the late 17th century, and the adjacent Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery, which dates to the late 14th century. 

AirVuz contributor and pilot VadimUshKa brings us this excellent drone video of an important scientific town in Russia called Puschino.  It's located in the Moscow Oblast, about 100 km (around 60 mi.) south of the national capital.  Located on the Oka River (a major Volga tributary), the modern version of the town was founded in the 1950's to house a large new radio telescope.  The town subsequently became the home of two other scientific institutes, one devoted to microbiology and the other to agricultural chemistry.  

Check out this excellent drone video of a famous church in the heart of Russia, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot monstar.  It's called the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, and it's located near the confluence of the Nerl and Klyazma Rivers in Vladimir Oblast, about a two hours' drive east of Moscow.  Most of the current church dates to the late 1800's, although the original structure here was built in the 12th century.  The church is part of the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal UNESCO World Heritage site.  

Check out this drone video of Russia's Meshchyorsky National Park, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot romanblats.  It's located within a geographical feature of the Great Eastern European Plain known Meshchera Lowlands in Ryazan, an oblast (province) just east of the Moscow Oblast.  The park is known for its extensive wetlands and biodiverse environment.  The park is divided into different zones with varying degrees of environmental protection, with 20% of its 6.6k hectares (about 16.4k acres) having the strictest measures.    

Here's an excellent drone video of an important monastery on the plains of Central Russia, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot romanblats.  It's called St. John the Theologian Monastery, and it's situated on the banks of the River Oka (,the largest right tributary of the Volga) in the oblast (province) of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow.  The monastery is believed to have been founded in the 12th-13th century on the veneration of an icon of Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian.  

Contributor Maikl_rus created this beautiful drone video of Russian church which had some unfortunate timing: it was built on the eve of the Russian Revolution.  Finished in 1913, the Church of Pet is located in the Ryazan Oblast (province), near the eastern edge of the Great East European Plain.  For reasons that aren't clear, the giant church was built next to a tiny village; based on its size, it would have been much more suitable for the provincial capital city.  Not surprisingly, it was heavily damaged in the ensuing turmoil.  

New contributor Nata created this beautiful drone video of some unusual Russian scenery around the village of Konduki in the Tula oblast (province), south of Moscow.  Konduki, which lies to the southeast of the provincial capital of Tula, is in a rural part the province which was once a significant coal mining center.  Watch as she uses some excellent drone footage to show how the area has been transformed by a series of lakes created by the cessation of mining operations here a few decades ago.  

Serpukhov is an important mid-sized city in the Oblast (province) of Moscow, Russia.  It's located at the confluence of the Nara and Oka Rivers, about an hour's drive south of the city of Moscow.  Seen in this drone video by AirVuz contributor VadimUshKa, the town is the center of an urban agglomeration with a population of about 250k.  The video features footage of the town center and its outskirts, including shots along the rivers.  At the 2:07 mark, there's a nice shot of Serpukhov's best-known attractions: the Vysotsky Monastery.

Check out this fantastic drone video of a flock of crows flying over the plains of Central Russia, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Davidkaero.  The video opens with a top-down view of the snow-covered forest, somewhere on the vast Eastern European Plain.  Then the view shifts forward, where you'll see a vast flock of these birds flying through a mild snowstorm.  The footage does an excellent job of capturing the highly synchronized flying patterns of these feathered creatures as they make their way across the winter landscape.

Check out this jaw-dropping drone video of holiday-festooned Moscow, Russia by new AirVuz contributor pushkinflyteam.  The video opens with an epic shot of the Kremlin and the adjacent St. Basil's Cathedral, the aesthetic heart of Europe's largest city.  The focus of much of the rest of the video is in and around Red Square, the city's largest public gathering place.  Located just north of the Kremlin, the square takes on an almost other-worldly look during the Christmas season, replete with a giant ice-skating rink.  

Check out this beautiful bird's eye view of Yaroslavl, an important historical city in Central Russia.  It's the capital of the province of the same name, northeast of Moscow.  Yaroslavl is part of a group known  Golden Ring, an array of cities north and east of Moscow which played an important role in the development of the state of Rus, the precursor to modern Russia.  Yaroslavl, which sits at the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosi Rivers, has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

AirVuz contributor and drone pilot romanblats brings us this marvelous aerial video of a beautiful church in the Russian heartland.  It's called The Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity, and it's located in the town of Gus-Zhelezny in the oblast (province) of Ryazan.  Located a few hours' drive east-southeast of Moscow, the church is built in a pseudo-Gothic desgn with some traces of the Baroque and Classicist styles.  Construction of the landmark began around the turn of the 18th century and it took almost seven decades to complete.