The Altai Republic in 3 Russian words

1. ГОРА БЕЛУХА (Mount Belukha)

The 4,509-meter-high Mount Belukha is the highest peak in the Altai Mountains and Siberia. It was first conquered by brothers Boris and Mikhail Tronov in 1914. And, in 2003, athlete Dmitry Shchitov completed an extreme ski descent down it, which lasted nearly two hours!

2. ПАЗАРЫКСКИЙ КОВЕР (Pazyryk Carpet)

This carpet is over 2,500 years old! According to one theory, it’s the oldest pile carpet in the world. The Pazyryk carpet belongs to the Pazyryk archaeological culture of the Scythian-Siberian world during the Iron Age. It was discovered in a burial mound on the border with Mongolia in 1949 and is now housed in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

3. ПРИНЦЕССА УКОКА (Princess of Ukok)

The well-preserved mummy of a young woman, discovered on the Ukok Plateau in 1865, also belongs to the ancient Pazyryk culture. She was named ‘Princess of Ukok’. The mummy's embalmed body bears a tattoo depicting a ram, a snow leopard, an ibex and a griffin.