Drone Videos of Russia's Urals and Volga Regions

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist URALDRON brings us this fantastic drone video from the Urals region of Russia.  During the first minute, you'll fly over some of the distinctive natural scenery of the southern part of the chain, which divides Europe from Russia.  At the 1:00 mark, you'll head to Yekaterinburg, the largest city of the Urals region and Russia's fourth-largest city overall.  The video concludes with aerial views of Chelyabinsk, the #2 Urals city and one of Russia's most important industrial centers.  

Top contributor URALDRON brings us this outstanding drone video from Russia's Southern Ural Mountains region, one of the country's natural treasures.  Some of the world's oldest mountains, the Urals divide the Asian and European continents and run on a roughly north-south course from the Arctic Ocean to the border with Kazakhstan, with the southern stretch generally considered the most scenic.  The video features footage from Arakul Shikhan, Sugomak and Egoza Mounains; the (Russian) republic of Bashkiria, and the Zyuratkul ridge.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist URALDRON brings us this outstanding drone video from the Southern Ural Mountains region of Russia.  The first stop is the Zigalga National Park, which sits astride a ridge of the Urals in the oblast (province) of Chelyabinsk.  The next stop is Taganay National Park, a bit to the north of the first park, which is known for its vast forest.  From there you'll head a bit further north to the Yegoza ski area.  The last stop Yekaterinburg, the unofficial capital of the Urals region and Russia's #4 city.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Winner CINEMADRONE brings us this stunning drone video from the Ural Mountains in Russia.  Shot during the Fall with a DJI Inspire 2, the video captures the beauty of this majestic range of mountains, which forms the boundary between European and Asian Russia.  The range runs on a generally north-south course of about 1.6k mi. (around 2.5k km), from the Arctic Ocean to Russia's southern neighbor Kazakhstan.  The highest peak of the range has an altitude of about 6.2k ft. above sea level (around 1.9k m).  

Prepare to be amazed by this hyperlapse of drone footage from Russia's fourth-largest city and one of its most important business centers.  Ekaterinburg lies on the eastern side of the Ural mountains, and is considered the de facto capital of the entire Urals region.  It acts as the key gateway to the vast territory of Siberia which lies to its east.  Famously, it was the site of one of the great crimes of the 20th century: the murder of the Tsar of Russia and his family by Bolshevik revolutionaries in 1918.   

Nizhny Novgorod is considered one of the great historical and cultural treasures of Russia.  Located at the confluence of the Oka and Volga Rivers, the city was founded in the 13th century.  During much of its history, Nizhny was considered the most important trade center in Russia.  In Soviet times, when it was known as Gorky, the city became one of the country's main industrial centers and was known as "Russia's Detroit".   In this drone video by VadimUshKa, you'll get a marvelous aerial tour of Russia's fifth-largest city as of 2019.

Chelyabinsk is the second-largest city in the Urals region of Russia, after Yekaterinburg.  Seen here in this excellent drone video by CINEMADRONE, it's situated on the Miass River, near Russia's southern border with Kazakhstan.  Founded in the 1700's, the city became a key junction on the Trans-Siberian Railway in the late 19th century.  It later became one of the key centers for industrialization in the Stalinist period, and during World War II Chelyabinsk served as one of the USSR's most important cities for arms production.   

Contributor Vladimir Zhilko created this spectacular drone reel showing the highlights of his work across central Russia.  Most of it was shot around the Ural Mountains, which mark the divide between European and Asian Russia.  Watch it and you'll get a sense of the stunning natural beauty of the area, as well as the range of outdoor activities which take place in its vast open reaches.  Whether it's ATV riding, camping, boating, or any number of other activities, there is something for everyone here.

Take in these excellent drone views from the heart of Russia's Volga Region, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot VadimUshKa.  The video was filmed in the great Samara Bend of the Volga River, where Europe's longest waterway takes a hairpin curve to the left (west) and forms a backwards-facing "C" before resuming its southerly course towards its mouth on the Caspain Sea.   The video features footage from around the cities of Samara and Togliatti (the two great cities of the Bend), Shiryaevo, and Bogatyrskaya Sloboda.    

It would be hard to overstate the importance of the Volga River to Russia.  Europe's longest river runs almost entirely within the borders of Russia, from a source in the hills in the northwestern part of the country to the Caspian Sea.  The majority of the country's largest cities sit on the river or its tributaries, a geographic fact which is tied closely to the arc of Russian history.  In this drone video by Exclusive Login, you'll get an aerial view of the mighty waterway around its midpoint, and in all seasons.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, brand-new contributor URALDRON brings us this stunning drone video from Russia's Ural Mountains.  The video was filmed over Taganay National Park, which covers a series of mountain ridges near the southern end of the chain in the oblast (province) of Chelyabinsk.   Established in 1991, the park covers a territory of about 220 square mi. (around 570 square km).  Heavily forested, the peaks within the park rise to altitudes of up to just under 3.9k ft. above sea level (just under 1.2k m).  

Check out this stunning aerial film of the Ural Mountains by drone pilot and AirVūz contributor CINEMADRONE. The Ural Mountains are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan. Using a DJI Mavic Pro 2 and a DJI Inspire, this drone pilot was able to capture the beauty of this mountain range during peak fall foliage. This video earned a Drone Video of the Week nomination in December 2020. 

AirVuz contributor and pilot VadimUshKa brings us this excellent city from the great Russian city of Samara.  Located at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers, Samara was known as Kuybyshev during much of the Soviet period.  During World War II, the city served as an alternative capital of sorts while many of the country's central administrative functions were evacuated here during the period when Moscow was under direct German threat.  The video was created with a combination of drone and ground camera footage.  

Amongst European rivers, the Volga is in a class by itself.  It's the longest waterway on the continent and also the Europe's largest as measured by water discharge volume.  Its 3.5k km (almost 2.2k mi.) course lies entirely within Russia, and most of the country's major cities are on the river or its tributaries.  In this drone video from Maksx, you'll get a great view of the river as it winds through Tolyatti, a mid-sized city which lies on one of the rivers great bends in its journey southwards towards the Caspian Sea.    

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist Nikita Yumshanov used a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone to create this beautiful aerial video of Russia's Zyuratkul National Park in the southern Ural Mountains.  The park is situated about 120 mi. (around 200 km) west of Chelyabinsk, the second-largest city in the Urals Federal District.  Established in 1993, the park covers over 340 square mi. (about 880 square km).  The park is home to several small Urals sub-ranges, lakes, rivers, and distinctive-looking ridges and other rock formations.  

Content creator and drone pilot Vladimir Zhilkov created this beautiful drone video of Ufa, the capital city of Russia's Bashkortostan province.  Baskkortostan is one of the 14 provinces which make up the country's Volga region.  It's situated at the confluence of the Ufa and Belaya Rivers, both of which are sourced from the Ural Mountains to the east.  Ufa has a population of over a million; Bashkortostan has a population of over four million and is the largest Russian republic on that measure.  

Check out this fantastic drone video from Russia's Ural Mountains, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot SkyCinemaLab.  The video was shot with a DJI Mavic Air 2 drone.  The great mountain chain is oriented in a north-south direction, crossing western Russia from the Arctic Ocean to its border with Kazakhstan in the south.  Some of the world's oldest mountains, the Urals form the natural boundary between Europe and Asia.  Partly due to their age, the Urals are home to some of the world's richest mineral deposits.  

Contributor krolik2010 created this beautiful drone video of Penza, a city on the Sura River in western Russia.  It's the capital of the oblast (province) of the same name, one of the 14 which make up the official Volga region of the country.   Situated just over 600 km (a bit under 400 mi.) southeast of Moscow, Penza was one of the fortress cities built to protect the capital city from invasion from the Eurasian Steppe.  With a population of about 500,000, it's one of the largest cities in the Volga region.  

Here's a spectacular drone video of an important landmark in Russia's Ural Mountains region.  It's called the Kesene Mausoleum, and it's located in the Chelyabinsky Province, near the small town of Varna.  It's also known as the Tower of Tamarlane, named after  Tamerlane, the great Turkic emperor who terrorized Russia in the 14th century in much the same manner as Ghengis Khan in the 13th.  The landmark lies just to the east of the Ural Mountains, which act as the border between European and Asian Russia.  

Russia's "Volga Region" isn't precisely defined, partly because the river (Europe's longest) runs through several different regions in its journey to the Caspian Sea.  At about its halfway point, the Volga forms a giant bend, on which lies storied cities such as Samara, Tolyati, and Kazan.  In this beautiful drone video by AirVuz contributor Exclusive Login, you'll get a bird's eye view of the oblasts of Samara and Ulyanovsk, two of the main provinces in this region, which is in many respects the very heart of Russia.  

The Ural Mountains are traditionally regarded as the border between European and Asian Russia.  Though the peaks of the Urals are not as tall as those of the Alps range to their west, they are one of the most important geographical features in Russia and are incredibly rich in mineral resources.  In this video, contributor and pilot Vladimir Zhilko treats us to a beautiful drone video of hot air balloons floating in the clouds above the mountain range, east of which lies the great expanse of Siberia.

Ural is a region around the Ural Mountains in east-central Russia, situated between the East European and West Siberian plains. These lands offer not only stunning natural beauty but a plethora of precious and semi-precious natural resources.  The region also features a number of large rivers, most of which drain northward into the Arctic Ocean. Content creator and pilot ExclusiveLogin experienced the area, falling in love with the region and sharing it in this marvelous 4K drone video.

Szyran, Russia is one of the larger cities in the great bend of the River Volga as it winds its way towards the Caspian Sea.  Szyran is the third largest city in the oblast (province) of Samara, the southernmost of the provinces which make up Russia's Volga region.  Like many of the Volga cities, Szyran's initial impetus for being was as a fortress to protect the Russian interior from raids from the south.  Check out this amazing night hyperlapse of this iconic river city, compliments of contributor ExclusiveLogin.  

ExclusiveLogin created this stunning aerial tour of two important Russian provinces that lie on the great bend of the Volga River - Samara and Ulyanovsk.  Both are situated near the eastern extent of this protrusion, in which the river's path shifts hundreds of km/mi. to the east and then back again.  Ulyanovsk is considerably the smaller of the two provinces but perhaps better known as the birthplace of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who subsequently adopted the revolutionary nickname Lenin.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist chill_side brings us this fantastic drone video from the plains of Russia.  The video was filmed around the Tsivil River, a relatively short waterway which is a tributary of the Volga.  It runs a course of about 170 km (around 110 mi.) through Chuvashia, a republic (essentially, an oblast or province) of the Volga Region.  The area filmed is part of a larger region known as the Volga Upland, a vast plateau which lies to the west of the great river bearing its name.

Check out these drone views of Russia's Samarskaya Luka National Park, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot ExclusiveLogin.  The park is located at a 180 degree bend in the Volga River, Europe's longest waterway.  The park marks the meeting point of the Volga Uplands and the Lower Volga Lowlands regions, and it's also of considerable cultural significance given the importance of the Volga to Russia's historical evolution.  The park is easily accessible from Tolyatti and Samara, two of the most important cities in the Volga region.  

For a first upload to AirVuz, new contributor ezaharchenko brings us this beautiful drone video of the mist-covered plains of Russia's Volga region.  The video was shot in the area north of Samara, one of the main cities of the region.  It features footage of the Sok River, a left tributary of the Volga which has a course of about 365 km or around 225 mi.   The Sok's confluence with the Volga is in the latter waterway's great bend, a bit upstream from Samara and a somewhat longer distance downstream from the city of Tolyatti. 

Former DVOW Finalist CINEMADRONE brings us this fantastic drone video from Russia's Zyuratkul National Park.  The park is part of the southern Ural Mountains in the oblast (province) of Chelyabinsk, part of the Urals Federal District.  The "star" of the video is the main attraction of the park: the Zyuratkul' Lake, one of the largest lakes within the Ural range, which covers a surface area of about 13 square km or around 5 square mi.  The mountains here rise to an elevation of up to about 1.4k meters above sea level or around 4.7k ft.  

Under Communism, Russia's economic growth was heavily tilted toward industry.  For a variety of reasons, the Volga River became the country's (then part of the USSR) industrial heartland.  As the post-Communist economy shifted toward non-industrial sectors, the industrial cities along the great river, have faced massive displacement.  To see what this looks like on the ground, check out this drone video of the city of Oktyabrsk by contributor ExclusiveLogin.  The city is located about 165 km (100 mi.) downstream from Samara. 

The Scandinavian and Russian Taiga is one of the great forest regions of Eurasia.  As the name suggests, it covers much of Scandinavia (particularly Sweden and Finland) most of the Baltic States, and much of European Russia.  Dominated by coniferous trees, it's the largest single eco-region in Europe.  In this drone video by ExclusiveLogin, you'll get an aerial view of the great forest in an area of Russia known as Rachev's Taiga.  It's located in the oblast (province) of Samara, part of the Volga Region.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist VadimUshKa brings us this beautiful drone video from a trip to the heart of Russia's Volga Region.  The area filmed is around the village of Shiryaevo, which lies on the Volga's right bank in the northern section of its great "bend", roughly halfway between Toyatti and Samara.  It's part of the Zhigulyovsk District of the Oblast (province) of Samara.   It's near the Zhiguli Mountains, which cover a portion of the backward "c" shaped land area created by the mighty river's great bend.

Syzran, Russia is one of the main cities in the famous "bend" in the Volga River, downstream from Tolyatti and Samara.  Like many of the other cities its life began as a fortress, when the river was the natural boundary between the Kingdom of Rus and the Tatar-controlled regions to the east of the river.  Under Communism, like many of the Volga cities, it became part of the country's industrial heartland.  Check out wintertime Syzran from above in this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor ExclusiveLogin.  

AirVuz contributor Nikita Yumshanov used a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone to create this marvelous aerial view of Russia's Ural Mountains.  Some of the world's oldest mountains, the Urals run a roughly north-south course and serve as the boundary between the European and Asian continents.  Once much higher but shortened due to the forces of erosion, the Urals reach heights of up to about 6.2k ft. above sea level or around 1.9k m.  The video was filmed in the southern part of the chain, which extends northwards all the way to the Arctic Sea.  

New AirVuz contributor monstar brings us this fascinating drone video of one of the great industrial sites of Russia: the Gorky Automobile Plant in the city of Nizhny Novgorod.  Built in the 1930's with the assistance of the Ford Motor Company, the plant followed the American company's model of vertical integration.  Originally producing licensed versions of the Ford Model A, the plant went on to produce the Russian-designed GAZ vehicles.  Its presence earned Nizhny Novgorod the nickname "the Detroit of Russia".  

Ufa is one of the most important cities in the Volga Region of Russia.  It's the capital of the oblast (province) of  Bashkortostan, a province which occupies a kind of  transition zone between the flatness of the Volga and the Ural Mountains.  The city of Ufa has a population of a bit over a million, making it one of the dozen largest in the country.  You can check out this city at the confluence of the Ufa and Belaya Rivers from a bird's eye perspective in this drone video by contributor llgiz.  

Check out this drone video of one of Russia's most well-known bridges, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot romanblats.  The Murom Bridge spans the Oka River, a major Volga tributary which serves as the boundary between the oblasts (provinces) of Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir.  Located just north (downstream) of its namesake city, the bridge has a total length of 1.4k meters (about 4.6k ft.); its longest individual span measures 231 meters or about 760 ft.  It's considered one of Russia's most advanced bridges.

Take in these beautiful drone views from Russia's Volga Region, compliments of AirVuz contributor and pilot Segyey_Chirkov_Photo.  The video was filmed along the Usva River, which runs a course of about 165 mi. (around 265 km) through the province of Perm Krai.  The Usva is a tributary of the Chusovaya River, which in turn flows into the Kama River Volga tributary.  An important drainage area for the Ural Mountains, Perm Krai is home to an astounding 18k rivers, which have an aggregate length of 56k mi. (90k km).   

Ulyanovsk is one of the largest cities on Russia's Volga River, the longest waterway in Europe.  Originally known as Simbirsk, its name was changed in 1924 to commemorate its most famous citizen, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known by his revolutionary nickname: Lenin.  Seen in this drone video by Anemko, Ulyanov was founded in the mid-17th century around a fortress designed to protect the Russian heartland from invasion from the east.  The video features footage from the historic city center as well as from the Volga waterfront.  

Contributor Vladimir Zhilko brings us this drone video recording of a rafting trip down Russia's Zilim River.  The river runs about 215 km (about 130 mi.) through the Republic of Bashkortostan.  Bashkortostan is the largest of the 14 Federal subjects which make up the Ural Federal District, and in fact, it's the most populous oblast or republic in Russia.  The river flows northward to converge with the Belaya River, which flows through the republic's capital city Ufa before converging with the Volga River.  

Check out this drone video of a town in the heart of Russia's Volga Region, compliments of AirVuz contributor monstar.  The town of Chkalovsk is located on the western bank of the Volga River in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, about 95 km (around 60 mi.) northwest (upstream) from the province's namesake capital.  Founded in the Medieval period and originally known as Vasilyeva Sloboda, the town changed its name in 1937 in honor of its most famous modern resident: Valery Chkalov, one of the Soviet Union's most famous test pilots.  

Content creator and drone pilot Maksx created this marvelous video of an important monument in the Volga Region of Russia.  It's called the Square of Glory, and it's located in Samara, one of the region's largest cities and one of the ten largest cities in Russia.  Completed in 1971, the monument is dedicated to the workers of the city's aircraft industry during World War II when Samara (then known as Kuybyshev) became one of Russia's most important centers for armament production and in particular for ground attack aircraft.  

TThe Southern Ural Mountains are a distinct segment of the larger Ural sysem, which represents one of the oldest mountain systems in the world and which form the northern part of the divide between the Asian and European continents.  In this outstanding drone video by top AirVuz contributor Nikita Yumshanov, you'll explore the Southern Urals region from above.  Filmed with a DJI Mini 3 Pro, the video  features footage from the Bashkortostan Republic, Chelyabinsk Oblast, and Orenburg Oblast, three of the main Southern Urals provinces.  

Check out this excellent drone reel from the Russian heartland by AirVuz contributor Maksx.  While portions of the footage came from the Black Sea region, the bulk of the reel's scenes are from the Volga Region.  The video features excellent shots of numerous sights along the great waterway, the longest in Europe and arguably Russia's most important geographic feature.  One of the highlights is at the :30 mark, where you'll see the Monument of Glory Statue in Samara, the most important city in the eastern "bend" of the Volga.  

Take a look at these amazing aerial views of the historic city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, compliments of Anemko.  The video opens with a shot of the city's great 15th century walled kremlin (fortress), just past the confluence of the Oka and Volga Rivers.  Then it's on to the 19th century Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, distinguished by its black spires atop a yellow main structure.  Other highlights include the Anunciation Monastery at the 1:20 mark, the Stroganov Cathedral (2:00), the Main Fair building (2:49), and more.  

Check out these fantastic drone views of the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia by AirVuz contributor SkyCinemaLab.  Located on the Miass River just east of the Ural Mountains, Chelyabinsk is one of Russia's most important industrial centers.  The second-largest city in Russia's Ural Region after Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk came to prominence when it became the western terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway.  During the Soviet period, and particularly during World War II, the city became home to a number of giant industrial enterprises.  

This drone video of the city of Samara, Russia by Anemko opens with a great shot of the city's most well-known landmark: the Monument of Glory on Slavy Square.  Then you'll fly over the Church of St. George the Victorious, before heading out over the Volga River.  At about the 1:30 mark, you'll see the P-7 rocket in Kozlov Square, a testament to Samara's importance in Soviet and later Russian space programs.  Other highlights include the Hagia Sophia Cathedral on the Volga Embankment (2:30), and more.  

Brand-new contributor Nikita Yumshanov brings us this stunning drone video from Russia's Ural Mountains, which divide the European and Asian parts of the country.  The area filmed was in the Taganay subrange of the Urals, a group of peaks and ridges in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, not far from the southern border with Kazakhstan.  Since 1991, the Taganay region has been part of Taganay National Park, which covers about 220 square mi. (around 570 square km) and is heavily forested with Siberian spruce, pine, larch, aspen, and other tree species.

Nizhny Novgorod is one of the cultural and historical treasures of Russia.  It sits about halfway down the great Volga, the most important river in the country and the longest waterway in Europe.  During the Soviet era, the city was known as Gorky in honor of the writer Maxim Gorky.  Sometimes called simply "Nizhny", during the Middle Ages it exceeded Moscow in size and importance.  Currently, it's the center of a significant river tourism trade.  Check it out from above in this drone video from FPVbro.