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Volga River Castle, Russia, 1992

The Makarevski Sheltovodskii monastery stands silhouetted against a pearly sky as the waters of Russia's Volga River drift by.

The original monastery was built in the early 14th century, but was sacked by Tatar forces in 1439. It was rebuilt in 1624 and became an important commercial center for Russia, hosting the bustling Makaryev Fair outside its walls annually from the mid-16th century until the early 19th century.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "A Russian Voyage: From the White to the Black Sea," June 1994, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by James P. Blair