Vladimir Filonov / MT

A scene in Perm combining colorful buildings with gleaming churches. And blue skies.

After weeks of heat and smog, perhaps you could use a change of pace. Perm is a centuries-old city near the Ural Mountains, located on the Kama River. Though it is one of the larger cities in Russia, with about 990,000 people, it is calmed by riverfronts, brooks, hills and two-story wooden houses.

Moscow Times staff photographer Vladimir Filonov visited the city earlier this summer and took photos of its beachgoers and pedestrians, plus its stunning architecture. Browse through the photographs here for a change of scenery.