Putin really HAS taken Russia to a new level: Beautiful images show how Moscow's skyline has risen above the clouds
- Stunning series of images were taken by photographer Dmitriy Chistoprudov
- He said Moscow State University was the only Soviet-era landmark visible above the clouds
- Rare weather conditions created an extraordinary mixture of colours and cloud above Russia's capital
Onion-domed St Basil's Cathedral on Red Square is the classic stereotype image of Moscow - but a photographer has provided a startlingly different look at Vladimir Putin's capital city.
Rare weather conditions - minus 27C on the ground but only minus 9C at 500 metres - produced this extraordinary effect from high on Ostankino TV and radio tower.
The city's modern skyscapers, a striking architectural mark of the Putin era, protrude through the veil of fog and low cloud covering Russia's largest city as the sun sets.
The extraordinary views of Moscow from above the clouds on a rare foggy day in winter were captured by photographer Dmitriy Chistoprudov
Rare weather conditions - minus 27C on the ground but only minus 9C at 500 metres - produced this extraordinary effect from high on Ostankino TV and radio tower
The city's modern skyscapers, a striking architectural mark of the Putin era, protrude through the veil of fog and low cloud covering Russia's largest city as the sun sets
The new concrete and glass high rise business and financial district is illuminated against a purple, orange, crimson, and pale silver sky.
The new buildings tower over the Seven Sisters, Soviet-era skyscrapers built by Stalin in the final six years of his life because of his jealousy of New York's cityscape.
Urban photographer Dmitriy Chistoprudov said that only one of these symbols of the USSR penetrated through the mist hugging the city - the Moscow State University building which is anyway on a hill.
At 787 feet tall it was the highest building in Europe until 1990.
The new concrete and glass high rise business and financial district is illuminated against a purple, orange, crimson, and pale silver sky
The stunning images show Moscow from above the clouds in unusual weather conditions
Dmitriy said he had to wait for the right conditions to get his stunning pictures, which show how Moscow has changed since the Soviet years
But the Triumph Palace, completed in 2003 and built to emulate the Stalin wedding cake creations, at 866 feet, was easily visible to Dmitriy's camera.
But most eye-catching are the cluster of new skyscrapers in what is officially called Moscow City Financial District - a new business hub that would make communist leaders Stalin or Brezhnev shudder - where the tallest office and apartment complex is currently the OKO Tower at 1,161 ft, also now Europe's highest.
Dmitriy said he had to wait for the right conditions to get his stunning pictures.
The photographer said: 'I was told that it was a really lucky moment because of this unusual weather that created breathtaking sights of Moscow above the clouds'
Getting the images was far from easy from the viewing platform on the 1,771 ft Ostankino TV mast, but it caught an incredible scene
A break in the clouds reveals the streets below under a stunning red and orange sky
The photographer headed to his vantage point after learning that a cyclone was predicted to arrive in Moscow
'It was a middle of the day when I noticed on a meteorological website that it was minus 27C on the ground, yet only minus 9C at 500 metres above the ground,' he said.
'I called my meteorologist friends at Ostankino tower and asked why there is such significant difference.
'They said that a cyclone was coming to Moscow and was gradually removing the cold air.
The stunning series of pictures was taken as the sun set over Russia's capital city
The bright lights of the city show the huge scale of change that Moscow has undergone since the Soviet era
The tops of Moscow's tallest buildings are seen protruding through the top of the clouds in the stunning series of photos
City through the mist: Dmitriy has described the weather conditions as a 'really lucky moment' for him as a photographer
'The main thing it meant to me as a photographer that it was an extremely rare moment of a cloud morphing into fog, with sun shining at above 100-150 metres.
'It was a first working day this year after the New Year holidays.
'I was told that it was a really lucky moment because of this unusual weather that created breathtaking sights of Moscow above the clouds.
The distinctive Saint Basil Cathedral is one of Moscow's most recognisable buildings, but is tiny in comparison to many of the more modern structures
The top of the Triumph Palace, which is 866 feet tall, can be seen protruding from above the clouds
But the Triumph Palace was completed in 2003 and built to emulate the Stalin wedding cake creations, at 866 feet
Huge skyscrapers now dominate the Moscow skyline, and show how much it has changed in the post-Soviet era
The Ostankino Tower in Moscow is one of the instantly recognisable buildings from the ground and from the air
'They sent me a couple of pictures taken on a phone from and I rushed to get my equipment and went to the tower, just in time to catch sunset.'
But getting the images was far from easy from the viewing platform on the 1,771 ft Ostankino TV mast.
'These photographs don't convey the difficulty of shooting in these conditions,' he said.
'We had to cut through the ice that formed between the metal grid that covers the viewing platform. '
Photographer Dmitriy Chistoprudov pictured surveying Moscow in clear weather
Describing his incredible set of images, Dmitriy said: 'They sent me a couple of pictures taken on a phone from and I rushed to get my equipment and went to the tower, just in time to catch sunset'
The images show the city from 1,771 ft, when the rare weather conditions created an unusual blend of colours
Although the temperature was minus 27C on the ground, it was 'only' minus 9C at 500 metres above the ground
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