Kazakhstan is best when seasons change. There is nothing more beautiful than winter yielding to spring, when the sun shines brighter and air fills with the smells of the awakening ground. Check out Konstantin Kikvidze’s photographs of the Karaganda and Vostochnyy Kazakhstan regions taken at this very moment.

On the way to Ust-Kamenogorsk.

Lakes in the area of Sibiny.

Mount Belukha and Lake Yazevoye.

Local people believe this place to be sacred and sometimes come here to make a wish.

Siberian pines.

The Katun River.

Mount Belukha’s summit hides behind the clouds most of the time and those who see it are very lucky.

A local village.

The Altai Mountains vanish from view as unexpectedly as they appear here in Kazakhstan.

Those areas belong to China.

Approaching Lake Zaysan, a freshwater lake that has existed since the late Cretaceous Period which means Zaysan must be older than 65 million years, and is the oldest lake on the planet, nearly three times older than Baikal.

Karaganda’s steppe.

These rock tombs date back to the 13th or 14th centuries.

A black grouse.

It is either Europe or Canada that have colors this rich to offer.

This place with its craters looks like the Moon’s surface.

In this photo you see an aspen grove as reflected in the river.

Location: Kazakhstan

via voxpopuli.kz