Eye on Russia: Your views of a diverse, rapidly changing country

(CNN) -- CNN is taking an in-depth look at contemporary Russia as part of the "Eye on Russia" series. We asked you to share your photos of Russia and tell us about your experiences in the country, and photos and stories poured in of beautiful places and ordinary places, and of hopes for Russia's future in the 21st century.

Anna Glubokina, 27, jumped at the opportunity to send photos of her country. A business analyst in Moscow, she has traveled through Russia and collected photos along the way.

"I think that Russia is like a mountain river: fast, dangerous and beautiful," Glubokina said.

"You will never know what is waiting for you in the future. But I love Russia very much. I will never be bored here. I know that tourists like Russia, because of its astonishing churches and palaces, because of Kremlin and Red Square, because of its great scenery."

Many of those who sent us photos were originally from other countries, like Justin Goney, originally from Urbana, Ohio. He now lives in Helsinki, Finland, but spent 14 months teaching English in Moscow. At the small Soviet-style grocery store where he sometimes shopped, he would tell the store clerk what he would like to purchase, rather than get the items himself.

The 26-year old said he thinks there are more tourists in Russia now than there would have been during Soviet times. He said he has very vivid memories of what it was like seeing the country on TV as a child.

"I guess that's sort of a defining element of who I am is growing up during the Reagan presidency and seeing the end of the Cold War on TV," Goney said.

Arturo Fortun, originally from Bolivia, has lived in Russia for six years. He said the Russian people will take time to become accustomed to democracy. He said life is different there, but after a time, your impressions may change.

"It's like a constant adventure," he said. "You cannot take anything for granted."

Volker Kleensang, of Hamburg, Germany, frequently visits Kaliningrad, Russia, a former German territory that lies between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. Physically separated from the rest of Russia, Kaliningrad has a different character than other parts of the country, Kleensang said.

"Many people from Kaliningrad, they still use the old German name. For me it's a sign that they say, 'We are Russian, but we are more and more European-oriented than the people from Moscow or St. Petersburg.'"

Craig Dillon of Queenstown, New Zealand, visited the country after winning a contest through a New Zealand vodka company. He said he had a choice of taking an $8,000 prize or a trip to Moscow, and out of curiosity, he took the latter. It was his first trip out of the region, and he said it was a "major eye opener" to see the gap between the rich and poor: "Fast cars power past a begging woman on the streets of Moscow."

On a more mundane note, he visited a Russian McDonald's and found that the food was much the same as anywhere else. The only thing he noticed about edible items was that the water had a slightly different taste. E-mail to a friend