Russian Regions Turn to Digital Monitoring to Protect Cultural Heritage
Russia is home to more than 156,000 cultural heritage sites, including buildings, churches, estates and archaeological sites. Drones will now help inspectors monitor their condition and protect them from damage. St. Petersburg and Krasnoyarsk Krai are the first regions to introduce systematic drone monitoring of historic and cultural landmarks.
Aerial photography captures visible damage, while thermal imaging detects temperature anomalies. Photogrammetry produces 3D models, and laser scanning (LiDAR) measures the geometry of buildings and the surrounding terrain. Bringing these datasets together in geographic information systems (GIS) can create a digital record of each site's condition over time.
Two Regions, One Mission
In St. Petersburg, the city's Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks (KGIOP) and the St. Petersburg Technopark have signed a cooperation agreement. It provides for the use of drones during inspections, the exchange of aerial photography and thermal imaging data, joint training exercises, and trials of new technologies. Inspectors will be able to assess roofs, facades and other hard-to-reach structures without having to climb onto the buildings. In October 2026, Technopark specialists had already conducted an aerial survey of the Miller Mansion, which had been damaged by fire. The resulting data formed the basis for planning emergency stabilization and conservation work.
In Krasnoyarsk Krai, the regional service responsible for the state protection of cultural heritage sites inspected 182 landmarks using drones during the 2026 season. That was slightly above its target for this type of work, reaching 101.1 percent of the plan. Drones also supported six inspections. The scale of the initiative becomes clearer when compared with the agency's overall annual workload: its plan covers 242 federally designated sites and 213 regional ones.
The technology is particularly effective in areas with challenging terrain, dense vegetation and limited ground access. In 2027, the region plans to purchase a drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera to detect temperature anomalies in buildings and signs of unauthorized archaeological activity.
Historic Landmarks Get Digital Passports
In 2024, researchers from the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography and the State Research Institute of Aviation Systems published a study on digitally documenting architectural landmarks at risk of disappearing. Using a church complex in Yaroslavl Region as a case study, they showed that combining ground-based digital surveys with aerial photography can capture more information than on-site measurements alone.
In Tatarstan, oversight agencies use 3D laser scanning to create digital passports for historic buildings. On Sakhalin, specialists conduct aerial surveys of landmarks and process the images using Russian-developed AI. These technologies do more than help authorities document and monitor heritage sites. They also make them more accessible to the public. For example, specialists at Geoscan have created digital 3D models of landmarks in Krasnoyarsk Krai for the 3D Heritage: Preserving Culture online portal.
Drones are likely to become part of cultural heritage protection efforts in other Russian regions as well. Promising applications include creating digital passports for historic sites, regularly comparing survey results, integrating data into GIS platforms and using computer vision. Government Resolution No. 841, dated July 4, 2026, supports this expansion by authorizing the use of drones during on-site inspections of historic landmarks as part of federal oversight.
Where History Meets Digital Technology
The initiative is opening up an additional civilian market for Russian drone manufacturers. GIS developers and computer vision software companies will gain new projects involving aerial image processing and comparisons of data from different surveys. Systems integrators, meanwhile, will have opportunities to bring together drone platforms, spatial modeling tools and government information systems.
The technology can be used in both densely built-up urban areas and vast territories with challenging terrain. It will help authorities identify damage sooner and inspect landmarks that are difficult to reach by road. Drone-based diagnostics, followed by engineering assessments and restoration work, can help preserve Russia's cultural heritage.
