Introducing Russia
Travel alert: Following two suicide bomb attacks on Moscow metro trains which killed 39 people in March, security in the city has been stepped up. Due to the ongoing threat of terrorism in Russia, travellers are advised to exercise caution, and to steer clear of the volatile North Caucasus region. For further information, check out Safe Travel or the Thorn Tree forum for advice from other travellers.
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For centuries the world has wondered what to believe about Russia. The country has been reported variously as a land of unbelievable riches and indescribable poverty, cruel tyrants and great minds, generous hospitality and meddlesome bureaucracy, beautiful ballets and industrial monstrosities, pious faith and unbridled hedonism. These eternal Russian truths coexist in equally diverse landscapes of icy tundra and sun-kissed beaches, dense silver birch and fir forests and deep and mysterious lakes, snow-capped mountains and swaying grasslands – those famous steppes. Factor in ancient fortresses, luxurious palaces, swirly spired churches and lost-in-time wooden villages and you’ll begin to see why Russia is simply amazing.
To get the most from Russia, head way off the beaten track. After taking in old favourites such as dynamic Moscow, historic St Petersburg and beautiful Lake Baikal, dive further and deeper into the largest country in the world. Visit the soft, golden sands of the old Prussian resort of Kranz, now known as Zelenogradsk in the far western Kaliningrad Region; the charming Volga river village of Gorodets, home to folk artists and honey-cake bakers; fascinating Elista, Europe’s sole Buddhist enclave and location of the wacky Chess City; the 400-year-old mausoleums of Dargavs, a North Ossetian ‘city of the dead’; or the hot springs of Kamchatka’s Nalychevo Valley in the Russian Far East.
Russia’s vast geographical distances and cultural differences mean you don’t tick off its highlights in the way you might those of a smaller country; the Russian Far East, for example, is the size of Europe. A more sensible approach is to view Russia as a collection of countries, each one deserving exploration. Rather than transiting via Moscow, consider flying direct to a regional centre such as Irkutsk to have an Eastern Siberian vacation, or to Yekaterinburg to explore the Urals mountain range.
If cultural and architectural highlights are what you’re after, stick to European Russia, which is all of the country west of the Urals. If you don’t mind occasionally roughing it and are in search of Russia’s great outdoors, train your eye on the vast spaces of Siberia and the Far East. Alternatively, boost your adrenaline on the country’s top ski resorts and raft-friendly rivers. You can also get a bird’s eye view of it all from the cockpit of a MiG-25 or even from outer space, as well as unique experiences such as getting a beating in a banya (traditional steam bath).
Last updated: Jun 8, 2010
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Russia
Our Top Picks For Russia
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1 St Petersburg
Visit tsarist palaces, and enjoy many wonderful museums, including the Hermitage, in Russia’s most elegant and European city
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2 Novgorod
Relish Russia’s history in the country’s first capital, home of the Byzantine Cathedral of St Sophia and a restored kremlin
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3 Moscow
Savour the power and pleasures of the nation’s awe-inspiring capital in Red Square, and its plethora of museums, shops, restaurants and clubs
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4 Veliky Ustiug
Deliver your wishes directly to Russia’s own Santa Claus in this delightfully quaint town
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5 Yekaterinburg
Explore the gently rolling Ural Mountains from this historic city where the Romanovs met their violent end
Fast Facts about Russia
- Don't arrive without a
- What do they call a...
- Russian doll - matryoshka
- babushka scarf - pavlovoposadsky platok
- fur hat with earflaps - ushanka
- Hurry up, hurry up
After the victory over Napoleon, impatient Russian soldiers in Paris cafés would bang their tables and shout ‘Bystro, bystro!’, meaning ‘Quickly, quickly!’ – that’s where the word 'bistro' came from.
- Area
16, 995, 800 sq km (twice the size of the continental USA)
- Population
141.4 million
- National chemist
father of the periodic table, Dmitry Mendeleyev also standardised the formula for vodka at 40% alcohol to water
- Language
Russian
- Head of State
Dmitry Medvedev
- Phrases
privyet (hi), do svidaniya (goodbye), spasiba (thanks), izvinitye (excuse me)
- Time zones
11
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Our favourite Russia Blogs (beta)
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Quick posting about a recent trip to Russia — Moscow and Saratov
Blog: Travel China and the World - 4 August 2010
Time really goes by very fast…and things around us (the world around us) is changing fast as well. I just recently had the opportunity to go on a trip to Russia. I have been to Russia only once before — and that was long, really long time ago, so it almost does [...]
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Day 18: Iconic Moscow
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 20 July 2010
MOSCOW — They say that in Russia, all trains lead to Moscow. In Moscow, all roads lead to Red Square. The huge cobblestoned square is the heart of the city, and many of Moscow’s most famous sites are concentrated around the square. Today, we managed to visit most of them.
