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Introducing Russia
Looming over the rest of Europe with its immense, inhuman size and dark, brutal history, Russia is an essential and fascinating destination, the flipside of modern Europe and still an unknown quantity to most travellers. Somehow Russia manages to pull off the truly impressive feat of being both a really exciting place to travel while never relenting on its tediously bureaucratic approach to life. Stay in the EU if you want things easy and hassle-free, but venture east for one of the last truly adventurous and unpredictable destinations on the continent.
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Moscow’s rich history, amazing Kremlin, startling architecture and frenzied pace of development makes it a must on any trip to Eastern Europe, while with its colourful, crumbling Italianate mansions, beautifully wending canals and mind-blowing cultural treasures, St Petersburg is one of the incontestable highlights of the continent. For something totally different, drop into ignored little Kaliningrad, an enclave of Russia wedged between Poland and Lithuania, or to the famed outpost of Siberia.
Last updated: Mar 2, 2009
Tips & articles
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Europe’s 8 best night trains
17 November 2009
The midnight thump and clunk of railway carriages being uncoupled and shunted in a station somewhere...
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Asia’s greatest rail journey
2 September 2009
Texting monks, baby turtles, floods, urban ballroom dancing and snake-oil salesmen? It could only be...
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Moscow dos and don’ts
28 August 2009
Wondering which hat to wear to the Kremlin? How best to introduce yourself to your Russian cousin? Here...
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
- Time
GMT/UTC +3 (Moscow & St Petersburg); GMT +2 (Kaliningrad)
- Money
rouble (R); $A1 = R20; CA$1 = R24, €1 = R34; ¥100 = R23; NZ$1 = R17; UK£1 = R50; US$1 = R26
- Visas
Everyone needs one and they need to be obtained well in advance of travel (€50-100).
- Area
16, 995, 800 sq km (twice the size of the continental USA)
- Population
147 million
- Famous for
Vodka, communism, Chelsea Football Club–owning billionaires
- ATMs
Common in Moscow, St Petersburg and Kaliningrad
- Language
Russian
- Head of State
Dmitry Medvedev
- Telephone codes
country code 7; international access code 8 (wait for second tone) 10
- Phrases
privyet (hi), do svidaniya (goodbye), spasiba (thanks), izvinitye (excuse me)
- Budget
R1300 to R2000 per day
Related Groups
Our favourite Russia Blogs (beta)
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Abkhazia Bureaucracy
Blog: Joe's Trippin' - 17 November 2009
I don't know what it is about these tiny "countries" that aren't really countries.
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Not Your Babushka's Moscow
Blog: No Borders - 14 November 2009
Somerville, Mass - A friend of mine sent me this awesome video of a flash mob that took place in Moscow last week. Personally, I'm not sure it counts as a flash mob if the participants practiced for two weeks beforehand, but that doesn't really matter. Check out what happened when they came together on a Saturday afternoon in a Moscow shopping mall.I love the babushka at 2:20. She doesn't know the moves, but that's not stopping her from throwing down. She's like "Communism, shmomunism.... We didn't do this back in the Soviet Union!"
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Soakin' in Sukhum
Blog: Joe's Trippin' - 14 November 2009
With a recent history fraught with turmoil, the breakaway republic of Abkhazia has had a particularly challenging couple of decades. A self proclaimed independent country, recognized by only 3 countries including Russia, very few tourist make it here.
