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The Volga (Волга), one of Europe’s great rivers, winds for some 3530km through Russia’s heartland and has been a part of the continent’s longest ‘highway’ since time immemorial. The stretch of the Volga between Nizhny Novgorod and the Caspian Sea forms a rich and fascinating cultural region with over a dozen different ethnic groups, most notably the Volga Tatars. Travelling along or alongside the river you encounter spectacular hilltop kremlins in Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and Astrakhan, bombastic architecture in Volgograd, numerous lively provincial capitals and picturesque stretches such as the Samara Bend. This natural beauty culminates in the magnificent Volga Delta south of Astrakhan, a vast region of reeds and waterways. West of the Volga River, Kalmykia takes in a windswept area of steppe that is home to the Buddhist Kalmyks, who originate from western Mongolia.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Volga Region.
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Known as Hill 102 during the Battle of Stalingrad, Mamaev Kurgan was the site of four months of fierce fighting and is now a memorial to Soviet fighters who died in this bloody-but-victorious fight. The complex’s centrepiece is an extraordinarily evocative 72m-high statue of Mother Russia wielding a sword that extends another 11m above her head. To get here take the high-speed tram to the Mamaev Kurgan stop, 3.5km north of the centre, and walk up the hill.
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This enormous museum has eight large display rooms filled with exhibits on WWII and the Battle of Stalingrad. There's little English signage but each room has a short synopsis in English on the room's particular theme. Audio headphones are available for a fee. A highlight is the vivid 360-degree Battle of Stalingrad Panorama. The museum is close to the Volga River, several blocks north of alleya Geroyev. The entrance is located at street level on the side of the building facing the Volga.
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Samara hides a creepy piece of WWII history. This was the place Stalin was to be relocated to in the event that the Germans took Moscow. The never-used bunker was built nine storeys below the Academy of Culture and Art. Entry is by guided tour (in Russian), best booked a day in advance, though on some days you can simply turn up. The entrance is located behind the building, in the courtyard.
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The highlight of the Engels Regional Museum is not its military hardware, which hammers home the point about what WWII was about (ie defeating Germany), but a magnificent collection of about 40 works by the Volga German Realist artist Yakov Veber (1870–1958), whose style is reminiscent of Ilya Repin's. Take any bus from ul Moskovskaya to the Torgoby Tsentr Lazurny in Engels. The museum is almost directly across the road.
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Built on remnants of an earlier settlement, Nizhny Novgorod’s magnificent kremlin dates to 1500–15 when Italian architect Pyotr Fryazin began work on its 13 towers and 12m-high walls. Most of the buildings are government offices, though the city's two most important museums are here as well as the 17th-century Cathedral of the Archangel Michael and a striking Monument to Heroes of WWII. You can walk the walls from May to November and take in riverside views.
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The nondescript flat where dissident scientist Andrei Sakharov, father of Russia's hydrogen bomb, spent seven years in exile after protesting the 1979 Russian invasion of Afghanistan. The Nobel laureate was held incommunicado until 1986, when Mikhail Gorbachev finally released him. Exhibits include background on Sakharov's life as well as the apartment itself. It's located 10km south of the centre. To get there, take a taxi or bus 1 from pl Minina i Pozharskogo or pl Gorkogo (stop: Muzey Akademika Sakharova).
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This sprawling museum reserve is located 1km east of the town, with a boat landing directly in front of the large Museum of Bolgar Civilisation (Музей Болгарской цивилизации), an enormous building that houses the site's main exhibits on Bolgar's history. Ruins and other museums are scattered around a vast expanse of grassland on top of a high cliff above the Volga. The reserve is dominated by a minaret, and the Russian 18th-century Assumption Church, which houses one of the museums.
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This exhibition space is located inside a 19th-century mansion once belonging to the Rukavishnikov merchant family. You can wander through the rooms on your own or join one of the hourly 40-minute tours in Russian and (less frequently) in English. Furniture and the illustrious interior of the unusual mansion are the threads running through the tours or a visit, and these are complemented by changing exhibitions – often with a focus on household furnishing and objects.
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This assemblage of historic timbered buildings, dating mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, marks the quarter where ethnic Tatars were forced to live following the siege of Kazan in 1552. Little of the old settlement remains, though many houses still exhibit colourful, traditional decorations. The most significant building here is the Mardzhani Mosque (ul Kayuma Nasyri 17), dating from 1767. It was the first stone mosque permitted to be built within the city limits.