Must-see attractions in Western European Russia

Within the kremlin walls is this must-see museum that houses three strikingly comprehensive exhibitions covering the history of Veliky Novgorod, Russian…

The Unesco-protected, nonworking Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour is the highlight of the Mirozhsky Monastery. Its 12th-century frescos are…

Dominating the skyline is this huge green-and-white working cathedral topped by five silver domes. A church has stood here since 1101; this one was built…

This is the oldest church in Russia (finished in 1050) and one of the country's oldest stone buildings. It's the kremlin's focal point and you couldn't…

On the west bank of the Volkhov River, and surrounded by a pleasant wooded park, the kremlin is one of Russia’s oldest. Originally called the Detinets …

Russia’s most beloved poet, Alexander Pushkin, lived several years at his family estate, Mikhailovskoe, near the small town of Pushkinskie Gory …

As you can guess from its name, this museum, spread over several buildings, includes history and art exhibitions. The architecture bit comes from the…

This late 19th-century estate is where Leo Tolstoy wrote War and Peace and Anna Karenina, as well being the place he was born, lived most of his life and…

Tula has been a weapons manufacturing centre for centuries, a legacy celebrated at this fantastically kitted-out new building that houses an impressive…

Designed by Konstantin Ton (1794–1881), the genius behind Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Kremlin Armoury and the Grand Kremlin Palace, this…

Housed in a beautiful building with wrought-iron staircases, this splendid collection includes pieces by luminaries such as Valentin Serov, Ilya Repin and…

This compact church is famous for housing the only surviving frescoes by legendary Byzantine painter Theophanes the Greek (1378) – they came close to…

This restored stone fortress, first constructed out of wood in the early 16th century, is home to the stunning 18th-century Assumption Cathedral. The…

This blindingly white 72m-high structure, with its top dome shining gold, can be seen from miles away on a clear day. Consecrated in 1699, it’s the fourth…

This exceptional gallery charts a course from gilded icons and late-15th-century European paintings through to fascinating pieces of socialist realism…

The author’s family lived on the 1st floor of this riverside dacha, which contains many original pieces. Dostoevsky’s bookcase is still stocked, and his…

Surrounded by beautiful countryside, Spasskoe-Lutovinovo, 65km north of Oryol, is the family estate of Ivan Turgenev (1818–83), where the 19th-century…

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, illustrious artists and musicians, including Stravinsky, Chaliapin, Vrubel and Serov, visited Flyonovo, the…

Making a circuit of the restored city walls, long sections of which boast fine towers reminiscent of the Moscow Kremlin, is a pleasant way to pass a warm…

Founded in 1473, this monastery sits in a ravine full of hermits’ grottoes. With all the high ground outside, it’s an improbable stronghold, but several…