Russia

Overview

Russia ( Russian : Россия, Rossiya ) is the world's largest country, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia boasts a rich history and culture, as well as a wealth of natural attractions for those willing to head off the beaten path. Many of Russia's attractions for visitors lie in the hard-to-reach stretches of the planet's most remote lands. The best known sights are in and around the nation's principal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg .

Moscow offers important historical sites including Red Square, the Kremlin, St Basil's Cathedral, and its beautiful underground metro system, while visitors flock to St. Petersburg for the Hermitage Museum, the stately Mariinsky Theatre and its world class resident ballet troupe, and the opulent palaces of the Tsars in its suburbs. The Golden Ring of Russia is a collection of ancient cities northeast of Moscow that feature unique monuments of Russian architecture of the 12th–18th centuries, including kremlins, monasteries, cathedrals, and churches.

Beyond the urban centers, Russia's vast wilderness offers extraordinary experiences, from the pristine wilderness of the Kamchatka Peninsula with its active volcanoes and abundant wildlife, to the crystal-clear waters of Lake Baikal , the world's deepest and most capacious lake.

The country's diverse landscapes span some eleven time zones, encompassing everything from the coniferous taiga of Siberia to the subtropical beaches of the Black Sea coast. Russia's sheer scale means that even well-traveled visitors often discover that they've only scratched the surface of what this vast nation has to offer.

Places to explore

Russia (excluding the disputed territories) is divided into 83 federal subjects: 46 oblasts (provinces), 21 republics, 9 krais (territories), 4 autonomous okrugs, 2 federal cities and 1 autonomous oblast.

Sights and landscapes

Russia's history is the number one reason why tourists come to this country, following the draw of its fascinating, sometimes surreal, oftentimes brutal, and always consequential national saga.

There are places in Russia where ancient people lived almost 50.000 years ago. Denisova cave on Altay is one notable example. Oldest rock art paintings in Russia are dated 4000 BC and located in Karelia. Many of the rock art locations are in the mountainous regions of Russia – Kavkaz, Ural, Altay and further east there are many places you can visit. Some locations have tens of thousands carvings like Elangash site.

Derbent , in the Caucasian Republic of Dagestan , is Russia's most ancient city , dating back 5,000 years. Home to the legendary Gates of Alexander, the walled fortress-city, alternately controlled by Caucasian Albania, Persian empires, and the Mongols (until its eighteenth century conquest by the Russian Empire) was for 1500 years the key to controlling trade between Western Russia and the Middle East. Other ancient peoples of Russia left less evidence of their civilization, but you can find traces of the Kurgan people of the Urals , in particular the ruined pagan shrines and burial mounds around the old capital of Tobolsk and throughout the Republic of Khakassia .

Of early Russia' s city states, one of the best preserved and most interesting is Staraya Ladoga , regarded as the nation's first capital, established by the Viking Rurik, to whom the first line of Tsars traced their lineage. Novgorod , founded in 859, was the most important city of Kievan Rus in modern Russia (with Kiev being the capital of modern-day Ukraine ), and home to Russia's first kremlin.

Early Medieval Russia saw two major civilizations, that of the independent Novgorod Republic and the Mongol Empire, which dominated the Russian principalities of former Vladimir-Suzdal (whose initial capital of Vladimir retains an excellent collection of twelfth century monuments and kremlin) and Kievan Rus. While the Mongols left mostly devastation of historical sites in their wake, the wealthy trading nation to the north developed grand cities at the capital of Novgorod, as well as Staraya Ladoga, Pskov , and Oreshek (modern day Shlisselburg ), all of which have extant medieval kremlins and a multitude of beautiful early Russian Orthodox churches filled with medieval ecclesiastical frescoes.

Experiences

The association between Russia and its two biggest metropolises, Moscow and St Petersburg, is strong in the minds of tourists, but given its vast expanses and low population density, Russia is a nature lover's paradise as well. Russia has a network of exceptional natural areas, comprising 35 National Parks and 100 Nature Reserves ( zapovednik ) covering a total land mass larger than Germany . List of Russian Nature Reserves (in Russian) one can find here

Provided your paperwork is in order, you may visit these areas independently. For those wishing to seek guidance, there are travel agencies specializing in ecotourism in Russia such as:

Culture and food

The foundations of the Russian cuisine were laid by the peasant food in an often harsh climate, with a combination of fish, poultry, game, mushrooms, berries, and honey. Crops of rye, wheat, buckwheat, barley, and millet provided the ingredients for a plethora of breads, pancakes, cereals, kvass, beer, and vodka. Flavourful soups and stews centred on seasonal or storable produce, fish, and meats. Russia's renowned caviar is easily obtained, however prices can exceed the expenses of your entire trip. Dishes such as beef Stroganov and chicken kiev, from the pre-revolutionary era are available but mainly aimed at tourists as they lost their status and visibility during Soviet times.

Planning your route

Due to Western sanctions on Russia, Google Maps and Apple Maps may be outdated and unreliable. Instead, most Russians use local app Yandex Maps , which is also available in English, for navigation.

Travel guide text compiled and adapted from Wikivoyage article (contributors). Sections were selected and reordered for this guide. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Check current arrangements with your travel consultant.