Peter the Great was passionate about his Summer Garden. Inspired by the imposing Palace of Versailles in Paris, the park was personally designed by Czar Peter in 1704, supposedly, with the...
Folk dance is an important part of Russian culture. Traditional Russian folk dance has its origins in various ethnic groups, including the Slavs and Tatars. Some of the first Russian folk...
There’s a lot more to Russia than just Moscow and St Petersburg! The vast majority of foreign tourists who visit Russia confine themselves to the country’s two biggest cities. And while you...
Some of Russia’s most magnificent churches are found in St Petersburg. And among its most outstanding examples are the city’s Orthodox Cathedrals. Built at the height of the Russian Empire's...
Photo: A.Savin, Wikimedia Commons Some of Russia’s most magnificent churches are found in St Petersburg. And among its most outstanding examples are the city’s Orthodox...
Some of Russia’s most magnificent churches are found in St Petersburg. And among its most outstanding examples are the city’s Orthodox Cathedrals. Built at the height of the Russian...
In the 19th century, Germans made up over 10% of St Petersburg's population. Even the city's name was chosen for its Germanic ring. So what traces left by generations of industrious burghers –...
Kaliningrad – a Russian enclave on the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania – is the most westerly of all this year’s World Cup host cities. Standing on the mouth of the Pregolya River, the...
The ‘Sport Capital of Russia’ – now that’s a good title for a World Cup host city to have! And as Russia’s self-proclaimed ‘third capital’ after Moscow and St Petersburg, you’re guaranteed a great...
If you’re travelling to Moscow to watch the World Cup, perhaps your biggest problem is knowing where to start your exploration of this fascinating city with its bewildering mix of attractions both...
If the World Cup had been held in Russia just 28 years ago, none of the games would have been held in Nizhny Novgorod for two important reasons: Nizhny Novgorod didn’t exist then – the...
If Volgograd is on the Volga, then it makes sense that Rostov-on-Don is … on the Don. Twenty miles to the east of the Sea of Azov, which in turn forms a northern offshoot of the Black Sea,...
Saint Petersburg is one of Russia’s most picturesque cities. Home to the country’s iconic FC Zenit football team, it’s a city full of history and wonder. Known at different times as both...
Samara is the sixth largest city in Russia. It’s located in the south-eastern part of European Russia, at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers, not far from the border with Kazakhstan. To...
We’ve all heard of Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi, but what about Saransk – is that a name you’re familiar with? Saransk is the capital city of the Republic of Mordovia. The city stands in...
Some of the cities hosting this year’s World Cup may be unfamiliar to you. But who hasn’t heard of Sochi? Sochi has always been considered Russia’s principal resort, but hosting the Winter...
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that Volgograd stands on the mighty Volga River. Formerly called Stalingrad – the fortress that played a pivotal role in World War II – you might have seen...
Yekaterinburg is the fourth largest city in Russia and the capital of the Ural region. The city was founded by the first Russian Emperor, and marks the place where the last Russian Emperor and his...
Visiting Moscow? Wondering where to start? There are so many incredible things to see and do in Russia’s capital. Beyond the obvious Red Square, St Basil’s Cathedral and Kremlin, there’s...
Fancy a bit of food shopping in St Petersburg? There’s no shortage of grocery markets in the city and, although they’ve largely been superseded in popularity by the ever-growing number of...
As one of the most important historical and cultural centres of southern Russia and the northern Caucasus region, Krasnodar is more ethnically diverse than Northern Russia. The renovated...
Are you planning to attend the FIFA Confederations Cup this summer? This year’s event will be the 10th FIFA Confederations Cup, an international men's football tournament organised by FIFA...
We’re all familiar with Chinese, Indian and Italian food. But what are the traditional dishes you can look forward to on your next visit to Russia? Here are a few typical examples of Russian...
Did you know that Moscow has the only national nature reserve in Europe located in a city with more than a million inhabitants? Elk Island straddles the boundary between Moscow proper and the...
Flying into your travel destination is an exciting experience – but what about the transfer from the airport to your hotel? If you’re an independent traveller and you’ve never been to St...
The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. So the fact that Russia is hosting the event is a great opportunity to demonstrate what a warm welcome people from around...
Russia is a big place. The eight hours it takes by train from Moscow to St Petersburg is hardly a long journey by Russian standards … not when you consider that a trip on the famous...
Butter Week, Crepe Week, Cheesefare Week … however you want to translate ‘Maslenitsa’, it’s an important date in the Russian calendar, and a great opportunity to join in the celebrations,...
You’ll often find references to an ‘iconostasis’ in our articles about Russia’s churches and cathedrals. But do you know what one of these actually is? In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis...
Fancy walking in the footsteps of some of Moscow’s cultural elite of the latter half of the 20th century? Then head for Peredelkino! Peredelkino is a dacha colony (summer cottages), surrounded...
After Moscow and St Petersburg, one of Russia’s most popular tourist cities is Nizhny Novgorod. Often shortened to just Nizhny, it’s Russia's fifth-largest city after Moscow, St Petersburg,...
As the world’s largest country by far, it’s no surprise that there are endless fun and fascinating facts about Russia. Here are just a few of them… Moscow's Fallen Monument Park contains a...
Fancy seeing the natural side of Russia, but don’t want to travel too far? Then maybe the Republic of Karelia is what you’re looking for. Karelia is an amazing ‘country of lakes’ in the...
Where’s the best place to head for in Moscow if you’re looking to keep children entertained? One great idea is to head for the beautiful old royal estate of Kolomenskoe – one of the best...
There are few places in Russia which represent the repression of the Soviet era as much as Moscow’s Lubyanka Building. Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the former KGB...
It’s strange to think that a Russian theatre company that started life as the dream of playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski...
Russia is world-famous for its ballets and operas, music and theatre. But they’re mainly the preserve of adults – so where do you take your children for a bit of high-brow cultural...
Russia is justifiably proud of its many and varied scientific discoveries and achievements. From Medeleev’s periodic table to Russia’s many breakthrough achievements in space exploration, the...
Russia is a big place! With a total surface area about 70 times bigger than the UK, you could spend a lifetime exploring this fascinating land, and still only scratch the surface. But now...
Russia is ready to host the most amazing World Cup ever – are you going to be there? If this year’s Confederations Cup is anything to go by, next year’s big event is going to be fantastic! The...
There are dozens of different types of seal right across the planet, but there’s one thing they have in common – they’re all essentially saltwater creatures … all, that is, except one. The...
Travelling by motorbike is a great way to see new countries and meet the local people. And with so many great countries to visit, it can be difficult to know where to start. So can we make a...
Tickets are now on sale for next year’s FIFA World Cup. And while Moscow and St Petersburg are sure to be popular destinations with foreign supporters, there are plenty of other cities around...
Visiting Moscow with family, and looking for something to keep the kids entertained? Then here are a few suggestions… Mosquarium The new, ocean-size aquarium at VDNKh, which opened...
Russia is full of incredible religious buildings. But surely one of the most breathtaking is the Novodevichy Convent. One of Moscow's most beautiful cloisters, it’s nestled in the...
There’s an amazing new park right in the heart of Moscow. Opened in September, the park covers 13 hectares between Red Square and the Moscow River, and it’s certainly attracting the...
Getting around St. Petersburg by public transport is generally pretty straightforward, and certainly won’t break the bank. But there are circumstances – airport transfers, for example, or...
Have you heard of the Seven Wonders of Russia? A project organised by the newspaper Izvestia, Radio Mayak and the television channel Russia set out to establish the seven most amazing...
11. Leningrad under Stalin: Kirov and the Terror (1924-1941) There are so many reasons to visit St Petersburg. Some people come in search of culture, others seek inspiration from its literary...
There are so many reasons to visit St Petersburg. Some people come in search of culture, others seek inspiration from its literary associations. For some, it’s the architecture that’s top of their...
There’s just over 500 days to go till the biggest event in the footballing calendar – the FIFA World Cup 2018. Hosted by Russia, it’s a great opportunity to showcase the very best of what...
Russia is full of places with links to one of the world’s most famous historical leaders, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. But do you know where the man considered by some as the father of communism...
Heading for Moscow but not sure where to go first? Then here are some of the ‘must-sees’ – which ones will you visit? The Moscow Kremlin is a self-contained city packed full of churches,...
You’ve probably heard of Italy’s famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. But what about Russia’s Leaning Tower of Nevyansk? The tower – unsurprisingly – stands (or rather, leans) in the town of Nevyansk...
Planning a trip to Russia? Not sure where to go first? Here are a few ideas to help you decide… For lots of us planning to visit a foreign country for the first time, the obvious choice is to...
As the capital of the Russian Federation, it’s hardly surprising that Moscow is one of the country’s most popular destinations for foreign visitors. Whether you’re a tourist or a business person,...
Moscow hasn’t always been Russia’s capital city. In fact, in the 13th-15th centuries, it was Vladimir that held this prestigious title. The white stone churches of Vladimir are a reminder...