Overview to Russia: Travel Guide and Tourist Information
- Russia Information
- Events in Russia
- Things to do in Russia
- Where to stay in Russia
- Russia street map
Russia is, quite simply, massive. By far the largest country in the world, it’s also one of the hardest to understand. Somewhere within the Cyrillic script, the cities and rural hinterlands, however, there’s an absolute travel gem waiting to be found...
Although the separation is slightly crass, it can be helpful to consider Russia as two separate entities: ‘European Russia’ and ‘Asian Russia’. Most backpackers visit the large cities of the former, leaving the empty - yet rewarding - wilderness of the latter to more committed souls.
‘European Russia’ is defined by Moscow and St Petersburg and, as the capital of such a vast country, Moscow is predictably huge. With around 13 million inhabitants and a turbulent past, it’s a mine of fascinating political and social history.
The city’s focal point is the Red Square, home to the national seat of power, the Kremlin. The Kremlin – with Lenin’s Mausoleum standing in front of its main door – has stood at the heart of the city throughout a torrent of countless tumultuous years.
St. Petersburg, on the other hand, presents itself as a European center of high culture. All those glorious Russian realist novels came from St. Petersburg, and the city’s creative impulse lives on today, especially in the White Nights Festival of summer.
‘Asian Russia’ is a wholly different proposition. The cities of Vladivostock and Irkutsk (once a home to rebellious artists) sort of equate to Moscow and St. Petersburg respectively. But, really, ‘Asian Russia’ is characterized by its emptiness and not its metropolises.
Vast expanses of unpopulated land spread out across Eastern Russia, with natural splendors cropping up as frequently as vodka in a Moscow restaurant! Most find Lake Baikal a particular highlight, but it's hard to describe just how much there is to discover.
