St Petersburg
Facing the Neva, this section of the museum (also known as the Large Hermitage) dates from the time of Catherine the Great. It mainly houses Italian鈥
Must-see attractions in Russia
St Petersburg
This enormous statue of Catherine the Great (1873) stands amid the chess, backgammon and mah-jong players who crowd the benches in Ostrovsky Sq. At the鈥
St Petersburg
The photogenic salmon-pink backdrop to the Anichkov is provided by the 1840s rococo Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace. Check the posters outside for details of鈥
St Petersburg
Inside the Peter & Paul Fortress, a separate ticket gives you access to both a walkway that goes along the walls and leads to the Naryshkin Bastion. The鈥
Moscow
Use the Kremlin entrance at Borovitskaya Tower if you intend to skip the churches and visit only the Armoury or Diamond Fund.
St Petersburg
Named after its engineer Mikhail Anichkov and featuring rearing horses and attendants at all four corners, the striking ornamentation of this bridge over鈥
Western European Russia
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鈥
Moscow
The glowering State Duma was erected in the 1930s for Gosplan (Soviet State Planning Department), source of the USSR鈥檚 Five-Year Plans. It is now the seat鈥
Rosenshtein Apartment Building
St Petersburg
Petrogradsky Island is packed with architectural treasures, including this building, which plays with medieval themes in its stuccoed walls, lancet鈥
St Petersburg
Named after Kirill Naryshkin, one of Peter the Great's commanders who oversaw the building of the original fortifications, the bastion is better known for鈥
Western European Russia
Founded in 1473, this monastery sits in a ravine full of hermits鈥 grottoes. With all the high ground outside, it鈥檚 an improbable stronghold, but several鈥
St Petersburg
The 'Singers' Bridge' crosses the Moika River near the Capella music academy and was also once called the Yellow Bridge for its colour. The cast-iron鈥
St Petersburg
Catherine the Great built the big, classical Kamennoostrovsky Palace for her son. Today it's a government building that remains closed to the public.
Moscow
This grandiose complex was founded in 1656 near the picturesque Istra River (renamed the 鈥楯ordan鈥 by Patriarch Nikon). Unlike other Moscow monasteries,鈥
Moscow
The pink-and-white St Barbara鈥檚 Church, built between 1795 and 1804, is now given over to government offices.
Museum of the Defence & Blockade of Leningrad
St Petersburg
The grim but engrossing displays here contain donations from survivors, propaganda posters from the blockade period and many photos depicting life and鈥
Moscow
Built in 1698, St Maxim the Blessed鈥檚 Church is now a folk-art exhibition hall.
Orlovskoye Polesye National Park
Western European Russia
Orlovskoye Polesye, 85km northwest of Oryol, is a placid slice of taiga, with over 360 sq km of thick forest, lakes and wildflower-dotted grasslands. It's鈥
Moscow
Built for Patriarch Nikon mostly in the mid-17th century, the highlight of the Patriarch鈥檚 Palace is perhaps the ceremonial Cross Hall (袣褉械褋褌芯胁邪褟 锌邪谢邪褌邪),鈥
Northern European Russia
One of the few parts of the island that's easily accessible on foot from the monastery is the forested Nikonovskaya area, dotted with chapels and sketes.
St Petersburg
This museum occupies the flat where poet Alexander Blok spent the last eight years of his life (1912鈥20). The 4th-floor apartment has been preserved much鈥
Russian Far East
Tynda鈥檚 pride and joy has four rooms of BAM relics and photos 鈥 sadly all devoid of English labelling 鈥 as well as exhibits on native Evenki culture, WWII鈥
St Petersburg
Fyodor Dostoevsky lived in flats all over the city (mostly in Sennaya), but his final residence is this 鈥榤emorial flat鈥 where he lived from 1878 until he鈥
St Petersburg
Immortalised by Dostoevsky, who lived all over the neighbourhood and set Crime and Punishment here, St Petersburg鈥檚 Haymarket was once the city鈥檚 filthy鈥
Moscow
Named for its Italian Renaissance stone facing, the Hall of Facets was designed and built by Marco Ruffo and Pietro Solario between 1487 and 1491, during鈥
Moscow
Viktor Vasnetsov was a Russian-revivalist painter, who drew inspiration from fairy tales and village mysticism. In 1894 he designed his own house in鈥
Moscow
The 700-room Great Kremlin Palace, built as an imperial residence between 1838 and 1849, is now an official residence of the Russian president, used for鈥
Moscow
Occupying the entire block of Novaya pl, this giant museum showcases the history of Russian science, technology and industry. Indeed, it has claimed to be鈥
Moscow
Though this renowned Russian author is more closely associated with St Petersburg, Fyodor Dostoevsky was actually born in Moscow, where his family lived鈥
Glinka Museum of Musical Culture
Moscow
This musicologist's paradise boasts over 3000 instruments 鈥 handcrafted works of art 鈥 from the Caucasus and the Far East. Russia is very well represented鈥
Gorki Leninskie Museum-Reserve
Moscow
In Lenin鈥檚 later years, he and his family spent time at the Morozov manor house, set on lovely wooded grounds, 32km southeast of the capital. The estate鈥
St Petersburg
Noi Trotsky鈥檚 monolithic design for the local KGB headquarters (and currently the St Petersburg headquarters of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, its鈥
Moscow
From 1885, composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky spent his summers in Klin, 75km northwest of Moscow. In a charming house on the edge of town, he wrote the鈥
Moscow
Part Russian Revival, part neo-Renaissance, this red-brick beauty was built in the 1890s as the Moscow City Hall and later served as the Central Lenin鈥
Western European Russia
Set over 50 hectares, photography buffs will love this huge, gorgeously creepy graveyard, with hundreds of telegenic tombstones slowly being devoured by鈥
St Petersburg
The new epicentre of creativity on the Fontanka River is this mazelike complex of shops, bars, cafes, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, galleries and even a鈥
Moscow
鈥楳y estate鈥檚 not much,鈥 wrote playwright Anton Chekhov of his home at Melikhovo, south of Moscow, 鈥榖ut the surroundings are magnificent鈥. Chekhov lived鈥
St Petersburg
This museum near Sennaya pl is a must for train-set fans and modellers. It houses a collection of scale locomotives and model railway bridges, often made鈥
Northern European Russia
At this expensive-yet-low-budget theme park of sorts, visitors have to run the gauntlet of determinedly cheerful storybook characters and talking animals鈥
