Top 10 Locations to visit in Russia

In his book “The Genius Of Place”, the famous writer Pyotr Vail wrote: “The stereotypes where inevitably lies the route of any journey, if you are not a path breaker, of course, and you are not a path breaker, of course, are the clusters of human experience, the concentrate of historical wisdom”.  If the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood is awarded a star on the tourist map, then surely the church around the corner is less of an attraction. For this reason if you are going on a tourist trip you should not disregard guidebooks and tips from experienced tourists. Otherwise you will be left heartbroken for not having seen “this beauty” while everyone else has, which means: you missed something significant to understand the place in the express mode of the tourist trip.  On this basis, it is interesting to know, which places should one visit in Russia in order to ”come to know the Russian soul”, and to get unforgettable impressions?

Since the collapse of the USSR foreigners travel a lot around Russia and have already developed their stereotypes and lists of places to visit, they talk about what makes Russia interesting and different from other countries besides “vodka-balalaika-matryoshka”. Russian National Tourist Office has followed the trends of their preferences and made up a list of the most popular routes.

1. Saint Petersburg - The cultural “Northern Palmyra”

Many of the Petersburgers do not consider themselves Russians, they tend to be Europeans. They go to Finland every weekend, they call cafes and hotels using Finnish placenames and distinguish 100 shades of grey in clothes.  Yet by building the Peter and Paul Fortress, Peter the Great was going to protect the city from the Swedes. Besides the Hermitage with its baroque and rococo styles and the Voltaire’s library which was bought out by the educated Catherine, foreigners enjoy visiting the Kunstcamera Museum. After looking at two-headed dogs and embryos preserved in alcohol they go to the monument of Peter the Great which is surrounded by a fence of champagne bottles. No matter how many times the place was cleared of them, newlyweds still hang their “trophies” on the fence. The Palace Square is at its best at night, and the insides of the Saint Isaac’s Cathedral and Kazan Cathedral look better at daylight when rays of light play on the mosaics and paintings. However the best mosaic collection is in the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. If you want to get the feeling of the city you should go see a ballet in Mariinsky theatre, watch the bridges raise, take a stroll along Nevsky Avenue; do not avoid going into backstreets, as in Venice. There is a reason why the city is called “Northern Venice”.

2. Moscow – magnificence and poverty the Russian way

In contrast to Saint Petersburg, Moscow is the city of wide avenues and massive Soviet buildings – from the Lenin Russian State Library which has 275 km of shelves, to Stalin skyscrapers representing Stalin’s Empire style. All tourists however go see the Kremlin and the Red Square first, not the building of Lomonosov State University. Having been originally a market and an execution yard (the place of bread and circuses) now the Red Square is the most favourite place for foreign and local tourists. Even today it is the centre of Moscow life which allows you to plunge into the history of the city quickly and easily. Here you can visit the Mausoleum, the Russian Historical Museum (former building of the Lomonosov State University), and multicoloured Saint Basil’s Cathedral whose architect is said to have his eyes poked out so that he could not recreate it, and TsUM (Central Universal Department Store) where the prices start with three-digit numbers. When you go to the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour do not forget that this is a Cathedral after all, so please mind your clothes. You will not be allowed in with bare stomachs and backs. However if you are dressed like this you can visit Tverskaya Street which is famous for its fashionistas, boutiques and night life.

3. Kazan – the oldest capital city

Kazan is officially called “the third capital of Russia”. In 2005 the city turned 1000 years. Despite its impressive age the oldest Annunciation Cathedral, Kazan Kremlin and the core of the old city – the Old Tatar Settlement and iconic buildings of thecentury before last are still preserved in the centre of the city. There are also many modern architectural monuments in Kazan. The symbols of Kazan are: the “Frisbee” of the circus and the modern Qolsharif Mosque. One can see the coexistence of Christianity and Islam in architecture of Kazan. The decoration of Orthodox churchescontains elements of Asian pomp. Raifsky Bogoroditsky Cathedral has a miracleworking icon of the Mother of God of Georgia which is kept with special pomp.

4. The Golden Ring – onion domes of churches

The fans of Russian Orthodoxy who wish to feel the stillness and profundity of the Russian faith, often go on a tour around cities which are famous for their unique monasteries and churches of the 12^th-17^th centuries. These cities have rather poetic names: Sergiyev Posad, Alexandrov, Kostroma, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Uglich, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, Rostov Veliky, Suzdal and Vladimir.

5. Novgorod Veliky – its own architect

The history of the city is closely connected with the history of Russian statehood; one of which pillars is Orthodoxy. For this reason you can find a lot of churches, monasteries and other places of worship in Novgorod Veliky. The most extraordinary is Sofiysky cathedral which was built in the 11^th century. There are remains of six of Russian saints and many important icons including the miracleworking icon of Our Lady of the Sign.

 6. Volga cruise – music plays on the motorboat 

The music plays almost constantly on the top decks. Events and discos are held here. At night the motorboat goes fast and during the day it stops in coastal cities. In Volgograd you can visit Mamayev Kurgan and see the giant statue of Motherland. In Astrakhan you can buy fish and watermelons if you go during the season. In the warmer months you can swim in Volga.

7. Lake Baikal – the pearl of Siberia

The oldest and the deepest freshwater lake on the planet with unique untouched flora, fauna and tasty omuls which the locals catch and then cure by smoking. Walks along ecological routes and communication with the locals who are not corrupted by civilization will guarantee you complete merger with nature. You can also visit an inhabitable Buryat yurt.

8. Yekaterinburg – traditional churches and Soviet avant-garde

The city combines two in one. This is for those who in one go want to see traditional Orthodox churches and the architectural style of the builders of the “new world” who tried to destroy these churches. Yekaterinburg has the biggest collection of the monuments of Soviet constructivism, also besides the traditional museums (Museum of local lore and Museum of art history) there is a Keyboard museum too.

9. Sochi – from all-Union health resort to the Olympic capital

Besides the Olympic construction you can enjoy the remains of what several generations of ordinary Soviet workers used to enjoy for many years. These are sanatoria, wellness activities, walks along the waterfront, swimming in the sea, arboretum, mountain air, tropical flowers, humming-birds, and the world’s tastiest khachapuris!

10. Trans-Siberian Railway – “I will fly back!”

You must have strong nerves to go on a train journey around Eurasia. Not everyone is able to spend almost a week in an enclosed space on wheels. However those brave men who do go on this rail travel are rewarded by seeing 80 cities, Volga river, Ural Mountains, Baraba steppe with its clouds, Yenisei river, Barguzinsky Mountains, woods of Siberia, Khekhtsir Range and lake Baikal. After the journey you will have vivid memories and your body will still shake slightly as if you are on the train, so to say the “train sickness”.

It is interesting that many foreigners have these unique places on their travel maps and their photo albums are full of photos from journeys to Russia. Sometimes it seems that foreigners travel around Russia more than the Russians themselves. For example, which places from this list have you visited?

//visitrussia