The last city before the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea is Astrakhan, with about half a million inhabitants. The city has several impressive sights, such as the many towers rising above the city fort, Astrakhan Kremlin, and the pompous Maria Church.
In front of Kaliningrad university, close to the Kant memorial, is the bunker that functioned as the commando centre of the German general, Otto von Lasch, during the war. Here, you can, among other things, see room number 13, where the general signed the German capitulation, as well as a number of other objects from the war.
Kaliningrad's museum of amber contains a collection of more than 6000 pieces of amber as well as a copy of part of Catharine the Great's Amber Room in the Summer Palace, St Petersburg. If you go to Yantarny, a little outside of Kaliningrad, you can visit the world's largest amber mine, producing 90 per cent of the world's amber.
The concert hall, Stadthalle, was bombed during WW2, but was reconstructed and reopened in 1991 as a regional museum of natural history and art. The exhibitions provide an outline of the history of Kaliningrad and the natural history of the region, and you can get a more detailed insight through a local archaeological excavation.
This famous island used to be a ritual area for the pagans, but has since become the centre of Russia's beautiful wooden architecture. The most beautiful and famous attraction on the island is the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, built without a single nail. The 22 domes of the church and magnificent decorations make sure that the rain never hit the church walls.
Kazan was one of the few towns that were off-limits during the Soviet times, but today about a million people live there, and the town is famous for its outstanding university. The town's greatest attraction, though, is the old fort, Kazan Kremlin, containing all kinds of marvellous architecture.
The world-famous theatre was founded in 1776, but replaced with a newer, classicistic one in 1856, after a devastating fire. Bolsjoj Theatre has been the centre of the best Russian opera and ballet throughout the times, and this was where Tjajkovskij's "Swan Lake" premiered in 1877, running ever since.
The Russian animal park is one of Europe's best and largest zoological gardens. It was founded in 1864 and consists of two sections, connected by footbridge. The population of animals amounts to 5715 animals, distributed among 947 species. Moscow Zoo was one of the few Russian institutions that had an unproblematic cooperation with Western institutions during the cold war.
This is the historical and enigmatic centre, in which Russian world politics were devised, and this beautiful city within the city is also Moscow's greatest attraction. Kremlin, with its onion domes and mighty churches, symbolizing the incredible wealth of the Tsars, is an inevitable sight during your stay in Moscow.
This famous church, at the end of the Red Square, is without comparison the most photographed attraction in all of Moscow. Ivan the Cruel erected the gorgeous, colourful and imaginative Vasilij Cathedral in 1555-61 in memory of his invasion of Kazan in 1552. Indoors, you can enjoy some of best-preserved icons and chapels in all of Russia.
Forts were an integrated part of all old Russian cities, and Novgorod is no exception. The city was built up around this fortification, which in a way has decided how the city came to appear. Several centuries ago, the fort was the administrative, social and religious centre, where all the city's arrangements were held, including elections and popular assemblies.
Novgorod's mighty Byzantine cathedral, St Sophia, was finished in 1050. It serves as the city's main church and is probably the oldest church in Russia. The western doors, which were won from the Swedes, are decorated with biblical images, cast in bronze. The icons indoors are from the 14th century, while some of the cathedral's even older icons are in a museum.
This church, from the 14th century, is one of the most charming buildings in Russia. The subtle ornaments and gable constructions play with each other on the outside of the building, while you can see the only well preserved fresco of the Spasa-na-Iline church on the inside.
An open-air museum for the wooden village of Vitoslavlitsy, which can be dated back to the 12th century, is situated between Novgorod and the Yuriev monastery in a pleasant, open moor landscape, surrounded by idyllic lakes, rivers and meadows.
The pompous and sparkling bell tower dominates not only the cathedral square, but also serves as a landmark for Kremlin. Ivan the Great's Bell tower, from the beginning of the 16th century, was the highest building in Russia for many years, and today it is, along with the tsar-bell at the foot of the tower, a sight very much worth seeing.
In Lenin's Mausoleum, you can actually see the founder of the Soviet Union. Even though Vladimir Lenin died on January 21, 1924, his body is still maintained 75 years later, by the aid of regular embalmment and changes of his clothes. The mausoleum itself is a squat, red marble building, from where the Soviet leaders had a view over the military parades on the Red Square.
This is probably the most important church in Kremlin, as this was where the tsars were crowned and many men of the clergy were buried. The Italian architect Fioravanti erected the beautiful building with the five golden onion domes in 1475-79. The church is considered the main church in Russia and contains many splendid frescoes and icons.
Ulan Ude, near Lake Baikal, is the main town of Russian Buddhists. Founded by the Cossacks in 1770, it served as a trade post on the Tea-route between Irkutsk and China for many years. This strange town is more Asian than Russian, but certainly worth a visit.
The most famous building in St Petersburg, the Winter Palace served as a winter residence for the tsars until the revolution in 1917. The little hermitage next to the palace contains the world's largest collection of art. The spectacular complex was built in 1762 by Bartolomeo Rastrelli and served as the workplace for 1500 servants in the time of the emperors.
The beautiful and clean Baikal Lake is, not undeservingly, called the jewel of Siberia. It is larger than Belgium and the world's deepest lake, containing almost one-fifth of the world's fresh water and being so clear that one can see 40 metres down towards the bottom.
Kamchatka is one of Russia's most spectacular regions, containing more than 200 volcanoes and the same amount of hot springs, at a good distance from the main city of Petropavlovsk, which is worth a visit itself. A trip to Kamchatka demands a good deal of planning, especially if you want to explore the magnificent nature of the peninsula.
This city, which contains about 700,000 inhabitants, is one the most interesting in eastern Russia. It used to be the closed hiding place of the Russian Pacific fleet, but today it enjoys a rich cultural life and a lively trade with the surrounding Asian countries.
St Petersburg's largest church, which took 40 years and many human lives to build, rises above the ground with its 100 metres tall gold dome, and can seat 14,000 people. It was built by the French architect August Montferrand and it cost 20 million roubles, which is six times more expensive than the Winter Palace.
The main street in St Petersburg is 4.5 km long and 60 metres wide at its broadest. Founded by Peter the Great in 1710 and extending from the spire of the Admiralty to the Alexander Nevskij monastery in the east, this street has everything you could ask for in sights, restaurants, shops, entertainment and hotels.
With Louvre as the sole exception, no other museum in the world equals the Hermitage, regarding quality artwork. The art museum is located in continuation of the Winter Palace, and contains around 3 million pieces of art, spread out on 20 km of hallways.
The Peter-Paul fort is situated on a hexagonal island in the middle of St Petersburg's main arterial road, the Neva River. Founded by Peter the Great in 1703, it originally served as a guard against the Swedes. The Peter-Paul Cathedral is located in the middle of the fort, where it was St Petersburg's tallest building for more than 200 years, with its 122-metres tall spire.
If you like Russian paintings and icons, you should visit the Russian Museum, which contains 350,000 artworks in its collection, in St Petersburg. All the works have been made by Russians and the museum contains comprehensive collections by the country's most famous artists.
Opposite the Winter Palace is the Vasiljevskij Island, the largest of St Petersburg's 42 islands, which was originally intended as Peter the Great's administrational seat. This was given up when the idea showed to be too difficult to realise, and the area became the attractive residential area, which it still is today.
You can see where the last tsar, Nikolaj II and his family, ended their days in Jekaterinburg. The communists moved them around from one place to another before they executed them in a basement in Jekaterinburg. The house where they were executed isn't there anymore, but a symbolic cross and monument has been erected on the place.
Three km from Jekaterinburg's city centre is the technical university of the region, also the largest Russian university east of the Urals. In spite of its technical character it is also known for being the political cradle of politicians such as Boris Jeltsin. The buildings are built in classical Soviet style.
This town, with about 1.4 million inhabitants, is without doubt the most important city in the Ural Mountains and also the most interesting in western Siberia. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1723 and has been the centre of many gold rushes since. Today the city contains several examples of architecture from before the Soviet time and can also brag about being the city where Boris Jeltsin begun his political career.
