Northern European Russia
Historically important, the 1809 Vvedenskaya Church stored the hidden chattels of the Russian royals during Napoleon’s 1812 attack on Moscow. Now the…
Northern European Russia
Historically important, the 1809 Vvedenskaya Church stored the hidden chattels of the Russian royals during Napoleon’s 1812 attack on Moscow. Now the…
Moscow
Out front of St Basil’s Cathedral is a statue of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, one a butcher and the other a prince, who together raised and led the…
Western European Russia
Located at the estate of Flyonovo, this ornately decorative wooden house, covered with peasant-style carving, is now a folk-art museum with a lot of…
Northern European Russia
Just outside the kremlin enclosure, the amply domed 1776 Resurrection Cathedral adds photogenic foreground to kremlin views. It also houses an art gallery…
Necropolis of the 18th Century
St Petersburg
A packed cemetery noted for its fine statuary. Here you'll find the final resting place for Mikhail Lomonosov and Natalya Lanskaya (Pushkin's wife) as…
Northern European Russia
Given the first hint of warm summer weather, Arkhangelskians emerge to stroll this broad promenade and loiter in any of its many seasonal beer-and…
St Petersburg
An amusement park with thrilling rides that kids of all ages will adore. Top draws include a roller coaster with 10 loops and a vertical descent that…
Northern European Russia
This 1751 church on the city's main grassy square has an impressively Gothic bulk with unusual octagonal windows and distinctive double domes on long…
Rozhdenstva Bogoroditsy Church
Northern European Russia
The active 1680 Rozhdenstva Bogoroditsy Church is elegant despite the discordant red-green metallic gleam of its multiple domes. A stylistic effect? No,…
Northern European Russia
A long walk down a dusty road towards the southwestern end of town, this 1819 church has a small collection of local crafts, costumes and icons, plus…
Northern European Russia
Bereginya displays and sells a range of folk crafts and organises all manner of masterclasses – from making clay toys to traditional weaving.
Northern European Russia
For a great picnic site, stroll about 20 minutes north of the Transfiguration Monastery to the quaint, heptagonal bell tower of Nikolski Skete.
Western Siberia
The glorious gold- and blue-domed 1686 centrepiece of Tobolsk's kremlin is one of the most inspiring religious buildings in Western Siberia.
Russian Far East
This wonderful mosaic devoted to nauka (science) can be seen at the Polytechnical Institute, a block east of Hotel Voskhod.
Northern European Russia
Contains exhibits detailing the history of the monastery, including the ruins of monks' cells dating from the 16th century.
Western European Russia
The five burnished gold onion domes of this 18th-century cathedral rise over the ramparts of Tula's kremlin.
Yakutsk
This mid-19th-century church with gorgeous golden domes in Yakutsk's old town is the city's most attractive.
Western European Russia
Sitting on the banks of the Polist River is this gorgeously restored 17th-century cathedral painted in red.
St Petersburg
Four majestic white lions – two on either end – guard this photogenic bridge, which was built in 1826.
Church of the Entry into Jerusalem
Northern European Russia
Totma's most striking church, with six onion domes and a partially-restored interior. Dates from 1774.
Northern European Russia
The disused 1692 Annunciation Church catches your eye with its unusually intricate window mouldings.
Northern European Russia
Artwork by AA Borisov, dedicated to the Arctic scenery of Novaya Zemlya and settlement of the north.
St Petersburg
A huge leafy expanse on Krestovsky Island with ponds, walking paths and summertime food vendors.
Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra
St Petersburg
A classical design completed in 1790 that contains the remains of St Alexander Nevsky.
Northern European Russia
This tiny but magnificently mural-covered church dates from 1601.
St Petersburg
This innocuous house on the corner of Stolyarny per (called ‘S… lane’ in the book) is one of two possible locations of the attic apartment of Rodion…
St Petersburg
Built between 1741 and 1751, with input from a slew of architects, including Rastrelli and Rossi, the Anichkov Palace is now officially known as the St…
St Petersburg
Right outside the Moskovskaya metro station you’ll see the House of Soviets, a staggeringly bombastic Stalinist beauty. Planned to be the central…
Moscow
This monastery was founded by Boris Godunov in 1600, although the church was built in 1660. The name means ‘Behind the Icon Stall’, a reference to the…
St Petersburg
This striking red-and-white 18th-century Gothic church is east off Moskovsky pr. Designed by Yury Felten, it was built between 1777 and 1780 in honour of…
Moscow
The obelisk in Alexander Garden has been restored to its original purpose, as a monument to the House of Romanovs, erected to commemorate the tercentenary…
Moscow
The little church occupying this site is a 1993 replica of the original 17th-century beauty, which was built in thanks for the 1612 expulsion of Polish…
Moscow
The Kutafya Tower, which forms the main visitors’ entrance today, stands apart from the Kremlin’s west wall, at the end of a ramp over the Alexander…
Chambers of the Romanov Boyars
Moscow
This small but interesting museum is devoted to the lives of the Romanov family, who were mere boyars (nobles) before they became tsars. The house was…
St Petersburg
Russia’s poetic genius, Alexander Pushkin, was fatally wounded in a duel here with the Frenchman Georges d’Anthès on 8 February 1837. A granite monument…
Moscow
The long, low neoclassical building is Moscow Manege, a vast space that is used for art exhibitions and other events. In the works is a permanent exhibit…
Moscow
This reconstructed 16th-century house, white with wooden roofs, was the residence of England’s first emissaries to Russia (sent by Elizabeth I to Ivan the…
Moscow
The green-columned House of Unions dates from the 1780s. Its ballroom, called the Hall of Columns, is famous as the location of one of Stalin’s most…
Moscow
An excavation of Voskresensky Bridge (which used to span the Neglinnaya River at the foot of Tverskaya ul) uncovered coins, clothing and other artefacts…