Russia

Russia is rightfully considered the biggest country in the world that stretched out in several climatic zones and has an area of 17million square kilometers. Russia is notable for the rich variety of land forms and has a great history; owing to hundreds of large and small nations, the country has a large number of various sights.

Nature sights

Russia is rich in natural wonders, and nine of them are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. The deepest freshwater lake Baikal is certainly on the first place. The tourism here is well-developed; the Circum-Baikal Railwayoffers special excursion trains, where the tourists meet the history of the lake.

Mountain chains occupy a large part of the country; the Caucasus mountain system is well-known among the travelers throughout the world, here tourists admire the waterfalls excursions, fascinating canyons, and climbing the highest peaks of the mountains. Kamchatka is famous for its volcanoes and the unique Valley of Geysers. Also the Far Eastern territory is a home for big brown bears that symbolize Russia in foreigners’ eyes.

The whole territory of the country is covered with outstanding natural sights: Stolby Nature Sanctuary in Krasnoyarsk, Manpupuner rock formations in Komi Republic, Kungur Ice cave, Lena and Amur Pillars, Daursky Nature Reserve, Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve, Putorana Plateau and many many others, it’s simply impossible to list all the natural wonders.

There are 5 large rivers in Russia: Volga, Ob, Amur, Lena and Yenisei. Also Russia is famous for its so called northern “nightless nights” - natural phenomenon when the summer nights are as light as days, because the sun doesn’t set. These nights are glorified by poets and artists, as well as aurora borealis in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.

Anthropogenic tourism sights

There are a great number of man-made sites in Russia, but unfortunately they are not widely known among foreign tourists, as well as among the Russian citizens. The most popular tourism directions are Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Golden Ring of Russian cities is also popular; however few people know that there are a lot of attractions in any historical Russian city.

The pearls of Russian architecture are: Transfiguration church in Kizhi Pogost, the Solovetsky Islands, and well-known Peterhof and the Kremlin of Moscow.

Also Russia has a lot of sights of other nationalities and various religions: Lala Tulpan, The Golden Abode of the Buddha Shakyamuni, Qol Sharif, “The Heart of Chechnya” Mosque, Ivolginsky Datsan, and these places are not even a fourth part of such sights!

Pilgrimage tourism is rapidly developing in Russia, travelers strive to visit places connected with their religion; often the purpose of pilgrimage is adoration of saints. The main centers of such tourism are: Balaam, monasteries of Sviyazhsk, The Virgin Monastery of Raifa, Stolobny Island, Belogorsky Convent and many other places; all in all there are about 28 thousands of churches in Russia and about 740 monasteries and convents.

Russia is a country of a great diversity of landscapes, architecture and culture; here everyone can find something special and congenial. All the cultures are gathered on the vast territory of the country and that widens the touristic potential that grows every year.