| For a country that encompasses an area | | | | Travel Russia from Europe to Asia |
| of over 10.5 million square miles, it is | | | | There is nothing quite like seeing six |
| no coincidence most people know very | | | | thousand miles of land in a single trip. |
| little about Russia, aside, of course, | | | | The epic journey aboard the |
| from textbook blurbs of Tsarist rule, | | | | Trans-Siberian Railway is for those who |
| Mongolian raids, bloody revolutions and | | | | consider the journey to be just as |
| snowy, desolate Steppes. The mere | | | | magical as the destination. The longest |
| expanse of the Russian border makes the | | | | continuous rail line on the planet takes |
| country a more versatile destination | | | | you from metropolitan Moscow through |
| than any other place in the world. Visit | | | | vast steppes and the Siberian taiga, the |
| the arctic zone and navigate through | | | | largest remaining forest in the world, |
| sub-tropical regions without ever | | | | to finally arrive in the commercial |
| leaving the country! A closer look and a | | | | bustle of Russia's main Pacific port |
| few tips can subdue your fear and pique | | | | city, Vladivostok. Three alternate |
| your interest to travel to Russia. | | | | routes and several extensions into |
| Western Russia: Travel to Russia's Heart | | | | European and Asian nations have also |
| and Soul | | | | been constructed and provide more |
| Western Russia includes Moscow, St. | | | | options to travel Russia's breadth. |
| Petersburg, Volgograd (formerly | | | | Many travel restrictions have been |
| Stalingrad) and the Black and Caspian | | | | lifted since the 1990s and it is now |
| Seas, making this region the commercial | | | | possible to arrange overnight stays in |
| and political core of the nation. | | | | many of the fascinating towns and |
| Initially the capital of Russia, St. | | | | breathtaking landscapes along the way. |
| Petersburg was built by Peter the Great | | | | Make sure to spend a moment in the |
| and is filled with both haunting and | | | | Siberian town of Ulan Ude, Russia's main |
| enchanting remnants of a time past. St. | | | | Buddhist center, and visit the Tibetan |
| Petersburg is certainly the most | | | | Buddhist monastery that has been |
| European and best preserved city, | | | | restored since the oppressive rule of |
| adorned with stately architecture and | | | | Stalin. The Baikal Lake region is also a |
| regal cathedrals that echo of a romantic | | | | very popular stop and a perfect place to |
| and prestigious era. In the early 20th | | | | be immersed in the natural beauty of |
| century, the capital moved away from the | | | | Russia's heartland. Baikal Lake is the |
| European border to Moscow where the | | | | oldest in the world, estimated at 25-30 |
| Kremlin, Red Square and Lenin's | | | | million years old. The lake region is |
| Mausoleum (where you can view his | | | | home to over 2,500 animal species |
| embalmed body!) stand as testaments to | | | | including a unique Siberian species of |
| Russia's rocky history. In the | | | | freshwater seal and thousands of |
| Southwest, Volgograd is traditionally | | | | migratory birds. |
| accepted as the origin of the Russian | | | | Accessibility is the new attitude toward |
| Empire and was fortified in the 1500s to | | | | foreign tourism in Russia. A society |
| protect tsarist Russia's southern border | | | | that has long been closed-off, |
| from Cossack and Viking pillages. With | | | | particularly to westerners, is now ready |
| these bases covered, leave the crowds | | | | to embrace curious visitors with open |
| behind and head east into a land with a | | | | arms. There has never been a better time |
| history all its own. | | | | to travel Russia! |