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