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