Express to Russia » Russian Tourist information
Russian Destination Guide
Saint-Petersburg
Kizhi
Mandrogui
Moscow
Yaroslavl
Kostroma
Vladimir
Kiev
Nizhnoy Novgorod
Zaporozhya
Kazan
Sevastopol
Saratov
Samara
Ekaterinburg
Yalta
Volgograd
Astrakhan
Novosibirsk
Krasnoyarsk
Irkutsk
Like Baikal
Ulan Ude
Ulaanbaatar
Beijing
Khabarovsk
Vladivostok
Moscow
Russia’s political capital and financial as well as cultural center. The city includes many must see attractions from the Kremlin and Red Square to the Assumption Cathedral. Moscow is the largest city in Europe complete with everything one can expect.
St Petersburg
St. Petersburg is really impossible to describe in a few words. The city was founded on May 27th (according to the old calendar) 1703, when a fortress named Sanktpietrbuch in honor of Saint Peter was constructed on Zayachy (Rabbit) island. This marked the beginning of this unique city. One of the most interesting facts concerning the birth of St. Petersburg was that it was founded...
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is an old southern Russian city situated on the banks of the Volga River not far from the point where it empties into the Caspian Sea. Older parts of Astrakhan are filled with wonderful examples of Russian architecture, the most notable of which are the Kremlin and the two impressive cathedrals. Before being conquered by Ivan and Terrible and...
Cheboksary
Cheboksary is the capital of the Chuvash Republic, home to the Finno-Ugric Chuvash people. The city possesses excellent cultural opportunities. There is an Opera-Ballet Theatre, a Philharmonic Orchestra, and numerous other theaters (showing productions in both Russian and Chuvash languages). A very popular gathering place for the locals is the recently completed zaliv (bay), beautifully situated in the middle of...
Ekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg was founded in 1723 and named after Saint Catherine, the namesake of Tsar Peter the Great’s wife Empress Catherine I (Yekaterina). Soon after the Russian Revolution, on 17 July, 1918, Tsar Nicolas II, his wife, Alexandra, and their children Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei were executed by the Bolsheviks at the Ipatiev House where they...
Goritsy
Goritsy is a tiny settlement 7 kilometers from the St. Cyril on the White Lake Monastery. The remains of the Nunnery of the Resurrection that sits on the banks of the Sheksna River is within a quarter of a mile of the port. Goritsy is definitely a site to see for anyone with an interest in Russian history. St. Cyril...
Irkutsk
Irkutsk has over 600,000 people and is located on the Angara River. It is the starting point for many who adventure to the Lake Baikal area because it is a major point on the Trans-Siberian/Trans-Mongolian train route. Founded by Russians in 1652 as a major fort beyond the Ural Mountains, it was populated by exiled political prisoners sent by the tsars and communists. Today, the...
Kazan
Kazan is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia´s largest cities. It is a major industrial, commercial and cultural center, and remains the most important center of Tatar culture. Historically Kazan was the capital of the Tatars and was conquered and by force and brought into the Russian Empire in the mid 16th century...
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the industrial, transport, administrative and cultural center of the Khabarovsk region. Khabarovsk was founded in 1858 as a military outpost, and is 8532km east of Moscow. Its numerous parks, riverside paths and historic downtown area make Khabarovsk a favorite place with visitors to the region. Russian masterpieces, early Slavic icons and a collection of Western European art can...
Kizhi Island
The tiny island of Kizhi is located at the northern end of Lake Onega. The island is renowned for its open-air Museum of Architecture, which is assembled from over 80 monuments of wooden architecture from various areas of the country and restored to form a glimpse of the past. The most impressive site on the island is the Church of...
Kostroma
Kostroma is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma Rivers. It was founded in the 13th century and has played a major role in Russian history. After being destroyed by the Mongols in 1238 it became a small principality under the leadership of Prince Vasily the Drunkard the brother of the Russian hero Alexander Nevsky. In the early...
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk was founded in 1628 as a Russian border fort to protect the frontier from attacks of native peoples who lived along Yenisei and its tributaries. An intensive growth of Krasnoyarsk began with the arrival of the Siberian Road (the M53 nowadays) in 1735 which connected Krasnoyarsk with the rest of Russia. Growth continued with the discovery of gold and...
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m (2,442 ft) and contains roughly 20 percent of the world´s surface fresh water. The body of water is also known as the “Baikal Sea” and the "Pearl of Siberia". At 1,642 meters (5,390 ft) Lake Baikal is the deepest, and among the clearest...
Mandrogui
Mandrogui is really more of a living museum than a live-in village. It features a collection of old wooden houses and is geared towards showing visitors what a traditional Russian village resembled in the past. One of the features here is the Vodka Museum, which contains thousands of different brands and types of Russia´s favorite pastime.
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod is one of Russia’s major cities, the dominating feature of the city skyline is the grand Kremlin (1500-1511), with its red-brick towers. After Bolshevik devastation, the only ancient edifice left within the Kremlin walls is the tent-like Archangel Cathedral (1624-31), first built in stone in the 13th century. The city has a fascinating history that you will learn...
Novgorod
Novgorod the Great was the first official capital of Russia and is one of Russia’s most interesting towns containing some of Russia’s greatest jewels of architecture. The Kremlin of Novgorod is the oldest in Russia dating back to 864. The cathedral of St. Sophia dominates the structure of the Kremlin. Built between 1045 and 1050 under the patronage of Vladimir...
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third largest city in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersbirg and the largest Siberian city. The city was founded in 1893 at the future site of a Trans-Siberian Railway bridge crossing the great Ob river. The city was first named Novonikolayevsk in honor of both Saint Nicholas and Tsar Nicholas II. During Stalin’s industrialization of Russia, the...
Pereslavl-Zalessky
Pereslavl-Zalessky was founded in 1152 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. In 1175–1302, the town was the center of the Principality of Pereslavl and in 1302, the town became a part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Pereslavl-Zalessky had been devastated numerous times by the Mongols between the mid-13th century and the early 15th century and was also invaded by the Poles...
Rostov
It is speculated that Rostov was an important Viking trade settlement along the Volga trade route. First mentioned in 862 Rostov was already quite important and by the 13th century, Rostov became capital city of one of the most prominent Russian principalities. However in 1474 it was incorporated into Muscovy. Rostov has always been an extremely important ecclesiastic center for...
Samara
Samara is located on the east bank of the Volga river, which acts as its western boundary. Its northern boundary is formed by the Sokolyi Hills and by the Steppes in the south and east. Legend has it that Alexius, Metroplitan of Moscow and later Patron Saint of Samara visited the site of the city in 1357 and predicted that...
Saratov
Saratov is a major city in southern Russia with a population of 873,055. The city was initially founded in the 16th century as a fortress to protect the southern districts of the Russian Empire. Situated on the Volga River, Saratov was a major military aircraft manufacturing site, the home of the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, and a vital...
Sergiev Posad
Considered by some to be the Russian Vatican, Sergiev Posad is the temporary residence of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Sergiev Posad is home to the Trinity St. Sergius Monastery (Lavra), built in the first half of the 1340s by the son of Rostov Boyar, Sergius of Radonezh, who remains one the most venerated saints in Russia. The...
Suzdal
Suzdal dates back to 1024. In its early history it was the capital of several principalities and later on became a important religious center. The town is full of churches and at one point in its history had 40 churches for approximately 400 families. Today the town only has a population of around 10,000 and has retained its country village...
Uglich
Founded in 1148 as a small princedom bordering on Muscovy, Uglich is one of the most beloved towns in Old Russia. The view of the town as you approach it from the Volga River is breathtaking with the Cathedral of the Resurrection and St. John´s Church rising up on the horizon. The history of the town is fascinating; At the...
Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the Buryat Republic of Russia and is located about 100 km (66 miles) south-east of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga. The first occupants of the area where Ulan-Ude now stands were the Evenks and later the Buryat Mongols. The city was initially founded in 1666 by Russian...
Vladimir
The first town of the Golden Ring, 179 kilometers to the east of Moscow. It is located on the railway to Nizhniy Novgorod, and it is the first stop along the Trans-Siberian route. Vladimir is an old Russian town, it used to be capital of Russia in the 12th century. Today, Vladimir is a major administrative, industrial and cultural centre...
Vladivostok
Vladivostok which means the Lord of the East is Russia’s largest port city on the Pacific Ocean situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay and near the border of China and North Korea. The city is home to the Russian Pacific Fleet. The territory on which modern Vladivostok is located had been part of many nations, including the...
Volgograd
Volgograd is an important industrial city with a population of 1.011 millon people. The city was founded as the fortress of Tsaritsyn in 1589 to defend the southern flank of the Russian Empire and played a major role in Russian Civil War and the development of the Soviet Union. However, the city is most famous for its heroic resistance and...
Yaroslavl
Stretching for 18 miles on both banks of the Volga, Yaroslavl is an important Volga port with a population of 600,000. It was founded in the 1010 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise. It was destroyed by the Tatars in the 13th and 14th centuries but then restored and rebuilt and by the 17th century it had become Russia’s second largest...
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