There is no other country like Russia. It spans 11 time zones, covers 1/7 of the land and boasts dozens of natural and man-made wonders.
Everything here is special - from climate and geography to culture and local lifestyles. Winter changes summer, and plains replace mountains. Hot subtropical climate of Sochi turns into moderately continental in Moscow and to severe Arctic in Siberia. Traveling across Russia is like visiting many countries at a time and there is no better way to discover Russia than seeing it with your own eyes.
Posts about Russia
Facts about Russia
- Russia is bigger than Pluto
- 77% of Russia is made up of Siberia
- 20% of the world's unfrozen fresh water is in a single lake: Russia's Lake Baikal
- Moscow Metro services 8 million passengers on a daily basis
- There's a museum in Russia that hires cats to protect its artworks against rodents
- There was a "Beard Tax" in Russia, during Peter the Great's Reign, paid by anyone who had a beard
- It is believed Russia has at least 15 secret cities with their names, and locations unknown
Geographic
The largest country in the world, Russia constitutes one-seventh of the world’s landmass and spans eight time zones. This expansive area allows it to neighbor more countries than anywhere else on earth, as well as touch twenty-two bodies of water and hold twelve seas within its borders. Its vast and complicated array of landscapes has created a diverse blend of forty national parks alongside its forty UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. Here you can find the oldest mountains in the world, the Urals, and the deepest lake in the world, Lake Baikal. Travel from the tundra to the steppes, the desert to the glaciers, the valleys to the volcanoes without ever needing a new visa.
Climate
Because of its size, Russia presents a drastically different atmosphere depending on your location. Most of the country has a continental climate with distinct periods of warm and cold weather that increases as you travel east. Temperatures for Moscow and St. Petersburg range from highs of 32 C in the summer to lows of -25 C in the winter.
Culture
Most Russian cities have social lives comparable to New York City’s vibrant scene. In regard to the arts, Russia has always occupied a prominent spot on the world scene. The Bolshoi Theater and Pushkin Art Gallery in Moscow, the Mariinsky Theater and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg – these are considered to be some of the best art institutions in the world. In St. Petersburg alone there are 2,000 libraries, 221 museums, 80 theaters, 100 concert halls, 45 art galleries, 62 movie theaters, and 80 nightclubs, and over 100 concerts, shows and festivals each year. If that isn’t enough to occupy your time, Russians place great importance on friends and family, resulting in anniversary and birthday celebrations that will blow you away.
Russian Cuisine
Russian cuisine, which by the way is inseparable from Russian festivals, is perhaps, one of the most colorful in the world. Every gourmet reminded Russian can’t help remembering fragrant borshch with smetana (sour-cream), thin pancakes with red caviar, tempting pirogi, rasstegai and kulebyaka, pickled mushrooms and of course the crispy pickles ... Yummy! Each dish of Russian cuisine is a special masterpiece of culinary art. However, it was not always like this. The evolution of Russian cuisine was long and original. It has absorbed the best traditions of other peoples.