Russia Trip

The Russian Federation stretches across a large extent of the north of the super-continent of Eurasia. Because of its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances. From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is taiga. The country contains 23 World Heritage Sites^[17] and 40 UNESCO Biosphere reserves.

Set in the magnificent palace from which the tsars ruled Russia for one-and-a-half centuries, the State Hermitage triumphantly lives up to its reputation as one of the country’s chief glories. It consists of five linked buildings along the riverside - the Winter Palace, the Little Hermitage, the Old and New Hermitage, and the Hermitage Theatre.

The enormous art collection (over three million items) almost amounts to a history of Western European art, and as much as you see in the museum, there’s about 20 times more in its vaults, part of which you can now visit. The vastness of the buildings - of which the Winter Palace alone has 1057 rooms and 117 staircases - demands a little planning. Consider making a reconnaissance tour first, then returning another day to enjoy your favourite bits

July and August are the warmest months and the main holiday season. If you want to avoid the crowds, try May-June or September-early-October. In early autumn the leaves are turning and you can pick mushrooms and berries. Although winter is bitter, theatres open, the vodka comes out, buildings are warm and the snow is beautiful. Spring is slushy, muddy and generally horrible. Definitely try to avoid late Feb, March and early April.

Moscow (Russian: Москва́, romanised: Moskva, IPA: [mɐˈskva] (help·info) see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Russia, and the largest city in Europe, with its metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is the country’s political, economic, religious, financial, educational and transportation centre. It is located on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District, in the European part of Russia. Historically, it was the capital of the former Soviet Union and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the pre-Imperial Russian state. It is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, which serves as the ceremonial residence of the President of Russia. Moscow is a major economic centre and is the world’s billionaire capital, home to the largest number of billionaires in the world;^[1] in 2007 Moscow was named the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row.^[2] It is home to many scientific and educational institutions, as well as numerous sport facilities. It possesses a complex transport system that includes the world’s busiest metro system, which is famous for its architecture and artwork.

Russia (Russian: Росси́я, Rossiya), also^[7] the Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция (help·info), Rossiyskaya Federatsiya), is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Eurasia. It is a semi-presidential republic comprising 83 federal subjects. Russia shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from northwest to southeast): Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast), Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It is also close to the U.S. state of Alaska, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey and Japan across relatively small stretches of water (the Bering Strait, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and La Pérouse Strait, respectively). At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is by far the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 142 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 11 time zones and incorporating a great range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world’s largest mineral and energy resources,^[8] and is considered an energy superpower. It has the world’s largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world’s unfrozen fresh water.^[9] The nation’s history began with that of the East Slavs. The Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD.^[10] Founded and ruled by Vikings and their descendants, the first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus’, arose in the 9th century and adopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988,^[11] beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium.^[11] Kievan Rus’ ultimately disintegrated and the lands were divided into many small feudal Russian states. The most powerful successor state to Kievan Rus’ was Moscow, which served as the main force in the Russian reunification process and independence struggle against the Golden Horde. Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus’. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation and exploration to become the huge Russian Empire, stretching from Poland eastward to the Pacific Ocean. Russia established worldwide power and influence from the times of the Russian Empire to being the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world’s first and largest constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower. The nation can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts and sciences.^[10] The Russian Federation was founded following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but is recognized as the continuing legal personality of the Soviet Union.^[12] Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the G8. It is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the world’s largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.