Constance Blair, in his article; From Russia with Love, says:

The largest country on the Earth, Russia stretches from the Eastern Europe borders to the Pacific Ocean. It’s impossible to learn such a big country in one single trip, but there are some points on the Russian map you surely shouldn’t miss when visiting this country.

At first, of course, its capital – Moscow. With its population over 10 millions, Moscow is one of the largest metropolises on the planet and it’s growing even bigger. A city with an ancient history, having celebrated its 850th anniversary not so long ago, Moscow keeps a lot of testimonies of the Russian historical events. In the centre of the capital there is the famous Red Square with the Kremlin, which has been destroyed and rebuilt several times during the centuries of its existence.

Red Square is a symbol of Moscow and a lot of the important events were happened here. Red Square also houses mausoleum where one the Russian leaders – Lenin – is buried. Now the square has become not only a tourist attraction but also the popular ground for the concerts.

Nearby the Red Square there is located the building of the Russian Parliament – Duma and the world-famous Bolshoy Theatre.

Moscow also has a lot of parks where you can enjoy plesant walks. Izmailovo, Colomenskoe, Tzaritzino, Sokolniki – are just some of them.

Some decades ago Moscow was a typical Soviet city where was impossible to buy something. Now shopping is not a problem in Moscow, here you can find the boutiques of the leading designers, but usually prices are higher than in Europe.

The other Russian city, which attracts a lot of tourists and really worth visiting – is its former capital Saint Petersburg.

The city, which was built in 1703 on the marsh, for more than two centuries was the empire capital. Now it’s the second largest city in Russia and is considered to be its cultural capital. Due to the huge amount of the channels Saint Petersburg received the nickname of the “Northern Venice”. It’s beautiful city with a lot of architectural monuments ad the city centre there the city government is saving the historic buildings so, that the centre looks like in XIXth century. The best time to visit this city is June – a period of the so-called white nights when the sun never sets down.

The other popular tourist attractions in Russia lay within the “Golden Ring”. It’s a group of the ancient cities famous for its churches, architecture and the glorious history. They are situated not far from each other and usually are show during one tour lasting for approximately 4-6 days. Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Tver are just some of them. Another tour, allowing to know Russia better is a cruise along Volga. There is possibility to visit ancient Russian cities such as Samara, Kazan, Saratov, Nizhniy Novgorod, Volgograd and other cities on the Volga banks. Cruise can start from Moscow or Petersburg and usually takes about 20 days. All the above-mentioned destinations lay in the European part of Russia, but its Asian part also has what to show. For example, the lake Baikal is still considered to be the clearest lake on the earth. Siberia and the Far East have less cultural attractions than the European part, but the nature there is really magnificent and unique. So, these places are perfect for eco-tourism.

         

The Moscow Kremlin is the heart of Moscow City. All major streets meet here, other streets run in concentric circles around the Kremlin. It is the navel of this large city. The Kremlin thrills and tantalizes whenever you see its towers stabbing the skyline, or its cathedrals and palaces arrayed above the Moskva River. Its splendid cathedrals and Armory museum head the list of attractions. It includes Archangel Cathedral (the royal burial church), Assumption Cathedral (the burial church of religious leaders) and Annunciation Cathedral (with a huge number of ancient icons). Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a famous Moscow landmark, visible for 30km, with the cracked Tsar Bell at its foot.

The towers lining the Kremlin include the Tower of Secrets (the oldest) and Gothic and Renaissance Savior's Tower.

The Kremlin is surrounded by two quarters defined by ring boulevards built over the original ramparts of medieval times, when Moscow's residential areas were divided into the Beliy Gorod (White City) and the humbler Zemlyanoi Gorod (Earthen City). These two sites host a number of museums and art galleries. The Kremlin occupies over 70 acres of land adjacent to Red Square. The encircling wide boulevards (the Boulevard Ring, Garden Ring, and Outer Ring Road) delineate the historic expansion of the city's fortifications.

The Kremlin name is synonymous with the Russia's government. Despite the fact that almost two-thirds of the Kremlin is off-limits to tourists, nevertheless in order to see its different parts one should pay at least two visits to the site. One visit to see the inside and outside of the cathedrals, and another for touring the Armory Palace, which can only be entered at set times on Kremlin open days.

A naval port city on the Pacific Ocean, Vladivostok has a passing resemblance to a run down San Francisco. Home to the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy, the city has lost a little of its luster as spending on the military has dried up. Like San Francisco, the city is built on the hills surrounding a harbor with the center of the city sporting a nice collection of architecture from the pre-communist era. The city is dotted with parks and scenic points overlooking both the harbor and Sea of Japan. Although the center of the city is very clean the surrounding suburbs have unbelievable industrial pollution problems. As the saying goes, "A nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there."

The largest city in Eastern Russia, Khabarovsk is the headquarters of the Far Eastern Russian Military Command. The city is built on merge of two large rivers, the Amur and Ussuri. Vying with Vladivostok, the city is a major tourist hub for Asians flying into Russia and has a corresponding open atmosphere. Although Khabarovsk is primarily a military and industrial city, it is a good launching place to pursue inland activities such as fishing, exploring and hiking. The city is also an excellent location to pick up the Trans-Siberian Railway for the trek to the west.

The town of Magadan is located in the far north of Russia on the Pacific Ocean. The town is very remote and can be classified as the stereotypical frozen Russian town in the middle of nowhere. So, why would anyone visit Magadan?

The town has played a major role in the suppression of Russians throughout history.

Under Stalin's rule, Magadan and the surrounding area was the final stop for many exiles. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions,of political prisoners and "undesirables" were sent to Magadan to be dispersed to labor camps mining for gold.

Indeed, the only road to the town is known as the "road of bones" for the prisoners who died building it.

The cities and towns of Eastern Russia are nothing like those found in the west. Having lived in Russia for a year, however, I believe they are a better representation of the conditions in Russia as well as the soul of the country.