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NIZHNI NOVGOROD

Nizhni Novgorod is located 400 km east of Moscow at the confluence of the Russian major Volga and Oka Rivers. Nizhni Novgorod was founded in the beginning of the 13th century. At the end of 19th century, it was a major commercial center of Russia, one of the most significant in Europe. All the architecture of the center of the city corresponds to the Russian merchants’ way of living. Nowadays it is a big industrial and cultural center of Central Russia. 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• Beautiful and well-presented Kremlin of Nizhni Novgorod located on a hill in the central part of the ancient town
• Settlement Bolshoye Boldino (about 250 km away) - village previously belonged to the ancestors of Alexander Pushkin, the most famous Russian poet from the 18th century. In 1836, Alexander Pushkin spent few months here and produced many literature masterpieces known in the world as “Miracle of the Fall of Boldino”.
• The Art Museum is called a «miniature Tretyakov Gallery»: the extensive collection of the museum comprises about 8,000 works of art. It contains many valuable paintings by nearly all-outstanding Russian artists among which there are a number of masterpieces of Russian art.
• Regional folk crafts: Khokhloma and Gorodets - multicoloured gilt-shining painting on wood, Balakhna lace and Pavlovo filigree.

KAZAN

Kazan, the regional capital of Russia, is often called the «Pearl of the Central Volga Region». It is located in the most picturesque part on both sides of the Volga River. Though the official date of the foundation of the city is considered to be the 12th century, scientists believe that the history of Kazan began much earlier. Russians and Tatars have been living here together for many centuries which has influenced the unique culture and traditions of this interesting city in many ways. 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• The Kazan Kremlin is the pearl of city: the white-stone architectural ensemble of the 16-18th centuries is included in the UNESCO’s list of the objects of the world heritage.
• St.Peter and Paul Cathedral was built in 1726 in memory of the Great Russian emperor Peter I.
• Mardzhani Mosque, which was built in 1771, is one of first stone mosques, appeared in Kazan by accord of the Russian Empress Catherine II.
• The Fine Arts Museum of Kazan contains about 20 thousand items of painting, graphics, sculpture and applied art of the Tatar people. Here you will also find rare archeological findings of the 7-8 centuries of the Bulgar craftsmen-ancestors of Kazan Tatars, including ornaments of silver, gold and semiprecious stones, colorful embroidery on the towels, footwear with a multi-colored leather mosaic and sacred shamails
• Kazan is a living centre of the Russian and international culture: the International Festival of Opera Art named after Fyodor Shalyapin takes place in Kazan each February and the International Festival of Classic Ballet named after Rudolf Nuriev is held here every May.
• Old Kazan atmosphere is preserved in the former Tatar settlement with its narrow streets, wooden houses and carved fences.

EKATERINBURG

Yekaterinburg owes its appearance on the world map to the time of major changes in Russia - the reforms of Peter the Great. The city was founded in 1723 and developed as a fortress, gradually turning into the center of the Ural Region. It was here that the Russian metallurgical industry was born. Yekaterinburg became the place of imprisonment and tragic events in the life of the last Russian Emperor Romanov Nicholas II and his family. Today the city is a large both cultural and industrial centre of Russia. 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• Architectural monuments of Russian classicism of the 18-19th centuries including the most beautiful - the Church of Alexander Nevsky and the Church of the Ascension.
• Yekaterinburg still keeps some secrets from the public as the place of imprisonment and tragic death of the Romanovs family.
• The Fine Arts Museum of the city displays rich collection of paintings by Russian and foreign artists.
• The Ural Mountains form a natural border between Europe and Asia. The Geological Museum features rich and unique collection of minerals of the region.
• Beautiful samples of woodcarving are re-presented in the village of Nizhnaya Sinyatchikha.

OMSK

This is a large port city in the Eastern Siberia located along the bank of the Irtysh River. At the end of the 19th century the Transsiberian Railway connected Omsk with the European part of Russia and remote Eastern areas of the country. During the 20th century, the city of Omsk has become well known as the center of political and industrial life of Eastern Siberia. 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• A visit to the Church of St. Nicolas that is a beautiful sample of architecture of 18th – 19th centuries will open you few pages of the Russian history.
• World famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky condemned to penal servitude spent four years in Omsk from 1850 till 1854. Commandant of the Fortress of Omsk paid a special attitude to this state convict and gave F. Dostoevsky a small room in his house. Nowadays the former House of the Commandant of the Fortress is the Fyodor Dostoevsky Museum. The famous novel «Notes from a Dead House» reflects events of that period of writer’s life.
• The Fine Arts Museum of Omsk possesses a rich collection of more than 16,000 pieces of art including pictures of European and Russian artists and some beautiful golden decorations excavated by archaeologists in the Omsk region.
• The Local Lore Museum presents interesting collection of the typical for the region fauna and flora samples.
• The Siberian Antiquity Museum exhibits the best works of local craftsmen.

NOVOSIBIRSK

Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia and its true cultural and scientific center. The Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and branches of the Medical and Agricultural Academies are located here. This is the non-official capital of the Western Siberia. Its 1st century was celebrated in 1993. When established it was a settlement of the workers who constructed the Trans -Siberian railway. From 1895 till 1925, it was called Novonikolayevsk. That name meant, «a new town named after Nikolai» (the Russian Emperor Nicholas II). Its present name of the city means «a new city of Siberia». 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre is called the «Siberian Bolshoi Theatre».
• The Local Lore Museum presents the history of the city and the region.
• You will have a great opportunity to enjoy Siberian landscapes and to see typical Siberian village of Kolyvan where a nunnery and small candle-making factory can be visited.
• Akademgorodok (The Scientists’ City) is well known to scientists all over the world. It is a complex of research institutes, situated 28 km from the center of Novosibirsk among a natural green forest.
• The Picture Gallery contains a rich collection of Russian and foreign art including new exposition of traditional Siberian icon-paintings. The Picture Gallery is famous for its big collection of Rerich paintings displayed there.
• The open-air Museum of Ethnography presenting ancient stone idols. The Zashiverskaya wooden church built without a single nail is exposed at the Museum of the Archeological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science. Lovely collection of articles made of birch bark might impress you at the Birch Bark Folk-crafts Museum that can be visited during the city tour.

KRASNOYARSK

Krasnoyarsk is another large scientific and cultural center of Eastern Siberia, besides it is the largest Siberian port on the Yenisei River. The city was founded in 1628 by Russian explorers directed their steps to the Far East. In their report to the Russian Tsar, they described the place as «beautiful steep bank». The variety and beauty of the Krasnoyarsk Region are striking – high mountains and deep canyons, the boundless and thick taiga where one can see ermines, polar foxes, deer and bears. 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• The City Tour will enable you to see the most interesting spots in Krasnoyarsk - the Intercession Cathedral; the Chapel on the Karaulnaya (Guard) Mountain, and the Transsiberian Railway Road bridge over the Yenisei River. The Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Plant Tour is a rare possibility to visit one of the hugest hydroelectric power plants in the world.
• The Surikov Art Museum has more than 13,000 exhibit items including Russian and modern painting, graphics, sculptures, and decorative art. The Museum possesses the unique collection of paintings of this famous Russian artist of 19th-20th century.
• The Yenisei Pillars Tour half-day itinerary will lead you to the State Natural Reserve that is situated near the city on the right bank of the Yenisei River and it is well known for its unique natural granite structures, which rise up to 100 m high.
• The Local Lore Museum is constructed in a style of an ancient Egyptian temple and it houses a number of halls with rich collection of archeological and ethnographical displays.

ULAN-UDE

Ulan-Ude is the capital of the Buryat Republic of the Russian Federation. It is situated at the junction of – the Selenga and the Uda Rivers, on a crossroad of trading routes leading from China and Mongolia to Russia and Europe. The settlement of Ulan-Ude was founded in 1666 as a winter outpost of the Russian Cossacks. Buryatia is a unique land with its wild and virgin nature, endless steppes, alpine meadows and taiga, Buddhist temples, nomad’s tents and shamans. The region provides great possibilities for ecotourism - horseback riding, hiking, trekking, boating and fishing. 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• The Ivolginsky Datsan (Buddhist Monastery) is the main active Buddhist religion centre in Russia. The Tibet Buddhism – Lamaism represents the branch of Buddhism in Russia. Nowadays the Ivolginsky Datsan is the residence of the leader of all Russian Lamas. During the excursion to the Ivolginsky Datsan you’ll witness and take part in services of the temple and visit the sanctuary «Obo» at the top of a mountain.
• The History Museum of Buryatia established in 1923, exhibits unique samples of cultural heritage of the Buryat region.
• In the Fine Arts Museum you’ll get a chance to see the Buryats’ art painting, rare traditional Buryat art such as Buddhist tancas and crafts made of wood, animal skins, horsehair, bone and silver cut.
• Visit to the Russian Old-Believers village might be a remarkable event for you to discover life anew, to receive warm welcome, to appreciate the folk show and to taste dishes in preserved traditional style of Russian homemade cuisine. In the Ethnographic Open-Air museum «The 18th century Buryat village» you will learn the way of living of the local Buryat population and Russian settlers. This visit gives you a chance to discover the history of the inhabitants of this land – the outposts of taiga hunters and fishermen – Evenks and light Buryat felt yurts.

KHABAROVSK

Khabarovsk – the industrial, transport, and administrative and cultural center – was founded in 1858 as a military outpost for defense of the Russian-Chinese border and named in honor of Yerofei Khabarov the Russian explorer of Siberia and the Far East. It stretches for 45 km along the bank of the Amur River – the main waterway of the Far East and one of the biggest Russian rivers. Khabarovsk is a large port famous for its «river-sea» operations. 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• The City Tour along wooden and brick houses preserved from the time of the city’s founding will enable you to feel an unmistakable charm of Khabarovsk. The oldest Komsomolskaya Square houses the remarkable redbrick building dating 1901(now the Public Library). Splendid view of the St.Innokenty church – the first church built in the city. During the Stalin’s period, a well known GULAG Camp existed near the Ulakhan village which was located close the city.
• The Archaeological Museum contains over 40,000 artifacts; among them, there are the world famous petrogliphs of Sikachi Alyan and cultural heritage of the Golden Empire of the Jurchen People.
• The Art Museum possesses a unique collection of the Far Eastern aboriginal crafts and arts that includes fish skin outfits, beautiful carpets and bone engraved items. Some wonderful ancient Russian icons and paintings by famous Russian artists Ilya Repin, Ivan Shishkin and Isaac Levitan, as well as works by Western masters, such as Rembrandt, Rubens and Monet are exhibited in the Art Museum.
• The Cruise along the Amur River is might be a beautiful journey within a live archeological museum. The riverside rocks make an unusual display of man-made carvings – petrogliphs that are the images of ancient cultural heritage of local ethnic groups. The Bolshekhetsirsky State Nature Preserve has conifer-broadleaved forests rich in typically virgin nature and genetic stock of organic life. In 30 miles to the southwest of the city, there is the Khekhtsir State Nature Reserve, a unique place where southern lianas, Manchurian walnuts grow side by side with evergreen conifers. Bears, foxes, wolves, elks and tigers could be watched occasionally there. The Badjal Range – one of the most picturesque parts of the Russian Far East with unique flora and fauna is abundant in sable, musk deer and bears.

VLADIVOSTOK

Vladivostok is the administrative, cultural and scientific center of Russia in the Far East situated along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the beautiful bay of the Golden Horn. The history of the city began in 1860 when the Russian warship «the Manchur» anchored in the bay of the Amur Gulf. It became the main Russian port on the Pacific Ocean in 1873. Now it is main naval base of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Today Vladivostok it is the capital of the Primorsky region (the Maritime Territory) of Russia. Due to its advantageous location in close proximity of China, Korea, and Japan, it plays important role as a center of political and business contacts of Russia in the Far East. 

Highlights & Sightseeing:

• The City Tour will give you possibility to visit the most spectacular sights - the Vladivostok Fortress with exciting exposition of military maps, arms, equipment and old photographs; enjoy the architectural poem in stone that are the St. Nicolas Cathedral, the Intercession Church, the Catholic church and the Japanese Buddhist Temple. In the Korabelnaya Naberezhnaya (the Warship Embankment) the visitors can get acquainted with the history of the Russian Fleet including period of the Second World War and visit Soviet C-56 submarine opened to public.
• The Primorye Picture Gallery houses more than 5,000 paintings of Russian artists (18th-20th centuries) and ancient Russian icons.
• The Vladivostok Aquarium (Oceanarium) features live exposition of 86 species and over 1,800 kinds of marine life in aquariums, representing a variety of inhabitants of the Peter the Great Gulf and other water reservoirs of the region and a collection of shells.
• Greenhouses of the Botanical Garden display rare plants from all of the continents. Representative species of the Far Eastern taiga, from cedar and spruce to lianas and Amur marigold, grow there. The six wildlife preserves (among them most significant - the Cedar Fold, the Khanka Natural Preserve) provide a wide variety of experiences to view wildlife and nature.