Novosibirsk

Russian city, the administrative center of Siberian Federal District

Omsk

city in Russia

Altai Krai

federal subject of Russia

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, also spelled Uzno-Sakhalinsk and previously known in Japanese as Toyohara (豊原), is the largest city and capital of Sakhalin Oblast, in the Russian Far East, with a population of around 173,000. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is a booming oil town. While the city in general looks quite rough, it does have some beautiful buildings from the Japanese period, as well as some state-of-the-art buildings.

Kholmsk

Kholmsk is a port town in Sakhalin Oblast facing the Tartar Strait, with a population of some 35,000 people. An utterly drab city, the only reason to visit here is the ferry connection to the mainland.

Korsakov

human settlement in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia

Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky

town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia

Lake Baikal

freshwater lake in Russia

Sviyazhsk

village in Zelenodolsky District, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia

Vladivostok

Russian city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai

Moscow

capital city and the largest city of Russia; separate federal subject of Russia

Sochi

city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia

Golden Ring

city

Nogliki

Nogliki is a city in on the island of Sakhalin in Russian Far East, roughly 2/3 up the island. The name is a canny reference to the booming oil business here as it's derived from the indigenous Nivkh word noghl-vo which means 'smelling-village'. Around 10,000 people live here, and as the intro might suggest - it's one of the main population centers for the Nivkh tribe.

Kizhi

island

Solovetsky Islands

far north in the White Sea and home to the beautiful Solovetsky Monastery, which has served as both a military fortress and a gulag throughout its tortuous history

Kazan

city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia

Nizhny Novgorod

capital of the Volga Federal District in Russia

Saint Petersburg

federal city in Russia and the former capital

Okha

human settlement in Okhinsky District, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia

Yekaterinburg

Russian city

Irkutsk

city in eastern Russia

Kamchatka

federal subject of Russia

Volgograd

city in Volgograd Oblast, Russia

Yaroslavl

city in the center of European Russia

Hermitage Museum

museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Buryatia

republic of Russia, federal subject of Russia

Ivanovo

city in the center of European Russia

Tretyakov Gallery

art museum in Moscow, Russia

Krasnodar

city in the south of Russia

Sakhalin Oblast

Gatchina

town in Gatchinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia

Shlisselburg

town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia

Russian Museum

art museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theater (formerly the Kirov, which is the name the troupe still uses when touring abroad) is world-class for both opera and ballet. There are English supertitles for operas sung in Russian; operas in other languages have Russian supertitles. Performances are offered in three halls: the main theater located in the historical building, Mariinsky-2 (the new scene that is located in a futuristic building across Kryukov canal) and the newly-built Mariinsky Concert Hall. Tickets can be purchased on the theater's website. Cavos rebuilt it as an opera and ballet house with the largest stage in the world. With a seating capacity of 1,625 and a U-shaped Italian-style auditorium, the theatre opened on 2 October 1860 with a performance of A Life for the Tsar. The new theatre was named Mariinsky after its imperial patroness, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

Berdsk

Lake Ladoga

freshwater lake in Russia and largest lake entirely in Europe

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

cathedral in St. Petersburg

Yasnaya Polyana

former estate and current museum

Winter Palace

historic building in St. Petersburg, Russia

Solovetsky Monastery

monastery

Strelna

municipal settlement in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia

Peter and Paul Fortress

original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia

Kunstkamera

museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Olkhon Island

island

Russky Bridge

The world’s largest cable-stayed bridge, 3.1 km (1.93 mi)long.

Kizhi Island

A hydrofoil can take you to this gem in Lake Onega. While there, admire the architecture and the island.

Bronze Horseman

monument for Peter I. at the Senate Square in Saint Petersburg

Assumption Cathedral, Sviyazhsk

Ice Palace (Saint Petersburg)

architectural structure

Nogliksky District

Mikhailovsky Theatre

- The exterior is not as recognizable as the Mariinsky, but the interior is nearly as grand, and the theater hosts both Russian and foreign headliners in opera and ballet. It was founded in 1833. It is named after Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia.

Zolotoy Bridge

Cable-stayed 2.1-km (1.30 mi) long bridge across the Golden horn bay.

Moneron Island

Kholmsky District, Sakhalin Oblast

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

It's worth a wander around and contains a church, war monument with eternal flame, a reasonable art museum and impressive views along the Volga River. Also you can take a walk atop (inside) the Kremlin's wall in summer (roughly from May to October), the entrance is by the stairs set a bit off the wall inside the Kremlin near the main entrance via Dmitrievskaya tower, the latter being one of Nizhny Novgorod's symbols.

Melikhovo

Sakhalinskiĭ oblastnoĭ kraevedcheskiĭ muzeĭ

Kazan Kremlin

The Tatar fortress here was destroyed by Ivan the Terrible when he captured the area in 1551. Over the next century, it was rebuilt in Russian style as a magnificent Kremlin, with new fortifications and a cathedral. It nowadays also contains a mosque, museums, galleries, shops and cafes, and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Enter through the white clock tower (Spasskaya Tower) at the top of Kremlyovskaya Street. Unlike Moscow's Kremlin, you're free to enter and stroll, but you pay for individual sites within the complex. These are lined along the central boulevard, mostly on the left as the buildings on the right are under reconstruction. They're listed below roughly south to north, in the order you'd come to them. Allow a full day to appreciate them all. Guided tours are available for 300 руб, but you won't get lost here.

Palace Square

central city square of St Petersburg, Russia

Mamayev Kurgan

Historical place, hill in Russia

Church of All Saints, Yekaterinburg

Church on the Blood built in 2003 at the site of the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family.

Vladivostok railway station

Even if your journey doesn't involve trains, the beautiful old Vladivostok Station is worth a look. The last among the steam-engines stands at the platform. Don't miss the 9288km sign post nearby

Pavlov's House

One of the focal points of the Battle of Stalingrad, a strategic apartment building that a small group of Soviet soldiers fortified and held for two months against a relentless German offensive before being relieved by counterattacking Soviet forces. While the building, rebuilt after the war, is in active use as a residence and not open to the public, a monument made up of bricks retrieved from the battleground is attached to the outside of the building and publicly accessible.

St. Nicholas Cossack Cathedral

Ulan-Ude Ethnographic Museum

An outdoor museum. Old homesteads, including some 17th century Cossack houses, and Buryat wooden yurts have been relocated to the site, and along with reconstructed streets representing traditional Buryati homes. Includes a small zoo.

Arena Omsk

Odigitrievsky Cathedral

church building in Ulan-Ude, Russia

Ivolginsky Datsan

building in Republic of Buryatia, China

Russian Grand Prix

Formula One motor race

Galiaskar Kamal Tatar Academic Theatre

Söyembikä Tower

Söyembikä (various spellings, usually Suyumbike in English; in Cyrillic Сөембикә) was a Tatar princess, and regent of Kazan 1549-1551 during the minority of her son. In 1551 Ivan the Terrible captured the area, and the legend goes that he pressured the widowed princess to marry him. She consented to marry only if he could build the highest tower in Kazan in seven days, which he promptly did; so she jumped to her death from the top of the tower. In truth she was carted off to Moscow, re-married (her third) and died some time around 1554, while the tower was probably built at a much later date. It's 58 m tall, in tiers; it famously used to lean, but was stabilised and straightened in the 20th-century. You can admire it from the outside but you can't enter or climb it.

Kul Sharif Mosque

mosque in Russia

Dynamo Stadium (Vladivostok)

multi-purpose stadium in Vladivostok, Russia

Kivach Falls

10.7 m high waterfall cascade.

Museum of Nature of Buryatia

museum in Ulan-Ude

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk railway station

Museum of history of Ulan-Ude

Vladivostok Fortress

Overlooking the sea, these fortifications were built more than a century ago to guard against invasion from Japan. Today, the grounds are cluttered with defused bombs, chain guns, and small military vehicles. Those can be visited for free; there's a small fee to go inside the several rooms of the fort, which feature displays on the history of Russia's presence in the region and some intricate dioramas.

Keyboard Monument

Easily one of Russia's weirdest attractions is the gargantuan keyboard monument in this city. Big white stones rise from the earth, and as you approach, you see engraved upon them, words like "Q" and "SHIFT."

City History Museum, Irkutsk

Petrogradsky Island

island

Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street

A pedestrian street, the main street of the city. Street vendors, souvenirs, shops and main restaurants, and several museums including the museum of Russian traditional art.

Spit of Nizhny Novgorod

street in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

Museum of the History of Buryatia

Sakhalin Regional State Museum of Art

museum in Sakhalin

Rozhdestvenskaya Street

Parallel to Oka river under the hill, this street contains a lot of 19th century buildings in rather good condition. The street was renovated in 2012, half-width becoming pedestrian, and now serves as a location for different festivals and events.

Mount Akhun

mountains in Russia

A.V. Sidorov Mineralogical Museum

mineralogical museum

Ts. S. Sampilov Art Museum

museum

Sakhalin Zoological and Botanical Park

zoo and botanical park

Trans-Siberian Railway

Railway line connecting Moscow with Russian Far East and Sea of Japan. Longest in the world.