TOURS TO RUSSIA

Russia Tourism

Russia is the largest country in the world with total area of 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi). Its history that excites you, Russia offers a good measure of this too. Moscow and St. Petersburg has an abundance of museums, art galleries and guided tours through the older parts of the cities that features some sightseeing activities of monuments and old Russian architecture.

Russia enjoys a great potential for both in-country tourism development and foreign tourists reception. Everything is here for it - a vast territory, rich historic and cultural heritage and wild nature in many of its regions.

Russia’s territory stretches for 10 000 km from east to west and almost for 3 000 km from northern latitudes to subtropical areas in the south. A variety of landscapes provides opportunities to develop many types of tourism. Russia has sea resorts at the Black Sea in the south and the Baltic Sea in the north-west which makes it suitable for beach rest, medical treatment and rehabilitation. Ultima Thule gives visitors a chance to observe polar lights or take an ethnic tour to northern peoples, or take part in deer safari on tundra lands.

The presence of mountains provides opportunities for mountaineering (rock climbing, caving, hiking, rafting along rapid mountain rivers and skiing, mountain biking and delta plane sports) as well as rehabilitation at mineral water resorts.

Full-flowing and wide rivers like the Volga, the Yenisei or the Lena give excellent possibilities for cruises, fishing and various types of rafting. Other cruising destinations include north-western waters of Russia. As a rule, numerous lakes are picturesque and clean. Lake waters are clean not just by appearance: in Karelia and in the Baikal it is drinkable.

The forests of the Central Russia, foothills of the Caucasus, Siberian taiga and the Far East are full of animals and birds attracting hunting tour lovers. In Russia, there are enough of places with wild virgin nature which creates ideal conditions for environmental routes development. As compared to many European countries, a tourist who travels over Russia may meet no people for quite a long time. In Siberia, you may drive along a highway laid across forests for several hours and meet no cars! Yet, it is rather possible to encounter a brown bear in adjacent woods. In Astrakhan Region, on your way to the fishing camp in the delta of the Volga River, a forester will show you a flamingo, pelicans and other rare bird species. Horse riding around the Altai Krai resembling fairytale worlds will leave no nature lover indifferent.

Russia’s rich history bears the traces of Vikings, ancient Slavs, Mongols and Tatars, Scythians, Swedish, Greeks, Genoese and other peoples. Our ancestors inherited certain features of their appearances, faiths, cultures, languages and traditions. This factor stimulates internal tourism development and makes Russia’s peoples interesting for each other. Grand princes, monarchs and emperors adjoined and lost lands and peoples; travelers went deep into the virgin lands of the North, Siberia and the Far East and discovered new spacious valleys, rivers, seas and oceans. Democratic and authoritarian rulers replacing one another, built palaces and mansions, established museums, destroyed Christian churches and Buddhist temples; left us their mausoleums and grand multi-storey buildings, powerful power plants and at the same time, camps for the repressed, corn fields, entered space, created unique armaments and restored temples. All these events made Russia the country any visitor may now explore and experience at an excursion tour.

In addition to natural and historic and cultural attractions, there certain social factors having a positive influence over tourism development, that is a high purchasing power of foreign currencies and freedom of travelling over the major part of the country’s territory including areas prospective from the tourist point of view such as the Far East, Sakhalin, the Kurile islands, the Urals, the North of Russia as well as Nizhny Novgorod and Samara which were formerly closed for foreigners.

Domestic and external tourism in Russia is characterized by a variety of types. Among the ones developing the most rapidly, one can name environmental, sportive, extreme, mountaineering, cognitive, recreational, cruise, fishing and hunting, event-oriented and gastronomic types of travelling. Individual and young people’s tourism is also becoming more and more popular.

Moscow :

Moscow is believed to be about 850 years old. The first record of it in the chronicles is dated 1147. Many centuries ago, the town was built on seven hills. It is rather difficult to discern them now, with exception of the Borovitsky (“Pinery”) Hill, where one of the 20 Kremlin towers stands. The Kremlin (this word means “a steep hill” in Greek) and Red Square are definitely the main Moscow sights, symbols of all of Russia. Moscow is a real megapolis: the city extends out 40 kilometers from north to south and over 30 kilo meters from east to west. The population of over 10 million (including the vicinities) makes Moscow the world’s fifth largest city; also, over a million visitors, mostly tourists, come here daily. All those who have business in Moscow, and those just passing through, try to delay their departure for one or two days, willing to learn more about the city.

St. Petersburg :

St. Petersburg, the most European city in Russia, celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2003. The city’s immediate destiny was to become Russia’s new capital. St. Petersburg is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Since 1918, the capital of the state has been returned to Moscow, but “Peter” has maintained its unofficial status of second capital. The city’s population today exceeds 5 million (including the vicinities), making St. Petersburg the world’s largest city from its latitude to the North Pole. The city’s man road is the fashionable and elegant Nevsky Prospekt, which is 4.5 kilometres long Many residents of St. Petersburg make a promenade along this central prospect into a lively ritual.

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