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Red Square/Kremlin Moscow
161 Reviews The 70 m (230 ft) high Saviour Tower is the most magnificent of the Kremlin towers, the very symbol and emblem of Moscow. From time immemorial it has been the principal entrance to the Kremlin. The...
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Canals and Rivers Saint Petersburg
38 Reviews Why not have a boat trip along the city canals and rivers, which will allow you to see the buildings from different angles and to enjoy the city sites - the splendid samples of the old Russian...
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Battle of Stallingrad Volgograd
13 Reviews The main statue of the complex is Mother Homeland Statue. It is situated on the so name Point 102 (Mamaev Kurgan is 102 meters high). The statue is 85 meters high (the figure 52 meters and the sword...
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Streets of Moscow Moscow
42 Reviews The wide street Kutuzovskiy Prospekt used to be a prestigious residential area for very important people of the Soviet Union. The building at number 26 was known as the Politbuero block, where...
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Museums Saint Petersburg
26 Reviews Hermitage Museum - I did the cruise ship visit to St Petersburg last month. We visted Catherine's Palace in Pushkin first in the morning so we arrived to the Hermitage in the afternoon. The cruise...
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The Volga Embankment Volgograd
5 Reviews Volgograd is great at May. It is bright, green and clean. Unfortunately internet could not transmit smells of spring flowers and blooming trees. Chestnuts, lilacs and bird cherry trees - a must...
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Monuments & Buildings Moscow
43 Reviews Yury Nikulin was the great movie artist and clown in soviet time. He was like a a breath of fresh air... "I always believed that those circus people who compel others to burst out laughing are the...
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Personal Observations Saint Petersburg
46 Reviews St. Petersburg is a wonderful city, but I suggest that you go there either with a group, or go on your own if you know Russian. There are no English signs and it is really difficult to move around if...
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General impressions Moscow
73 Reviews Moscow is well worth seeing by night. So a stroll through the city centre of Moscow in darkness is highly recommended. Not only the illuminated red stars on the top of the Kremlin Towers look...
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Cathedrals and Churches Saint Petersburg
57 Reviews One of impressive buildings of Saint Petersburg is Isakievsky Cathedral. It is well seen from Neva River and is situated not far from the monument to Peter I (the Copper rider). In XVIII century on...
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Other places to see Moscow
44 Reviews The nearest vicinities of the Red Square, including Manezhnaya Square are the places most attended by Muscovites for the last four centuries. In XV century in the old Moscow here lived...
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Monuments Saint Petersburg
22 Reviews Our first stop where we got out to take pictures was along the river at what the guide said were lighthouses (there were two) but which the travel literature called Rostrums. Apparently several times...
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Moscow Metro Moscow
18 Reviews Moscow's metro was inaugurated in 1935 and since then the network grew to 11 lines and covers a distance of about 300 km. Many of the stations from Soviet times are fine examples of socialist realism...
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St.Peter and St.Paul's Fortress Saint Petersburg
15 Reviews The church in the St. Peter and Paul Fortress (Petropavlovskaya Krepost) is where all the tsars and their wives are buried although what structures that show in the church are not really the tombs...
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Cathedrals & Monasteries Moscow
40 Reviews This impressive structure isn't that old. Rumor has it that it used to be a very nice swimming pool until just a few years ago. The interior is extremely well decorated, and the crypt houses quite a...
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Weather Saint Petersburg
8 Reviews St. Petersburg gets all four seasons, sometimes a bit unpredictably. The long days of white nights in June do not mean it will be always warm, carry a sweater and umbrella! It can rain most any time...
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Parks/Estates Moscow
13 Reviews The park was completed in 1995 to celebrate the 50-th anniversary of the Soviet Union's World War Two victory. The park itself is laid out around a grand fountain-lined axis with a huge white...
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Architecture Saint Petersburg
40 Reviews St. Petersburg was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, so it celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2003. The tsars employed the best architects and artists from Western Europe to build St....
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Parks and Squares Saint Petersburg
25 Reviews In the northern part of the park there are a lot of sculptures, it is real open air museum. I heard that almost a half of it is originals of XIX century. Besides, there is a monument to the famous...
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Nevsky Avenue Saint Petersburg
10 Reviews I spent almost a whole day sightseeing along St. Petersburg's main avenue Nevsky Prospekt. It leads from the Admirality in the west via Moskow Railway Station to the Aleksandr Nevsky Monastery in...
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Bridges Saint Petersburg
13 Reviews Troizky Bridge was open in 1903, to 200 years anniversary of the city. It is 500 meters long. The bridge is a part of the ensemble of buildings and bridges of Neva River area in front of Hermitage...
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Hermitage Saint Petersburg
27 Reviews Hermatage, Peterhof, Catherine Palace. St Petrsburg was all that I expected and more. We only had 2 very long and wonderful days there on our Baltic Cruise but I was so impressed with it. Our trips...
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City Environs Saint Petersburg
13 Reviews For the early birds: come to Peterhof before 9 a.m. and enter the Lower Garden free of charge. That is what I do. I love the nature and solitude. Have some seeds and feed the squirrels. They switch...
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Guidebooks Saint Petersburg
15 Reviews Most facilities in the center are portable toilets. Sometimes on Palace Square you will see toilet buses. Generally WC are all 10 rubles. For free in 5-star hotels, McDonalds and other restaurants....
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Visas and Documents Saint Petersburg
5 Reviews We were on a Cruise ship, for one very long day in Port. We usually do our own thing, but this is one place where you can't. You either have to do a Ship's tour or a privately booked tour, otherwise...
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Hand-made souvenirs are great!Why not buy painted wooden eggs that are usually used on Easteror choose one of the traditional Russian shawls to take home with you.Take a look at some other wooden hand-made souvenirs.
Wooden handicfarts: decorated hand-made spoons, for example, a traditional Russian souvenir...Amber handicrafts:nice traditional Russian souvenirs such as things made of Russian amber like these. taking home together with nice memories some other reminders of your stay in Russia: 'matryoshka' wodden doll, a hand-made article painted in different ways whose manufacture dates back to the end of the 19th century.
Let me admit that I did not follow my own advice and learn the 60 critical words as I recommend on my VT home page for visiting a country with a different language, but I did do something that proved very useful and added to the pleasures of my visit.I learned the basic sounds of the Cyrillic alphabet. There are enough words in Russian with Latin or English origins to make this rewarding. Words like supermarket, bank, camping, disco, and many others can be decoded from the Cyrillic. Just after my arrival and for a couple days following I puzzled over two words in Cyrillic I saw on the side of a McDonald's hamburger restaurant. Then it came to me, "royal cheeseburger". So I turned to our guide and asked, "How do you say 'royal cheeseburger' in Russian." She answered, "Royal cheeseburger"!
The Russians use the cyrillic alphabet. It's easier to pronounce if you got the translations.А = aБ = bВ = vГ = gД = dЕ = jeЁ = jøЖ = zhЗ = zИ = iЙ = jК = kЛ = lМ = mН = nО = oП = pР = rС = sТ = tУ = uФ = fХ = hЦ = tsЧ = tsjШ = sjЩ = sjtsjЪ = _Ы = yЬ = 'Э = eЮ = juЯ = ja
Some historical Russian people eighter by power, strength of will or implementation: Josef Stalin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nikita Khrushchev, Grigori Rasputin, Vladimir Lenin, Leonid Brezhnev, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Boris Yeltsin, Fedor Emelianenko, Major Gennadi Osipovich and Vladimir Putin.
All signs in Russia are written in Cyrillic. So, to read names and directions you ought to learn it. It is not difficult as it is just mixture of Greek and Latin plus a couple of original letters.It was simplified several times in a history. The most significant changes were done in XVIII c by Peter I the Great and in 1918 by Vladimir Lenin.This alphabet is used not only in Russia, but with minor varieties in Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, Bulgaria, Chernogoria (Monte Negro) and even in Central Asia - Kazakhstan, etc.
Below few words in Russian that you can use while visiting Russia.Good morning: Dobraye UtraGood day: DObryi den' Zdravstvuyte: Dobriy vechir (it's a kind of universal greeting, you can use it 24 hours a day, though only once per day to the same person. formal.)Good night: Spakoynay nochiHi: PrivyEt (informal) Good bye: Da svidanya Bye: Pakka Please: Pazhalusta (also used for saying "you are welcome")Thanks: Spasseeba I'm sorry / excuse me: Prashu prashcheniyaI'm sorry / excuse me: Izvineetye (less informal)Yes: DaNo: NyetHow are you?: Kak dela? Fine: KharashoWhat is your name?: Kak Vas zavoot?
While traveling in Russia, please note:In some places, shopping centers, souvenir places etc... pictutes are absolutely not allowed at all and you will find some advertising at the entrance of the place too.It can also happen, for example in churches or little museums, that you will be asked for additional money to take pictures.What happened to me for exemples i was asked to pay 100 Rubles to take pictures inside a museum.Well to be honest 100 Rubles don't change my life at all if you think how much they are in your country so i gave them.Same experience into a church, i was asked to give an offer to take pictures, but it was worth, the Orthodox churches are really beautiful.On the other side, in another church the lady didn't ask me for money, but anyway i gave an offer, just to be polite.This is just to remember you to be polite, and always ask if you can take pictures before taking...
The Russian alphabet, also known as the Cyrillic alphabet, was devised by a Greek monk St. Cyril in the 9th century. The alphabet consists of 33 letters, some of which were borrowed from Greek and Hebrew.You will find it relatively easy to get started with the Cyrillic alphabet because many letters remind those in English. There are six exact sound and look-alikes (A, E, K, M, O, T).The best way to sourvive in Russia is, beside talking a little bit of Russian, knowing the alphabet. Many things are still written only in Russian, specially if you travel outside touristic cities, so i would really suggest to learn it, in order to understand what is written there, and not to get lost.To do that, i suggest those 2 links below, they have really good explanations.http://masterrussian.com/russian_alphabet.shtmlhttp://masterrussian.com/blalphabet.shtml
1. It is advisable, if you plan to walk late in the evening somewhere far from busy streets or returning at night from a bar, nightclub alone. If you stick to touritst places and mostly during day time, you will be ok. Try to avoid visiting someone's flat in block of flats alone, i.e. drunks could be sitting there, etc. 2. I used to buy tickets for trains to St. Pet. direcly from train stations. But there used to be big queques, and I am not sure if they speak English there. Also, there are some other trains between St. Pet.- Moscow. Try to contact Intourist travel agency, www.intourist.ru, they might have it. They orginise a lot of excursions for tourist in Russia.3. Yes, they are overnight trains between these two cities, both directions. Appr. time is 8-10 hours, it is very comfi to get on a train at about 12 pm and wake up in different city. But if you are planning to sleep there,...
Marriott Moscow Royal Moscow
6 Reviews and 146 Opinions The hotel has a great location, all the central attractions are very close. But the hotel is not...
Grand Hotel Europe Saint Petersburg
11 Reviews and 212 Opinions I wish I could have described my stay here, but I only passed by almost every night. The building is...
Hotel Mirage Kazan'
3 Reviews and 15 Opinions I have no idea about this hotel before I check in, neither about its location, nor its rating. I...
Reviews and photos of Russia attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Russia sightseeing.
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Q: There are sereval satellite towns near by Moscow: Susdal, Yaroslaval, Sergiev Posad, Vladimir and may be else. - did anybody try...
A: Don't know about Nanotrip but have done a Golden Ring tour and can thoroughly recommend it. We went to Vladimir, Suzdal', Ples, Kostroma, Yaroslavl', Rostov Velikiy, ,...
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