Russia

Russia is the largest country in the world, so large that it crosses no fewer than 11 time zones, has over 100 different languages in active use, with the Far East region alone being roughly the size of Europe. To describe Russia as diverse is an understatement. But for most visitors, the focus is its two jewels, Moscow and St Petersburg. If you are attracted by art, literature, music and history, these two great cities should be on your ‘must see’ list. Once described as ‘a riddle wrapped up in a mystery inside an enigma’, much of Russia’s mystique has diminished following the fall of the Berlin Wall but if you stand in Red Square and look around you, you will still feel the echoes of the Soviet past. In contrast, St Petersburg remains as a relic of Russia’s Tsars and has maintained its place as the country’s cultural capital with an impressive cast list of iconic names, from Tchaikovsky and Dostoevsky to the Kirov and the Hermitage, the world’s largest art museum.