Russian traditions, russian culture – Russian monuments, attractions, history

Other parts of Russia

St. Petersburg – Russia’s northern capital
Lord Novgorod the Great
Old Russian cities
Siberia and the south of Russia

In the previous chapter, we told you about Moscow. Moscow is the capital of Russia, and it is a city with a very rich history and culture. Without a doubt, it is also the center of contemporary Russia, but if you are going to come to Russia or if you are living here, we recommend that you definitely visit St. Petersburg. Called the northern capital of Russia, St. Petersburg was founded and built by Russian Emperor Peter the Great in 1703, after which it remained the capital of Russia straight up until 1918. This city captivates no less than Moscow does. Located on the banks of the Neva River and straddling over three hundred separate islands, the city will strike you with its beauty. It is full of magnificent palaces designed by leading masters of the time. Most notable amongst these gorgeous buildings is the opulent Zimny Palace Majestic squares, embankments bridges, monuments, museums and cathedrals also fill up the city, not to mention the Hermitage Museum, a world-famous treasure-house of the finest works of art from around the world. There is also the LetnySad (“the Summer Garden”), where Pushkin used to enjoy taking his strolls, as well as the Russian Museum, famous Nevsky Prospect, the Petropavlovskaya Fortress, the Smolny, and St. Isaac’s Cathedral. All the sights of St. Petersburg, as with those of Moscow, are impossible to enumerate.

The environs of St. Petersburg also evoke the interest of everyone who visits them. Magnificent Peterhof with its unique palace and park ensemble is the favorite spot of many, especially its wide array of diverse fountains and famous Amber Chamber. Others prefer Oranienbaum, Pavlovsk, or Tsarskoye Selo – the country residences of the Russian tsars, boasting excellent palaces and parks.

St. Petersburg differs from Moscow greatly. From the very beginning, it was conceived of and built as a European city. Even now it is likened to Venice, while nearby Peterhof draws comparisons to Versailles. All the same though, Petersburg is a Russian city with a Russian soul, and it has given Russia so many of its great writers, poets, and scientists. Pushkin, Dos-toyevsky, Blok and so many others have dedicated an endless number of lines to this home of theirs! The most famous of them though, remain Pushkin’s lines.

In 2003, all of Russia celebrated the city’s 350th anniversary. In preparation for this day, many unigue palaces, monuments and temples were restored throughout St. Petersburg. The city beamed with a new beauty as numerous European and American leaders arrived to celebrate the city’s founding, and their hearts were won over by St. Petersburg’s extraordinary beauty.

There is yet another interesting city in the north of Russia: Novgorod. From the 12th to 14th centuries, Novgorod was both a city and a state unto itself, carrying the titles Veliky Novgorod (“Great Novgorod”) and Gospodin Veliky Novgorod (“Lord Novgorod the Great”). At a time when Moscow was still an unknown village, Novgorod controlled an enormous territory. For five hundred years it carried on in this role of independent city-state. By maintaining a very profitable trade with the largest cities of Europe, Novgorod became the richest and the mightiest city in Russia.

Although it is now only a small provincial town, Novgorod has retained its beauty both in its nature and its art. Located on the banks of the Volkhov River and not far from Lake Ilmen, everything outside of the city is extremely beautiful. In Novgorod itself, you can visit the Novgorod Kremlin and the main cathedral of old Novgorod – St. Sophia’s Cathedral. Within the old Novgorod Kremlin you will also find a monument that was erected in 1862 to celebrate Russia’s 1,000th anniversary. Bearing over one hundred figures, this sculpture commemorates a long list of politicians, poets, artists, tsars, and even ordinary citizens – everyone who over time has nurtured Russia in some crucial way. Many tourists therefore find it surprising that Tsar Ivan the Terrible cannot be found on the monument. To understand why, one must remember that it was Ivan the Terrible who gave the order to seize Novgorod and annex it to the principality of Moscow. Novgorod resisted for a long time, but when the Tsar finally seized the city, the nearby Volkhov River turned red with the blood of the city’s inhabitants. Of course, the people of Novgorod have never forgotten this, and for that very reason the Tsar’s figure does not appear on the monument.

The towns that make up ‘the golden ring of Russia’ are also very interesting, in particular: Suzdal, Rostov Veliky, Kostroma, Pskov, and Yaroslavl (whose 1,000th anniversary will be celebrated in 2010). In each of these cities you can get acguainted with the architecture and culture of Old Russia, for each of them has its own kremlin. Suzdal is the most frequently visited, since it is located not very far from Moscow. The old Russian city of Sergiev Posad, founded by the Russian saint Sergiy Radonezhsky, is also located a short distance from Moscow. As the center of the Russian Orthodox faith, it is home to the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra, as well as to numerous churches, monasteries and theological schools. Pilgrims from all over Russia come to this spot, so if you want to understand Russia better and experience something of its way of life yourself, we most definitely recommend visiting.

While you are there, you may also consider visiting the Museum of Toys in Sergiev Posad. The museum has over 30,000 unigue and interesting exhibits displaying a wide range of items, from Russian toys and patterns for Western European toys to those from China and Japan. Even now, the inhabitants of Sergiev Posad are continuing the town’s age-old folk tradition of producing handmade toys, so you will surely find a wide variety of inexpensive Russian souvenirs there while on your visit.

If you want to see Siberia or the Far East, your impressions will surely be just as interesting. The ideas that foreigners have about Siberia are often wrong. Siberia is an enormous and distinctive region with unique natural phenomena: the taiga, an endless forest which extends over thousands of kilometers; big rivers that flow at a high level, such as the Lena, the Ob, and the Yenisei; and Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake. But as in the European part of Russia, Siberia also has big cities with many millions of inhabitants — Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Irkutsk, to mention just a few — all of which have just as interesting a history and culture as their more westerly counterparts. As the country evolves and moves ahead, many interesting and talented people are doing their part in Siberia as well. And lest the misconception of freezing cold weather keep you away, it’s worth noting that summer also comes to Siberia, sometimes with temperatures even higher than in the south of Russia. All in all, there are lots of interesting things to see and experience in Siberia.

If you like the sea, you should visit the south of Russia, especially the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. In the Northern Caucasus and on the Black Sea coast, there are excellent tourist resorts, sanitariums, and rest homes where people come from all over Russia to rest. Out of all these places, the resort city of Sochi (where the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held) is the most well-known. Sochi has a unigue climate created by the convergence of sea and mountain air, making for warm water, beautiful beaches and coastline, and stunning forested mountains. There are many good hotels in Sochi that make it an appealing destination year-round. In the winter, modern ski-resorts high up in the mountains draw many visitors.

As another way of getting to know Russia better, you can go on a wide range of river cruises, from one-day or three-day trips to much longer ones. The most interesting excursions leave from the Northern River Station in Moscow, and then travel on to different parts of Russia from there. You can go on a tour of the northern lakes Ladoga and Onega, where you will visit the magnificent Kizhi Museum-Preserve of Wooden Folk Architecture, Valaam Island with its architectural monuments dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, and a well-known monastery founded by the inhabitants of Novgorod in the 14th century. You can also go on a tour of Russia’s greatest river, the Volga, or on a shorter tour just to the old Russian city of Uglich and back. You could even journey all the way from Moscow to Astrakhan on a large and comfortable motorized ship, with stops for excursions into the cities of Коstroma, Samara, Yaroslavl, Saratov and Nizhniy Novgorod, amongst others.

Every nook of Russia has something interesting and extraordinary, and every Russian city is full of history and culture. Everywhere you go your hosts will receive you with true Russian hospitality and be more than eager to tell you about their native land and its many sights.