Krasnoye is a village with a population of about 400 people located in the Staritsky district of the Tver region, 100 km south-west of Tver.

The main attraction of the village is a beautiful pseudo-Gothic church – the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior (1785-1790) built on the territory of the former estate of the noble family of Poltoratsky. Krasnoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

magnificent church

Tags: churches · Tver oblast

Nativity of the Virgin St. Paphnutius of Borovsk Monastery is located on the outskirts of the town of Borovsk in the Kaluga region, about 90 km north of Kaluga and 100 km south-west of Moscow.

The monastery was founded by the monk Paphnutius of Borovsk in 1444. In the 16th century, the monastery was surrounded by stone walls and fortifications, it turned into a strong border fortress. St. Paphnutius of Borovsk Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Dar.

very picturesque monastery

Tags: Kaluga oblast

The Central Children’s Store on Lubyanka or Tsentral’nyy Detskiy Magazin (in Russian) is a department store with goods for children and youth built in the center of Moscow in 1953-1957. Opened in 1957, it became the biggest children’s store in the USSR.

In 2005, the building received the status of a cultural heritage site of the regional level. In 2006-2015, the building was completely reconstructed. The Central Children’s Store on Google Maps. Photos by: Stanislav Konstantinov.

center of Moscow from the roof

Tags: Moscow city

Novosibirsk, the administrative center of the Siberian Federal District and the Novosibirsk region, is the third largest city in Russia. It is the largest trade, business, cultural, industrial, transport, and scientific center of Siberia.

The population of Novosibirsk is about 1.6 million people. The city is located on both banks of the Ob River near the Novosibirsk reservoir. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Novosibirsk

Tags: Novosibirsk city

Vladimir is a city with a population of about 350 thousand people located 188 km east of Moscow, the administrative center of the Vladimir region.

One of the largest tourist centers in the European part of Russia, Vladimir was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir in the 12th-14th centuries. Let’s take a short walk through the streets of the city. Photos by: Sergey Rubtsov.

explore Vladimir

Tags: Vladimir city

This album of projects of urban and rural buildings of the Russian Empire was compiled by the engineer-architect V.G.Zalessky with the participation of a number of other engineers and architects in 1881 – a very interesting document of its time with beautiful illustrations. Source: humus.

architecture of the Russian Empire

Tags: Russian Empire

Magadan is a port city with a population of about 93 thousand people located on the shore of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk about 5,900 km east of Moscow (in a straight line), the administrative center of the Magadan region.

It was founded as a settlement of workers engaged in the development of mineral resources of the Kolyma region in 1929. Photos by: Slava Stepanov.

fly over Magadan

Tags: Magadan city

Vologda, one of the largest cities of the Russian North and the capital of the Vologda region, is located 474 km north of Moscow and 663 km east of St. Petersburg.

First mentioned in 1147, it is included in the list of Russian cities with a particularly valuable historical heritage. On the territory of Vologda there are more than 200 monuments of history, architecture and culture. Let’s take a look at some of them. Photos by: Andrei Kireev.

The Vologda River and the Vologda Kremlin.

beautiful old city

Tags: Vologda city

Elton is a picturesque salt lake located in the Pallasovskiy district of the Volgograd region, not far from the border with Kazakhstan, 206 km east of Volgograd.

It is not only the largest lake in the Volgograd region, but also the largest mineral lake in Europe and one of the most mineralized lakes in the world. Lake Elton on Google Maps. Photos by: Andrei Kireev.

the realm of salt

Tags: Volgograd oblast

For many travelers hoping to see large portions of Russia and head into the continent of Asia, the Trans-Siberian trek is an absolute must. There are many different routes that you can take, departing from a choice of Russian cities and lasting for a varying number of days.

Of course, the main draw of such journeys is to get out there and see more of our wonderful world, especially through Russia and the road often less traveled. You can start in the West at St Petersburg, head over to Moscow, take part in expeditions such as Siberian dog sledding, and even see “true” Russia in places like Irkutsk and Ulaanbaatar.

But what about the reality of the fact that you’re spending up to four weeks of your life on a train? Yes, you get off and stay overnight in hotels sometimes, but that still leaves a rather long time to your journey on board. Here’s how to make the most of it!

traveling around Russia by train

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