248 Best Sights in Russia

After a visit to Rome, Tsar Paul I (1754–1801) commissioned this magnificent cathedral, wishing to copy—and perhaps present the Orthodox rival to—that city's St. Peter's. You approach the huge cathedral, erected between 1801 and 1811 from a design by Andrei Voronikhin, through a monumental, semicircular colonnade. Inside and out, the church abounds with sculpture and decoration, including statues of such sanctified Russian heroes as Grand Prince Vladimir (who advanced the Christianization of Russia) and Alexander Nevsky. The enormous bronze front doors are exact copies of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise in Florence's Baptistery.

The cathedral was closed after the revolution and turned into the Museum of Religion and Atheism, with an emphasis on the latter. Religion was presented from the Marxist point of view, essentially as an archaeological artifact. It's once again a place of worship.

At each end of the square in front of the cathedral are statues of military leaders Mikhail Barclay de Tolly and Mikhail Kutuzov. They reflect the value placed in the 19th century on the cathedral as a place of military tribute, especially following Napoléon's invasion in 1812. Kutuzov is buried in the cathedral's northern chapel, where he's supposed to have prayed before taking command of the Russian forces.

Built between 1633 and 1636 to commemorate Russia's liberation from Polish occupation during the Time of Troubles, this church was purposely blown up in 1936, at the beginning of a planned remodeling of all Kitai Gorod that was to help usher in a new industrial era. The centerpiece of the area was to be a monumental House of Industry, but neither the House nor the plan ever came to fruition. The current cathedral is a replica, rebuilt and fully restored in 1993. Its salmon-and-cream–painted brick and gleaming gold cupolas are now a colorful magnet at the northeast corner of Red Square, between the Historical Museum and GUM. Inside and outside hang icons of Our Lady of Kazan; every inch of the impressive interior is covered in frescoes and whorled floral patterns. Many worshippers visit throughout the day.

On the banks of Lake Siverskoye, this is an enormous monastic complex with a history that dates back to the late 14th century. Spread over 12 hectares, the fortified complex comprises a series of structures, including 11 stone churches, some dating back as far as the 15th century. In 1924, the Bolsheviks transformed the monastery into a museum, and there’s a large permanent collection of paintings, artifacts, icons, and illuminated manuscripts along with a regular rotation of temporary exhibits, most of which focus on the region’s religious history and folk traditions.

On an island in Lake Onega, the Kizhi State Museum is an open-air collection of 83 traditional wooden structures, many of which were transferred to the island in the 1950s from around the region. The highlight of the island is the Kizhi Pogost (settlement), a UNESCO World Heritage site containing two 18th-century wooden churches and a 20-meter-high wooden bell tower with a shingled onion-domed tent roof that dates to the late 1800s. The Church of the Transfiguration is the pogost's crown jewel. The top of its highest cupola stands at 37 meters in height, and the entire multistory structure was erected without a single nail. The slightly smaller Church of the Intercession is topped with eight onion-dome cupolas atop its central octagonal dome and features an interior wall covered from floor to ceiling with Russian Orthodox icons.

If you want to spend an afternoon in the great Russian outdoors without actually leaving the city, Kolomenskoye, on a high bluff overlooking the Moskva River, is just the right destination. The estate was once a favorite summer residence of Moscow's grand dukes and tsars. Today it's a popular public park with museums, a functioning church, old Russian cottages, and other attractions. It's also the site of the city's main celebration of the holiday Maslenitsa, or Butter Week, which usually falls at the end of February or beginning of March. Traditional Russian amusements such as mock fistfights, bag races, and tug-of-war are held on the park's grounds, with heaps of hot blini served as reminders of the spring sun.

As you approach Kolomenskoye, the first sights you see are the striking blue domes of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan, a functioning church that's open for worship. It was completed in 1671. Opposite the church there once stood a wooden palace built by Tsar Alexei, Peter the Great's father. Peter spent much time here when he was growing up. Nothing remains of the huge wooden structure (Catherine the Great ordered it destroyed in 1767), but there's a scale model at the museum, which is devoted to Russian timber architecture and folk crafts. The museum lies inside the front gates of the park, at the end of the tree-lined path leading from the main entrance of the park.

The most remarkable sight within the park is the Church of the Ascension, which sits on the bluff overlooking the river. The church dates from the 1530s and was restored in the late 1800s. Its skyscraping tower is an example of the tent or pyramid-type structure that was popular in Russian architecture in the 16th century. The view from the bluff is impressive in its contrasts: from the 16th-century backdrop you can look north across the river to the 20th-century concrete apartment houses that dominate the contemporary Moscow skyline. In summer you'll see Muscovites bathing in the river below the church, and in winter the area abounds with cross-country skiers.

Examples of wooden architecture from other parts of Russia have been transferred to Kolomenskoye, turning the estate into an open-air museum. In the wooded area near the site of the former wooden palace you'll find a 17th-century prison tower from Siberia, a defense tower from the White Sea, and a 17th-century mead brewery from the village of Preobrazhenskaya. One of the most attractive original buildings on the site is the wooden cottage where Peter the Great lived while supervising the building of the Russian fleet in Arkhangelskoye. The cottage was relocated here in 1934.

There are several tour options available, including a "Fairy Tale Tour," troika sleigh rides, and horseback riding tours. Call the excursions desk for more information.

Of the palace's 50-odd rooms, several are open to the public on guided tours when no state functions are taking place. Grandest of all is the central Marble Hall, used to host official events, which lives up to its name, with yellow marble pilasters framed by bluish marble walls. A balcony here affords a breathtaking view of the huge park and canals leading to the Gulf of Finland. In addition to the rooms, you can see various permanent exhibits: Russian state symbols from the Hermitage; naval memorabilia from St. Petersburg's Naval Museum; the famed Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya art collection; and the Naryshkins' treasure, found in 2011 during the reconstruction works in an old mansion that used to belong to the Russian noble family and including 2,000 silver objects like tea sets made by the best Russian and European jewelers of the 19th to early 20th centuries. The grounds include the Upper (English) Park, Big Pond, canals, drawbridges, and the monument to Peter the Great, which stands just in front of the palace.

Before visiting, be sure to call ahead to make sure the palace will not be closed for state functions.

Long before Vladimir Putin made Krasnaya Polyana a pet project—that of turning a dilapidated Soviet resort into a world-class ski destination—Czar Nicholas II used the hillside village as his getaway hunting ground. The snowy mountains, located a short drive from the beaches of Sochi, are home to three ski resorts, including the new Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort, where the Olympic alpine skiing and snowboarding competition will take place. The mountains, which reach over 6,000 feet in some places, provides up to 140 days of skiing per year and other activities such as mountain biking, rafting, and hiking. Many luxury hotels and restaurants are under construction here in preparation for the Olympics.

The large, redbrick compound on the island in the Moskva River across from the Kremlin was once one of the Soviet Union's beloved chocolate factories, Krasny Oktyabr, or Red October. Whiffs of sweet chocolate used to fill the air around the factory, and its chocolate bars were presented as gifts to visiting dignitaries to the Kremlin. Today the factory is closed, and the sprawling complex has been renovated to house several of Moscow's hippest restaurants and bars. It's worth strolling around the island and stopping in for a bite to eat or a drink.

The name comes from the word kruta, meaning "hill," and a small monastery built here sometime in the 13th century was used for defense against the Tatar-Mongol invaders. At the end of the 16th century the monastery's prestige grew when it became the suburban residence of the Moscow metropolitan. The church and grounds were completely rebuilt, and the current structures date from this period. The period of flowering was short-lived; the monastery was closed in 1788 on orders from Catherine the Great, who secularized many church buildings. In the 19th century it was used as army barracks, and it's said that the Russians accused of setting the Moscow fire of 1812 were tortured here by Napoléon's forces. In the 20th century, the Soviets turned the barracks into a military prison. Although the buildings have been returned to the Orthodox Church, the prison, now closed, remains on the monastery grounds.

To your left as you enter the monastery grounds is the five-dome, redbrick Uspensky Sobor (Assumption Cathedral), erected at the end of the 16th century on the site of several previous churches. It's a working church, undergoing restoration like many of its counterparts throughout the city. Still very attractive inside, it has an assemblage of icons, lovely frescoes, and an impressive all-white altar and iconostasis. The cathedral is attached to a gallery leading to the Teremok (Gate Tower), a splendid example of Moscow baroque. It was built between 1688 and 1694, and its exterior decoration is the work of Osip Startsev. The gallery and Teremok originally served as the passageway for the metropolitan as he walked from his residence (to the right of the Teremok) to the cathedral. You should go through the gate tower to take a full walk around the tranquil grounds.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the country estate of Kuskovo was a summer playground for the Moscow aristocracy. It belonged to the Sheremetyevs, one of Russia's wealthiest and most distinguished families, whose holdings numbered in the millions of acres. (Today, Moscow's international airport, built on land that once belonged to one of their many estates, takes their family name.)

The Sheremetyevs acquired the land of Kuskovo in the early 17th century, but the estate, often called a Russian Versailles, took on its current appearance in the late 18th century. Most of the work on it was commissioned by Prince Pyotr Sheremetyev, who sought a suitable place for entertaining guests in the summer. The park was created by Russian landscape artists who had spent much time in Europe studying the art. They dotted the French-style gardens with buildings representing the major architectural trends of Europe: the Dutch cottage, the Italian villa, the grotto, and the exquisite hermitage, where, as was the showoffy fashion at that time, dinner tables were raised mechanically from the ground floor to the second-floor dining room. The centerpiece of the estate is the Kuskovo Palace, built in the early Russian classical style by the serf architects Alexei Mironov and Fedor Argunov. Fronted by a grand horseshoe staircase and Greek-temple portico, this building exemplifies Russian neoclassical elegance and overlooks a man-made lake. It's been a house museum since 1918, and its interior decorations, including fine parquet floors and silk wall coverings, have been well preserved. The bedroom, with its lovely canopy bed, was merely for show: the Sheremetyevs used the palace exclusively for entertainment and didn't live here. Ballroom extravaganzas once took place in the White Hall, with parquet floors, gilt wall decorations, and crystal chandeliers. On display in the inner rooms are paintings by French, Italian, and Flemish artists; Chinese porcelain; furniture; and other articles of everyday life from the 18th and 19th centuries. The palace also houses a collection of 18th-century Russian art and a celebrated ceramics museum with a rich collection by Russian, Soviet, and foreign artists.

You can reach Kuskovo by public transit, but you may find it more convenient to book a tour that includes transportation. However you plan to get here, be sure to phone ahead before making the trek because the estate often closes when the weather is very humid or very cold.

This white bastion, erected in 1516, once defended the approach to the drawbridge that linked Alexander Garden to the Kremlin. In Old Slavonic, kutafya means "clumsy" or "confused"; this adjective was applied to the tower because it so differs in shape and size from the other towers of the Kremlin. Kutafya Tower marks the main public entrance to the Kremlin, which opens promptly at 10 a.m. every day except Thursday. You can buy tickets to the Kremlin grounds and cathedrals at the kiosks on either side of the tower. The guards may ask where you're from and check inside your bags; there's a small security checkpoint to walk through, similar to those at airports.

About 60 exhibits provide visitors with the opportunity to learn the laws of physics, chemistry, and nature in an entertaining way, whether by making lightning, creating an artificial tornado, getting inside a huge bubble, or finding their way through a mirror labyrinth. The museum is a reinvention of similar displays installed here by the eminent scientist Yakov Perelman in 1935. These were destroyed during World War II, and Perelman and his wife starved to death during the Siege of Leningrad.

Except for a brief interval during World War II, when his body was evacuated to the Urals, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924) has lain in state here since his death. His body is said to be immersed in a chemical bath of glycerol and potassium acetate every 18 months to preserve it. Whether it's really Lenin or a wax look-alike is probably one of those Russian mysteries that will go down in history unanswered. From 1924 to 1930 there was a temporary wooden mausoleum, which has been replaced by the pyramid-shaped mausoleum you see now. It's made of red, black, and gray granite, with a strip of black granite near the top level symbolizing a band of mourning. Both versions of the mausoleum were designed by one of Russia's most prominent architects, Alexei Shchusev, who also designed the grand Kazansky train station.

In the Soviet past, there were notoriously endless lines of people waiting to view Lenin's body, but this is now rarely the case, although if a large tourist group has just encamped the wait may be long. Now only the curious tourist or the ardent Communist among Russians visits the mausoleum. A visit to the mausoleum, however, is still treated as a serious affair. The surrounding area is cordoned off during visiting hours, and all those entering are observed by uniformed police officers. It's forbidden to carry a camera or any large bag. The interior of the mausoleum is cold and dark and it's considered disrespectful to put your hands inside your pockets (the same applies when you visit an Orthodox church).

Outside the mausoleum you can look at the Kremlin's burial grounds. When Stalin died in 1953, he was placed inside the mausoleum alongside Lenin, but in the early 1960s, during Khrushchev's tenure, the body was removed and buried here, some say encased in heavy concrete. There is discussion almost every year of finally burying Lenin as well, and though this would still be a controversial move in today's Russia, momentum has steadily been gaining for the mausoleum to be closed. Also buried here are such Communist leaders as Zhdanov, Dzerzhinsky, Brezhnev, Chernenko, and Andropov. The American journalist John Reed, friend of Lenin and author of Ten Days That Shook the World, an account of the October revolution, is buried alongside the Kremlin wall. Urns set inside the wall contain ashes of the Soviet writer Maxim Gorky; Lenin's wife and collaborator, Nadezhda Krupskaya; Sergei Kirov, the Leningrad Party leader whose assassination in 1934 (believed to have been arranged by Stalin) was followed by enormous purges; the first Soviet cosmonaut, Yury Gagarin; and other Soviet eminences.

The world's first atomic powered surface ship, the NS Lenin first took to the waters in 1957. Later, the 430-foot vessel was transformed into an ice breaker, which it did with gusto until decommissioned in 1989. Today, it sits permanently moored in the city harbor and serves as a museum, with more than 1,000 Soviet-era compartments to explore, including crew cabins, the canteen, sick bay, and command stations. Each also stands as a testament to the iconic minimalist design of the era. Everything is brought further to life when paired with stories told by guides about the ship's illustrious history and crew.

The center of the town is Lenin Square (Ploshad Lenina), which is dominated by a rather large statue of Lenin. On the other side of the square are the dramatic and philharmonic theaters. From this point, two one-way streets, Leninskaya and Sovietskaya, divvy up the city.

If you walk down Leninskaya Street, you'll find two monuments commemorating historical occurrences: one is dedicated to the return of the Kurile Islands to Russia by the Japanese; and the other honors Captain Charles Clerke (1741–79), a leader in three James Cook expeditions, who is buried here. There are also statues paying homage to the most prolific explorers of the area, Vitus Bering (1681–1741) and Jean-François Galaup de La Pérouse (1741–88).

The name of the strange, round, white-stone dais in front of St. Basil's Cathedral literally means "place of the brow," but it has come to mean "execution site," for it is next to the spot where public executions were once carried out. Built in 1534, the dais was used by the tsars as a podium for public speeches and the proclamation of imperial ukazy (decrees). When the heir apparent reached the age of 16, he was presented to the people from this platform.

The original palace on the property, Menshikov's Great Palace (Bolshoi Menshikovskii Dvorets), stands on a terrace overlooking the sea and offers visitors a look at a lavishly decorated dining room, study, bedroom, and a number of other rooms. Nearby is Peterstadt Dvorets, the modest palace that Peter III used. That it seems small, gloomy, and isolated is perhaps appropriate, as it was here in 1762 that the tsar was arrested, then taken to Ropsha, and murdered in the wake of the coup that placed his wife, Catherine the Great, on the throne. The building that most proclaims the estate's Imperial beginnings, however, is unquestionably Catherine's Chinese Palace (Kitaisky Dvorets), designed by Arnoldo Rinaldi. It's quite an affair—baroque outside, rococo inside, with ceiling paintings created by Venetian artists, inlaid-wood floors, and elaborate stucco walls. Down the slope to the east of the Great Palace is the curious Katalnaya Gorka. All that remains of the slide, which was originally several stories high, is the fanciful, dazzling pavilion, painted soft blue with white trim, that served as the starting point of the ride, where guests of the empress could catch their breath before tobogganing down again.

Russia's oldest university was founded in 1755 by the father of Russian science, Mikhail Lomonosov. The neoclassical buildings here were originally designed by Matvei Kazakov in 1786–93. They were rebuilt and embellished in the mid-19th century, after the 1812 fire. The law and journalism schools are still housed in these quarters. The university's main campus is on Sparrow Hills (formerly Lenin Hills), southwest of the city center, in the largest of the so-called Stalin Gothic skyscrapers.

Now called by its prerevolutionary name, this circular "square" had been renamed Dzerzhinsky Square in 1926 in honor of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a Soviet revolutionary and founder of the infamous CHEKA, the forerunner of the KGB. His statue once stood in the center of the square but was toppled in August 1991, along with the old regime. It now resides in the sculpture garden next to the Central House of Artists in the Kropotkinsky District. Instead, a slab of stone now stands in the middle of the square, as a tribute to those who were oppressed by the Soviet government. The stone comes from the Solovetsky Islands, once home to an infamous prison camp. The large yellow building facing the square, with bars on the ground-floor windows, was once the notorious Lubyanka Prison and KGB headquarters. The KGB Museum, which chronicles the history of espionage in Russia, is in an annex of this building. However, it has been closed for several years, fittingly, for an undisclosed reason.

Writer Maxim Gorky (1868–1936), known as the father of Soviet socialist realism, once called this theater famous for its productions of Russian classics "the Russian people's university." It opened in 1824 and was originally known as the Little Imperial Theater (maly means "little"). Out front stands a statue of a beloved and prolific playwright whose works are often performed here, the 19th-century satirist Alexander Ostrovsky.

A smaller hall, the Maly Zal, around the corner, is also part of the complex

Mandrogy's enticing bathhouses give visitors the chance to unwind in the Russian tradition, with the benefit of English-speaking staff to help explain the treatments and processes. Facilities include a large bath that can fit 10 to 12 people, a smaller bath for four to six people, and a traditional smoke sauna that can fit up to four. A number of interesting procedures can also be arranged, including honey steams, scrubs, and alternating hot and cold treatments used to strengthen the body and the immune system.

Mandrogi is home to a large stable with 18 horses and four Shetland ponies. Visitors of all levels of equestrian expertise can take arena lessons or go on guided rides in the forest and fields that skirt the village. The stables also offer carriage rides (using traditional Russian troika harnesses), and sleigh rides through the snow are offered in winter months.

This cylindrical concrete building was designed by the famous Constructivist architect Konstantin Melnikov in the late 1920s. The house is currently in a state of major disrepair but remains remarkable for its wall-length windows and spiral staircases inside that link the three floors. Plans to open the house as a museum have been in motion for years but look nowhere near completion, as arcane issues regarding the house's ownership are still being settled. The architect's granddaughter lives in the house.

Walking down Leninskaya Street, you can see the Memorial Complex honoring those who died in the Crimean War in 1854. Some of the city's oldest buildings are located next to the monument and are now used by local businesses. There is a hope that they will be renovated and restored in the future.

Alexander Menshikov (1673–1729), St. Petersburg's first governor, was one of Russia's more flamboyant characters. A close friend of Peter the Great (often called his favorite), Menshikov rose from humble beginnings as a street vendor, reportedly getting his start when he sold a cabbage pie to the tsar—or so the legend goes. He eventually became one of Russia's most powerful statesmen, infamous for his corruption and political maneuvering. He's said to have incited Peter the Great against his son Alexei and later attempted to take power from Peter II by arranging the young tsar's engagement to his daughter. The marriage didn't take place, and Peter exiled Menshikov and his family to Siberia.

Menshikov's palace, the first stone building in St. Petersburg, was the city's most luxurious building at the time of its completion in 1720. Although only a portion of the original palace has survived, it easily conveys a sense of Menshikov's love of luxury. Particularly noteworthy are the restored bedrooms: the walls and ceilings are completely covered with handcrafted ceramic tiles that Peter the Great allegedly sent home from Delft for himself but were appropriated by Menshikov. After Menshikov's exile, his palace was turned over to a military training school and was significantly altered over the years. In June 1917 it served as the site of the First Congress of Russian Soviets. The Menshikov Palace is a branch of the Hermitage Museum. In addition to the restored living quarters of the Menshikov family, there's an exhibit devoted to early-18th-century Russian culture.

Built at the turn of the 20th century in preparation for the celebrations commemorating 300 years of the Romanov dynasty, the Metropol underwent reconstruction in the late 1980s to restore its brilliant art nouveau facade to its original colorful guise. The ceramic mosaics are especially arresting when the sun bounces off the tiles. Look for the Princess "Greza" panel made by Mikhail Vrubel, as inspired by the plays of the French writer Edmond Rostand, and a mosaic depicting the four seasons. The hotel was the focus of heavy fighting during the revolution, and it was also the venue of many historic speeches, including a few by Lenin. For some time the Central Committee of the Russian Soviet Federal Republic met here under its first chairman, Yakov Sverdlov. The small café-bar is a sophisticated spot for tea, coffee, and a selection of delicious cakes and pastries. The expense is worth the calming effect of comfy, padded seats and intimate service.

This orange-hued building belonged to one of Russia's strangest and most pitiful leaders. Paul I grew up in the shadow of his powerful mother, Catherine the Great, whom he despised; no doubt correctly, he held her responsible for his father's death. By the time Paul became tsar, he lived in terror that he, too, would be murdered. He claimed that shortly after ascending the throne, he was visited in a dream by the Archangel Michael, who instructed him to build a church on the site of his birthplace—hence the name of this landmark: Mikhailovsky Castle. Paul built not just a church but a castle, which he tried to make into an impenetrable fortress. Out of spite toward his mother, he took stones and other materials from castles that she had built. The Fontanka and Moika rivers cut off access from the north and east; and for protection everywhere else, he installed secret passages, moats with drawbridges, and earthen ramparts. All of Paul's intricate planning, however, came to nothing. On March 24, 1801, a month after he began living there, he was suffocated with a pillow in his bed. Historians speculate that his son Alexander I knew of the murder plot and may even have participated. After Paul's death, the castle stood empty for 20 years, then was turned over to the Military Engineering Academy. One of the school's pupils was Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who may have absorbed something of the castle while he studied here: as a novelist he was preoccupied with themes of murder and greed. The castle is now part of the State Museum of Russian Art; it houses temporary exhibits from the museum, plus an exhibit on the history of the castle.

This historic theater, built in 1833, is St. Petersburg's second-most-important opera and ballet theater after Mariinsky. The repertoire is conentrated on the most important works of European opera and ballet theater of the 19th and 20th centuries. The theater also pays significant attention to works composed for children.