Russia is becoming increasingly popular with tourists due to its rich cultural heritage and its popular cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. If you are planning or are going on a trip to Russia, then we suggest you consider some of the following travel tips.

Familiarise yourself with Russia

Do some reading around Russia before you visit it to find out a bit about the country. To give you some insight, Russia spans nine time zones and is the world’s largest country, with landscapes ranging from frozen tundras in Siberia and the endless wheat fields and pine forests of central Russia to the mountains and palm trees of the Caucasus in the South. The population was approximately around 140 million according to the last census with Central Russia, which includes Moscow, being the most densely populated area.

Health

Be sure to check what to eat and what not to eat before you head to Russia. The country does not pose any serious health threats, with cases of food poisoning the most common problem. Most guidelines suggest avoiding buying kebabs at stands, especially at train stations, while tourists are also advised to be wary of dairy products. Tap water is safe to drink in Moscow after boiling, but tourists are advised to drink bottled water everywhere else; avoiding ice cubes and using bottled water to brush teeth is also recommended.

Money

Russia is a spectacular country and so are its prices. The large cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are, like most famous European cities, very expensive. On the outskirts of the larger cities you will find cheaper restaurants and accommodation. Holidaymakers are advised to get their Russian Rubles before travelling, but there are ATMs from local banks like Sberbank and international ones such as HSBC and Citibank all over Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities. When paying for something, retailers in Russia prefer to be paid in cash, but credit cards are generally accepted and travellers can still pay with traveller’s cheques.

Manners

Before jetting off to Russia you should be aware of some Russian etiquette. If you are on a business trip and are running late, there is no need to panic as this is considered normal, often due to the awful traffic in Moscow. If you are offered a drink, it is considered rude not to accept it, especially for men. Some travel guides also say that Russian men often only shake hands with a fellow male upon meeting, so women travelling with their husbands should be prepared to see that their husband’s hand is shaken and not theirs. Russians also like to dress up almost everywhere they go, so it might be worth packing some smart clothes for your trip.

Wassily Kandinsky is the artist responsible for painting the first strictly abstract works. Born in Moscow on December 16, 1866, Mr. Kandinsky grew up in Odessa before enrolling in the University of Moscow. He chose to study economics and law and was very successful in these fields. He was even offered a professorship at the University of Dorpat, but began painting when he turned 30.

Anatomy, life-drawing and sketching were his three painting studies. When he started painting he chose to move to Munich where he studied at Anton Azbe’s private school before moving to the Academy of Fine Arts. He returned to Moscow in 1914. Wassily Kandinsky wasn’t happy with the official art theories in Moscow so he chose to return to Germany in 1921 where he taught art and architecture. When the Bauhaus school of art closed in 1933, Kandinsky emigrated to France and became a citizen in 1939. He lived there until his death five years later.

Wassily Kandinsky always loved art. In later years, he would remember being stimulated by and fascinated with color when a child. This love of psychology and colour symbolism continued as he grew and he studied folk art of the region. These influences show up in his early works. He was also influenced by the works of Richard Wagner and H.P. Blavatsky. Blavatsky was a proponent of theosophy which believes that creation is a geometrical progression. This is seen by a descending series of triangles, circles and squares. In addition, he was visually influenced by John Varley and his illustrations.

In Kandinsky’s early works, one will also see elements of pointillism as well as Fauvism. He uses a flat, luminescent surface for depth of field and color as an expression of subject matter rather than objective nature. Most of these paintings featured towns and landscapes rather than human figures. The most notable exceptions were Riding Couple and Sunday, Old Russia. Intentional disjunction, seen in The Blue Rider, also delineates Kandinsky’s early works. Here the viewer participates in creating the artwork. This style was a forerunner of his later works.

Wassily Kandinsky later moved to the use of geometrical figures in his works. This is unlike the suprematism and constructivism movements which were popular at the time. When he moved to Paris, he was even more isolated from the general art world. He continued to paint abstracts while others were focused on cubism and impressionism. In his latter years, he combined elements seen in his previous works. His two last major works used this technique and were simply called Composition IX and Composition X. With so many techniques used over his lifetime, you may find you love some pieces while disliking others. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Temperate climates are found 50 to 60 degrees north and south of equator. They are of basically two varieties, namely, the continental type and the maritime type.

The Continental Type

The stations located in this type of temperate zone are located quite far-off from any water body like sea or ocean. Therefore, the moderating effect of the sea does not reach them. As a result, the summers are quite warm with a summer rain maxima and winters are quite cold. Such type of climate is known as continental. In Europe, Moscow is perhaps the best example of temperate continental climate. At Moscow, summers can be quite warm and the hottest month is usually above 70 F. This is quite high for its latitude of about 52 N. This is because of the fact that the Great Eurasian landmass, in which Moscow is located, gets quite warm in summer.

In winter quite the opposite hold true and the nighttime low can dip as low as 0 F. This is again due to the continental effect and the remoteness of the location from the sea. The precipitation is received mostly in the summer although Moscow gets moderate rainfall in almost every month of the year.

In the southern hemisphere, due to absence of any big land mass, the continental type is not manifested properly at any particular location.

The Maritime Climate

The best example is London. As opposed to Moscow, it neither gets so warm in summer nor so cold in winter; thanks to the nearness to the Atlantic Ocean and the moderating influence of the North Atlantic Drift. London get precipitation in every month but the winter precipitation is more pronounced than that of the summer one.

As for the temperatures, they are quite moderate for its latitude of 51 N. The mean of the hottest month is 60 F while even during the height of winter, it is rare for the temperatures to fall below 30 F.

In southern Hemisphere, Auckland, in New Zealand has a similar climate. Tasmania in Australia is also an example of maritime temperate climate. In both these areas the summers as well as the winters are mild due to the moderating influence of the ocean.

In short, the temperate climates have two broad categories, namely the continental and the maritime. The former has maximum precipitation is summer while the latter has more precipitation is winter.

Golden Ring of Rusia is ring of few historical towns located to North-East of Moscow.

Exact number of towns varied, but main towns are:

• Vladimir
• Bogolubovo
• Suzdal
• Yuriev-Polskiy
• Murom
• Gorohovetz
• Gus-Crystalny
• Mstera
• Holui
• Paleh
• Ivanovo
• Pless
• Kostroma
• Yaroslavl
• Tutaev
• Rostov Velikiy
• Pereslavl-Zalesski
• Uglich
• Aleksandrov
• Sergiev-Posad

Historically, this place was populated by different Slavic tribes at 12th century. Most of tribes arrived the place as they escaped from Kiev rus which was attacked by various turk tribes. But, over hard to penetrate forest it was hard to attack.

Historically that lands was named as “lands over forests”, that is why in some towns names still part “zalesski” (over forests) remains. Some towns got same names as “native” towns at Kievan rus.

Historically, center of this part of Russia was Vladimir. Vladimir Monomakh was chosen as king of that lands and later his childs was kings.

But at 13th century peacefull life was interrupted by Mongolian invasion. After invasion Moscow appeared as center in the region, but not Vladimir.

During invasion majority of towns was fired off and majority of population killed. As a result, remnants of population have began to build new towns, far away inside forests. One of them was Moscow.

Mongols was brought out of Russia at 14th century, when different Slavic countries united around Moscow and got a victory over Mongols. Moscow reappeared as a center in the region and older towns – as its satellites.

That is how “golden ring of Russia” appeared.

This region is historical, a lot of buildings, ancient churches survived Mongol invasion and older Kremlins exist in the region.

As well, it is center of Monasteries and many historical handicrafts of Russia produced in this region. Among them Paleh and Mstera Icons, Sofrino Icons, Sergiev Posad monastery nested dolls.

Did you know…

Montreal 1976

Montreal (Quebec, Canada), one of the most beautiful and modern sites in the Western Hemisphere, hosted the First Women’s Basketball Olympic Tournament in 1976. Six countries competed for the gold medal, including Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Japan. The international meet was won by the women’s national team of the Soviet Union (present-day Russia). A barely a year earlier, the Soviet team came in first in the VII Global championship in Cali, Colombia (South America) by beating Japan in the gold-medal match. Meanwhile, on July 23, 1976, America claimed second place in the multi-sport event after losing to the USSR (spearheaded by its international star Uljana Semjonova) 112-77, having earned the right to compete in the XXIII Olympiad by winning the First FIBA Women’s Basketball Olympic Games Qualification Tournament at Hamilton (Ontario, Canada). The silver medalists were Lusia Harris, Cindy Brogdon, Susan Rojcewicz, Ann Meyers, Julienne Simpson, Patricia Head, Mary Anne O’Connor, Patricia Roberts, Gail Marquis, Nancy Lieberman, Charlotte Lewis, and Nancy Dunkle. The US team began its pre-Olympic preparation after winning the VI Pan American Cup in Mexico City in October 1975.

Moscow 1980

Under the leadership of Semjonova, the USSR, host nation, won the Olympic Tournament at Moscow in 1980, followed by Bulgaria (silver medal), Yugoslavia (bronze), Hungary (4th), Cuba (5th) and Italy (6th). It was the second Olympian win for the USSR (also known as the Soviet Union during Cold War). On the other hand, Latvia’s giant Uljana Semjonova was the most outstanding basketball player at Moscow ’80. For the next years, the 7-foot-1, 284-pound Semjonova was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame at Springfield (Maryland), the first female player from the former USSR to accomplish that feat.

Los Angeles 1984

For the first ever, the US women’s basketball squad captured the Olympian Championship in Southern California. The People’s Republic of China collected the silver medal. The bronze medal went to the Republic of Korea; East Europe’s teams did not take part at the 1984 Olympiad because of Moscow’s boycott. On its way to the Los Angeles Games, the US team – with notable sportswomen such as Janice Lawrence, Cheryl Miller, and Lynette Woodard – won the IX Pan American Sports Games on Venezuelan soil in August 1983. In Venezuela, America defeated Cuba 100-82 (43-38) to win the Pan American gold medal. A few weeks ago, they came close to winning the FIBA World Cup on Brazilian soil.

Seoul 1988

On October 29, 1988, in South Korea’s capital city of Seoul, the U.S. women’s team took gold in the Olympian event, after finishing first during the 1984 Games in Los Angeles (California). In the finals, they defeated Yugoslavia 77-70 (42-36). Nonetheless, the “most exciting game” was when America, led by its All-Star player Teresa Edwards, beat the Soviet Union 102-88 (50-39) on October 27 (semis). The States won the Olympian trophy with the following world-class players: Suzanne McConnell, Cynthia Cooper, Jennifer Gillom, Katrina McClaim, Andrea Lloyd, Victoria Bullett, Bridgette Gordon, Teresa Weatherspoon, Anne Donovan, Cynthia Brown, Mary Ethridge, and Miss Edwards. Two years ago, in 1986, they had won the global tournament in the Russian capital of Moscow. In the latter half of the 20th century, America’s Edwards made history when she captured four golds in the Summer Games from the 1980s to the early 2000s: Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. Uljana Semjonova (Latvia), Hortencia Fatima Marcari (Brazil) and Edwards are considered the most famous female players in Olympian history.

Atlanta Games 1996

A miracle occurred at Atlanta 1996! Despite suffering a bloody civil war, where over four million people were slaughtered (and thousands of girls were raped), incredibly the African republic of Zaire (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo /D.R.C) qualified as one of the 12 best teams of the world in the Games of the 26th Olympiad in the States, giving an example to several countries in the Third World, from Peru and the Philippines to India and Brunei Darussalam. Without a doubt, it was the “most memorable moment in Zaire’s sporting history.” After receiving support from Dikembe Mutumbo, a Congolese-born American star player, the African team went to Atlanta. From an Olympian perspective, Zaire’s team should be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Athens 2004

The 2004 Olympic Tournament was won by the United States of America followed by Australia (silver medal), Russia (bronze), Brazil (4th), Czech Republic (5th), Spain (6th), Greece (7th), New Zealand (8th), the People’s Republic of China (9th ), Japan ( 10th place), Nigeria (11th) and South Korea (12th). In the Greek capital of Athens, the States captured its third gold medal for the third time in a row – the most wins of the basketball Olympic tournament by a women’s squad. Curiously, Nigeria’s basketball player Mfon Udoka was the championship’s second best scorer with 21.7 points.

Russia is one of the most desirable destinations to visit. However, travel to Russia could be so costly that many think they can not afford it. It could be very expensive if you don’t plan your trip to Russia right. There are couple things you should consider.

First of all, before you even land in Russia, you will need to get a Russian visa. A tourist visa to Russia will cost about $200. There are plenty of companies offering visa processing services online. Just make sure that when you purchase a Russian visa, the price will include visa invitation, visa itself and arrival registration.

Secondly, you should consider the best time to fly to Russia. Generally speaking, prices on flights to Russia range from $550 to $1250 depending on a season.

Third, you should book your hotel in advance. Don’t hope to just come in to a hotel in Moscow and say that you need a room. You might be in for a big surprise. Moscow hotels are so overbooked that you may have to pay for a suite which will run you $500 and up per night! You can book a nice 3 or 4 star hotel in advance for $150 or dollars. There is plenty of agencies offering this service, but I would recommend using the same one that is getting your visa. It will make things easier for you.

Fourth and very important, arrange your airport transfers before you leave, unless you are willing to pay $200 or so for a 20 minute trip from Moscow airport to your hotel. When you book your taxi in advance, you will pay a standard fee of about $50. Ask your travel agent to arrange this for you.

One last advice, one of the best ways to see Russia is on a cruise liner going from Moscow to St. Petersburg. You will spend half of the cruise exploring Moscow and St. Petersburg, while living on a cruise liner, and you will get to see the ancient cities in between. One day on a cruise liner will cost you about $150 (accommodation, visa, meals, transfers and guides included). This is a really good deal compared to staying on-land when you will pay at least as much just for hotel. However, most of people on a cruise will be above the age of 50, so if you are looking for a party, then go with your friends.

Climbing Mount Elbrus in Russia is supposed to be a breeze. Well, from the South route anyway. The north route on this mountain is an entirely different challenge. A proper mountaineering experience unlike say Kilmanjaro.

Climbing Elbrus involves quite a bit of preparation from a physical, mental and logistical point of view.

A typical Elbrus trip itinerary

Apparently walking to Russia could take quite a while. So you will need to make another plan to improvise. the best form of transportation being what modern man calls the aeroplane. Upon arrival in the awesome city of Moscow the fun and games begin. The first challenge is finding a taxi. Once you have done that, the task of explaining your destination and negotiating a price is next on your list. Not an easy task when no one speaks English. The drive through to central Moscow takes about 1.5 hours. The airport is about 50km outside of central Moscow and the traffic is a nightmare. Upon arrival in the hotel, its a quick vodka, shower and… time to hit the streets of Moscow. And don’t try and hit them too hard as you may come off second best. There are some pretty cool restaurants where you are faced with yet another challenge. You will be required to negotiate your way around a menu in Russian and waiter who, you guessed it, only speaks Russian. What we suggest you do is close your eyes, move your finger up and down the menu and where ever your finger stops… order that. Oh, and don’t forget the vodka. After dinner, a little ramble up to the Red Square to see the Kremlin is definitely in order. Please do not try and spray-paint your name on the Kremlin walls. Somehow the Russian secret service does not approve of this sporting activity.

An early day I’m afraid. Well, I’m not really afraid as days are nothing to be afraid of. The Russian Mafia is something to be afraid about, but I’ll leave that story for another time. The flight to Mineralyne Vody leaves at 12H00 arriving at 14H00. Upon arrival, we load up the gear onto the bus and take the 1 hour drive through to an awesome town called Kislovodsk where we check into our hotel for the evening. Once checked in, we hit the town for dinner followed by a vodka or 10. If you are not in bed by 12H00, please come back to the hotel. Breakfast is served. Well this is not tennis. We are here to climb Elbrus remember. You get your own breakfast. After loading the 4×4 vehicles, we take the 3 hour drive through to base camp which is nestled at the base of Elbrus. Why did you think it was called bases camp? Because the camp is home to many night clubs that use excess base in their music? or is it because the camp is home the Revlon’s make up production? Nope. Sorry to disappoint you on this one. Base camp in this instance refers to our base for the Elbrus climb. The drive into base camp is both spectacular and nerve racking. The roads have been carved into the mountains leaving vertical drops of up to 200m. The tracks only allow for one vehicle at a time. It is safe to say, that no one interferes with the driver at this stage of the game. The country side out here is so remote. The only reason there would be any one on the roads was to climb Elbrus. Being early in the season, we encountered no one. Once we arrived in camp, we set up the tents, of loaded our gear and made for the mess tent for our first taste of mountain food-cabbage soup. Base camp of Elbrus is situated at 2400m.

After lunch we went on a 4 hour stroll around the surrounding foothills. The two headed Elbrus dragon always keeping a watchful eye on us. The area is well known for its natural springs. The water is the best water you will ever get to taste. We came across a few of the springs where the water bubbles out. The weirdest thing is that the water is sparkling. Don’t ask me how that happens. Do I look like a geologist? but man, the best tasting water I have ever had. Dinners on Elbrus are conducted in the mess tent. Conducted in the mess tent? What the hell? Couldn’t think of a more appropriate word, so deal with it. If I had spent more time contemplating it, I’m sure I could have come up with a better word, but I have a appointment to get to and don’t have the time. OK, so the mess tent. Yip, a place where we have dinner. And after dinner, its cards and some really awesome conversation with people from all over the world with the same interests and ambitions-to climb Elbrus. The ingredients to climbing mountains like Elbrus includes patience, determination, perseverance, self belief, physical strength, being in the right place at the right time and oh yes, the process of acclimatisation. Today, we were going test out the latter of the ingredients-acclimatisation. We took a 4 hour hike up a place known as the mushroom rocks which are situated at 3400m. A pretty easy day with some spectacular view. We are just below the snow line, so not too cold. After lunch, we head on down to base camp. With some time to waste we were challenged by the local Russian guides to a game of soccer. Playing soccer at 2400m is still going to leave you pretty winded. We lost 3-1.OK, so this is where the true ingredients of mountaineering will start to be added to the pot of climbing Elbrus. Are objective of this day was to set up high camp. Basically what we need to do is carry our gear up to high camp. High camp is situated at 3800m. We use this day not only to carry some of our gear, but as an acclimatization climb as well. Our packs weighed about 20kg and included all our high altitude mountaineering gear like crampons, ice axes, thermal gear, down jackets and a packet of peanuts for the snow monkeys that do not exist. Today is a challenging day. Not only because of the weight of the backpack, but also the cold and the angle of ascent. the last part of the climb also sees us forging through waist deep snow to reach high camp. And man is snow an energy drainer. Once in high camp, we off load, have some lunch and head on down to base camp. As mentioned earlier, to climb mountains like Elbrus you need a few key ingredients. Today you will need to cash in on your mental reserves. The day sort of pans out the same as day 5. Yip, we load up our backpacks with the gear we need for high camp and make the 5 hour trek up to high camp. this day does test you. Why, the man in the back row screams out. Well because it would have been the 3rd time that you are going up the same route. The logical part of your near frozen cerebral stump does not understand why and tries to inject your body with a flood of negative emotions. Pa for the course the experts reckon. But what if ma decides to walk on the course? Will that effect the process? 5 hours later and we are sitting in high camp of Elbrus enjoying some warm cabbage soup and our groans and mumbles of the day have been long forgotten.

Today sees up taking a crucial acclimatization climb up to a placed called Lenz Rocks which is situated at 4600m. The route is notorious for its crevasses and many a climber have lost their lives on this section. for this reason we climb alpine style. All of us are clipped into each other via a rope. The idea is that if someone falls into a crevasse the weight of the other climbers should stop them from falling all the way in. And crevasses are pretty hard to detect. What happens is that the snow that falls creates a ‘bridge’ of snow over the crevasse. Sometimes when you walk on them and they are not that thick, the weight of the climber will cause the snow bridge to collapse. Besides the crevasses, today is pretty challenging. The snow is knee deep which gets pretty exhausting to do especially when the effects of altitude and the cold start to take effect on a climbers body. But once again, perseverance and sheer will power sees us siting at Lenz Rocks enjoying the view. After lunch its back down to high camp with the anticipation of a rest day.

Today sees us just chilling out and recovering. We spend the day eating, sleeping and playing cards. The objective is to build up some energy reserves for the final summit night. AAhhh, the final summit night. Something, that is on everyone’s mind. Elbrus boasts one of the longest summit nights on any mountain.

Summit day. One of the dangers on Elbrus is the extreme weather conditions. We were all pretty apprehensive as there was heavy snowfall on our rest day and we were worried that it would get worse, thus hampering our summit attempt. We checked the weather at 12 a.m. and made the call. time to make like a Jewish foreskin and be off. Getting kitted up, coffee and a quick bite to eat took about an hour. We were on the ice by 1.am. Our first port of call being the Lenz rocks at 4600m. The climb to Lenz took us about 4 hours. A quick break and we headed off to our next waypoint at 4900m. We took a temperature reading here and found it to be -25 degrees Celsius. One the group was starting to get frostbite on his fingers. We helped with hand warmers and an extra pair of gloves. As for myself, I could feel the numbing feeling in my toes as they started to freeze. Something that started to gnaw at the back of my mind. Our next slog took us to 5200m. The area is know as the saddle and is the ‘saddle’ between the 2 peaks of Elbrus. We took a 30 min break and started our final slog up a 50 degree solid ice slope that leads to the summit. OK, I can’t say it was exactly 50 degrees as I forgot to bring my protractor with and my knowledge of oblique angles is scary. he group census agreed on 50 degrees so there!!A place where you do not want to fall as you will find yourself sliding all the way down to the bottom of the slope. Most of the group where pretty strong until 5400m. From there on in, it was welcome to Zombie land. The altitude, cold, and pure exhaustion was starting to take its toll. These are the moment that requires your deepest mensal skills. Your body us crying out for you to turn around. Your heart is saying no way. You are walking a think line between, life and death. Once foot in the living. One foot in the dead. Being at altitude is pretty weird. It is like you are on something. And we don’t mean the mountain either-that’s obvious. Its like you are floating. Tying your shoelaces becomes a challenge as you can’t remember how. Anyway, After what seems like an eternity, we reach the summit. Our time of summit is 15H00. We started our summit at 01H00. 14 hours to the summit and we are only half way. The descent takes about 6 hours. We were a bit concerned as a snowstorm was brewing and it would be dark in a couple of hours. Luckily for us a box of ping pong balls was looking after Elbrus for the week and they gave us some magic dust that made us all make it back to high camp alive.

Today was a late start. Not sure why given our easy climb the day before. We packed up or gear and made the 6 hour trek down to Elbrus base camp. Our average pack weight was about 35kg as we had to take all of our gear down in one shot instead of two. Once we reached base camp, it was Russian Vodka time!!!

We took the 4 hour drive back to Kislocodsk, check into the hotel and enjoyed our first shower in 10 days. and then guess what happened? Russian Vodka time again!!!

The company that help your Elbrus climb a success is www.elbrus.co.za

Moscow is the Russian Federation’s largest city and capital. It is the biggest city in Europe and one of the biggest urban areas worldwide. Moscow is situated on the Moscow River in the central Federal District. The city has a humid continental climate with warm and slightly humid summers and winters that are long and cold with snow. The population of Moscow was 10,382,754 according to the census in 2002. Residents of Moscow are called Muscovites.

The city served as the capital of the former Grand Duchy of Moscow, Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Tsardom of Russia.

Moscow is the location of the Moscow Kremlin, which is where the President of Russia resides. Moscow is also the site for the Government of Russia and the Russian parliament.

Moscow serves as a chief cultural, economic, educational, financial, political, religious, and transportation center of Russia and the world. Moscow was recognized as the most expensive city for foreign employees worldwide in 2008, for the third consecutive year. Moscow has many educational and scientific institutions and sports facilities.

Moscow has an intricate transportation system with one of the busiest metro systems in the world, 9 railroad terminals, and 3 international airports.

The architecture in Moscow is world-famous. The Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow is acknowledged as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Shukhoy Tower is currently threatened by destruction. It is number one on UNESCO’s Endangered Buildings list and there is an international campaign to save the building. The Ostankino Tower is the ranked the third in the tallest freestanding structures worldwide and is Eurasia’s tallest freestanding structure. Saint Basil’s Cathedral, the Seven Sisters, and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior are also famous sites. Save Europe’s Heritage, Moscow Architecture Preservation Society, and other organizations are trying to prevent the destruction of historic buildings and alert the international public of the situation.

One of Moscow’s famous are museums is the Tretyakov Gallery. The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the Polytechnical Museum, and the State Historical Museum of Russia are also notable museums in Moscow. Moscow is also the center for the performing arts of Russia with 132 cinemas, 24 concert halls, and 93 cinemas. The Malyi Theatre, Moscow Art Theatre, and the Bolshoi Theatre are popular theatres in the city. The State Central Concert Hall Rossia is famous for estrade and ballet performances. The Moscow International House of Music is famous for its classical music performances. Moscow also has two large circuses, the Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard and the Moscow State Circus.

Moscow has 96 parks and 18 gardens. The Central Park of Culture and Rest is a famous park that is 170 acres along the bank of the Moskva River. The Neskuchniy Garden is 101 acres and Moscow’s oldest park. Izmaylovsky Park is one the world’s biggest urban parks with 5.92 square miles. It is six times bigger than New York’s Central Park.

Other popular attractions are Tsytsin Main Botanical Garden of Academy of Sciences, which is the largest botanical garden in Europe, and the Moscow Zoo.

The 1980 Summer Olympics were hosted in Moscow.

How to understand this city better? How to prepare for the Russian holidays? Our experience can help you to explore and enjoy this wonderful city.

1. Find a map of Moscow. Unfortunately there’s no tourist info but you can easily enter one of the hotels in the center (it should be a 5-star or 4-star hotel) and take a tourist map for free.

2. Learn the alphabet before coming to Russia. This can help you to get around the metro and read names of Moscow streets. Even if you learn a few letters you can easier understand what is written. For example “PECTORAH” sounds not as /pectopah/ but as /restoran/ (means restaurant) because Russian ‘P’ sounds /r/, and Russian ‘H ‘sounds /n/.

3. Use the metro. It’s a very convenient transport and it doesn’t cost much. Moscow metro is probably most beautiful metro in the world. The halls are adorned with mosaics, statues, paintings. Do take pictures of fantastic Moscow metro stations!

4. Negotiate the price when you take a taxi. Don’t trust the driver if he talks about using a meter. There have been a lot of scams with meters showing astronomic prices. In Russia locals often stop not only official taxies but private cars. This is very common as this is an easy way for drivers to earn some extra money.

5. Use sign language while in Moscow. Many locals do not understand English and might be afraid to communicate with you. It’s usually better to talk to younger people as they are more likely to remember it. But sign language works in most cases!

6. Try to avoid dealing with the police. Don’t be surprised if a policeman ask for a bribe.

7. Pay for a lady if you invite her to a restaurant (if you’re a man). Russian women will consider it a disrespect if you suggest going Dutch.

8. Enjoy Moscow night life. Life seems to never stop here. Many bars, clubs and restaurants are open 24 hours. It’s not dangerous to walk around the center of Moscow at night.

9. Beware of pickpockets in public places. Put your money, passport and camera in a safe place before entering the metro.

10. Go to the countryside. There’re lots of noble estates and monasteries near Moscow. You can order a car or take a local train (in Russian ‘electrichka”). One of the most well-known towns near Moscow is Sergiev Posad where like a fairy-tale kingdom rises The Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia has a total of 11 cities available in the western half of the country to host the 64 matches. The host cities vary significantly and range from the Russian capital of Moscow to the beautiful Saint Petersburg and the glorious beaches of Samara. Other host cities include Ekaterinburg, Saransk, Volgograd, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and Kaliningrad.

Let’s take a look at a few of the top cities fans will visit while watching this epic event:

Moscow

Moscow is Russia’s largest city with a population of over 16 million people. This city has an attractive combination of modern and old styled architecture. The most visited tourist attraction is Red Square, but there are plenty of other things to see throughout this sprawling city. While many will think of Moscow as a cold and icy destination, the actual climate is relatively warm, but not overly, which is great for watching a match or sightseeing.

Sochi

Sochi is a well-known resort city located on the Black Sea. This city has a previous history with successfully hosting sporting events, such as the 2014 Winter Olympics. As at top vacation destination, this city has plenty to offer tourists, such as restaurants, museums, nightlife, and wildlife expeditions. Also, the local area is great for the adventurous with excellent hiking opportunities that include scenery like waterfalls.

Samara

Samara is a quite unique Russian city with its long beach that stretches the length of the city and one of the region’s biggest attractions. This is a great place to visit in the warm summer months. However, for the visitors that don’t wish to spend time on the beach, there are plenty of other attractions including the Aviation Institute and many buildings that display past Soviet architecture.

Saint Petersburg

A visit to Saint Petersburg makes it possible to explore Russia’s second largest city, which has given inspiration to many artists, writers and poets over the years. It is the location of some of the country’s finest historical treasures, which includes several famous cathedrals, the Winter Palace complex and the Hermitage Museum. Saint Petersburg is a very cosmopolitan city that is lined with baroque buildings and rivers and canals that thread throughout the region and are easily crossed using one of the many quaint bridges.

Overall, there are plenty of attractions to see in the many host cities throughout Russia to make the all-round World Cup experience that much more enjoyable.