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Nabokov Museum
This 19th-century town house was the suitably grand childhood home of Vladimir Nabokov, infamous author of Lolita and arguably the most versatile of 20th century Russian writers. Here Nabokov lived with his wealthy family from his birth in 1899 until the revolution in 1917, when th
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Mikhailovsky Castle
A branch of the Russian Museum, the castle is worth visiting for its temporary exhibits, permanent display of art by foreigners working in Russia in the 18th and early 19th centuries as well as a few finely restored state rooms, including the lavish burgundy throne room of Tsar Pau
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Vladimirsky Cathedral
This fantastic, five-domed cathedral, ascribed to Domenico Trezzini, is the namesake of this neighbourhood. Incorporating both baroque and neoclassical elements, the cathedral was built in the 1760s, with Giacomo Quarenghi’s neoclassical bell tower added later in the century. Over
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Yelagin Island
This island is one giant park, free of traffic, and is a serene place to wander. It was attractively landscaped by the architect Carlo Rossi, and its centrepiece, also by Rossi, is the beautiful restored Yelagin Palace , which Alexander I commissioned for his mother, Empress Maria.
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Orlovskoye Polesye National Park
Orlovskoye Polesye National Park, 85km northwest of Oryol, is a placid slice of taiga, with over 360 sq km of thick forest, lakes and wildflower-dotted grasslands. Its a fantastic spot for fishing, camping and walking, but this is more than your average nature getaway. The park is
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Fortress Walls & Around
Making a circuit of the restored city walls, long sections of which boast fine towers reminiscent of the Moscow Kremlin, is a pleasant way to pass a warm summer evening, with parks, various monuments and churches to be encountered along the way. Originally built between 1596 and 16
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Donskoy Monastery
Moscows youngest, Donskoy Monastery was founded in 1591 as the home of the Virgin of the Don icon (now in the Tretyakov Gallery). This icon is credited with the victory in the 1380 battle of Kulikovo; it’s also said that, in 1591, the Tatar Khan Giri retreated without a fight after
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Gatchina Park
Gatchina Park is more overgrown and romantic than the other palaces’ parklands. The park has many winding paths through birch groves and across bridges to islands in the large White Lake. Look out for the frankly bizarre Birch House , which was a present from Maria Fyodorovna to Pa
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New Jerusalem Monastery
This grandiose complex was founded in 1656 near the picturesque Istra River (renamed the ‘Jordan’ by Patriarch Nikon). Unlike other Moscow monasteries, this one had no military use. The centrepiece is the Cathedral of the Resurrection (Воскресенский собор), modelled after Jerusalem
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Borodino Panorama
Following the vicious but inconclusive battle at Borodino in August 1812, Moscow’s defenders retreated along what is now Kutuzovsky pr, pursued by Napoleon’s Grand Army. Today, along this route, is a museum dedicated to this battle. Its centrepiece is the Borodino Panorama, a pavil
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Valley of the Kings
This broad grassy vale begins a few kilometres beyond a turning off the M54 highway north of Turan. It’s famous in archaeological circles for its pancake-shaped Scythian kurgany (burial mounds) named after the village of Arzhaan at the end of the paved road. These have produced the
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Flyonovo
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, illustrious artists and musicians, including Stravinsky, Chaliapin, Vrubel and Serov, visited Flyonovo, the pretty riverside estate of art lover Princess Maria Tenisheva, near Talashkino, 18km southeast of Smolensk. The visitors joined in
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Gatchina Great Palace
Shaped in a graceful curve around a central turret, the Gatchina Great Palace certainly lives up to its name – its enormous (if surprisingly plain) facade is quite a sight to behold, overlooking a vast parade ground and backing onto the huge landscaped grounds. Built by Rinaldi bet
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Twelve Colleges
Completed in 1744 and marked by a statue of scientist-poet Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–65), the 400m-long Twelve Colleges is one of St Petersburg’s oldest buildings. It was originally meant for Peter’s government ministries, but it is now part of the university, which stretches out beh
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Jewish Museum & Centre of Tolerance
Occupying a heritage garage, purpose-built to house a fleet of Leyland double-deckers that plied Moscow streets in the 1920s, this vast museum, filled with cutting-edge multimedia technology, tackles the uneasy subject of relations between Jews and the Russian state over centuries.
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Smolny Cathedral
If baroque is your thing, then look no further than the sky-blue Smolny Cathedral, an unrivalled masterpiece of the genre that ranks among Bartolomeo Rastrelli’s most amazing creations. The cathedral is the centrepiece of a convent mostly built to Rastrelli’s designs between 1748 a
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Red October
This defiant island of Russian modernity and European-ness is a vibrant arts centre filled with cool bars, restaurants and galleries. With an aptly revolutionary name, the former Red October chocolate factory looks straight into Kremlins eyes – a vivid reminder that Russia is not a
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Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky pr is Russia’s most famous street, running 4km from the Admiralty to Alexander Nevsky Monastery, from which it takes its name. The inner 2.5km to Moskovsky vokzal is St Petersburg’s seething main avenue, the city’s shopping centre and focus of its entertainment and street li
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Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy
No other place sums up the rise and fall of the Soviet dream quite as well as the All-Russia Exhibition Centre. The old initials by which it’s still commonly known, VDNKh (ВДНХ), tell half the story – in Russian they stand for Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy.Orig
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Bronze Horseman
The most famous statue of Peter the Great was immortalised as the Bronze Horseman in the epic poem by Alexander Pushkin. With his horse (representing Russia) rearing above the snake of treason, Peter’s enormous statue was sculpted over 12 years for Catherine the Great by Frenchman
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