Things to Do in Russia

Palace Square is the central square of St. Petersberg, which conjoins some of the city’s major landmarks and monuments, including most famously the Winter Palace. Because it is so spacious it regularly functions as the grounds for national parades, bards, and concerts. In the past, square has been transformed during the winter months to become a free ice rink.

Palace square was also the setting for some of Russia’s most significant historical events including the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the 1905 massacre Bloody Sunday, where peaceful protesters were gunned down while trying to present Tsar Nicholas II with a petition .

Although the buildings surrounding the square were built in different eras, they were all built to scale, giving the square a beauty in symmetry.

The elegant, canary-yellow façade of Yusupov Palace is somewhat understated in comparison to St. Petersburg’s typically ostentatious architecture, but don’t be fooled by its demure frontage. Step inside the palace and you’ll find a series of ballrooms, banquet halls and bedrooms richly decorated with colorful frescos, sumptuous furnishings and gilded chandeliers. The exquisitely preserved interiors date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries and provide a fascinating glimpse into the aristocratic life of the era, with highlights including the Rococo style private theatre, the Moorish Drawing Room and the grand Ballroom.

Art enthusiasts visiting St. Petersburg will already have the State Russian Museum at the top of their itinerary and the prestigious gallery doesn’t disappoint, with an incredible 400,000 exhibits dating back as early as the 10th century. This is the world’s largest and finest museum of Russian Art, as well as Russia’s first state-owned art museum, and walking its halls is like taking a journey through the country’s art history.

In Moscow, grand boulevards and massive buildings that seem to stretch for miles are the norm, but some of the city’s most impressive sites are actually found below the streets, in the underground metro system used that transports millions of residents each day.

Moscow’s metro system is one of the busiest in the world and, at 190 miles (305kms) long with 185 stations, it’s also one of the largest. The stations aren’t just transit hubs – they’re a sort of free public art exhibit, and one that tells the history of the city in their design and decoration. The stations were designed so lavishly in the hopes that their beauty would inspire workers on their way to dreary jobs under Soviet rule. These ornate stations eventually became known as “the palaces of the people” for their extravagant architecture. Later, new stations were designed in a slightly more understated way, their appearance reflecting a more austere time in the city’s history.

Some of the most beautiful stations include Novoslobodskaya, with its 32 colored glass panels and mosaics; Prospekt Mira, decorated in marble, granite, and chandeliers; Ploshchad Revolyutsii, an homage to Soviet heroes represented by 76 bronze sculptures; Kievskaya, which celebrates the Ukrainian people with beautiful murals framed by gold-leaf borders; the subdued Mayakovskaya station, with massive overhead lights and large mosaics; and the undisputed crown jewel, Komsomolskaya station with its marble columns, yellow ceilings with white trim, and gold mosaics.

A single ride on the Moscow metro costs just 28 rubles (about 85 cents) so you could easily and cheaply spend an afternoon riding from station to station to see each one on your own. However, a guided tour will help you focus your exploration and provide you with more information as to what makes each station special. Many of the design elements aren’t just pretty; they often symbolize certain aspects of Russian culture or pay tribute to important historical figures and events.

One of the few churches that survived the city's Communist years, the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral remains an impressive sight with its fairytale-esque white and ice-blue façade capped with five glittering gold cupolas. Commissioned by Empress Elizabeth in 1753, the cathedral's fanciful Baroque design was the brainchild of architect Savva Chevinskiy and was named in honor of Saint Nicolas, the protector of the seamen.

The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow is known as the finest collection of Russian art in the world and is a must-see for any visitor to the city. Its history dates back to 1856, when a Moscow merchant, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, began collecting pieces from Russian artists with the hope of one day establishing a museum of national art. In 1892, he donated his collection, consisting of around 2,000 pieces, to the city of Moscow. The current gallery building opened a few years later and today it holds more than 170,000 works of art displayed throughout 62 rooms.

The gallery expertly traces the development of Russian painting from the 10th century through the end of the 19th century and features some of the most notable Russian artists, although many may be unknown outside of Russia. It also showcases the world’s best collection of Russian icons and a collection of portraits of great Russian figures such as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Turgenev.

Visitors will appreciate cards throughout the gallery providing background information in English on many of the artists whose work is on display.