Velikiy Novgorod is situated on the banks of the picturesque river Volkhov, 190 kilometres to the south of St. Petersburg. The city was founded more than 11 centuries ago. Modern Novgorod is important as a tourist centre. The population is about 234.000. During World War II, the city suffered heavy damage after the Nazi bombings, but the historic buildings were subsequently restored. Among the places to see is the oldest stone building in Russia - St.Sophia Cathedral in the Novgorod Kremlin.

Murmansk (probably from the Sami word "murman" meaning "the edge of the earth"), northwestern Russia, the largest town in the world north of the Arctic Circle, lies 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, and on the eastern shore of Kola Bay, at the ice-free Barents Sea, home to Russia's nuclear-powered ice-breakers. The population is about 473.000. The town, founded in 1915 as a supply port in World War I, was a base for the British, French, and American expeditionary forces against the Bolsheviks in 1918. In World War II Murmansk served as the main port for Anglo-American convoys carrying war supplies to the U.S.S.R. through the Arctic Ocean. The town is now an important fishing port, and its fish-processing plant is one of the largest in Europe. A lot of guests flock in during the Festival of the North, held in the last week of March and featuring reindeer races and a ski marathon.

Northwestern Russia, the town stands at the head of Vyborg Bay of the Gulf of Finland, 113km northwest of St. Petersburg. It's one of Europe's oldest cities and has an imposing medieval castle built on a rock in the bay. First settled in the 12th century, Vyborg was built as a fortress in 1293 by the Swedes after they had captured Karelia. In 1710 the fortress was captured by Peter I the Great, and Vyborg thenceforth remained under Russian rule. From 1918 to 1940 the city was part of Finland and held the name Viipuri, but it was ceded back to the Soviet Union in 1940 after the Russo-Finnish War. The city was occupied by Finnish and German forces from 1941 to 1944, after which it was returned to the Soviet Union. The city sustained severe damage during World War II but was subsequently rebuilt. Vyborg is an important fishing port and also has ship-repair yards. The population is about 81.000.

North-East of Moscow, town in the Vladimir oblast. Suzdal is one of the most celebrated tourist attractions in Russia. It is famous for its abundance of historic architectural features, including such marvels as the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Mother of God (built in the 13th century), the St. Euphymius Cathedral of Our Savior (16th-17th centuries), the Cathedral of the Deposition of the Veil (16th-19th centuries), the Protection Cathedral (15th-18th centuries), and monasteries and churches of the 17th and 18th centuries. The ancient Russian town of Suzdal is about 1000 years old. Its architectural monuments have been shortlisted by UNESCO as international cultural heritage. Today it is a huge open-air museum.

With the Caucasus mountains as its backdrop, Sochi is a wonderful Russia's resort at the Black Sea. With its subtropical climate, warm sea and adjoining modern resort complexes, Sochi has long attracted heads of state, foreign tourists and Russians alike. Sochi has dozens of hotels, tourist centres, and campsites and more than 50 sanatoriums. Its streets and gardens are filled with exotic subtropical trees and shrubs. There are picturesque waterfalls, hilltop views, mineral springs and alpine vistas to enjoy. Sochi is almost alone among larger Russian cities as having the aspect of a subtropical resort. Apart from the scenic Caucasus Mountains, pebbly and sand beaches, the city attracts vacation-goers with its subtropical vegetation, numerous parks, monuments, and extravagant Stalinist architecture. About two million people visit Greater Sochi each summer, when the city is home to the annual film festival "Kinotavr" and a getaway for Russia's elite. International Olympic Committee has designated Sochi as the host city of the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Thanks to this decision, Russia will host its first ever Winter Games.

Old Russian: "Rule the East", seaport and administrative centre of Primorsky kray (region), extreme southeastern Russia. The town was founded in 1860 as a Russian military outpost. During World War I Vladivostok was the chief Pacific entry port for military supplies and railway equipment sent to Russia from the United States. After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Vladivostok was occupied in 1918 by foreign, mostly Japanese, troops, the last of whom were not withdrawn until 1922. The antirevolutionary forces in Vladivostok promptly collapsed, and Soviet power was established in the region. During the Soviet period Vladivostok remained the home of the Pacific Fleet, which was greatly enlarged in the decades after World War II. Vladivostok's military importance was such that from 1958 to 1990 it was entirely closed to foreigners. Vladivostok is the chief educational and cultural centre of the Russian Far East. It is the site of the Far Eastern Scientific Centre, the Far Eastern State University (founded 1920), and medical, art education, polytechnic, trade, and marine-engineering institutes. The city has amateur and professional theatres as well as a philharmonic society and symphony orchestra. There are also museums of local history and of the history of the Pacific Fleet. The population is about 648,000. The city is surrounded by the Far East Maritime Reserve and the Ussuri Nature Reserve, home to black and brown bears, Siberian boars, Ussuri tigers, the rare Amur leopard and hundreds of local and migratory birds.

Russian: "Transsibirskaya Magistral", the longest rail system in Russia, stretching from Moscow 9.198 km east to Vladivostok or (beyond Vladivostok) 9.446 km to the port station of Nakhodka. It had great importance in the economic, military, and imperial history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the great way to see the massive country. The full rail trip on the passenger train from Moscow to Nakhodka now takes about eight days, passing through endless forests of birch and pine, original settlements and vast steppes. Life on the rails can be really fascinating. The route takes you past Siberia's Lake Baikal, a waterway as big as Belgium and home to the world's only freshwater seal, and multicultural Irkutsk. The city of Ulan-Ude is home to the country's seat of Buddhism. Those who get into the rhythm of the stops and starts, and the passing parade of trees and towns, will find it an experience never to be forgotten.

To experience Russia only from the land, however, is to miss a central feature of its character, for river travel has always stood at the heart of Russian life. The main artery of the Russian heartland has always been the 3700km-long River Volga (Europe's longest river), which slowly meanders from Yaroslavl, north of Moscow, all the way down to Volgograd, from where a tributary runs off to the Caspian Sea. The Volga-Don Ship Canal links it with the River Don, bound for the Azov Sea. Cruisers and steamships ply the Volga's waters, the most interesting section is between Volgograd and Rostov-on-Don. Towns en-route include Kazan, one of the oldest Tatar cities in Russia, which features a limestone Kremlin and mosques; and Lenin's birthplace, Ulyanovsk, full of memorable sites. Volgograd, previously known as Stalingrad, is best known for the decisive and protracted battle fought here during WW II. After Stalingrad the Soviet forces advanced almost continuously all the way to Berlin. The city has since been built from scratch. There are extremely interesting museums and monuments here. Now Volgograd is a prosperous commercial and industrial centre.