Tourist

Attractions Russia
 Saint Basil's Cathedral
• The Cathedral was ordered by Ivan the Terrible to
mark the 1552 capture of Kazan from Mongol
forces. It was completed in 1560.
• The legend says that Ivan the Terrible had the
builders, Barma and Postnik Yakovlev, blinded so
that they could not create anything to compare.
However historians unanimously state that this is
nothing but urban folklore.
• The church is officially known as the Church of the
Intercession, however it was eventually named for a
Russian "Fool".
• The cathedral is made up of nine chapels. The ninth
chapel was added in honor of Saint Basil.
• A soviet architect went to a Gulag to save it. His
name was Pyotr Baranovsky.
 Hermitage Museum
• It is St. Petersburg's most popular visitor
attraction, and one of the world's largest and
most prestigious museums.
• One estimate has it that you would need
eleven years to view each exhibit on display for
just one minute. There are over 3 million items
on display.
• In the Hermitage collection there are
two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and a
sculpture by Michelangelo as well as the
largest collection of Rembrandt's paintings
outside Netherlands.
• The collections occupy a large complex of six
historic including the Winter Palace, a former
residence of Russian emperors.
 Moscow Kremlin

• There are three historical monuments on the

Kremlin’s territory:
• The Tsar Cannon – the largest cannon in the
world.
• The Tsar Bell – the royal companion of the Tsar
Cannon – like the cannon, it’s the largest in the
world.
• Monument to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich
of Russia – the son of Emperor Alexander II,
who died in a terroristic attack in 1905.
• Since 1991, the Kremlin has been the residence
of Russia’s president.
 Lake Baikal
• Lake Baikal experiences around 2000
earthquakes per year. In 1959, an
earthquake of 9.5 points lowered the bottom
of Lake Baikal by 20 meters.
• Lake Baikal experiences some real storms,
the waves can be up to 4-5 meters in hight.
• Lake Baikal holds 20% of all freshwater on
the planet.
• Lake Baikal has the purest freshwater water
on the planet.
• In the waters of Lake Baikal live 1455 animal
species.
• On the shores of Lake Baikal there are many
grottoes.
• Ice on Lake Baikal in many places is
completely transparent.
 Kizhi Island
• At one point in the 16th century, the island was
declared a pogost or parish center by the Russian
Orthodox Church.
• After a two-year rebellion was quelled in 1771,
Kizhi's importance waned until finally in the 1950's
the island was almost forgotten. Most of the island’s
inhabitants left, all of the original villages
disappeared, leaving behind impressive wooden
relics.
• It is known as one of Russia’s greatest open-air
museums.
• Among Kizhi's highlights are the 22-dome
Transfiguration Church, the smaller 9-dome Church
of the Intercession as well as the bell tower which
was constructed to tie the two places of worship
together.
• These churches were built without the use of a
single nail.
 Valley of Geysers
• The Valley of Geysers, located in the
Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia is the only
geyser field in Eurasia and the second
largest concentration of geysers in the
world.
• Approximately 200 geysers exist in the area
along with many hot-water springs.
• The valley is one of the few places in the
world where geysers occur naturally.
• The Giant geyser (Velikan) is capable of
producing a jet of water reaching up to 40
meters.
• The geysers of Kamchatka were discovered
by a local scientist, Tatyana Ustinova, in
1941.
• Because of its remote location and reserve
status, only a few thousand people visit the
Valley every year.
 Mount Elbrus
• It is the highest mountain in Europe.
• It is a dormant volcano.
• It is part of the Caucasus Mountains
which stretch for 880km from the Black
Sea to the Caspian Sea and form the
physical barrier dividing Europe and
Asia.
• Even in the summer, nighttime
temperatures average -8 C.
• During the day in the winter,
temperatures can fall as low as –30 C.
• The mountain is covered with snow
year-round.
Trans-Siberian Railway
• The world's longest railway.
• It takes a minimum of a week to traverse
that distance by train.
• Moreover, the estimated costs in 1916 U.S.
dollars ranged from $770 million to $1
billion, which represented one-fifth of
Russia's national debt at the time.
• The annual number of migrants to Siberia
and the Russian Far East doubled (to
88,000) between 1896 and 1904.
• Due to the Trans-Siberian Railway, the
Siberian economy, which had been almost
nonexistent, exploded.
 Interesting Facts
• It has one of the world's most terrifying walkways:
the 439-metre SkyBridge. (on the right)
• The youngest son of Ivan the Terrible was
murdered allegedly on the orders of Boris
Godunov. To quell the ensuing uproar, Moscow
despatched investigators, who concluded that the
young boy fell, accidentally stabbing himself
(“Seven times!” add locals, wryly) in the process.
• An estimated 50 per cent of policemen take
bribes.
• There are around 11 million more women than
men.
• Traffic in Moscow is so bad that wealthy Russians
hire fake ambulances to beat the jams.