Trinity Cathedral

Kamchatka

　　Petropavlovsk's largest and most impressive church is this golden-domed stunner, which sits on an outcrop from where it is visible from all over the city. Despite looking ancient, the church was built in the early 21st century, and still isn't complete as funds have dwindled. Still, from here there are...

Vulkanarium

Kamchatka

　　This new museum was just about to open during our last visit to Kamchatka, and a quick peek inside as they were putting up the display revealed an impressive series of rooms with panels in English about the local volcanic clusters and their extraordinary, awesome powers. Definitely a good place...

Kamchatka Regional Museum

Kamchatka

　　Housed in an attractive half-timbered building overlooking the bay, this museum features an imaginative mix of relics and murals that outline Kamchatka’s history, including a wide range of prehistoric weapons and tools, taxidermied animals, dioramas of nomadic herders, old cannonballs, weapons and flags. There's no signage in English, however, and...

Local Studies Museum

Volga Region

　　The Local Studies Museum functions as both a natural history and ethnographic museum, with permanent exhibitions dedicated to local wildlife and fish as well as the history and culture of the people in the Astrakhan region. There are occasionally interesting temporary exhibitions, though English signage is limited. ...

German Lutheran Church

Volga Region

　　The Kryusha Quarter is the location of the sprawling German Lutheran church and associated school and parsonage. The complex dates from the end of the 19th century, when German Lutherans here occupied an important part of the city's population. It's in a poor state at present but scheduled for a...

Torture Tower

Volga Region

　　Tells the story of physical torture from the 16th to the 18th centuries. ...

Guardhouse

Volga Region

　　Located inside the guardhouse from 1807, this museum gives quite a good insight into the everyday life of soldiers in 19th-century Astrakhan. ...

PM Dogadin State Art Gallery

Volga Region

　　The Dogadin State Art Gallery is especially strong on works of Astrakhan-born Boris Kustodiev, who painted lushly coloured semifolkloric scenes of merchant life, but all of the important periods of Russian art, including several masters of the Russian avant-garde, are represented. Guided tours are in English. Call ahead. ...

Kryusha Quarter

Volga Region

　　The Kryusha area of former Tatar and Persian suburbs south of the May 1st Canal is still predominantly Muslim, which is reflected in the proliferation of mosques. It's quaint in a rundown sort of way, best avoided in the evening, and a quarter where stray dogs roam along dirt roads....

Assumption Cathedral

Volga Region

　　Dating from 1698–1720, the Assumption Cathedral dominates the kremlin grounds and is decorated inside with attractive frescoes. ...

Kremlin

Volga Region

　　The kremlin on top of Zayachy Hill is a peaceful green haven. Its walls and gate towers were built in the 16th century using bricks from the ruins of the Golden Horde’s capital Saray, which stood north of Astrakhan. Today, the kremlin encompasses several museums and two churches. The main...

Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God

Suzdal

　　This small red church up the street from the kremlin features a beautiful icon of the Virgin Mary created by 16th-century artist Fyodor Zubov, as well as a large gold-and-glass coffin containing the relics of St Arseny (1550–1625), the Archbishop of Suzdal. ...

Holy Intercession Convent

Suzdal

　　It's a classic Suzdal picture: the whitewashed beauty of monastic walls surrounded by green meadows on the banks of the lazily meandering river. Inside are beds of brightly coloured flowers tended by the nuns, who live in wooden cottages left over from a rustic hotel built here when the convent...

Torgovaya Ploshchad

Suzdal

　　Suzdal’s Torgovaya pl (Market Sq) is dominated by the pillared Trading Arcades (Торговые ряды; 1806–11) along its western side. There are several churches in the immediate vicinity, including the 1739 Kazan Church (Казанская церковь) and the 1720 Resurrection Church (Воскресенская церковь) right on the square; the latter's hours are irregular...

Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral

Suzdal

　　The Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral, whose blue domes spangled with gold dominate the front courtyard of the Suzdal kremlin, was founded in the 1220s. Only its richly carved lower section is original white stone, however; the rest is 16th-century brick. The inside is sumptuous, with 13th- and 17th-century frescoes...

Museum of Wooden Architecture & Peasant Life

Suzdal

　　This open-air museum across the river from Suzdal's kremlin offers a fascinating glimpse into the traditional lives of rural folk in this area. Besides log houses, windmills, a barn, and lots of tools and handicrafts, its highlights are the 1756 Transfiguration Church (Преображенская церковь) and the simpler 1776 Resurrection Church...

Kremlin

Suzdal

　　The grandfather of the Moscow Kremlin, this citadel was the 12th-century base of Prince Yury Dolgoruky, who ruled the vast northeastern part of Kyivan Rus (and, among other things, founded a small outpost that would eventually become the Russian capital). The 1.4km-long earthen ramparts of Suzdal’s kremlin enclose a few...

Saviour Monastery of St Euthymius

Suzdal

　　Founded in the 14th century to protect the town’s northern entrance, Suzdal’s biggest monastery grew mighty in the 16th and 17th centuries after Vasily III, Ivan the Terrible and the noble Pozharsky family funded impressive new stone buildings and made large land and property acquisitions. It was girded with its...

Tsentralny Gastronom

Khabarovsk

　　Style Moderne – the Russian take on art nouveau – defines this mint-green building dating from 1895; it's topped by a statue of Mercury. ...

Far Eastern Art Museum

Khabarovsk

　　This smart and imposing building hosts a moderately interesting collection of local art, including religious icons, Japanese porcelain and 19th-century Russian paintings. ...

House of Pioneers

Khabarovsk

　　Now a 'palace of childhood creation’, the former House of Pioneers (the youngest youth group in the USSR, where children went before the Komsomol) was built in 1909. It was full renovated in 2013 and is today one of the city's most striking buildings. ...

Transfiguration Cathedral

Khabarovsk

　　This highly impressive church's golden domes dazzle you from all over the city, with its prime location overlooking the Amur River. The cathedral was built in the early 21st century and is the third tallest church in Russia, topping off at 96m. Inside there's one massive central iconostasis, but otherwise...

Archaeology Museum

Khabarovsk

　　Undergoing a full renovation in 2017, this five-room museum displays tools and living essentials from early peoples. Pottery, animal-skin huts, dugout canoes, a tiny model settlement and many early hand tools are all normally here, though it was unclear how much of the original exhibit would remain on display when...

Assumption Cathedral

Khabarovsk

　　Built in 2002 this striking cathedral rose on the site of a far older church that was knocked down by Stalin during his antireligious campaigns. ...

Sikachi-Alyan

Khabarovsk

　　The riverside Nanai village of Sikachi-Alyan is 77km northeast of Khabarovsk and makes for a good day trip. Here you can view the Sikachi-Alyan petroglyphs – stone carvings dating back 12,000 years. Local travel agencies can arrange tours here. ...

Khabarovsk Regional Museum

Khabarovsk

　　Located in an evocative 1894 red-brick building, this museum contains an excellent overview of Russian and Soviet history, despite not having a single word of non-Russian signage. Galleries take you decade by decade through the past with fascinating propaganda posters, old film clips, audio snippets, black-and-white photos (like the sad...

Bell Tower

Yaroslavl

　　Climb to the top of the bell tower of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration for excellent views over Yaroslavl and the confluence of its two rivers. ...

Yaroslavl Art Museum (Metropolitan Palace)

Yaroslavl

　　The 17th-century former chambers of the metropolitan showcase icons and other religious art from the 13th to 18th centuries. Temporary exhibits have separate admission prices; a recent one featured women's fashion from 1890 to 1910. ...

Church of Elijah the Prophet

Yaroslavl

　　The exquisite church that dominates Sovetskaya pl was built by some prominent local fur dealers in 1650. It has some of the Golden Ring’s brightest frescoes, done by the ubiquitous painter Gury Nikitin of Kostroma and his school, and detailed exterior tiles. The church is closed on rainy days to...

Yaroslavl Art Museum (Governor's House)

Yaroslavl

　　The main branch of the city's art museum, housed in the restored former governors' mansion (built 1823), showcases two permanent exhibits on 18th- to 20th-century Russian art (individual or joint ticket available), with a large hall dedicated to Impressionist Konstantin Korovin; audio guides (R50) are available in English. Temporary exhibits...

Cathedral of the Transfiguration

Yaroslavl

　　This 16th-century cathedral (built 1516) is the oldest free-standing building in Yaroslavl; inside are beautiful frescoes from the time of its construction. Designed by an Italian architect, the church combines traditional Russian with Italianate styles, such as its arched loggia. You can get a good view of Yaroslavl from its...

John the Baptist Church at Tolchkovo

Yaroslavl

　　It’s a shame that dingy industrial surroundings discourage most people from visiting Yaroslavl’s largest and most unique church – you may recognise it from the 1000-rouble currency note. Protected by Unesco, the red-brick structure (built 1671–87) boasts a staggering 15 green-coloured cupolas and some of the most extensive series of...

Music & Time

Yaroslavl

　　Every object has a voice in this little house containing the late magician John Mostoslavsky’s impressive collection of clocks, musical instruments (harmoniums, a loud hurdy-gurdy), bells and gramophones – one of the most eclectic museum experiences in the Golden Ring. Guides (some of whom speak English) turn each tour into...

Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour

Yaroslavl

　　Founded in the 12th century, the Unesco-listed Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was one of Russia’s richest and best-fortified monasteries by the 16th century. The oldest surviving structures, dating from 1516, are the Holy Gate (святые ворота) near the main entrance by the river and the Cathedral of...

SV Nikolai

Krasnoyarsk

　　Permanently docked below Ploshchad Mira art centre is the SV Nikolai, the ship that transported future revolution leader Vladimir Lenin to exile in Shushenskoe in 1897 and the future Tsar Nikolai II across the Yenisey in 1891. ...

Surikov Art Museum

Krasnoyarsk

　　The cute Surikov Art Museum displays works by Russian 19th-century artist Ivan Surikov and his contemporaries. Its affiliate at ul Mira 12 houses a small but impressive collection of Russian vanguard art, including Kandinsky, Malevich and Rodchenko. ...

Chapel of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa

Krasnoyarsk

　　For some spectacular city views, climb Karaulnaya Hill (there's no bus) to the little chapel that features on the Russian 10-rouble banknote (now slowly being replaced with a coin). It was designed in 1855 by Konstantin Thon, the architect behind Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral. At midday a deafening one-gun...

Revolution Square

Krasnoyarsk

　　The city's vast central square showcases Soviet-era architectural classics in all their Stalinist glory – complete with colonnaded government buildings and a statue of Lenin, who extends one hand as if inviting visitors for a stroll in Dubrovinsky Park of Culture and Leisure, another compulsory element of any Soviet city....

Literature Museum

Krasnoyarsk

　　Occupying a glorious 1911 merchant’s mansion, this wonderfully restored museum highlights various aspects of Siberian life that inspired authors who wrote about it – from cold and gloom to multicoloured gems and shaman dances. Of special note is the exhibit dedicated to Agafia Lykova, a member of the famous Old...

Regional Museum

Krasnoyarsk

　　Housed in an incongruously attractive 1912 art nouveau Egyptian temple, this is one of Siberia’s better museums. Arranged around a Cossack explorer’s ship, surprisingly well-presented exhibitions across the two floors examine every facet of the region’s past, from Cossacks and gentlemen explorers to the Tunguska explosion, local fauna, prerevolution institutions...

Ploshchad Mira

Krasnoyarsk

　　Krasnoyarsk's Lenin museum was opened on the occasion of the October Revolution's 70th anniversary in 1987, only to see the entire communist system collapse four years later. But, in a true revolutionary spirit, it has reinvented itself as a beautifully eclectic art venue that fuses elements of the original communist-era...

Stolby Nature Reserve

Krasnoyarsk

　　Russia's most visited national park is located right across the river from Krasnoyarsk's city centre. Its highlight are the fingers of volcanic rock called stolby poking above gently sloping wooded mountains. To reach the most spectacular of them (as well as the newly opened visitors centre), follow the track (7km...

Khomus Museum

Yakutsk

　　Khomus (Jew’s harps) play a big part in Sakha culture. Concerts occur year-round, when performers imitate natural sounds such as a horse neighing. The unexpected (and unfortunately soundtrack-free) Khomus Museum has a collection showcasing international Jew’s harp heroes from present and past. Ask the welcoming staff for a demonstration. ...

Archaeology & Ethnography Museum

Yakutsk

　　These two separately run museums are in the same building; sadly, neither enjoys the luxury of signage in English. On the bottom three floors you'll find one of the Far East’s better displays on indigenous peoples, while the 4th floor gives an overview of mammoths in Sakha. See if they’ll...

Transfiguration Church

Yakutsk

　　This mid-19th-century church with gorgeous golden domes in Yakutsk's old town is the city's most attractive. ...