Best Packages for Tours & Travels

Introduction & History: A visit to Russia today is an encounter with an undiscovered land.  One of the most notable features of present day Russia is a renewed celebration of the wealth of its past and its potential for the future. Throwing off the blanket of communist uniformity, Russia today is a nation of enormous diversity and tremendous vitality. It is as if the cultural traditions of a century ago have re-awakened with a newfound strength - ancient cathedrals are being rebuilt and restored, colorful markets hum with activity once again and literature and the arts are quickly regaining the creative renown they enjoyed decades ago. A new Russia is now in full bloom.For most westerners,Russia is associated with its European cities–Moscow, St. Petersburg and Murmansk. Russia is the largest country on earth, with enormous tracts of land that have been opened to travellers only in the last few years.Just as Russia’s rich cultural heritage has once more come to life, its natural heritage too is a new country waiting to be discovered.With the dissolution of the Soviet Union there has been an enormous resurgence of interest in Russia’s pre-Soviet past, as well as a great deal of debate and reconsideration of the Soviet era itself.

The Russia Gazeteer:The Russian Federation covers 1/8th of the earth’s surface (6,592,812 sq. miles/ 17,075,400 sq. km.) from Europe to Asia. Even after the dissolution of the Soviet Empire, Russia is easily the worlds largest country. Vast plains cover most of Russia’s territory. Mountain ranges are found mostly in the eastern and southern regions, with the Ural Mountains constituting a natural backbone from north to south seperating European and Asian Russia.The country has a tremendous wealth of natural resources, producing 17% of the world’s crude oil, 25-30% of its natural gas, and 10-20% of all non-ferrous, rare and noble metals mined across the globe.Most of Russia’s territory is located in the temperate belt, though the range of climates and habitats spans from Arctic tundra and forest tundra to forests, forest-steppes and semi-deserts. Average January temperatures range from 0 to minus 5 degrees Centigrade in Western European Russia to minus 40-50 degrees Centigrade in Eastern Yakutia. Average July temperatures range from 1 degree Centigrade on the northern Siberian coast to 25 degrees Centigrade in Russia’s Cis-Caspian lowlands. Check the current four-day weather forecasts for Moscow and St. Petersburg.Russia has the world’s fifth largest population (148.8 million people) after China, India, the United States and Indonesia. It contains some 130 nations and ethnic groups including Russians, Tartars, Ukrainians, Chuvashs, Jews, Bashkirs, Byelorussians and Mordovians.Russia has the world’s fifth largest population (148.8 million people) after China, India, the United States and Indonesia.

Getting To & Around Russia:There are many ways to get to Russia. 

Russian Art &  Architecture.From icons and onion domes to suprematism and the Stalin baroque, Russian art and architecture seems to many visitors to Russia to be a rather baffling array of exotic forms and alien sensibilities. Without any sense of the rich tradition of Russian culture, an appreciation of the country’s enormous artistic wealth becomes a game of historical anecdote–"the church where so-and-so took refuge from what’s-his-name"–or a meaningless collection of aesthetic baubles–"I like the blue domes the best."

Icons:The tradition of icon painting was inherited by the Russians from Byzantium, where it began as an offshoot of the mosaic and fresco tradition of early Byzantine churches. During the 8th and 9th centuries, the iconoclasm controversy in the Orthodox church called into question whether religious images were a legitimate practice or sacrilegious idolatry. Although the use of images wasn’t banned, it did prompt a thorough appreciation of the difference between art intended to depict reality and art designed for spiritual contemplation. That difference is one of the reasons that the artistic style of icons can seem so invariant. Certain kinds of balance and harmony became established as reflections of divinity, and as such they invited careful reproduction and subtle refinement rather than striking novelty.

The Great Experiment:The rising influence of European culture in Russia during the 17th and 18th centuries brought Russian artwork closer to the familiar traditions of western painting. It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that the next great body of uniquely Russian artistic styles arose, having developed in conjunction with liberal forces of social reform. This modern movement took many different directions almost from its inception, and it would be impossible to describe all of them. However, even a very general acquaintance with their common ideas and interests makes their work much more accessible. From the start, the modern art movement was concerned with breaking away from the classical tradition and creating a new kind of art that was intimately engaged with the daily life of Russian society. It developed a renewed interest in traditional Russian art forms, including both decorative folk art and, of course, icon painting.

Architecture:For most of its history, Russian architecture has been predominantly religious. Churches were for centuries the only buildings to be constructed of stone, and today they are almost the only buildings that remain from its ancient past. The basic elements of Russian church design emerged fairly early, around the eleventh century. The plan is generally that of a Greek cross (all four arms are equal), and the walls are high and relatively free of openings. Sharply-sloped roofs (tent roofs) and a multitude of domes cover the structure. The characteristic onion dome first appeared in Novgorod on the Cathedral of Sancta Sophia, in the eleventh century. On the interior, the primary feature is the iconostasis, an altar screen on which the church’s icons are mounted in a hierarchical fashion.The centers of medieval church architecture followed the shifting dominance of old Russia’s cities–from Kiev to Novgorod and Pskov, and, from the end of the 15th century, Moscow.

Russia Outdoors:It would be easy to spend several decades getting to know Russia’s great cities alone, but visitors should know that there is far more to do in today’s Russia. That much of the country consists of spectacular and nearly virgin terrain makes Russia an adventuresome traveller’s dream. In the last few years, the Russian government has opened up enormous areas that for decades have been closed to virtually all human visitation. For the truly intrepid, Russia presents a lifetime’s worth of unexplored territory. For those whose spirit of adventure is leavened by a taste for relaxation, there are plenty of places to visit that are within easy striking distance of a comfy hotel, a river cruise boat, or even a major city. This page provides only a brief glimpse of the possibilities that now exist.

Mountaineering and Alpine Skiing:Russia possesses a number of great mountain ranges, some of which are barely known in the west. The Caucasus, Altai, Sayan, and Stanovoy mountains all offer fantastic mountain climbing, as do some of the peaks along the Kamchatka peninsula. Alpine skiing facilities are thus far rather limited in Russia, although they should improve rapidly in the next several years. The best facilities are to be found in the western Caucasus, around Dombay.

Hiking, Trekking, Hunting and Fishing: Hunting and fishing in Russia are activies apt to astound the average sportsman from the West. With so much territory having been closed to outsiders for decades, the rivers and mountains of Russia are still abundant with game. The country has begun to experience problems with illegal hunting and fishing expeditions in protected areas. However, there are many reputable companies that lead expeditions to the country’s legislated game preserves. Particularly in the Far East, opportunities for salmon fishing and bear hunting are unmatched anywhere else on earth.

source:http://www.geographia.com