Russia is the largest country in the world, with some of its biggest problems. Moscow and St Petersburg are fascinating destinations - now even as potential weekend breaks - but visiting most of Russia is hard work as people struggle to come to terms with a market economy. The Trans-Siberian railway, however, is one of the travelling wonders of the world.
Russia covers some 6.5 million square miles; it stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, taking in forest, tundra and desert, sprawling cities and barren steppe. After the rise and fall of communism, Russia is now theoretically a democracy - but the country has scant experience of democratic government and is falling prey to corruption, bribery and extortion at all levels.
The introduction of a market economy may have created a few billionaires but it has left many people struggling to afford food. Still recovering from a destructive civil war in Chechnya and with an increasingly authoritarian president, Russia’s future direction remains far from certain.
Best sites
· Russian National Tourist Office. The official line on visiting Russia.
· Russia Today News from the region.
· Travel Library Russia. A comprehensive selection of links to travel agents, travelogues and guides.
· Trans-Siberian. Well-constructed, visually impressive and packed with information about unusual trips.
· Cruise Russia. Take a river cruise from Moscow to St Petersburg.
· Battleship Potemkin. Find out about Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 classic set on the ship that started the 1905 revolution in Odessa and watch clips of the film.
· St Petersburg Times. St Petersburg’s local paper online; full of news, listings and features. Also linked to its twin paper, the Moscow Times.
· Foreign Office travel advice
If you only do three things ...
Soak up the musical and artistic splendour of St Petersburg. Brave the cold, but add 25 years to your life (according to local myth) and take a swim in Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world. Hang out at Fish Fabrique, once a truly underground venue for the latest in Russian music, now a very hip club.
News and current affairs
Russia's online publications from the world news guide.
Language
Russian is the dominant language, although minority languages such as Ukrainian or the Baltic languages remain. English is little understood outside the largest cities; even in Moscow or St Petersburg the older generation are unlikely to have more than a phrase or two. Learning the Cyrillic alphabet is advisable to help you find your way round.
Climate
Russia inevitably encompasses several climatic zones, so what you pack will depend on whether you’re visiting Murmansk in mid-winter or a Caspian Sea resort in the height of summer. Moscow and St Petersburg are warm in summer, averaging about 24C, although there is a likelihood of rain. Both cities are snowed under by the end of November and remain frozen or slushy until April. Temperatures in Moscow average 12C in January.
Health
Booster vaccinations for tetanus, diphtheria; one-off adult polio inoculation; hepatitis A. Beware poor-quality drinking water, especially in St Petersburg where all tap water should be boiled before use. Exercise common sense when buying food off the street. Mosquitoes can be troublesome in the summer, so bring appropriate repellent. A certificate of HIV-negative status is required for any person applying for a visa for a stay of more than three months.
Food
At its worst, Russian food is lumps of unidentifiable, grisly meat served with undercooked potatoes; at its best, a delicious array of stuffed pancakes, caviar, salads and pierogi (the Russian answer to ravioli) - all washed down with the inevitable mugs of vodka and tea. International eating options are increasingly common, but you may find it worthwhile to duck into a dingy cafe and take pot luck, rather than be lured by the bright lights of yet another pizzeria.
Look out for Georgian restaurants; having much in common with Turkish or Lebanese cuisine, they make a change, and are also a good bet for vegetarians. Fresh pierozhki - pasties with cabbage or potatoes - can be delicious, if not the healthiest of meals. It is worth remembering that one of the reasons Russians drink vodka is that it aids the digestion of all the stodgy food they consume.
Currency
£1 buys around 50 roubles.
Events
May: May Day festival in Moscow - concerts, ballets (including the Bolshoy and Kirov) and plays, both on and off the streets, culminating in Victory Day on May 9 when veterans take to the streets to commemorate Russia’s dead during the second world war, laying wreaths outside the Great Patriotic War Museum on Poklonnaya Gora.
Midsummer: White Nights (Byelie Nochi), St Petersburg. The city comes alive in the 24 hours of near daylight and the banks of the Neva host a constant party for a couple of weeks.
December/January: Winter Festival in Moscow, St Petersburg, Novogorod, Suzdal and Irkutsk. With folk music, opera and concerts throughout these cities; also a chance to indulge in horse-drawn sleigh rides across their parks.
What to buy
There are three things you would be pushed to leave Russia without. Vodka is the lifeblood of many of its people: the central aisle of the GUM department store on Red Square sells a fantastic variety of drinkable vodkas, of which the lemon and hunter varieties come recommended. Matrioshky dolls can be bought from any street market in any corner of Russia - either the traditional type or a large Putin doll with Yeltsin, Gorbachev et al inside it. Finally, Soviet memorabilia is everywhere: Lenin badges, Soviet-era cameras, watches and shapkas (Russian-style fur hats). New shapkas can also be bought at local department stores. Souvenirs can be purchased online at Ushop Russia.
Embassies and visas
UK: Russian Embassy, 13 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QX (020 7229 2666).
Russia: British Embassy, Smolenskaya Naberezhnaya 10, Moscow 121099 (+7 495 956 7200). There is also an office in St Petersburg: Pl. Proletarskoy Diktatury 5, 191124 St Petersburg (+7 812 320 3200).
Visa requirements: British nationals need a visa to enter Russia, which can be arranged by a travel agent and costs £20-£37. The Russian consulate requires a completed application form, your passport, and three identical passport photographs; for business visitors, an invitation from a registered Russian organisation; for tourists, a confirmation from a Russian tour operator that they have booked accommodation. “Private” visas can be arranged if someone in Russia invites you, but it is probably not worth the hassle, for you or for them.
Time zone
Russia spans 11 time zones, from GMT+2 in Kalinigrad to GMT +12 in Petropavlovsk and Kamchatsky. Moscow and St Petersburg GMT +3. Daylight saving time (time zone +1) from late March to late October.
Getting there
Daily direct flights from London and most big European cities to Moscow; several each week to St Petersburg. The national airline, Aeroflot (020 73552233), can provide connecting flights to most large cities within Russia. Direct rail links with Helsinki, Warsaw, Prague and Budapest. It is also possible to arrive by ferry over the Baltic or the Black Sea.
Related literature
Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky. Tense psychological novel about a murder committed on principle, by a killer who wishes to place himself outside and above society.
Master and Margarita, Bulgakhova. Satire of Soviet life under Stalin set in 20th-century Moscow and ancient Jerusalem.
Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov. Autobiography of the Russian author most famous for his novel Lolita.
