Russian Language

Russian is the lingua franca across Russia. Russians are proud of their culturally diverse language which is a member of the Slavic language family, being further sub-classified into the East Slavic family, thus being closely related to Ukrainian and Belarusian. The script used is Cyrillic with many letters of the Latin alphabet but many of them sound different. English is becoming a requirement in the business world and many younger Russians in the largest cities (such as Moscow or St. Petersburg) know enough English to communicate. Outside of these areas, English is generally nonexistent.

Moscow and St. Petersburg

The country is immense and extraordinarily rich in attractions for visitors on trips to Russia, although many lie in the hard-to-reach stretches of the country. The best-known sights are in and around the nation's principal cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg.Russia's history is the number one reason why tourists come to this country attracted by its fascinating, sometimes surreal, oftentimes brutal but always fascinating national saga.

Nothing can compare with Moscow and St. Petersburg when on Russia vacations, both of which are rich in history, art and architecture. Moscow has a wonderful heritage of historic buildings including the amazing Kremlin complex and is known as the medieval and 20th century capital of Russia while St. Petersburg is an open-air museum of 18th century architecture and craftsmanship. You can’t afford to miss the wonderful Heritage Museum with its incomparable art treasures.

There are many other regions in Russia which would appeal but mainly to the more intrepid traveller. However, if only Moscow and St. Petersburg are visited on Russia vacations, these great cities will more than satisfy the enthusiastic traveller. 

Things to do in Russia 

Outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg, other major areas of tourist interest on trips to Russia include the following. If you choose to cruise along the Neva River, you will not only visit Moscow and St. Petersburg but also get a glimpse into interesting, off the beaten track towns and villages which will take you back in time to bygone eras. The Trans Siberian Railway traverses the country and shows off the diversity of this vast land. An interesting and beautiful region is around Lake Baikal, Russia’s largest lake in Siberia not too far from Irkutsk one hour away. At the extreme eastern end of Russia, nearly all the way to Japan and Alaska is wild Kamchatka, where you will find the Valley of the Geysers, lakes of acid, volcanoes, and grizzlies galore. For sun lovers, Sochi is an attractive Black Sea beach resort which has been largely unknown to foreigners, but that has changed in a major way as Russia hosted the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Learn about more things to do in Russia here.

"Globetrotting with Goway" blog articles

For some additional reading, the following articles are from our blog “Globetrotting with Goway”….. a great source of information for those people who are, or who want to be, world travellers!

Moscow and St. Petersburg: Two Splendid Cities to Explore on a Russia Vacation

The Luxurious Trans Siberian Railway: A Rail Journey of a Lifetime

Experience the Trans-Siberian Railway on Russia Vacations

Free Things to See and Do on European Vacation Packages

The Intimacy and Accessibility of European River Cruises

Soviet Russia 100 Years Later: Explore its Communist Past on a Russia Vacation

Ten Iconic Sites to See on a Europe Vacation

Experience Special Musical Venues on Your Europe Trip

10 Magnificent Churches to See on a European Vacation

RECIPE: Russian Borscht

Extend your Stay

Consider an additional stopover to your Russia vacation at one of Goway's other European destinations. You can choose from a Paris vacation, a London vacation or an Amsterdam vacation. This can be done stopping over en route to or from Russia.