What Russia is like?

I have been asked this question many times and I can understand the reasons why?

The country was closed for almost a century to the outside world and even today Russia seems to be mysterious and even mystical.

To many people it's mysterious and mystical but we should quantify, which Russia?

The Russia of Moscow, that grand capital of the Russian nation, the largest city in Europe with a legal population of 12 Million and another 3 million illegal residents from the surrounding republics?

In 1703, Tsar Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in the swampy delta mouth of the Newa. It became Russia's capital city and remained so until 1918 when Lenin and his revolutionary Bolshevik government moved to Moscow. Today it is a living monument to the lives and times of Russia's Imperial Tsars

The Winter Palace contains Russia's largest museum, the Eremitage, which houses more than two and a half million exhibits. Since Peter the Great, Russian rulers purchased many major works of art, but it was Catherine The Great who acquired complete collections from the auction houses of Europe.

The Admiralty, with its needle-shaped, gold-plated tower, is one of the city's most famous landmarks, its grand architecture depicting the emergence of Russia as a naval power and the marvellous Isaaks Cathedral has the third largest dome in the world. Twenty four thousand tree stumps were used for its foundations and it can accommodate a congregation of 14,000.

The Peter And Paul Cathedral was the burial place of the Tsars and it contains the marble coffin of Peter the Great. The most colourful church in Russia is the Resurrection Of Christ Cathedral which was built on the orders of Tsar Alexander the Third on land where, in 1881, his father, Alexander the Second, had been killed by a bomb planted by a revolutionary group.

Russian Baroque and Russian Classicism were established in St. Petersburg -- city of monumental events, outstanding architecture and an Imperial metropolis on the grand scale.


The Russian flag still waves proudly above the roof of the Hermitage in St.Petersburg, the former Winter Palace of the tsars.However, despite the meaning of its French name it is no longer a place of seclusion.Designed by Rastrelli and built between 1754 and 1762, today the Hermitage is the centre of an art museum that consists of several buildings.

The impressive Peter Hall is dedicated to the legendary founder of the Russian Empire, Peter The Great.Indeed, it is a remarkable work of art in its own right and both the Parade Stairs and Jordan Stairs are fine examples of the Winter Palaces dramatic architecture.

The purchase of more than 200 paintings from Berlin formed the basis of the Russian aristocracys passion for art and served as the catalyst for the subsequent museum.Works by the most famous Italian artists, including Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raffael, have their own splendid exhibition rooms within the Hermitage.In addition to its remarkable works of art, the museum also contains a large number of archaeological discoveries and artistic treasures from entire cultural epochs.

The Hermitage is an art museum of the superlative.It contains a total of 2.7 million exhibits many of which are the finest examples of their kind.

The Hermitage, the former Winter Palace of the Russian tsars and today the greatest museum in Russia, is a veritable palace of outstanding art and history.

Ufa is one of the industrial centres in the Western Urals area, and is situated at the confluence of the Belaya and the Ufa Rivers. Industries include electrical and mining equipment, oil refining, petrochemicals, synthetic rubber, and processed foods. The Ufa Airport connects the city to several towns in Russia, as well as to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Germany, Turkey and Uzbekistan. There is also the smaller Ufa Maximovka Airport northeast of the city.

The city began as a fortress built on the orders of Ivan IV in 1574, and originally bore the name of the hill it stood on, Tura-Tau. The city began to be called Ufa, meaning "small" in Turkic, by locals and the name stuck. In 1802, Ufa became the principal city of Bashkiria.

In 1918, Ufa was the residence of the Provisional All-Russian Government.

Arkhangelsk (Russian: Арха́нгельск), formerly called Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina river near its exit into the White Sea in the far north of European Russia.

City districts spread for over 40 kilometers (25 mil) along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval Russia.

It is served by Talagi Airport and the smaller Vaskovo Airport. The city is located at the very end of the 1,133 km (704 mi) long railroad, connecting it to Moscow via Vologda and Yaroslavl. Population: 356,051 (2002 Census);415,921 (1989 Census).

Early history

The area where Arkhangelsk is situated was known to the Vikings as Bjarmaland. Ohthere from Hålogaland told from his travels circa 800 of an area by a river and the White Sea with many buildings. This was probably the place later known as Arkhangelsk. According to Snorri Sturluson there was a Viking raid on this area in 1027, led by Tore Hund.

In 1989, an unusually rich silver treasure was found by the mouth of Dvina, right next to present day Arkhangelsk. It was probably buried in the beginning of the 12th century, and contained articles that may have been up to 200 years old at that time.

Most of the findings are made up by a total of 1.6 kg (3.53 lb) of silver, mostly coins. Jewelry and pieces of jewelry hail from Russia or neighbouring areas. Most coins were German, but there was also a smaller number of Kufan, English, Bohemian, Hungarian, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian coins.

It is hard to place this find historically until further research is completed. There are at least two possible interpretations. It may be a treasure belonging to the society outlined by the Norse source material. Generally such finds, whether from Scandinavia, the Baltic area or Russia, are closely tied to well-established agricultural societies with considerable trade activity.

Alternatively, like the Russian scientists who published the find in 1992, one may see it as an evidence of a stronger force of Russian colonisation than previously thought.

Bashkordostan

Was one of two Russians stats at the World Expo in Hannover, in year 2000. I saw it, it was great. However still need to see it by myself.

The other were of course Tatarstan, which I have visited, Can be recommended strongly, at least the capital of Kazan.

Viking

Viking,

Welcome to the Forum. I have heard a few good thinks about Kazan, what did you like the most?