More features:

• Leningrad Symphony

  
  The performance of Shostakovich’s Leningrad symphony on August 9th 1942 in the Grand Philharmonic hall was a definitive turning point for Leningraders during the years of the terrible siege....

• Hermitage - the Ultimate Guide

  The exquisite museum’s three million items spanning from the Stone Age to modern day make it one of the most highly esteemed and unmissable art galleries in the world....

• Lenintown

  
  Vladmir Ilyich Ulyanov or Lenin, as he is more commonly known, is everywhere you look in Russia. St Petersburg is no exception, after all the starting point of the revolution itself was named after him for more than 65 years....

• Bridges of St. Petersburg

  
  When Peter the Great, that wonderful builder, founded the city, he envisaged a bridgeless city where everyone maneuvered around on boats in summer and in winter, cruising around on sleds....

• The Magnificent Mariinsky

  The historical MariinskyBack in the day, meaning the 1840s in this case, the first touring circus arrived in St....

• The secrets of Russian caviar

  
  Female tennis players are Russia’s eye-catchers nowadays. But long before Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva and the others started strutting their stuff on the courts, caviar was one of Russia’s most wanted pearls....

• How Russians Say I do

  
  As a tourist in St. Petersburg, it is sometimes difficult to avoid falling over the brides hovering around the city’s tourist sights posing for photos....

• Great Russian Beer Test

  
  Even the bears in Russia wander around swigging vodka, right? According to the stereotypes, in Russia it’s vodka straight up and nothing else....

• Revolution!

  
  According to the old Russian style calendar, the revolution occurred in October, however with the new calendar, the Revolution date is celebrated on the 7th of November....

• Russian People: Babushkas

  Russian women tend to outlive their male countrymen by quite a few years, which is why you see a lot more babushky (old women) than dedushky (old men) on the streets of St....

• Peter the Great

  
  Born in 1672, Peter the Great is one of Russia’s most famous tsars. With the help of his half-sister Sophia he ruled for 12 years from 1682 until 1694 when he finally got rid of the pesky whisper in his ear that was his power hungry half-sister, by forcing her into a convent....

• Volga Dream

  
  A romantic and memorable trip down the Volga river from Moscow to St. Petersburg is the dream of many a foreign visitor to Russia....

• The Russian Kitchen

  
  Food in Russia is a serious business. No jokes please! We’re talking national pride here. Traditional Russian food is rich and stodgy peasant-fare from the village....

• Heroes of Russian Folklore: meet these homegrown favourite lads

  
  Russians love their heroes. Whether they’re looking to name a new restaurant or just a bliny (pancake) such as the Ilya Muromets blini sold at Teremok stalls throughout the country....