Posted by Sights in Russia, arrival/connections in the country and further information for tourists in Russia.
Russia is the largest country in the world and has the largest population of any country in Europe. Russia lies on two continents – Europe and Asia. The European part is much more densely populated, the Asian part is many times larger. Russia is currently (2014) ruled by President Vladimir Putin, who is said to have many undemocratic methods.
However, the economy and living standards have grown significantly in recent years, making Putin more popular in Russia than in the West. Crime has also fallen in recent years, making Russia more interesting for tourists. Getting a visa for Russia involves a lot of bureaucracy, but not impossible. More tourists from the West are now traveling or flying to Russia, but large parts of the country are still not prepared for foreign holidaymakers.
Arrival / connections in the country
You can reach Moscow by train every day from Berlin without changing trains in around 27 hours. However, most trains travel through Belarus, which means that you also have to get a transit visa for Belarus. The detour via Ukraine or the Baltics is long. The easiest way to get to Saint Petersburg is by ferry to Estonia or Finland (e.g. from Rostock) and then by train or bus.
There are of course many direct flights to Russia from Germany. Russian railways are good, inexpensive and reliable. Even though many things collapsed in Russia after the end of communism, the railway was always reliable.
Sights Russia
Moscow, the capital of Russia, as a cosmopolitan city, naturally has many sights to offer. You should definitely visit Red Square, probably the most famous square in the world, and the Kremlin.
The Kremlin is one of the main attractions in Russia
There are also many beautiful parks in Moscow, such as Gorky Park. The famous Gum department store is still one of the largest in the world and has a huge range of goods.
Saint Petersburg is by far the second most visited city in Russia. Located not far from the Finnish border, the city has many world-famous historical buildings to offer. More and more tourists are traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway. You can travel from Moscow either to Vladivostok or via Mongolia to Beijing.
Russia information |
|
| Resident | almost 150 million |
| Area | 17,070,000 km² (by far the largest country in the world, almost 50 times the size of Germany) |
| Inhabitants / km² | 9 (very sparsely populated, especially in the Asian East, especially Siberia) |
| Capital city | Moscow |
| Language | predominantly Russian |
| religion | predominantly Russian Orthodox, about 9% Muslim |
| currency | ruble |
| gross domestic product | 19000 dollars / population in 2023 (rather rich country, strong differences between the richer big cities like Moscow and the rural regions) |
| Visas | yes, not always easy to get, current information about visa requirements in Russia here |
| Area code of Germany | 007 |
| Internet addresses | .ru, .su is also rarely used for the Soviet Union |
| More about Russia | The deepest lake in the world, the largest airplane in the world, the largest cat on earth |
| The longest river in Europe is the Volga in Russia. | |
| Vehicle license plate | RUS |
