Climate

Climate ranges from steppes in the south trough humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast. The weather in Russia can be generally considered to be very changeable; even during a day it can be changed a few times.

Car rentals

Cars can be hired with or without driver in majopr cities. An international driver's license or a national driving license with an authorised translation are required. Travelers can take their own car. It is necessary to preplan the itenary and accomodation requirements. The itinerary must be declared upon obtaining the visa. Driving is on the right. Drunk driving is prohibited.

Taxis

If you need to get a taxi you can either order it fro a hotel, or hail in the street. Taxis are normally yellow with a checkerboard, with a green light indicating availability. Taxi service is expensive in big cities, especially to and from airports.

Metro

The fastest means of public transport in big cities is the metro. Trains run from 06.00 to 01.00. Service is frequent, with trains at intervals of 1.5 to 2.5 minutes. Also, in Moscow, for example, any jorney, irrespective of distance, costs the same amount of money. Sometimes, especially during rush hours, it is much faster to travel by metro than by bus or even by taxi.

Public Road Transport

Big cities have extensive systems of bus, trolleybus, and tram routes. The fare is the same irrespective of the distance. Entry is fom any door. Passengers buy tickets either from the driver or in the metro vestibule and then punch tickets using punches on the transport' walls.

The very first written mention of Moscow dates back to 1147. In 1156 Prince Yuri Dolgoruky ordered a wooden fortress to be built on a hill at the confluence of the Moskva and Neglinnaya rivers. With the formation of the Russian centralized state at the end of the 15th century Moscow became its capital.

The Kremlin is the center of the city. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful architectural ensembles in the world. The Kremlin contains fine examples of Russian architecture of the 15th to 17th centuries. On the territory of the Kremlin the first Moscow museum, the Armory Chamber is located. On display here are unique specimens of Russian and foreign applied art of the 12th to 20th centuries. Everyone visiting Moscow for the first time begins ther acquaintance with the city on the Red Square. The main architectural detail of the square is the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat, which the people renamed the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed (1551-1561). The golden cupolas of the Novodevichy convent that contains wonderful relics of Russian culture oh the 16th and 17th centuries can be seen from here. The Lomonosov Moscow State University (1949-1953), the largest building in Moscow is located on Sparrow Hills.

Over the centuries Moscow has become one of the biggest world cultural centres. The capital of Russia is well known for its theatres and museums. The famous Bolshoi Theatre that nowadays ranks with world leading Opera and Ballet Theatres was founded in Moscow in 1776. One of the most popular art galleries Pushlin Museum of Fine Arts has a marvellous collection of Western European paintings. Another famous museum - the State Tretyakov Gallery - is a treasure-house of 100 thousands works of Russian pictorial arts. The picturesque Moscow country estates and palaces attract thousands of tourists. The ancient estate Kolomenskoye was the residence of the Russian princes and tsars. It was first mentioned in the documents dating from the 14th century. The Kuskovo estate built for the richest Russian landowner Count Sheremetyev in the 18th century preserved its original aspect up to the present day.

Nowadays Moscow is on of the largest cities in the world (more than 9 million inhabitants). It is the political, cultural, and economic center of Russia, the seat of the Russian Goverment and the embassies of foreign states, the location of major banks, educational and cultural institutions. Moscow is a vital city full of life, new buildings appear here at every corner and old ones are in good repair. Moscow has many hotels of the world standard, fine restaraunts, night clubs, and casinos.

Saint Petersburg was founded at the estuary of the Neva River on the small Zayachy island on May 27, 1703. The Russian Tsar Peter the Great personally supervised the construction andnamed the city after his patron saint. In 1712-1713 the Tar's court and the government offices moved there from Moscow, and thus St. Petersburg became the capital of the Russian Empire. In 1918 the capital was transferred back to Moscow.

The city of St. Petersburg has grown up on and around 42 islands. 93 various rivers and canals flowing through the city make it similar to Venice and Amsterdam. There are more than 340 bridges in St. Petersburg. One og the distinctive features of the city is the nightly drawing of the major bridge spans on the Neva to allow vessels to enter or to exit the Volga-Baltic waterway. The northern geographical location of the city is the reason for the White Nights Phenomena. From the end of May up to early July the sun sets only 9 degrees below the horizon and the faint twilight gradually turns into the down. The creative environment of the city kept attracting poets and writers, musicians and artists.

A great number of architectural monuments and hitorical sights in St.Petersburg makes it possible to name it "the museum city". The ensemble of Peter and Paul Fortress is considered to be the historical core of St.Petersburg. The main avenue of the city, Nevsky Prospect is the centre of the cultural life and business activities. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, Mikhailovsky Palace which has housed the Russian Museum since the end of 19th century, and other architectural ensembles are situated in Nevsky Prospeky or nearby. The collection of the Hermitage that is one of the world leading art museums is located in five buildings and has over 2.5 million exhibits belonging to different epochs. countries and nations. A majestic monument of the late Russian Classicism St.Isaac's Cathedral (1818-1858) contains over 380 works of sculpture, painting and mosaic.

The architectural ensembles of St. Petersburg suburbs have become well known all over the world due to their amazing beauty. Peterhof (Petrodvorets), the former russian imperial residence, is situated on the coast of the Gulf on Finland. For over 200 years Peterhof was the Russian Versailes amazing everyone with its superb beauty. The palace-and-park complex of Pavlovsk is an outstanding monument of art and architecture of the 18-19th centuries. The Pavlovsk Park is one of the largest parks in the world. The centre of the town of Pushkin is the palace-and-park ensemble of 18-19th century (a former country residence of Russian tsars). More than one hundred statues add a special charm to the inimitable beauty of the natural scenery of the park.