European
Russia stretches
from the borders of the states of
Belarus and Ukraine to the Ural
mountains, over 1000km east of
Moscow; even without the rest of the
Russian Federation, it constitutes
by far the largest country in
Europe. It was also, for many years,
one of the hardest to visit. Today
Russia is far more accessible, and
although visas are still obligatory
and accommodation often has to be
booked in advance, independent
travel is increasingly an option.
Nonetheless, Moscow and St
Petersburg remain the easiest places
to visit, and these are covered
below. For the adventurous, travel
further afield can be booked through
various agencies in Russia and
abroad, and there are an increasing
number of Web sites offering advice
and travel services for the less
standard routes.
Moscow and St Petersburg are
mutually complementary. Moscow
, the capital, is hugely
enthralling. It is not a beautiful
city by any means, and is a somewhat
chaotic place. However, Moscow's
central core reflects Russia's long
and fascinating history at the heart
of a vast empire, whether in the
relics of the Communist years, the
Kremlin with its palaces and
churches of the tsars, the wooden
buildings still tucked away in
backstreets, or in the massive
building projects of the mayor,
Yuriy Luzhkov, which have radically
changed the face of the centre.
By contrast, Russia's second
city, St Petersburg , is
Europe at its most gracious, an
attempt by the eighteenth-century
tsar Peter the Great to re-create
the best of Western European
elegance in what was then a
far-flung outpost. Its position in
the delta of the River Neva is
unparalleled, full of watery vistas
of huge and faded palaces. St
Petersburg has not been revamped
anywhere near as much as Moscow,
which many consider a good thing,
and it preserves a unity and
stability lacking in the capital.
You will not be bothered by the
so-called Russian mafia in either
city, but, as in any other big city,
you should beware of petty crime.
