For visitors...

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union there has been an enormous resurgence of interest in Russia's pre-Soviet past, as well as a great deal of debate and reconsideration of the Soviet era itself. This shift has not resulted in a simple vilification of everything Soviet or a naive embrace of all that preceded it, but it has spurred an unprecedented effort to regain the ancient Russian national heritage. Churches are being restored all across the country, great Russian writers and artists whose works were banned are once again being honored, and the individual character of ancient cities and communities is once again becoming established. Next year, the city of Moscow is celebrating its 850th Anniversary, a celebration that will mark the recovery, as well as the commemoration, of its glorious past.

For most western visitors, the bulk of Russia's history is nothing more than a compendium of hazy legends and sensationalist rumors--from scurrilous stories about Catherine the Great to tabloid television reports of the miraculous survival of the children of Nicholas II. However, the factual history of the country is no less compelling than its fabulous history, and even a brief introduction to the great and not-so-great figures of its past make a visit far more rewarding.

Basics

Full country name: Russian Federation
President: Vladimir Putin (2000)
Prime Minister: Mikhail Fradkov (2004)
Area: 6,592,735 sq mi (17,075,200 sq km)
Population (2004 est.): 143,782,3383 (growth rate: –0.5%);
Birth rate: 9.6/1000; infant
Mortality rate: 17.0/1000;
Life expectancy: 66.4;
Density per sq mi: 22
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Moscow , 11,970,500 (metro. area), 8,368,200 (city proper)
Other large cities: St. Petersburg, 4,582,300; Novosibirsk, 1,395,500; Nizhny Novgorod, 1,340,900; Yekaterinburg, 1,256,600; Samara, 1,146,800; Kazan, 1,113,600; Ufa, 1,096,600; Chelyabinsk, 1,080,000; Perm, 998,800; Volgograd, 984,200
Monetary unit: Ruble
Languages: Russian, others
Ethnicity/race: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% (1989)
Religions: Russian Orthodox, Islam, others
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2003 est.): $1.287 trillion; per capita $8,900. Real growth rate: 7.3%. Inflation: 12%. Unemployment: 8.4%, plus considerable underemployment. Arable land: 7%. Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk. Labor force: 71.5 million; agriculture 12.3%, industry 22.7%, services 65%. Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts. Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber; note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources.
Exports: $134.4 billion (2003 est.):
petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures.Imports: $74.8 billion (2003 est.): machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products.
Major trading partners: Germany, Italy, Netherlands, China, U.S., Ukraine, Belarus, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, France.
Transportation: Railways: total: 87,157 km (2002).
Highways: total: 532,393 km;
paved: 358,833 km; unpaved: 173,560 km (2000).
Waterways: 95,900 km (total routes in general use) (Jan. 1994). Ports and harbors: Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', De-Kastri, Indigirskiy, Kaliningrad, Kandalaksha, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lazarev, Mago, Mezen', Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Onega, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Rostov, Shakhtersk, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Taganrog, Tuapse, Uglegorsk, Vanino, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg.
Airports: 2,743 (2002).
Entry Requariments: Visas.Besides a passport,visitors to Russia need a visa,which can be obtained from Russian Consulatte General in your home country or a travel agency.
Visa processing takes at least three weeks,and you will need to submit a form, photos and fee.

When To Go

High tourist season,with accompanying high prices,is the summer particulary for St. Petersburg, and Moscow as well as the resorts area in the Crimea.
If you' dlike to avoid the crowds, the best time to visit is in late spring and early autum.
Winter is usually very cold and so is not the best time to visit, especially for walking trough city centers.