Not to miss

Moscow

Moscow is the barometer and nucleus of the changes sweeping through Russia. Nowhere are Russia's contrasts more apparent than here - ancient monasteries and ultra-modern monoliths stand side by side, and 'New Russian' millionaires and poverty-stricken pensioners walk the same streets.

Moscovites now prefer international name brands to monolithic department stores, and the beautiful churches vandalised or abandoned during the Soviet era of hardline atheism are being lovingly restored. But the real flavour of this city is in its nooks and crannies, each of them unique.

Moscow's origins as a symbol of Russian spiritual and political power go back 850 years. It reflects Russia's state of flux in its day-to-day life, and when the winds of change start blowing, they blow through Moscow first.

St Petersburg

St Petersburg has been dubbed the Venice of the North for its palace-lined waterways. It managed to escape the architectural incursions of Stalinism and its grandiose relics of tsarist days are largely intact. Sculpted by islands and the sinuous Neva River, the city is a vista of geometric elegance.

Within St Petersburg's geometry is a dust-devil of influences and styles and a bewitching vortex of life's extremes. It's breathtakingly gorgeous, it's ruefully falling apart; it's viscerally sensual, it's crude and vulgar; its very essence gets under your skin, but remains forever outside your grasp.

Trans-Siberian Railway

A jaunt on the Trans-Siberian Railway is the way to see this massive country. The six-day, 9446km (5857mi) journey takes you from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast, passing through endless forests of birch and pine, log-cabin settlements and vast steppes.

Life on the rails can be boring or fascinating, depending on the nature of your travelling companions, your choice of paperbacks and the friendliness of your carriage attendant (a vital factor). The route takes you past Siberia's huge Lake Baikal and the multicultural and highly appealing Irkutsk.

Ulan Ude is home to the country's seat of Buddhism, the Ivolginsk Datsan. Those who get into the rhythm of the stops and starts and the passing parade of trees and far-flung towns will find it an experience to savour.

Lapland Biosphere Reserve

The Unesco-protected Lapland Biosphere Reserve consists of 2784 sq km (1074 sq mi) of almost pristine wilderness and is the most accessible nature reserve in Arctic Russia. Visitors can trek through the wilderness - the best times are from March to September - or traverse it on skis, snowshoes or skidoos.

Over 1000 reindeer live on the biosphere's territory, one of the largest concentrations in Europe. Along with 33 species of mammals (including brown bears, elks and wolves), 201 bird species and 15 species of fish, there are more than 900 species of higher plants, mosses and lichens. Bring your own supplies.

Mamaev Kurgan

Known as Hill 102 during the battle of Stalingrad, Mamaev Kurgan was the site of four months of fierce fighting. It's now a moving memorial to all who died in this bloody fight. The complex's centrepiece is an evocative 72m (236ft) statue of Mother Russia wielding a sword that extends another 11m (35ft) above her head.

The area is covered with statues, memorials and ruined fortifications. The Pantheon is inscribed with the names of 7200 soldiers who died here, which are meant to represent the 600,000 Russian soldiers who were killed in this tragic battle.

Hermitage

Set in the magnificent palace from which the tsars ruled Russia for one-and-a-half centuries, the State Hermitage triumphantly lives up to its reputation as one of the country's chief glories. It consists of five linked buildings along the riverside - the Winter Palace, the Little Hermitage, the Old and New Hermitage, and the Hermitage Theatre.

The enormous art collection (over three million items) almost amounts to a history of Western European art, and as much as you see in the museum, there's about 20 times more in its vaults, part of which you can now visit. The vastness of the buildings - of which the Winter Palace alone has 1057 rooms and 117 staircases - demands a little planning. Consider making a reconnaissance tour first, then returning another day to enjoy your favourite bits.

Kizhi

Kizhi is a not-to-be-missed pilgrimage site for anyone touched by the magic of old Russian architecture. The big highlight is the fairy-tale Transfiguration Church, built in 1714. With its chorus of 23 domes plus gables and ingenious decorations to keep water off the walls, it is the gem of Russian wooden architecture.

Next door is the nine-domed Church of the Intercession (1764) with a rich collection of 16th- to 18th-century icons. Between the two churches stands an 1862 belltower. These three buildings constitute the World Heritage-listed Kizhsky pogost (Kizhi Enclosure). The little Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus, constructed in the 14th century at Murom monastery, may be the oldest wooden building in Russia.

An old pagan ritual site, Kizhi - one of at least 1600 islands in Lake Onega - made a natural 'parish' for 12th-century Russian colonists. None of the early churches remain, but the churches built in this remote spot in the 18th century and other wooden buildings have been gathered from around Lake Onega since the 1950s to make the 6km -long island the centrepiece of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve.

Kremlin

The Kremlin is the stronghold of Russian political power. Here, Ivan the Terrible and Stalin orchestrated terrors, Napoleon watched Moscow burn, Lenin made the dictatorship of the proletariat, Khrushchev fought the Cold War, Gorbachev unleashed perestroika, and Yeltsin dreamt the New Russia.