The Kuril Islands, an archipelago scattered along the border between the

Pacific Ocean and Sea of Okhotsk, is home to thirty-nine active

volcanoes.
The Lena River is the largest river whose entire drainage basin is located
inside the country. Twenty-five kilometers wide in some places, it is
impossible to see the opposite shore with the naked eye near Yakutsk.
Golubye Ozyora (Blue Lakes) is a group of five karst water bodies in the
Cherek District of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Nizhneye Goluboye
(Lower Blue) Lake is the most beautiful local lake. According to local
legend, the lake was formed by a dragon felled by a mythical North
Caucasus knight.
The Sayan Mountains is the general name of the West Sayan and East
Sayan mountain ranges in Southeastern Siberia, to the west of Lake
Baikal.
The Curonian Spit is a narrow strip of land stretching from Zelenogradsk
in Russias Kaliningrad Region towards Klaipeda in Lithuania. This
territory, which comprises alluvial sand, separates the freshwater
Curonian Lagoon from the saltwater Baltic Sea.
Mamayev Kurgan and The Motherland Calls monument

The memorial to those who fought in the devastating Battle of Stalingrad
during World War II was opened at the Mamayev Kurgan hill in
Volgograd, as the southwest Russian city of Stalingrad is now known, in
1967. The ascent to the top of Mamayev Kurgan starts from Mourning
Square. On the top of the hill is The Motherland Calls monument. The
remains of 34,505 defenders of Stalingrad were reburied along the
serpentine road leading to the top of the hill. The statue was designed by
sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich and engineer Nikolai Nikitin. It is made of
5,500 metric tons of concrete and 2,400 metric tons of metal structures.
The monument measures 86 meters from the tip of the sword to the
base. The statue itself is 53 meters tal
The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is located in the center of the city of
Sergiev Posad in the Moscow Region. It was founded in 1337 by
Venerable Sergius of Radonezh. Today the churches are still open for
worship, and the Lavra is the spiritual center of Russian Orthodox
Christianity. Almost 300 clergy members live on the premises, which
comprise 45 buildings and monuments. Since 1940, the Trinity Lavra of
St. Sergius has been a state museum reserve and a UNESCO world
heritage site.
The Rostov Kremlin

The Rostov Kremlin in the Yaroslavl Region about 200 km from Moscow
was constructed in the 17th century. Its walls boast eleven towers and
enclose several cathedrals, the most famous of which is the Assumption
Cathedral with its four-domed bell tower. It is one of the most popular
tourist sites in the Yaroslavl Region.
Peterhof

Peterhof comprises a palace and park ensemble outside St. Petersburg
dating back to the 18th-19th centuries that used to be an out-of-town
summer residence of the Russian tsars. Built on the Gulf of Finland by
Peter the Great, its spectacular fountains were designed to rival and even
surpass those of Versailles. After the 1917 Revolution, Peterhof was
nationalized and turned into a museum on May 19, 1918.
The Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

The city of Nizhny Novgorod in central Russia was founded in 1221. It
was originally fortified with wooden and earth structures that were
replaced by stone fortifications only in 1515, one and a half centuries
after the Moscow Kremlin got its stone walls. At that time Nizhny
Novgorod was Moscows main stronghold in the war against the Kazan
Khanate. The new Kremlin was surrounded by a two-km wall with 13
towers. In the 16th century, the fortress was besieged many times, but
was never taken. After the defeat of Kazan, the Nizhny Novgorod
Kremlin lost its strategic importance and became an administrative
center.
Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal in southern Siberia is the deepest lake on Earth and the
largest natural reservoir of high-quality drinking water. It contains
nearly 20 percent of the worlds drinking water and 90 percent of
Russias supply, and has more water than all the North American Great
Lakes combined. The lake is about 636 km long and 80 km wide. Its
surface is 31,470 square km, which is nearly equal to the area occupied
by Belgium. Its deepest point is 1,642 meters. At nearly 25 million years
old, Baikal is one of the oldest lakes in the world. Two thirds of its flora
and fauna, which number 1,000 species, are endemic
Kizhi

The island of Kizhi in Russias northern Karelia republic is a unique
historical and cultural complex that is a UNESCO world heritage site.
The Kizhi Pogost is a walled area containing two wooden churches and a
bell tower dating back to the 18th-19th centuries. The Church of the
Transfiguration is 37 meters tall, with an impressive total of 22 domes.
The church, including its domes and cross, was built out of wood using
only axes and chisels, without the use of any nails. This explains why the
Kizhi churches have stood for so long: They were built without the use of
saws, while the axes used do not damage the natural structure of the
wood.
The Kolomna Kremlin

The Kremlin in the ancient city of Kolomna in the Moscow Region was
one of the strongest fortresses of the principality of Moscow. It was built
in 1525-1531 during the reign of Vasily III. The Kremlin is located at the
confluence of the Moskva and Kolomenka rivers. The construction was
reportedly supervised by Italian architects involved in the building of
walls and towers for the Moscow Kremlin. Behind the Kolomna fortresss
wall lies Cathedral Square, where the Kremlins main cathedral the
14th-century Assumption Cathedral is located. It features the loudest
steepled bell tower in Russia.
The Akhmad Kadyrov Heart of Chechnya Mosque

The Heart of Chechnya mosque in the Chechen capital Grozny is one of
the largest in the world. It was opened on October 17, 2008 and named
after the first president of Russias Chechen republic, Akhmad Kadyrov.
The mosque stands on a picturesque bank of the Sunzha River in the
middle of a large park that occupies 14 hectares. It is built in the classical
Ottoman style. The central hall has a huge dome of 15.5 meters in
diameter and a height of over 23 meters. The four minarets, at 63 meters
each, are the highest in Russia. The mosque covers an area of 5,000
square meters and can hold over 10,000 people. The same number of
people can also pray in the summer gallery and square adjacent to the
mosque.
Pskov Kremlin (Krom)

The Kremlin or Krom in the ancient northwest Russian city of Pskov
is the largest fortress in Europe. Its walls stretch for nine km, and it
occupies an area of three hectares. The Krom is located on a narrow
promontory at the confluence of the Pskova and Velikaya rivers. It is
protected by stone fortress walls 6-8 meters high and 2.5-6 meters wide.
Over its history, the Pskov Kremlin has survived 26 sieges. The fortress,
which served military purposes for nearly 1,000 years, has been
preserved almost intact.
Each Russian consumes 18 litres (4.8 US gal) of alcohol per year, doubling what experts consider
dangerous.
Russia & America
are less than
4 km apart at the
nearest point.
Russia
is bigger than
Pluto.
The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has been grown in Russia from 32,000-year-old seeds.
Japan and Russia still
haven't signed a peace treaty to end World War II due to the
Kuril Islands dispute.