Russia

Yet there are exceptions: the memorial at Katyn, near Smolensk is one such example (beyond the ones in the list above). This is the place where the USSR massacred the Polish officer class after (as agreed in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) it had taken over the eastern parts of Poland while at the same time Nazi Germany invaded from the west. In Soviet times it was always denied that the Kaytn massacre ever happened at all, but now it's acknowledged and commemorated (see under Katyn Museum, Warsaw).

    

However, most monuments pertaining to WWII, or the Great Patriotic War, as the part the USSR was involved in is known here, are more of the type that's either glorifying the military or partisans/resistance or is dedicated to the dead. Practically every village has one, and bigger monuments can be found in cities. They are often of a rather uniform design – picture an obelisk with a hammer-and-sickle symbol on it and the years 1941-1945, plus maybe a patriotic slogan inscribed on it. In bigger places the inclusion of a T-34 tank on a plinth is also a very common element. But there are simply far too many of these war memorials to even attempt to cover them here.

   

Similarly ubiquitous still all over Russia are busts and statues of Lenin. It seems that every town and city has one of those too, in a variety of poses, with the one of Lenin standing and resolutely pointing somewhere a firm favourite. Statues of other members of the Soviet communist pantheon can also be encountered, be it Kirovs, Frunzes, Kalinins, or whoever else. Plus of course plenty of Marx and Engels representations in stone too. Only Stalins are now extremely rare (except at the Muzeon park).

   

However, there is a second Stalin bunker in Samara (complementing the one in Moscow), an important regional city on the Volga River. The bunker was constructed to serve as a hideout in case the Germans did indeed take Moscow. Since that never happened, Stalin never even visited this bunker. Yet it is a unique attraction in Samara. Visits are by guided tour, normally in Russian only, but local tourism companies may be able to arrange an English-speaking guide. Unfortunately I haven't yet made it to this place so I can't report anything first-hand.

   

Proper war museums and military gear collections are quite common in Russia too, either at particular battle sites (e.g. in/near Kursk, where the largest tank battle in history took place in the summer of 1943), or independent of that.

   

The latest grand addition to Russia's military displays is the vast “Patriot Park” that opened as recently as in 2016. Its vast collection of vintage and modern military hardware and technology has been dubbed a “military Disneyland”. As the official name implies, it's more aimed at Russians, but those who get a kick out of these things may want to consider it. It's in the town of Kubinka about an hour out of Moscow (reachable by commuter train, and open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; admission 400 RUB). Having been to the similar Stalin Line theme park in Belarus, I decided to give this a miss and can therefore not provide a first-hand account of this either.

  

Near Kursk is something that might appeal to those dark tourists who (like me) have a penchant for nuclear tourism. The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is pretty much a copy of the Chernobyl NPP – and it is still in use (for a few more years to come). Photos of the four-block plant look exactly like Chernobyl did before the accident. Even more interestingly, Block 5 of the Kursk NPP was never completed. Yet it was over 70% finished, and thus offers a unique chance to explore a near clone of Chernobyl's exploded Block 4, complete with the same sort of iconic chimney stack, but without any risk of radiation. Well, at least hardy urban explorers have had that chance (see this report – external link, opens in a new window). For normal mortals I would expect this to be out of bounds.

  

Finally, a brief mention is due here of perhaps the very darkest – and totally out of bounds – nuclear place in Russia: Mayak and Lake Karachay. At Mayak the plutonium for USSR's nuclear weapons arsenal was mostly produced (cf. Hanford in the USA). It was also the site of the Kyshtym disaster in 1957, which is regarded as the third worst nuclear accident in history (after Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan). Nearby Lake Karachay was used to dump nuclear waste in such concentrations that it was once regarded as the world's most polluted spot (radiation levels on its shore were said to be lethal after an hour's exposure). The lake has meanwhile been completely covered up with concrete. Still, since Mayak is still in use (mainly as a reprocessing plant these days) the whole area is of course closed off and inaccessible anyway.    

   

Unfortunately, it's not all that easy for Westerners to travel to Russia [UPDATE March 2022: currently there no flights in and out of Russia, and Westerners are advised to stay away altogether anyway while the war against Ukraine is ongoing] – visa complications are still quite a stumbling block. And if you don't know any Russian, the language barrier adds more problems. That said, travelling to the capital Moscow is comparatively easy and the city's tourism infrastructure is amongst the best anywhere in the country (together with St Petersburg). Further out of the tourism hubs, expect things to get a bit more difficult.

  

You can get to and get around within Russia by train or plane. The train network is pretty excellent and modern high-speed lines have been added (e.g. between Moscow and St Petersburg). And tickets for long-distance trains can now be purchased online as well.

  

   

Outside hubs served by trains and planes, buses and so-called marshrutkas (vans and small buses that are a cross between a shared taxi and a regular bus) provide public transport. Beyond that taxis are usually available, and Russians also have a tradition of negotiating rides in private cars for a little money – but to do that you have to be able to speak Russian.

   

Accommodation levels, both in price and quality, vary to the extreme, but it is now possible to get something decent in practically all the places in the list above. If you can do without Western-standard creature comforts, super-cheap bargains can be found, whereas at the other end of the scale the sky's the limit (esp. in Moscow). Fortunately, the mid-range is well catered for in most places too.

   

Russians love the countryside, and many people have a “datcha” – a simple (or for the wealthy not so simple) house, usually wooden and often with a “banya” (sauna), out in village-like clusters outside the cities. Here they grow their own veg, and quite a few home-distil their own moonshine (known as 'samogon') too. But in order to experience any of that Russian life you really have to know some Russians personally. Regular foreign tourists rarely get to see any of this. (I've been lucky to experience this through friends that my wife, who spent some time in Russia as a student, still has there – I'm also fortunate to have her as my personal interpreter in Russian-speaking countries.)

  

Food & drink has improved by light years since the Soviet days and the economic crisis years of the 1990s. Typical Russian staples still exist in abundance, such as pelmeni (filled, ravioli-like dumplings) or soups like solyanka. Cabbage, beetroot, potatoes, pickles, buckwheat, sour cream, dill, etc. remain popular traditional ingredients, while spicy dishes are fairly uncommon.

  

Beyond that, though, a vibrant culinary scene has developed in the bigger cities at least, especially, again, in Moscow and St Petersburg. But even in further-away places such as Perm or Volgograd, you can now eat very well – and often for good value for money too. And where the restaurant scene is not so developed there is often at least still a Georgian or Armenian restaurant saving the day. This is especially so for vegetarians, for whom Georgian cuisine is often the only real option beyond going bland-and-boring or resorting to self-catering.

   

On the drinks front, things have improved too. Beer lovers will be delighted to find that the craft beer revolution has taken Russia by storm, even far beyond just the main cities (I had some outstanding brews even in Perm), and at prices you could only dream of in the USA or Western Europe.

  

Wine used to be all imported and thus more expensive, but due to the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, there is suddenly plenty of “Russian wine” about too (i.e. Crimean).

  

The national favourite tipple (some would say curse) remains vodka, of course. It's a bit of a cliché; but it is indeed available everywhere and often at prices that make a bottle of water look expensive.

   

Another typically Russian drink is kvass – made from bread and somewhat fizzy, this is an old-school refreshment especially in the summer heat. But it is very much an acquired taste.

   

Russia is traditionally a tea country, and theirs tend to be strong and black, and many Russians like to throw plenty of sugar in it. Getting good coffee is not so standard, though it's become “hip” in the bigger cities too.

   

Note that tap water is normally not safe to drink in Russian cities/towns, or at least there is a certain risk, even if it's not downright dangerous. Better stick to bottled, boiled or purified water.