Russia is undergoing radical change, welcoming ideas from the West, while reviving ancient traditions that had been repressed but never allowed to die. In Moscow and St Petersburg, in cities all the way down to Astrakhan, churches and cathedrals are being restored, private enterprise is flourishing. In the countryside you will discover villages and landscapes lost in time, imperial palaces and walled monasteries, wide lakes and lazy rivers, and everywhere, clusters of glistening onion domes.

Russia is undergoing radical change, welcoming ideas from the West, while reviving ancient traditions that had been repressed but never allowed to die. In Moscow and St Petersburg, in cities all the way down to Astrakhan, churches and cathedrals are being restored, private enterprise is flourishing. In the countryside you will discover villages and landscapes lost in time, imperial palaces and walled monasteries, wide lakes and lazy rivers, and everywhere, clusters of glistening onion domes.