Popular travel destinations in Russian Federation

• Moscow

  Moscow, the Russian capital, with its 10 millions inhabitans, belongs to the biggest European cities. It is the political and business centre. There are about 60 universities. The historical centre, hundreds of years old, includes Moscow Kremlin and Red Square, which were in 1990 added to the UNESCO heritage list. The Czar Ivan III initiated the building of the Kremlin, in the 15th Century. On the Red Square stand the famous landmarks such as the Saint Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Tomb and the shopping mall GUM (state general store).

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• Saint Petersburg

  St Petersburg, formely known as Leningrad, is situated in the Northwest of Russia by the River Neva emptying into the Gulf of Finland. According to its name, this city was established and built by the Tsar Peter the Great, and for more than 200 years was being the capital of the country, until 1917. St Petersburg was built up literally on the swamp, on more than 40 little islands connected with about 300 bridges. There are loads of sites of great architecture ; among the most famous :  the Winter Palace, St Isaac's Cathedral, the Peter the Great's Palace or the palace complex outside the city, Peterhof ("Russian Versailles").

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• Khimki

  The city of Khimki is located, as is Dolgoprudnyy, in the Northeast of Moscow. Both of the cities lie close to the international airport Sheremetyevo. After the WW II. Khimki was the centre of Soviet aerospace defence ; due to this it was closed for any tourists or visitors. Today there lies one of the biggest shopping malls in Russia of French chain-store Auchan and an IKEA Swedish furniture shop.

  Accommodation in Khimki