This memorial complex contains several mass graves for victims of the Siege of Leningrad.

An abandoned mansion is now a haven for urban explorers.

A collection of iconic Soviet car models on display.

A model village fit for an emperor.

This burial mound is said to be the final resting place of Russia's first Viking ruler, Oleg of Novogrod.

A "station to nowhere" marks the site of a Siberian subway project that never saw the light of day.

Pictures tacked onto trees remember the more than 40,000 of Stalin's victims buried here in mass graves.

Thanks to this small string of islands World War II still hasn't officially ended between Russia and Japan.

You'll find rocket launchers, not rollercoasters, at Russia's “military Disneyland.”

The laboratory where the Soviet secret police invented exotic poisons used to kill dissidents in hideous and (mostly) untraceable ways.

Intricate wood carvings on an island in Siberia.

A replica of the straw hut where Vladimir Lenin lived in hiding, disguised as a hay farmer, in 1917.

An incredibly random collection of wax figures is displayed in a shopping center walkway.

A small and surprising passageway in Saint Petersburg devoted to the Beatles.

Site of the world's largest nuclear explosion.

The world's tallest statue of a woman wields the world's tallest sword and is at risk of toppling over.

This 15th-century cave complex is one of the very few monasteries to stay open throughout World War II and the Soviet regime.

This iconic Russian space museum sits on a landmark space production facility and houses the Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft, that was also built here.

Former estate of Lenin, now home to his death mask.

Stalin's secret bunker.

A man-made island fort that has housed soldiers, scientists, and ravers.

A homemade anatomical collection of medical anomalies and accidental catastrophes.

Stalin's prisoner-built rail line sits in ruin, never having a single car ride its tracks.

Replica of mosque destroyed by Russia in the 16th century.