178 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Russia - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in Russia

Dargavs, Russia

Dargavs Village: City of the Dead

This ancient village and its adjoining cemetery have a beautiful history of death and remembrance.

Bunker-42

Dr. Strangelove-esque tours reveal the inside a bunker once reserved for Stalin himself.

Izmailovo Kremlin

Moscow's other, lesser known kremlin is a fairytale-like cultural complex modeled after Old Russia.

Lenin's Mausoleum

This building holds the embalmed remains of the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Yekaterinburg, Russia

Psychedelic Salt Mines

It's hard to believe the dizzying patterns covering this abandoned mine are completely natural.

Moscow Metro Stations

The gorgeous entrances into the city's underbelly look more like grand halls than subway stops.

Children are the Victims of Adult Vices

Thirteen sculptures in central Moscow graphically depicting vices of the modern world.

Museum of Soviet Arcade Games

Immortal combat in a Moscow museum.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Russia

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russian Vodka Museum

The past, present, and future of Russia's signature alcohol is remembered in the world's only museum dedicated to the starchy spirit.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Literary Cafe

Once frequented by heavyweights of the Russian arts scene, this cafe is stuck in the 1800s.

Tula Pryanik Museum

A tea party concludes each visit to this Russian spice cookie sanctum.

Semenkovo, Russia

Vologda Butter Museum

Slather on the history at an exhibition dedicated to this Russian luxury.

Atlas Obscura Trips

Searching for Russia’s Northern Lights

Bear witness to the ethereal glow of the Northern Lights, explore Arctic Russia, and see life in the Polar Circle up close.

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'Compassion'	6 November 17, 2019	1633	November 17, 2019
'The Motherland Calls'	3 November 17, 2019	1506	November 17, 2019
Stalin's Bunker	1 July 16, 2019	1194	July 16, 2019
Kaliningrad Oblast	1 May 20, 2019	1489	May 20, 2019
Tour operator	0 October 30, 2019	664	October 30, 2019

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Stories About Russia

Berenice's history as a port may partially explain why so many cats were buried there.

Is This Egyptian Site the World’s Oldest Pet Cemetery?

Perhaps, but humans all over the world, from Siberia to Illinois, have a long history of burying animals with respect.

by Gemma Tarlach

Vladimir Demikhov demonstrates, for an audience of experts, the implantation of an artificial heart–like device in a dog at the 18th International Congress of Surgery in Munich, on September 18, 1959.

How the United States and Soviet Union Embarked on a Macabre Surgical Arms Race

Cold War animal experimentation and the roots of transplantation medicine.

by Brandy Schillace

The vodyanoy was the traditional explanation for watery misfortune.

The Proud, Demanding Vodyanoy Rules Russia's Rivers and Lakes

The legend has endured political disruption, revolution, and generational shifts.

by Kaleb Horton

October 28, 2020

One of Anna Kharzeeva's adaptations of the "Soviet pizza" recipe.

Eat Like You're in the USSR With 'The Soviet Diet Cookbook'

By making pizza approved by the Communist Party.

by Dalia Wolfson

A homegrown Paul Robeson tomato.

Why Soviet Russia Named a Tomato After an American Celebrity

Singer, actor, activist ... tomato?

by Debra Freeman

Ancient Hot Pots Helped Hunters Survive the Siberian Ice Age

16,000 years later, they still contain traces of cooked meat and fish.

by Matthew Taub

February 3, 2020

Actor Alexander Khvylya plays Ded Moroz at a New Year performance the Kremlin in 1969.

How Santa Survived the Soviet Era

Of all the variations on the beloved character, Russia's Ded Moroz might have the strangest history.

by Dan Nosowitz

December 19, 2019

The Omsk Metro sign, installed when officials still expected the subway to open, still crowns the entrance.

This Siberian Subway System Has Just One, Non-Functional Station

Omsk was promised a Metro system in 1979. Forty years later, locals salute a subway that never saw the light of day.

by Yuri Litvinenko

December 18, 2019

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