149 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.

Added by ekoptev

Bunker-42

Dr. Strangelove-esque tours inside a bunker under Moscow's streets once reserved for Stalin himself.

Added by aelandry

Izmailovo Kremlin

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

LaurynSmith11

Added by LaurynSmith11

Lenin's Mausoleum

Embalmed remains of the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution.

stanestane

Added by stanestane

Museum of Soviet Arcade Games

Immortal combat in a Moscow museum.

Dampo

Medvezhyegorsky District, Russia

Kizhi Island

Stunning examples of Russia's 18th-century wooden architecture.

Mephisto Waltz

Added by Mephisto Waltz

Yekaterinburg, Russia

Psychedelic Salt Mines

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

Added by claude chappe

Children are the Victims of Adult Vices

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

Dampo

See All 149 Things to Do in Russia See All 149 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Russia

Kartoshka

Gastro Obscura

Kartoshka

Soviet cafeterias whipped up this chocolate “potato” to use leftovers.

Gastro Obscura

susarm

Added by susarm

Kvass

Gastro Obscura

Kvass

You can find authentic versions of this sour Slavic brew at street stalls and monasteries.

Gastro Obscura

rachelrummel

Added by rachelrummel

Karelian Pie

Gastro Obscura

Karelian Pie

Though its home region has been split by war, love for this hearty pastry transcends borders.

Gastro Obscura

Added by jennniey

Pine Cone Preserves

Gastro Obscura

Pine Cone Preserves

Soft young cones make a sweet jam believed to have health benefits in Russia and Georgia.

Gastro Obscura

susarm

Added by susarm

See all 25 things to eat in Russia See all 25 things to eat in Russia

Explore Russia

Launch Map

Recent Russia Activity

ddoherty7211 wants to go to Moscow Metro Stations

criquet1954 wants to go to 'Compassion'

benwongfong wants to go to 'Compassion'

rigor wants to go to Dancing Forest

DouglasG wants to go to Chess City

Stories
About Russia

Three young women near the town of Kirillov.

Images of Old Russia, From a Color Photography Pioneer

A revolution in the use of filters, way before Instagram.

by Evan Nicole Brown

In Svalbard, Norway, a Triassic channel still extends from an outcrop.

Found: The Largest River Delta the Earth Has Ever Seen

Everything is bigger in Pangaea.

by Jonathan Carey

The shadow of the meteor's trail (about 100 miles long), and the hot air glowing in its wake.

See the Aftermath of a Fireball Meteor Exploding Above the Clouds

Just 33 feet wide, with the power of 10 atomic bombs.

by Matthew Taub

Two children behind the lens in Moscow, from the inaugral issue of <em>Sovetskoe foto</em> (<em>Soviet Photo</em>) magazine.

The Soviet Union Encouraged Children to Take Pictures, But Rarely Showed Them

“Just as every forward-looking comrade must have a watch, so must he be able to handle a camera."

by Noor Al-Samarrai

February 26, 2019

Leo and Sophia, six weeks before his death in 1910.

Tolstoy Ghosted His Wife Then Up and Died

But he did not get the quiet death he was seeking.

by Noor Al-Samarrai

February 15, 2019

Parain's <em>Baba-Yaga</em> was influenced by avant garde art and traditional folk tales.

The Soviet Children's Books That Broke the Rules of Propaganda

How folk tales and traditional life snuck into avant-garde kids' books in the 1930s.

by Sarah Laskow

November 01, 2018

Polar bears dine on a bowhead whale carcass on Wrangel Island, Russia.

Dead Whales Once Saved Polar Bears From Climate Change, But Not This Time

Less sea ice and fewer whales mean a grim outlook.

by Matthew Taub

October 10, 2018

Koryo Saram meal, photographed in Ushtobe, Kazakhstan.

How Survivors of Stalinism Created a New Korean-Fusion Cuisine

When the Koryo Saram were forcibly relocated, they forged new identities.

September 10, 2018