This Russian locomotive museum was once devoted just to Lenin's funeral before expanding to encompass Moscow's entire train history.

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

This remote lake in Siberia supposedly contains a fearsome sea monster.

An abandoned town of skeletal wooden homes.

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

A scale model of Russia so big visitors are offered binoculars to rent so they can see the whole thing.

Unusual, mushroom-like rock formations caused by weathering and water erosion, set to disappear, according to geologists.

Former prison camp dedicated to the victims of political repression.

A dormant lightning machine equal to all the power in Russia.

The coldest city in the world.

Hidden in a metro shop under a shopping mall, this small museum tells the story of one of the world's largest urban transit systems.

Siberian ghost town built by gulag prisoners.

Dark, eerie exhibits make for a surreal exploration of the subconscious.

A Marxist summer camp full of fantastical statues lies tucked away and forgotten in the forests of Moscow.

A small part of Russia that does not touch any other part of Russia.

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

An early-20th-century "dacha" village of quaint cottages curiously located in a modern part of Moscow.

Abandoned castle was once a grand example of Russian privilege, built exclusively to win a frivolous bet between noblemen.

The world's second-largest excavated hole.

Back in the tiny USSR.

The reason for the strange contortions in the trunks of these "drunken" pine trees in Russia is still a mystery.

A 250-year-old timepiece-automaton adorned with golden mechanical birds, which still sing to this day.

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

The villagers of the coldest inhabited place on Earth adjust to unique challenges presented by day-to-day living.