The tallest hotel in Europe.

The world's second-largest excavated hole.

Moscow's imposing monument to the Space Age.

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

Back in the tiny USSR.

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

Secret Soviet city once home to Russian cosmonauts and space training facilities.

A sculpture park of the tossed aside relics of the USSR, from Stalin to a massive Soviet emblem.

Nightmarish example of the unintended consequences of weapons testing.

Thanks to a spelling mistake this bizarre beaver-tiger hybrid became the symbol of a Siberian town.

An 18th century wonder of the world, lost in WWII, re-created at the Catherine Palace.

Legends of time travel and magical woodland creatures bolster the natural charm of this verdant sanctuary in the midst of Moscow.

Palace where the nearly un-killable Rasputin was murdered.

This Russian religious complex is a Frankenstein's chapel that includes influence from almost all the major faiths.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Although it appears much older, this castle-like tower is actually a Georgian-era folly.

A memorial commemorating the only Scottish police investigation into an extraterrestrial incident.

A collection of short standing stones covers this hillside.