All Russia

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Russia

183 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Russia

Updated April 11, 2023

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  1. Irkutsk
  2. Kazan
  3. Kronshtadt
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  5. Moscow
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  8. Pushkin
  9. Saint Petersburg
  10. Sochi
  11. Solovetskiy
  12. Tula
  13. Ulan Ude
  14. Volgograd
  15. Yekaterinburg

Unusual Attractions in Russia

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Soviet History 28
Museums And Collections 19
Military 18
Sacred Spaces 18
Architectural Oddities 17
Monuments 15
Statues 13
Animals 12

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Stories About Russia

The cover of this Red Haggadah from the National Library of Russia, features a search for leavened bread, which is forbidden on Passover.

The Soviet 'Red Passovers' Where Jews Gave Thanks for Communism

Instead of celebrating freedom from Egypt, people celebrated liberation from capitalism.
by Sam Lin-Sommer

Podcast: Pushkin’s Duel

How a real-life confrontation seemed to mirror a literary masterpiece.
by The Podcast Team

Podcast: Empress Anna’s Ice Palace

The spectacle in St. Petersburg, Russia, was the site of an incredibly strange wedding.
by The Podcast Team
The Sahara? Nope. Bunge Land, a geological curiosity north of Siberia, at the edge of the Laptev Sea.

The Curious Case of the Arctic Desert Island That's Not Actually an Island

No one is sure how this geological oddity got there.
by Gemma Tarlach
Cryptozoologist Richard Freeman says we "shouldn't be surprised" if hominids like Russia's yeti (known as the almasty) exist, given that other hominids, like Homo floresiensis, died out just 12,000 years ago. This sculpture of an almasty is at an alpine resort in Sochi, Russia.

Could 'Monsters' Exist in the Modern World?

Cryptozoologist Richard Freeman on why we should still believe in unseen animals.
by Sarah Durn

Podcast: Lake Karachay

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
Snowflakes falling against a birch forest look magical in Russian photographer Alexey Korolyov's Small Comets.

How to Find ‘Comets’ and Other Wonders Just Around the Corner

A nature photographer uses clever camera work to turn his own neighborhood into a visual wonderland.
by Gemma Tarlach
Russian Empress Elizabeth used cross-dressing to cement her power. She's shown here in a traditionally male guard uniform.

The Weekly Cross-Dressing Balls of 18th-Century Russian Royalty

How empresses used "metamorphosis" to show their male courtiers who’s the boss.
by Sarah Durn

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