179 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 Café

Once frequented by heavyweights of the Russian arts scene, this café 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.

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Stories About Russia

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 <em>Homo floresiensis</em>, 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.

February 28, 2022

Podcast: Lake Karachay

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

February 23, 2022

Snowflakes falling against a birch forest look magical in Russian photographer Alexey Korolyov's <em>Small Comets</em>.

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

November 19, 2021

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.

October 4, 2021

Pastila with tea is a Russian teatime staple.

The Historic Russian Recipe That Turns Apples Into Marshmallows

Disarmingly simple, pastila is lighter than air.

In Russia's resource-rich Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), dredging for gold near the Aldan River leaves behind a long curve of maze-like squiggles.

There's Gold In These Here Strange Squiggles

Mining operations at one of Russia's largest gold deposits includes a method that leaves twisty tracks on the landscape.

by Gemma Tarlach

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

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