Demand for travel to Russia rises by 30% among European tourists

Demand for travel to Russia rises by 30% among European tourists

More and more European tourists are taking advantage of the cheap ruble to visit Russia, as data from reservation service Momondo and popular airfare comparison site Skyscanner shows.

Demand among foreign travelers for trips to Russia increased by 30 percent during the 2016 summer season, according to a study by the Momondo reservation service.

Russia and Seychelles enact visa-free travel regime

Russia and Seychelles enact visa-free travel regime

Russia and the Seychelles have enacted a visa-free regime for short-term travel of their citizens.

The intergovernmental agreement, which was published on the official legal information portal, came into effect on December 14, 2015.

St Petersburg in winter: Like stepping into a Russian novel

St Petersburg in winter: Like stepping into a Russian novel

St Petersburg, the setting for key scenes in the BBC's dramatisation of 'War and Peace', is at its best under a blanket of snow

On the edge of a frozen lake, somewhere outside St Petersburg, I am stretched out on the wooden racks of a rickety banya, or sauna. Clouds of steam part to reveal several lobster-pink Russians on the racks below. Some maniac has just thrown a bucket of water on to the hot stones in the corner, and the temperature – already somewhere between gas mark 8 and Dante’s Inferno – rises dramatically. I feel my bone marrow is melting. Meanwhile, my new best friend, Seva, is whipping me with birch twigs – “For improving circulation,” he grunts.

Discovering Russian culture in the U.S.: Feb. 6-20

Want to know where to keep up with Russian culture in the U.S.? Read the latest here. From celebrating Boris Pasternak and Abraham Lincoln, watching Alexei German’s last film and celebrating Maslenitsa, the next two weeks are full of cultural events for people of all tastes.

Today isn’t only Friday but also International Bartender's Day, celebrated in Russia (in many other countries World Bartender Day 2015 is on February 24). This profession has a relatively short history in Russia, as in Soviet times there were few places for people to go out. But since the mid-90s Russia has been catching up with bar culture. Despite this everyone knows two Russia-related cocktails – the Black Russian and White Russian. Both of these cocktails contain vodka, the official minimum price of which went down this week in Russia.

VTB Bank files bankruptcy claim against Russian carrier VIM Avia

Russia’s VTB Bank has filed a bankruptcy motion against VIM Avia, TASS news agency reported quoting court documents.

Reasons for the claim were not disclosed, but VIM Avia said in a statement that it recognized its debt to the bank, adding it will not impact carrier operations.

VIM Avia said plans were being made to settle the dispute in the near future.

5 sweet international destinations where strong dollars mean cheaper vacations

A strong U.S. dollar means some of the best exchange rates in years in many countries. Here’s a few ideas along with the savings you can expect.

A swanky room overlooking a sunny piazza in Rome costs a lot less this year. So does sipping espresso, nibbling on croissants, and dinning on steak frites in Parisian cafes.

Favorable currency exchange rates are making overseas travel far more affordable for Americans. Depending on the country, hotels, restaurants and shopping may be anywhere from 15% to 50% cheaper now than this time last year.

Travel Announcement: Return to Russia!

It's now official! I just purchased my tickets to Russia. :) Here I am, standing on the frozen Neva River in Peter. Glorious! Dates of the visit will be 23 February - 9 March. For those in the U.S., airfares on Aeroflot are incredibly cheap now. Nonstop flights from Washington, DC or New York City to Moscow cost only $492 USD roundtrip, including taxes. I can't even fly to many places in the U.S. for this price.

The first week I'll travel with my Russian friend on a road journey to some new cities, though I'm not yet sure where. Proposed options include the following:

Crimea Back in ‘Home Port’ to Russia!

Crimea's secession from Ukraine was just like Kosovo's secession from Serbia, and any arguments otherwise are just attempts to bend the West-advocated rules that were applied to the Kosovo case, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti) – Crimea is back in its “home port” after a long and difficult journey, the Russian president told a crowd of about 120,000 people, who gathered in Moscow’s Red Square to show their support for the breakaway peninsula.

Russia part 12 - Moscow Summer Olympics 1980. Official Film

"Oh Sport, You Are Peace!" is the official film of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics distributed by Mosfilm. Yuri Ozerov, director; Alexandra Pakhmutova, music; Nicholai Dobronravov, script. 1981: Mosfilm, Moscow, U.S.S.R.

O, Sport, You - the Peace (Oh, Sport - You Are Peace!)! (Russian: О спорт, ты - мир! transliterated as O sport, ty - mir!) was a 1981 documentary film directed by Yuri Ozerov. Alexandra Pahkmutova was the composer, and her husband, poet Nicholai Dobronravov, provided the script. (Wikipedia)

In addition to showing many Gold medal performances, this film shows the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow. 

The director was awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1982.

This film was recently digitized and made publicly available, thankfully. This film was shown throughout the USSR in 1981, but was lost to posterity, until now.

Russia part 11 - Moscow Olympic Games, Opening Ceremony in 1980

Montreal, August 1, 1976. The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. The Olympic flame has gone out. "Good-bye, Montreal! Till we meet in Moscow!", sports announcers kept saying. Yes, it is Moscow that will be the site of the 22nd Summer Olympic Games.

Russia part 10 - Suzdal Kremlin

Suzdal Kremlin - the oldest part of town, the heart of Suzdal, archaeologically exists with the X century, and on record/ chronicle- 1024 

Located in the bend of the river Kamenka, in the southern part of town.

July 2012

Entering the town on the Vladimir road we immediately meet the pair of the Virgin Blacherniotissa and the Deposition of the Robe. Walking towards the centre by the Trading Rows are the churches of the Resurrection and the Virgin of Kazan, a little further on, SS Lazarus and Antlpas, on the other side of the road, the Emperor Constantine and the Virgin of Compassion, and further on still St Nicholas and the Virgin of Smolensk.

Russia part 9 - Russian Church Bells Ringing in Suzdal

Russian Church Bells Ringing in Suzdal

Bells hand rung in Suzdal, Russia, part of the Golden Ring of Russia

Richly decorated galleries were added to its south and west walls in the seventeenth century. The Holy Gate, one of the convent's most inter­esting buildings, which really amazes  one by  its   ornament,   dates back to the same period. The architectural details made of curved brick produce a fascinating interplay of light and shadow on a sunny day. 

Russia part 8 - Suzdal Video guide

Suzdal - the historic city of Golden Ring of Russia

As for its general composition, the tripartite division with the main entrance in the middle and the tower on the corner was a familiar feature in Russian architecture. The first floor contains a large hall with two rows of windows and vaults which are supported by a square central pillar and the walls. This system of roofing large areas, which is found as early as the fifteenth century in the Faceted Halls in Moscow and Novgorod, was used in Russia right up to the end of the seventeenth century.

Russia part 7 - Suzdal, ancient chirches of Russia

The primarily in such economically strong centers as Moscow and Tver. The earliest surviving specimen of post-Mongolian architecture in Vladimir is the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Princess Convenet dating back to the fifteenth – sixteenth centuries. Built in what was then a new material for Vladimir brick – the cathedral has a clear tripartite division of the outer walls by flat pilaster strips and three expressive apses. It is crowned by an impressive drum and a dome encircled at the bottom by a ring of pointed decorative corbels. The drum rests on a rectangular base also decorated with pointed corbels.

Russia part 6 - To the 860-th anniversary of Yuriev-Polsky

The earliest surviving specimen of post-Mongolian architecture in Vladimir is the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Princess' Convent dating back to the fifteenth     sixteenth centuries. Built in what was then a new material its semi-columns  are topped by carved slabs instead of capitals. 

Russia part 5 - Vladimir, a city with thousands of years of history

In 990, the Grand Prince of Kiev, Vladimir the Red Sun Svyatoslavovych laid on the bank Klyaz'ma wooden fortress city and gave it its name. Today, Vladimir has unique historical and architectural monuments of the XII century, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. 

The historic core of the city - 105 monuments of history and culture, including 41 - of federal significance. Vladimir is a popular tourist route "Golden Ring." An important place in the tourism infrastructure of the city is the State Vladimir-Suzdal Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, which is incorporated in the State of the most valuable objects of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation.

Russia part 4 - Church of the Intercession on the Nerl

Dominating the town's southern view, the shining golden dome could be seen about twelve kilometres away on the high ground where the road to Murom and Ryazan ran through dense Sorest. The cathedral was clearly visible from the west, the town side, and also, from the north and east, i. e., the roads to Yurlev-Polekoy, Suzdal and Bogoliubovo. A few decad­es later the cathedral lost its original appearance due to Ure and sub­sequent rebuilding. We shall examine It further below.

Russia part 3 - Cathedrals of Vladimir, Russia

The emergence of the principality of Suzdal or, to be more precise, Rostov-Suzdal, dates back to the period of the decline of Kievan Russia. Almost simultaneously the principalities of Polotsk, Smolensk, Novgorod and Murom-Ryazan arose in the north, Rostov-Suzdal's neighbors, and those of Kiev, Chernigov-Seversky, Volhynia and Halich in the south. The life of the Southern Slavs, however, was gradually disrupted by the incursions of nomadic tribes, and they began to move northwards.

Russia part 2 - River cruises in Russia

Russia is the most beautiful country with rich spiritual and cultural-historic heritage. The number of tourists looking for a vacation in Russia rises every year. They are both citizens of Russia and foreigners. Russian river cruises gains popularity. There is a possibility to spend a vacation near a river in Russia according to one’s taste. 

Germany part 3 - Baden-Baden the "Russian" city in Germany

Baden-Baden - the "Russian" city in Germany - Baden-Baden: Germany's most 'Russian' city

Germany's spa resort of Baden-Baden has a distinctly Russian edge. Favoured by Russian writers and aristocracy, it now has a large community of Russian emigrants and has recently regained popularity among rich tourists from Russia.