Russia at a Glance: Exploring the World's Biggest Country
- Sophia
- Jul 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 28
Travelling somewhere unfamiliar might feel intimidating at first.
But the best memories are sometimes made in the most unexpected places: so buckle up, travellers - let's explore Russia.
At A Glance...
Over 17 million square km of land
Estimated population: 143.4 million (as of 2026)
Spans 11 time zones across Europe and Asia!
Geography: Russia is a wild mix of climates and terrain. Topography ranges from vast plains in the interior, dense and unpopulated forests, and distinct mountain ranges.
Climate: Very continental climate, extreme temperature swings between summer and winter.
The north and south are SO different: From the Arctic north to the mountains and warmer regions of the south, Russia's landscapes can feel like completely different worlds. Knowing where to go — and when — can completely change your experience.
I've been to Russia twice, and still, I've barely scratched the surface. Travelling as a kid is largely composed of playground-hunting, so I know that the next trip will be so different from what I remember it as. Russia is the world's largest country: I simply can't fit everything into one blog post! So, keep your eyes peeled: there's more coming soon!
Let's go explore!
The Russia I Know...
Compared to everything to see in this country, where I've been are only tiny dots on the map.
Moscow
Irkutsk
Lake Baikal
Petrozavodsk
Aleksandrov
Isaevka, Vladimir Region
and more!
The places I want to visit are even farther away:
Chukotka (Patagonia-esque granite spires)
Bolshoy Tkhach Nature Park (300 m, 12 km-long limestone massif)
Kamchatka (backpacking)
Mount Fisht, Caucasus Region (trekking circuits)
Mt Elbrus (tallest mountain in Europe/Asia)
Ergaki Nature Park (bouldering)
If I returned to Russia now, I'd want to experience it very differently. Instead of simply seeing the cities and visiting family, I'd want to get outside — hiking through the mountains, exploring remote landscapes in the Arctic Circle, and seeing parts of the country that I never could have appreciated as a little kid.
The challenge with this is that a massive part of Russia is remote and unpopulated. The taiga forest spans almost 12 million square kilometres, making it the largest continuous forest on earth (3 times larger than the Amazon rainforest!). Most of Eastern Russia isn't connected by any roads, and home to small, secluded nomadic settlements or industrial work. For example, even getting to Bilibino - a tiny village and the gateway point to the Chukotka region's alpine climbing - requires many days of off-roading in the backcountry.
If I were to do this trip again... here's what would be on my list:
Best for kids:
Lots, lots, lots of playgrounds: Seriously, the parks there are next-level. Almost every urban residential area is composed of skyscrapers, and every yard has a mandatory playground structure.
Ice cream shops on every corner: A call-back to the Soviet Union era, Russia has an incredibly high density of booths, corner stores, and street kiosks selling ice cream. Pro tip: Go ice-cream-booth hunting while exploring a city!
Kidzania ⭐️: This is an interactive mini-city for kids aged 1 - 14 with 26 facilities all over the globe, one of them being in Moscow. Families pay for a 'passport' (admittance to the kid-sized replica of a real city) and kids get to experience a huge variety of jobs and careers through role play. These include being firemen, police, construction workers, fashion designers, pilots, chefs, photographers, actors, journalists, and etc. Kidzania also teaches kids about financial literacy through their currency system, KidZo, which kids earn while trying careers and can then spend in the gift shop. While this is a must-try experience, it can be a quite expensive outing.
(Top 2 rows: Exploring a huge variety of playgrounds across Russia. Bottom row: Kidzania Moscow, with 7-year-old me experiencing flying an airplane 🥹)
Best for sightseeing:
St. Petersburg: once the capital of Russia, this is a must-see across all platforms. Take the fast Sapsan Train from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and experience the crown of Russia's 18th-century neoclassical and baroque architecture - also visually similar to Paris, interestingly enough.
Moscow Kremlin Palace and St. Basil's Cathedral: In the centre of Moscow, the Kremlin is a beautiful fortified historic citadel that serves as the official seat for the Russian government. Just outside on the Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral is a brightly-coloured Orthodox church with famous onion domes.
Lake Baikal: This is the world's oldest and deepest freshwater lake, holding 20% of Earth's unfrozen surface fresh water. It's more than 25 million years old and holds more water volume than all the Great Lakes combined! Lake Baikal is reached through flying to Irkutsk (6.5 hours from Moscow) and a 2-hour drive. Hike the Great Baikal Trail or take a boat across the lake.
(Landcapes on Moscow, Aleksandrov, the Kremlin, and others.)
What's it like to live in Russia?
Most people who live in Russia reside in tall city apartments, but some own summer houses in the suburbs - called "dachas" - farms and villages to spend the summer months in. For me, visiting these farms was always a highlight - the people are so nice and almost everybody has farm animals. Camping and backpacking is not a big trend in Russia, so walking through the city in hiking gear is definitely an experience. However, many kids experience a trend dating back to the Soviet Union of summer sleepaway camp ("Pioneer's Camp") for a week or two during summer break.
(Highlights of summer 'Pioneer's Camp' from my cousins 😴).
(Farm life on the 'dacha,' plus some sightseeing! The boreal forests in Russia are very different from the old-grow temperate rainforests here on the West Coast 🌲)
What would you like to see the most if you visit Russia?
There's more posts coming soon!
-- Sophia
Very cool 😍👍
Love it!!
🙌