It's Moscow's Red Square that is Russia's most enduring landmark, and the bird's-eye view over the Kremlin from the top-floor bar of the Palace of Congresses, one of its most dramatic sights.
There are many associations that stay forever in the mind, like the satisfying sound of snow crunching underfoot you stroll along St. Petersburg's elegant waterways in winter, or a supper of blini, caviar and frozen vodka and the dazzling spectacle of the imperial palaces during June's White Nights. But over and above any single experience or destination, it's the scale of Russia in its entirety that impresses and overwhelms.
Spanning eleven time zones, Russia is a geographical microcosm embracing Europe's tallest mountains, the world's largest forest, endless Arctic tundra, and a lake the size of Belgium. Its cities range from ancient to modern, its climate from sub-arctic to sub-tropical and its populations from sparse to bustling and cosmopolitan.
The easiest way to get a sense of the size of the country and the depth of its past is by spending many days and nights on the Trans-Siberian Express. Siberia is one of those last frontiers. Die-hard adventurers head for Murman (translating literally as 'the end of the earth'), for the nine-month winter complete with 52 days of non-stop darkness.
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