Russia

The Russian Federation is the largest country on Earth, spread across ten timezones and millions of square miles. Russia has always had an air of mystery about it, from the Vikings who explored the Volga and Don rivers, to the days of the Tsars and Napoleon's retreat from Moscow and into the secretive Communist era. Since the fall of Communism, Russia has become a popular destination for tourism, with the epic Trans-Siberian journey being a must, but the great cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as less well-known historical cities are also open to the explorer.