One of the best-undiscovered places to travel in the 21st century is Russia, a country of enormous social, political, and geographic proportions. Between the Gulf of Finland and the Kamchatka peninsula on the Pacific Coast, there is an incredible variety of customs, cultures, and wildlife.

With an eighth of the planet's landmass, Russia is still the largest nation. The Moscow (capital) – Vladivostok train covers 9,200 kilometres from west to east in six days, passing through eight time zones and a fascinating landscape. A sovereign nation in Eurasia is Russia, which is also known as the Russian Federation. Russia is the world's largest country, covering 17,125,200 square kilometres (or 6,612,100 square miles). It is also the ninth most populous, with over 144 million people living there at any given time. Russia is a nation of great composers, musicians, ballet dancers, and artistic traditions. The Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres are among the world's most important ballet and opera stages, and concert halls like these are always in high demand.