Beyond Moscow

A major trading center on the confluence of Volga and Oka rivers, Nizhny Novgorod is still known for its rare crafts like Pisanki and hand painted Christmas ornaments that are shipped all over the world.

Located at the western border of Russia, Smolensk was the first line of defense for Russia thus guarding the route to Moscow through the centuries. "The city of Marshall glory", preserves all its victories and losses in stone walls that once encircled it.

The island city Sviyazhsk defined the course of Russian revolution. The Trinity Church, known for its assembly within 24 hours, is a wooden marvel built without a single nail.

130 miles northeast of Moscow sits Suzdal, an ancient town frozen in time that still resembles how Peter the Great saw it. A slice of olden Russia that doesn't exist anywhere else, Suzdal preserves its past and reminds visitors of a slower, old fashioned way of life.