The Atlas Obscura Guide To Russia

184 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Russia

Updated November 22, 2023

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Unusual Attractions in Russia

Dargavs

Dargavs, Russia

Dargavs Village

This ancient village and its adjoining cemetery have a beautiful history of death and remembrance.

Looking down the hall to the bunker

Moscow, Russia

Bunker-42

Dr. Strangelove-esque tours reveal the inside a bunker once reserved for Stalin himself.

It contains museums, a market, and a number of exhibits celebrating Russian art.

Moscow, Russia

Izmailovo Kremlin

Moscow's other, lesser known kremlin is a fairytale-like cultural complex modeled after Old Russia.

Lenin's Mausoleum

Moscow, Russia

Lenin's Mausoleum

This building holds the embalmed remains of the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Abandoned salt mine.

Yekaterinburg, Russia

Psychedelic Salt Mines

It's hard to believe the dizzying patterns covering this abandoned mine are completely natural.

Komsomolskaya station.

Moscow, Russia

Moscow Metro Stations

The gorgeous entrances into the city's underbelly look more like grand halls than subway stops.

Children are the Victims of Adult Vices

Moscow, Russia

Children are the Victims of Adult Vices

Thirteen sculptures in central Moscow graphically depicting vices of the modern world.

Moscow, Russia

Museum of Soviet Arcade Games

Immortal combat in a Moscow museum.

See All 184 Things To Do in Russia

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Russia

Russian Vodka Museum

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russian Vodka Museum

The past, present, and future of Russia's signature alcohol is remembered in the world's only museum dedicated to the starchy spirit.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Literary Café

Once frequented by heavyweights of the Russian arts scene, this café is stuck in the 1800s.

Tula, Russia

Tula Pryanik Museum

A tea party concludes each visit to this Russian spice cookie sanctum.

Semenkovo, Russia

Vologda Butter Museum

Slather on the history at an exhibition dedicated to this Russian luxury.

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Soviet History 28

Museums And Collections 19

Military 18

Sacred Spaces 18

Architectural Oddities 17

Monuments 15

Statues 14

Animals 12

Art 12

Nature 10

Churches 9

Ruins 9

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wants to go to Tunguska Event Epicenter
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has been to Lenin's Mausoleum
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has been to Tsar Bell

Stories About Russia

Podcast: Dyatlov Pass, Part 2

The mysterious tragedy of the Dyatlov Pass Incident gets an explanation—but not necessarily one everyone accepts.

by The Podcast Team

November 22, 2023

Podcast: Dyatlov Pass, Part 1

The tragedy and mystery of the Dyatlov Pass Incident has captured imaginations for decades.

by The Podcast Team

November 21, 2023

This photo was taken around 1930 of the Tunguska marshes, the epicenter of the mysterious Tunguska Event.

Podcast: The Tunguska Event

Earth's largest documented impact event happened in a remote corner of Siberia in 1908.

by The Podcast Team

October 10, 2023

In Early Modern Russia, Witches Were Men and Belief in Magic Was Universal

Terrifying love spells and protective "spells to power" offered the chance for control in a fiercely hierarchical society.

by Valerie Kivelson

October 2, 2023

Printed in a communist youth magazine in the 1930s, Towards Soviet America visits all of capitalist America’s social injustices on the way to “Soviet America” in the center.

The Anti-Monopoly Board Game That Promoted a 'Soviet America'

In 1934, American Communists translated a Stalinist book about revolution into a children’s game. Curiously, it didn't catch on.

by Frank Jacobs, Big Think

August 18, 2023

Podcast: Bone Vinyl

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

The cover of this Red Haggadah from the National Library of Russia, features a search for leavened bread, which is forbidden on Passover.

The Soviet 'Red Passovers' Where Jews Gave Thanks for Communism

Instead of celebrating freedom from Egypt, people celebrated liberation from capitalism.

by Sam Lin-Sommer

Podcast: Pushkin’s Duel

How a real-life confrontation seemed to mirror a literary masterpiece.

by The Podcast Team

February 15, 2023

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