Places JonAkzar Wants to Go

What was once the base for Russia's first nature reserve is now a ghost town, right on the shore of Lake Baikal.

An art museum inside an active factory.

Perhaps the tiniest sculpture in Saint Petersburg is a little bronze finch inspired by a song.

This iconic Russian space museum sits on a landmark space production facility and houses the Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft, that was also built here.

Two islands just 4 km apart separated by an International Border and Date Line.

Monastery, army base, and infamous Soviet Gulag in the far Russian north.

One of the last examples of Soviet architectural propaganda has a few technological tricks up its sleeve.

Site of the world's largest nuclear explosion.

A monument to Malchik, a stray dog who lived in a Moscow metro station until his tragic death.

This Russian locomotive museum was once devoted just to Lenin's funeral before expanding to encompass Moscow's entire train history.

Gargantuan home of Russian science.

A man-made island fort that has housed soldiers, scientists, and ravers.

This massive monument honors the first human in space.

The "Mystery and Company of Merchant Adventurers" is an Elizabethan-era hangout in Moscow.

The California secessionist movement has its own foreign embassy, in Russia of all places.

The giant Siberian crater known locally as the "doorway to the underworld" is expanding every year.

This remote lake in Siberia supposedly contains a fearsome sea monster.

Stalin's secret bunker.

Former estate of Lenin, now home to his death mask.

Some Moscow residents once claimed the bizarre, contorted mass of metal on top of the building was used to manipulate minds.

Stalin's prisoner-built rail line sits in ruin, never having a single car ride its tracks.

A homemade anatomical collection of medical anomalies and accidental catastrophes.

This Russian museum stresses the importance of keeping clean and even holds one of Pavlov's dogs.

This cuddly rodent has a place of honor at a Russian institute for genetic research.