Russia is a very large and beautiful country. I can say without hesitation that I am glad I have seen a small part of it, but I would not like to live there. In fact, I would not even like to visit, except as I did, which is on a Viking river cruise.

Anyone who tries to visit Russia as an independent tourist should be aware of a number of problems that he is sure to encounter. Before you even leave home there is the little matter of obtaining a Visa. The instructions on the application say that you need an “invitation.” This is not all that difficult, because any hotel you choose will “invite” you. However, if you move around the country, you are requested to list every hotel during your stay. It seems they want to know exactly where you are at all times. If you choose to follow the directions exactly this limits your ability to be spontaneous and involves a lot of pre-planning. Hotel rooms in the mid-price range are small and expensive. It seems that most of the available hotels are either high-end, which are used by business travelers or very basic to accommodate the lower incomes of the Russian travelers. Food is unimaginative and difficult to order unless you know a little Russian. The people on the street for the most part, do not speak English which is understandable since they were effectively isolated from the western world for many years. Even signs are difficult to read because of the Cyrillic alphabet. For the true adventurer, these are merely challenges. For the rest of us, these are difficulties that we can do without.

The Viking Cruise Lines’ ship, the Pakhomov, provided us with board, room, transportation and entertainment for 10 days as we traveled the 1,000-plus miles between the two fabled cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Problems solved, we sat back and were pampered while the Russian countryside floated by at close range. Fascinating on-board lectures brought us up-to-date on history and daily excursions ashore to quaint towns, culture-filled villages and small islands such as Yaroslavl, Uglich and Kizhi made both the history and the daily lives of the people come alive. Wherever we went, local guides accompanied us through palaces, museums, cathedrals and fortified monasteries.

Our tour began in St. Petersburg. Its 10l islands, 66 canals and hundreds of bridges, coupled with its extensive restoration have made it the most beautiful city in Russia. It is an almost perfect blend of Russian and western European architecture. The State Hermitage Museum, situated along the embankment of the River Neva, occupies six magnificent buildings with over 1,000 rooms and 117 grand staircases in the Winter Palace section alone. There are over 3,000,000 works of art in the collection and it would take a visitor over two years to view each item even once. Apparently this was a bit much to keep track of, and the curator, Larisa Zavadskaya, managed to steal 221 items worth approximately five million dollars before she died of mysterious causes. The museum itself is a work of art with glittering chandeliers, dozens of mirrors and ornate gold and white décor.

The Peter and Paul fortress, planned as a defense against an invasion from Sweden, was never used as a fortress. It became famous as a political prison for such distinguished residents as Dostoevsky, Gorky and Trotsky. The Peterhof, the summer palace of the czars, was also on our agenda. It features some of the world’s most famous fountains in its extensive gardens. One evening we attended the ballet, Swan Lake, at the Rimsky-Korsakov theatre. Several passengers opted, on their own, to also attend a performance of the more famous Bolshoi Ballet.

We left St. Petersburg via the River Neva in the early evening after a full day of sightseeing. We sat on the sun deck watching, as the elaborate architecture gradually gave way to small settlements, country dachas and lush forests. During the night we crossed Lake Ladoga, Europe’s largest lake, and entered the Svir River. Before reaching Moscow we will negotiate a series of 18 locks. When we left the Swir and entered Lake Onega, our first stop was Kizhi Island which is an outdoor UNESCO site where all the buildings are of wood including the huge Church of the Transfiguration which boasts 22 timbered onion domes and was built without a single nail. The large church was under restoration, but we were allowed inside the smaller “winter” church which was used during cold weather to conserve heat.

Goritzy was our next stop, where we were transported by bus for about five miles to visit the Monastery of St. Cyril on the White Lake. The beautiful icons and frescoes covering every inch of wall space were spectacular, but no more so than the male trio singing Russian religious hymns.

Onward we sailed. There was plenty of time to relax on deck or in the library and watch the scenic countryside. Small villages, snug-fitting locks, miles of pine, birch and aspen forests passed slowly by until we stopped at another cathedral, monastary or fortification. On-board lectures took us through the turbulent times of Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible up to the problems of the current president, Vladimir Putin. We learned to speak a little Russian and that vodka is the most recognized symbol of Russia. Vodka comes from the word “voda” meaning water, and that is the way the Russian people drink it. Over four billion liters of vodka are consumed each year and much of it is illegally produced and can be quite dangerous. We had a lesson on how to drink vodka and another on the various types of caviar. We had a Russian tea ceremony with green tea and blinys which are thin pancakes filled with sour cream and a variety of sweet fillings. Time seemed to stand still as we drifted by towns and hamlets long hidden behind the Iron Curtain.

Joseph Stalin began his Big Volga Plan in 1932. He was determined to create a waterway that would join St. Petersburg and Moscow and he managed to do it in an incredibly short five years. He did it in true Stalin fashion with blatant recklessness and in complete secrecy. He used the GULAG prisoners as forced labor and thousands of them died. Over 700 villages were flooded and although villagers were relocated, they had no means of support once their farms were gone. With total disregard for human life or suffering, he managed to create a vital mercantile artery between the Russian North and the South. Besides the numerous pleasure cruises, the waterway teams with barges laden with all manner of goods and tugs pushing heavy logging boats. Peter the Great dreamed of such a waterway, but Stalin did it.

Our last stop before reaching Moscow was at Uglich, which is a small village that has not changed much since 1916. It features a renowned ancient Kremlin in a provincial setting.
Originally situated on the banks of the Volga River, it is now on the reservoir and few people have a reason to visit except tourists who are treated to spectacular examples of Eastern architecture. Aside from the architecture, Uglich was cited by our guides from the time we left St. Petersburg as the place to shop. The small street leading to the old city was filled with stalls and vendors. Every type of merchandise found anywhere in Russia was available and the prices were better. Tables were laden with brightly hand-painted matryoshka dolls. Lacquer boxes in every price range were available. Items made of birch bark and simple children’s toys were inexpensive. Russian shawls were displayed in three sizes and many colors. Amber jewelry, from clear white to a darkish red-brown, was considered a bargain. Religious icons, new ones only, were very popular. It is forbidden to purchase or remove old icons from Russia. Of particular interest and unique to the area, are the delicate porcelain watches. I sincerely hope the works in the one I bought are half as durable as the lovely band.

Moscow, where our tour ended, is the capital of the largest country on earth. It is now the most expensive city in the world because of real estate costs. Forty-two percent of the city is green area and its cathedrals and palaces are truly magnificent. Broad boulevards are lined with chic boutiques, first-class hotels, department stores, fountains and museums. The most beautiful metro stations in the world featuring art, sculpture and marble walls will take you to the far reaches of the city for less than sixty cents. This amazing system is more than 180 miles long, and carries about 9,000,000 people per day. However, this part European and part Asian city is currently undergoing turbulent times amidst rapidly changing political and economic conditions. From what I saw and heard, the Russian people are not particularly happy with their economy, but they are fiercely patriotic and optimistic. Only seventeen percent of the people think that democracy will work. Most say that they do not have a democracy now, but hope that a blend of socialism and capitalism will eventually evolve. Many of the elderly would prefer to return to the days of the U.S.S.R. where they felt more secure. During the soviet regime, the average apartment for two people was approximately 200 square feet in size, but it was free. Today, many of the older apartments are still 200 square feet, but they must be purchased or rented.

Our first stop in Moscow was Red Square. The huge square was used originally for religious processions and, of course for public executions and royal proclamations. It is bordered by the Kremlin, Lenin’s Mausoleum, the GUM department store and St Basil’s Cathedra with its colorful onion domes. In spite of its rather infamous past, Red Square today is a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon. Numerous sidewalk cafes line the sidewalks and the famous three-level GUM department store is crammed with expensive merchandise. It is the most expensive department store in Russia.

The Kremlin is the heart of Russia. It is the focal point for Russian government, including President Putin’s office and the primary religious and historical center of the country. For many years, visitors, including most of the Russian people, were not allowed to enter the Kremlin. Today, visitors are allowed to view about one-third of the total area behind the high red walls. It is, in effect, a walled city or fortress with wide cobbled streets, three major and five smaller cathedrals, the armory with its collection of treasures and several small palaces. The armory houses royal collections of every description including huge carriages, elaborate coronation dresses, gold, silver and porcelain tableware, Faberge eggs and a collection of thrones used by past czars. The most elaborate of the thrones, called the twin-throne, was used by two of Ivan the Terrible’s sons when they became duel rulers. The eldest son, Ivan, was fifteen and severely retarded and the younger, Peter, was only 10 years old. There was a window cut in the back of the throne, where their twenty-four year old sister, Sophia, sat and gave them answers to the difficult questions posed to them by visiting ambassadors and statesmen. Peter, of course, was perceived as a brilliant little boy because of all this knowledge. Hence, was coined the phrase, “the woman behind the throne.” Today, no one lives in the Kremlin, not even the president who comes to work each day from his dacha on the outskirts of Moscow. Certainly, no other area of Moscow is shrouded in more mystic or mystery than the once forbidden and forbidding Kremlin.

Also on our schedule for Moscow, was a visit to the renowned Moscow Circus. It was actually quite small, but the acrobats and jugglers were amazing. The Moscow by Night Tour began at 10 p.m. and since that was our bedtime, we missed that one, but I heard that it was quite spectacular.

River Cruising is one of the fastest growing travel sectors and I can understand its popularity. It is the most expedient and comfortable way to see large areas of a country, or several countries. Our Viking ship was small, the cabins were comfortable and the meals were fantastic. We made trips ashore every day to interesting places and we had adequate free time to explore on our own.

Sidebar: Viking Cruises operates 10 to 14 night cruises to Russia from May through September. Viking is the only non-Russian-owned company operating in Russia. The Pakhomov, one of two Viking ships sailing in the area, carries a maximum of 202 passengers in 110 cabins. All cabins have outside views. Click on brochures for 2007 prices and additional cruises.