page_title: Russian culture
section_title: Cultural tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Russian culture / Tourism / Cultural tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: Grand Cascade of Peterhof Русский: Большой каскад Петергофа
context_page_description: The culture of the ethnic Russian people has a long tradition of achievement in many fields, especially when it comes to literature, folk dancing, philosophy, classical music, traditional folk-music, ballet, architecture, painting, cinema, animation and politics. In all these areas Russia has had a considerable influence on world culture. Russia also has a rich material culture and a tradition in technology.
  Russian culture grew from that of the East Slavs, with their pagan beliefs and specific way of life in the wooded, steppe and forest-steppe areas of Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Major influences on early Russian culture and Slavic people in Russia included:
  nomadic Turkic people and tribes of Iranian origin through intense cultural contacts in the Russian steppe
  Finno-Ugric peoples, Balts and Scandinavians through the Russian North
  Goths in the Pontic littoral, who left linguistic traces in the early Russian dialects
  the people of the Byzantine Empire with whom Old Russia maintained strong cultural links
context_section_description: Most popular tourist destinations in Russia are Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the current and the former capitals of the country and great cultural centers, recognized as World Cities. Moscow and Saint Petersburg feature such world-renowned museums as Tretyakov Gallery and Hermitage, famous theaters like Bolshoi and Mariinsky, ornate churches like Saint Basil's Cathedral, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Church of the Savior on Blood, impressive fortifications like Moscow Kremlin and Peter and Paul Fortress, beautiful squares like Red Square and Palace Square, and streets like Tverskaya and Nevsky Prospect. Rich palaces and parks of extreme beauty are found in the former imperial residences in suburbs of Moscow (Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno) and Saint Petersburg (Peterhof, Strelna, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, Pavlovsk Palace, Tsarskoye Selo). Moscow contains a great variety of impressive Soviet-era buildings along with modern skyscrapers, while Saint Petersburg, nicknamed Venice of the North, boasts of its classical architecture, many rivers, channels and bridges.
  Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, shows a unique mix of Christian Russian and Muslim Tatar cultures. The city has registered a brand The Third Capital of Russia, though a number of other major Russian cities compete for this status, like Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod, all being major cultural centers with rich history and prominent architecture. Veliky Novgorod, Pskov and the cities of Golden Ring (Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma and others) have at best preserved the architecture and the spirit of ancient and medieval Rus', and also are among the main tourist destinations. Many old fortifications (typically Kremlins), monasteries and churches are scattered throughout Russia, forming its unique cultural landscape both in big cities and in remote areas.
caption: Grand Cascade in Peterhof Palace, nicknamed Russian Versailles, a popular tourist destination in Saint Petersburg.
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