This former monastery is still a revered religious site.

This mineral lake known for its healing powers is so buoyant it's been dubbed the "Dead Sea of Canada."

Thousands of biblical and pagan images are carved into this small 12th-century church.

A former military outpost of Ivan the Terrible, the 16th-century church contains some of the rarest examples of Eastern Orthodox mural paintings.

An abandoned 14th-century castle and prison complex on a small island in the Neva River.

An unusual abandoned church damaged in World War II sits in a small village outside Moscow.

Monastery complex at the location where bodies of the executed Romanov royal family were discovered.

This 15th-century cave complex is one of the very few monasteries to stay open throughout World War II and the Soviet regime.

Former prison camp dedicated to the victims of political repression.

Church built on the site where the last tsar of Russia and his family were killed.

Abandoned castle was once a grand example of Russian privilege, built exclusively to win a frivolous bet between noblemen.

The reason for the strange contortions in the trunks of these "drunken" pine trees in Russia is still a mystery.

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

The oldest museum in Russia is home to a fascinating collection of nearly two million anthropological artifacts and anatomical curiosities.

A little church on a tiny island looks like something from a fairy tale.

An 18th century wonder of the world, lost in WWII, re-created at the Catherine Palace.

Stunning examples of Russia's 18th-century wooden architecture.

This Russian religious complex is a Frankenstein's chapel that includes influence from almost all the major faiths.

Palace where the nearly un-killable Rasputin was murdered.

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

It took over half a century but a Russian monument to a famous and tragic space pup finally stands in Moscow.

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

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

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