The Russian Federation consists of 89 federal subjects. Depending on a type of interest expressed in the cultural and natural potential of Russia by foreign tourists, the country can be conditionally divided into the following tourist zones specializing in certain kinds of tourism.

Russian North (the White Sea, the Barentsevo Sea, Arkhangelsk, the Murmansk Region, Vologda, Karelia). The regions generally present educational and ecological tourism, cruises, hunting, fishing, mountain skiing, expeditions, pilgrimage to the ancient places of Russian Orthodox culture. Russian Тorth is also еру place where travellers can explore nature absolutely untouched by human hand.

North-East (St. Petersburg, Pskov, the Novgorod Region). These are appropriate destinations for history and culture lovers, and for those who need to get to historical places for business meetings and congresses. River cruises and traditional tourism are also available in these places.

Baltic Coast (the Kaliningrad Region). The region specializes in business travel, cruises and traditional leisure with sanatorium facilities. Ecological tourism here is represented by the national park Curonian Spit, a unique place with diverse nature.

Moscow and the Moscow Region It is the ideal place for business and cultural events, and besides, appropriate for car travellers.

The Golden Ring (Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, Kostroma, and Tver Regions). The route would be appropriate for everyone interested in the ancient Slavic history and would like to combine excursions, sanatorium facilities and passive leisure. However, river cruises and auto tourism are also popular here. The cost of the Volga river system presents all conditions for successful business travel, passive leisure, fishing, for instance, and a sanatorium stay. A cruise down the Volga River, one of the greatest Russian rivers, can be interesting to many tourists.

Northern Caucasus The Caucasus has a great variety of leisure activities to offer. It is a concentration of curative mineral water sources, traditional resorts, mountain skiing facilities, excursions and expeditions, besides, it is one of the most popular sanatorium zones in the RF.

Siberia It is hard to find the same variety of tourist opportunities in any other place in Russia. The Altai and Shoria Mountains are the places for mountain skiing in Siberia; the Baikal area is a zone for unique hunt in taiga and fishing. Yakutia is a unique place for ecological tourism, educational and business travel, and some Siberian villages can attract travellers willing to get acquainted with the culture of shamanism and native dwellers of the lands.

Far East The region is likely to be appreciated by tourists coming to the RF with the purpose of business travel and those who want to discover something interesting about Russia. Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands are quite appropriate for having a good rest and getting medical maintenance, to go fishing and hunting. Kamchatka offers a lot of adventure tours, such as rafting, trekking, fishing, hunting and a lot of other activities.

Source:
    www.russiatourism.ru

Translation: Natalya Lavrentyeva