On the edge of Red Square is the iconic cathedral St. Basil's... perhaps the most famous Russian landmark.

Catherine the Great, a Prussia princess, built one of the grandest palaces in the world. The enigmatic Tsarina led Russia into its Golden Age.

The distinctive cupolas of Russian Orthodox cathedrals and churches.

Along our river and lake route from Moscow to St. Petersburg are many fascinating monasteries just perched on the beautiful banks asking us to explore them.

This huge cannon of the tsars still sits inside the Kremlin grounds.

Another of the amazing sites along the Volga.

87 wooden cathedrals, churches, and homes compose the open-air museum of Kizhi Island in Lake Onega. A favorite of passengers.

The Hermitage not only contains one of the world's greatest art collection, but is itself a work of art. Part of the Winter Palace footprint.

More from picturesque Kizhi Island.

A view of the Kremlin fortress from the Moscow River.

The towers of the Kremlin.

Another view of the Kremlin.

Far from the madding crowds is Goritzy and its peaceful monastery you are free to explore.

Another view of the Goritzy monastery.

Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg erected on the site where political nihilists assassinated Emperor Alexander II in March 1881.

Peter the Great's incredible palace built near the Baltic Sea. Peter's accomplishments are of legendary proportions.

Our passengers in their small groups spread out to explore the Romanov birthplace of Kostroma.

The beauty, peace and charm of Plyos (Pleus) on the banks of the Volga moved the great Russian landscape artist, Isaak Levitan, to make Plyos his home.

No adjectives can describe the interiors of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Catherine's Palace main entrance. On the rolling hills and meadows outside St. Petersburg.

The "Venice of the North," St. Petersburg is built upon an intricate system of canals, each with its own wrought iron fencing.

Admiralty Square where revolutionaries awaited word from Lenin to storm the Winter Palace and begin the overthrow of the Tsars.

The intricate Cathedral on the Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg.