Crossing Russia: The Trans-Siberian Journey

In the autumn of 2008, I traveled along the Trans-Siberian railway. Rather than doing it all in one go, I broke it into a series of smaller journeys and visited cities spread across Russia, deviating a little from the Trans-Siberian route proper in a couple of places. These photos document the trip, though there should be an e-book too with much more written detail.

These photos are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.

Vladivostok

Lying at the eastern end of the Trans-Siberian railway, and on the pacific ocean, Vladivostok was the starting point of my journey. Full of mostly Japanese cars - there is one car per every two people in the city, meaning most families have multiple cars - the traffic in the center is heavy. Get out of the center, though, and stunning natural setting of the city is quite enjoyable.

A street of century-old buildings	A street of century-old buildings	A street of century-old buildings
A street of century-old buildings	Heading towards the sea	On the promenade
The beach	Russian friends	The beach
The beach	Boats in the harbour	A Russian friend
The beach	"The Vladivostok Eye" - no, not really :-)	Beach and harbour
A place to watch sea-life	The sea	Sports center
The sea	Riding a horse through the traffic	A recently build church
A recently build church	Shops by the church	A recently build church
Football stadium	Football stadium	On the edge of the city
Huge pylon	A harbor outside the city	Sea and boats
A harbor outside the city	Bathers	The sea
A harbor outside the city	Huge pylon	Sign saying "Vladivostok"
Land bridge to lighthouse	A harbor outside the city	Huge pylon
Land bridge to lighthouse	The lighthouse	The lighthouse
The lighthouse	The lighthouse	Ship seen near the lighthouse
The lighthouse	The lighthouse	Ship seen near the lighthouse
The lighthouse	The lighthouse	The lighthouse
The sea	The sea	Landbridge to the lighthouse
The lighthouse	Looking back to the harbor	Looking to Vladivostok center
View over Vladivostok	View over Vladivostok	Monument to the creators of the Cyrillic alphabet
View over Vladivostok	View over Vladivostok	View over Vladivostok
View over Vladivostok	View over Vladivostok	View over Vladivostok
Monument to the creators of the Cyrillic alphabet	Lenin	Vladivostok railway station
Vladivostok railway station	A harbor near the city center	A harbor near the city center
Coastline	The sea	View from Dmitry's appartment
Dmitry's cat

Vladivostok Fortress

My friends from Vladivostok arranged a trip to the highest point of Vladivostok, then to a nearby now-disused fortress. Much of it consisted of a network of underground tunnels, which we explored with flashlights, amidst enjoying some delicious shashlik, washed down with beer.

Views on the way to the peak	Views on the way to the peak	Views on the way to the peak
Views on the way to the peak	The path to the peak	Remains of an aircraft
Views on the way to the peak	Views on the way to the peak	Ruins of old buildings
View from the peak	View from the peak	View from the peak
View from the peak	View from the peak	View from the peak
View from the peak	View from the peak	View from the peak
View from the peak	View from the peak	View from the peak
View from the peak	View from the peak	Sealed entrances to the old fortress
Village, with part of fortress in the foreground	Village	Chair - imported from Japan
Shashlik	Exploring the fortress	Exploring the fortress
Exploring the fortress	Exploring the fortress	Exploring the fortress
Stalactites	Stalactites	Underground life
Exploring the fortress	Exploring the fortress	Walls of the fortress
Views from near the fortress	Nyam shashlik!

Vladivostok Yachting

One of my friends in Vladivostok raced yachts, and kindly took me out yachting. The sea was quite gentle as we left the harbor and sailed out to a calm bay. There we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the boat, complete with three shots of vodka! The sea was somewhat rougher on the way back, but some more food and vodka once we were back in the harbor got my stomach settled again.

The harbor	The harbor	Getting the sail up
The sea	Looking back on Vladivostok	A larger boat I saw
Sailing	Looking back on Vladivostok	Looking back on Vladivostok
Hills and pylons	Hills and pylons	The sea
Looking back on Vladivostok	Hills and pylons	Entering the bay we stopped in
Entering the bay we stopped in	Entering the bay we stopped in	In the bay we stopped in
In the bay we stopped in	In the bay we stopped in	Preparing bait for fishing
I caught a fish	Preparing to sail back to the harbor	Preparing to sail back to the harbor
In the harbor	The boat

Starting The Trans-Siberian

I collected all of my tickets for the journey - pre-ordered as e-tickets - at Vladivostok station in the hour before starting the trip. Then I got some snacks for the overnight trip to Khabarovsk, said a fond goodbye to my Vladivostok friends and climbed on board. I hadn't been able to get tickets for this part of the journey in the cheapest class, so was in a compartment.

Map in the ticket office	An old steam locomotive from the Trans-Siberian	Mile post for the distance to Moscow
The train on the right was mine	Me with my many tickets	Another small map
Looking over the station

Khabarovsk

Khabarovsk lies just one night's travel north of Vladivostok. It's a city of water: fountains and other water features are all over the city, which itself lies on a bank of the Amur river. That along with plenty of greenery made Khabarovsk an easily likable city, especially when the sun was out. The military museum was one of the best I saw on the trip, and the the proximity to Asia meant some good Asian cuisine too.

The station in the early morning	My hotel	Along Amur Boulevard
Along Amur Boulevard	Along Amur Boulevard	Near the riverfront
The Amur river	The Amur river	The Amur river
The promenade	The Amur river	The promenade
The beach	The beach	The beach
Steps up to Komsomol Square	Church on Komsomol Square	Church on Komsomol Square
Church on Komsomol Square	Church and monument on Komsomol Square	Along Muravyov-Amurskay Street
Along Muravyov-Amurskay Street	Along Muravyov-Amurskay Street	Lenin Square
Lenin Square	Lenin Square	Lenin Square
Lenin Square	Lenin statue	Lenin Square
Along Muravyov-Amurskay Street	Statue in the museums area	At the military museum
At the military museum	Building opposite the military museum	City Park
Outside the regional museum	City Park	City Park
City Park	City Park	View from City Park
View from City Park	City Park	The Amur at sunset
The Drama Theater	Dinamo Park	Dinamo Park
Fountains by Dinamo Park	Cafe I had lunch at	Cafe I had lunch at
Fountains by Dinamo Park	Fountains by Dinamo Park	Fountains by Dinamo Park
Fountains by Dinamo Park	Statues in Dinamo Park	Statue in Dinamo Park
Statue in Dinamo Park	Fountains by Dinamo Park	Fountains by Dinamo Park
Fountains by Dinamo Park	Fountains by Dinamo Park	Fountains by Dinamo Park
The end of Dinamo Park	The end of Dinamo Park	Along Lenin Street
Church of the Transfiguration	Church of the Transfiguration	Church of the Transfiguration
Monastery	Monastery	Monastery
Looking down to the Amur river	Monastery	Monastery
Church of the Transfiguration	Church of the Transfiguration	Church of the Transfiguration
Order of Lenin	Church of the Transfiguration and obilisk with Order of Lenin	Back of Great Patriotic War monument
Church of the Transfiguration and obilisk with Order of Lenin	Great Patriotic War monument	Great Patriotic War monument
Great Patriotic War monument	Great Patriotic War monument	Great Patriotic War monument
Great Patriotic War monument	Great Patriotic War monument	Great Patriotic War monument
Great Patriotic War monument	Steps to monument and church	The city from the river
The city from the river	The city from the river	The city from the river
The city from the river	Industrial area outside the city	Russian flag flying on the boat
Industrial area outside the city	Industrial area outside the city	Boats by the riverside
Boats by the riverside	Bridge over the Amur	Industrial area outside the city
Industrial area outside the city	Village on a hill	Village on a hill
Village on a hill with bridge	Bridge over the Amur	Bridge over the Amur
Bridge over the Amur	The Amur	The Amur
Boats on the Amur	Boats on the Amur	Boats on the Amur
Boats on the Amur	The city seen from the river	Away from the city
Industrial area across the river	The city seen from the river	The city seen from the river
The city seen from the river	The city seen from the river	The city seen from the river
Back on the beach	Komsomol Square by night	Komsomol Square by night
Clouds over the Amur on the last day

Khabarovsk - Chita

This was the longest segment of the journey, and the only one involving spending two consecutive nights on the train. I was very lucky to have some great company during this part of the journey, who were patient with my bad Russian and shared lots of food with me. One of them was a Russian Navy officer, who I even ended up lending scissors to! It was also the only time during the trip that I saw snow on the ground. At other times we passed forests with the autumn leaves having fiery colors. Here are some photos snapped through the window.

Chita

My first stop in Siberia, the sights of Chita started from the footbridge of the railway station, which offered views of the city's new cathedral. Relatively small compared to a lot of the other places I visited, Chita more than anywhere else had the "random place stuck out in Siberia" feel. There were plenty of ugly bits, but some beautiful bits too, especially the wooden church. And if there's anything that can be said of the locals here, it's that they sure know how to party: all the restaurants I ate in here had live music and people happily dancing to it.

The Lenin statue	Lenin Square	Feeding the birds on Lenin Square
Random tank at an intersection	One of the nice, century-old buildings	Lenin Square
The building housing the military museum	Theater	Mural on the wall above a shop
The new cathedral	The new cathedral	The new cathedral
The new cathedral	Another square in the city center	The new cathedral
The new cathedral	The new cathedral	The new cathedral
One of the remaining wooden buildings	Archangel Michael wooden church	Archangel Michael wooden church
Archangel Michael wooden church	Archangel Michael wooden church	Archangel Michael wooden church
Archangel Michael wooden church	Old building near the wooden church	Another, less pretty, church
Mosque	Mosque	Mosque
Lenin Square	Lenin Square	Lenin Statue
Chita station	Chita station	The Ingoda river
The Ingoda river	Chita station	The new cathedral, from the station footbridge

Chita - Ulan Ude

The journey was mostly done overnight, and I woke up to find the windows of the train were filthy. Then I discovered the one open window in the carriage. Yes, that's right, the following few pictures were shot from the toilet.

Ulan Ude

The capital of Buryatiya, an autonomus republic within Russia, Ulan Ude has something of a different feel about it. The Buddhist culture lives on there today, the people look a little different and the regional museum has plenty of Buddhas. The world's largest Lenin head dominates the main square, however, so there's no forgetting that you're still in Russia! Ulan Ude also featured - though I didn't visit - an Irish pub!

The world's largest Lenin head	Sovetov Square	Sovetov Square
The Opera House	Along Lenin Street	Along Lenin Street
Along Lenin Street	Along Lenin Street	Along Lenin Street
Along Lenin Street	Along Lenin Street	Along Lenin Street
An Irish pub - in Siberia!	The 1830s Chapel	The 1830s Chapel
Park near the trading arches	The trading arches	Obolisk near the trading arches
Inscriptions on the obilisk in many scripts	Odigitria Cathedral	Odigitria Cathedral
Odigitria Cathedral	Ude River	Ude River
Disused bridge, with its replacement behind it	Ude River	Ude River
Ude River	Random building by the river	Odigitria Cathedral
Odigitria Cathedral		Trinity Church
Trinity Church	Statue in the park by Trinity Church	An old fire engine
Trinity Church	Trinity Church	Man climbs on a tank in a park
A wooden building in good condition	Tram tracks along one of the main streets	Back on Lenin Street
On Lenin Street	On Lenin Street	Building near Sovetov Square
Building near Sovetov Square	Sovetov Square	Sovetov Square
The world's largest Lenin head	Friends from the hostel	View from the hostel
View from the hostel	The hostel dog	The hostel kitten
Views of the area around the hostel	Views of the area around the hostel	Views of the area around the hostel
Ulan Ude railway station	Ulan Ude railway station

Ivolginsky Datsan

Just outside of Ulan-Ude lies a large Datsan - a Buddhist monastery complex. It had a range of temples, lots of prayer wheels and even various animals (especially puppies) - the kind of thing I had seen plenty of in Tibet. Unlike in Tibet, however, the architecture here is distinctively Chinese style.

A large prayer wheel	Monastery buildings	Prayer wheels
Monastery buildings	Prayer flags	Prayer flags
A temple amongst other monastery buildings	Puppies playing	Temple
Stupas (holding ash)	Temple	Prayer wheel
Temple with stupas in front of it	Temple	Beautiful decoration on a temple
Prayer wheels	Decoration on a temple	Monk entering a temple
Monk entering a temple	The temple roof...	...note the curves, which are Chinese style architecture.
A new temple under construction	A temple	Tiger by the a temple
Tiger by the temple	A temple	Protector of the temple
More puppies	Woodwork of the temple	Temple decoration
Stupas	Some larger stupas	Large stupa
Large stupa	Some large stupas with a temple	Temple
Temple	Temple	Temple
On the roof of a temple

Ulan Ude - Irkutsk

I did the train between Ulan Ude and Irkutsk by day, so I could see lake Baikal. It is truly enormous - the train is passing by the side of it for 3-4 hours! Here are some photos taken through the non-too-clean train window.

Irkutsk

Located to the west of lake Baikal, Irkutsk was certainly the coldest and dampest city I visited, the sun only eventually peaking out from behind the clouds during my final few hours in the city. Pleasant architecture was fairly widespread, including some older wooden buildings and plenty of churches. Therefore, despite the cold, I spent much of my time outside seeing the sights of the city. It didn't make as much of an impression as some places I visited, but it was certainly likable.

Wooden buildings on Timiryazeva Street	Wooden buildings on Timiryazeva Street	Wooden buildings on Timiryazeva Street
Raising of the Cross Church	Raising of the Cross Church	The art gallery, on Lenin Street
A church under construction	A church under construction	The train station seen over the Angara river
The Angara river	The Angara river	The Angara river
Bust near the river	Statue of Tsar Alexander III	Political campaigners
Looking towards the government building	Political campaigners	Reminder of a church destroyed by Stalin
Church - not sure of the name	Savior's Church	Bridge over a busy road
Bogolavyensky Cathedral	Bogolavyensky Cathedral	Boat on the Angara river
The Angara river	Bogolavyensky Cathedral	Looking towards the war memorial
The war memorial	Bogolavyensky Cathedral	Savior's Church
Mural on Savior's Church	The war memorial's eternal flame	Building by Lenin Street
On Karl Marks Street	On Karl Marks Street	On Karl Marks Street
On Karl Marks Street	Collection of Soviet tanks	Soviet missle launcher
Soviet tank	Soviet tank	Soviet war thingy
Soviet missle launcher	A rather bink building	Preobrazhenyia Gospondya Church
Preobrazhenyia Gospondya Church	Preobrazhenyia Gospondya Church	Tower along Timiryazeva Street
Raising of the Cross Church	Raising of the Cross Church	Raising of the Cross Church
Along Lenin Street	Along Lenin Street	Along Lenin Street
Lenin statue	Along Lenin Street	Statue of Tsar Alexander III
Statue of Tsar Alexander III	Statue of Tsar Alexander III	The Angara river
The Angara river	The Angara river	The Angara river
The Angara river	Trinity Church	Trinity Church
Crossing the Angara river	Crossing the Angara river	Crossing the Angara river
Approach tracks to the railway station	The station building

Krasnoyarsk

With its center lying along and reaching only a little north of the Yenisey river, Kranoyarsk was fairly long and thin. Piped music played at all of the bus stops and around the main square. The dramatic, film-style music combined with the lit-up trees on a night almost left me feeling like I was visiting a theme park rather than standing in the center of a Siberian city! Where the city center ended, a bridge carrying just pedestrians and cyclists led to a wonderfully calm and car-free small island with a couple of small lakes. The architecture wasn't an especial strength of the city, though there were a couple of fairly nice churches and the railway station was also rather grand.

On the central square	On the central square	Bridge over the Yenisey river
The regional museum	On the central square	On the central square
One of the many decorated trees	Veynbauma Street	On the central square
On the central square	On the central square, looking to the theater	Veynbauma Street
Tower by Veynbauma Street	Veynbauma Street	Along Karl Marks Street
Intercession Cathedral	Intercession Cathedral	Intercession Cathedral
Intercession Cathedral	Intercession Cathedral	Intercession Cathedral
Intercession Cathedral	Square in the east of the city	Square in the east of the city
Bridge to Tatishev Island	Bridge to Tatishev Island	View from bridge to Tatishev Island
View from bridge to Tatishev Island	View from bridge to Tatishev Island	View from bridge to Tatishev Island
Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island
Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island
Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island
Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island
Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island	Tatishev Island
Tatishev Island	View from bridge to Tatishev Island	View from bridge to Tatishev Island
Resurrection Church	Resurrection Church	Resurrection Church
Resurrection Church	On the central square	On the central square
On the central square	On the central square	On the central square
The Yenisey river	The Yenisey river	The Yenisey river
Bridge over the Yenisey river	Bridge over the Yenisey river	Bridge over the Yenisey river
Promenade by the Yenisey river	The Yenisey river	Promenade by the Yenisey river
Curious building in the city center	Lenin statue	Buildings on Robspyera Street
Buildings on Robspyera Street	The railway station	The railway station
The railway station	The railway station	Old Trans-Siberian locomotive

Krasnoyarsk Zoo

I was meant to be going on a trip to see some rock structures called Stolby. As I understood it, we'd drive to the area where they were, then spend some time there enjoying the views. In reality, I found myself with a terrified guide informing me that the park was officially closed, no vehicles were allowed now and and that we'd have to hike for two hours through an area where there had been a serious bear attack on a visitor in the recent weeks. The government had declared they wouldn't be going in to help anyone else who did get attacked or have other problems, since it was officially closed. Not fancying us becoming dinner for a bear who had now got a taste for human flesh, I instead took up the suggestion that we visit a nearby zoo. (Note: I forget what some of the animals are, so didn't label those.)

Taiga	Statue of a woman who looked after many animals	Chapel remembering climbers who died on the stolby
Taiga	The road we didn't follow for long	Some small rock formations
Road leading to the reserve	Me on the road - taken by Nataly
		Tiger
Tiger	Tiger	Duck
Duck	Duck	Duck
Deer	Brown Bear	Brown Bear
Brown Bear	Brown Bear	Park in the zoo
Polar bear	Polar bear	Polar bear
Polar bear	Polar bear
Brown bear	Brown bear
	Giraffes	Giraffes
Giraffes	Giraffes	Giraffes
The theme park area of the zoo	Zoo lake	The zoo ferris wheel
	Camel	Camel
Camel		Deer
Looking out over the hills		Bear
Bear	Bear	Bear
Bear	Leapord
		Chimp
Chimp

Tomsk

Tomsk was my favorite city in Siberia. It actually lies just off the Trans-Siberian proper, making it a short but worthwhile detour. Home to the oldest university in Siberia, it felt almost like a kind of Siberian Cambridge. It was certainly one the prettiest city I visited, with many beautifully preserved wooden buildings. Even the most recent buildings had an elegance about them, many having been designed by architects from the university. I was very lucky to have a great guide to the city - Nadia - who had lived there all of her life, both studying at the university and later teaching there too. I was also lucky to be there on a city holiday, which meant dancing in traditional costume and a fireworks show on the evening.

Peter and Paul Cathedral	Peter and Paul Cathedral	Wooden building
Wooden building	Wooden building	Wooden building
Wooden building	A recently reconstructed church	Russian-German House
Russian-German House	Russian-German House	Russian-German House
Russian-German House	Dragon House	Park
Park	Wooden church	Wooden church
Wooden church	Wooden church	Curious statue in a park
A pond in a park	A pond in a park	A pond in a park
A pond in a park	More fabulous wooden architecture	One of the universtiy buildings
Approaching the main university building	The main university building	The main university building
The main university building	Nadia outside the university building	Nadia outside the university building
The main university building	Statue outside the medical faculty of the university	The medical faculty of the university
Novosobornaya Square	Novosobornaya Square	Novosobornaya Square
Novosobornaya Square	Me by a giant wooden ruble	Along Lenin Prospekt
Concert hall	Along Lenin Prospekt	Along Lenin Prospekt
Along Lenin Prospekt	Dancers perform for a city holiday	Dancers perform for a city holiday
Dancers perform for a city holiday	Dancers perform for a city holiday	Lenin Square
Lenin Square	The river Tom	Lenin Square
Lenin Square	Lenin Square	History of town crests
History of town crests	History of town crests	Lenin statue
Lenin statue	Lenin statue	Epithany Cathedral
Epithany Cathedral	The Magistrat hotel	Catholic church
Catholic church	Restored part of the historical kremlin	Map of how the kremlin was
City museum with lookout tower	City museum with lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower
Views from the lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower
Views from the lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower
Views from the lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower
Views from the lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower	Views from the lookout tower
Bridge over a small river	Small river	Looking over the river to the kremlin
Bridge over the small river	The smaller river flows into the Tom	On Lenin Square again
Kazansky Icon Church	Lenin Square by night	Lenin Square by night
Lenin Square by night	Fireworks	Fireworks
Fireworks	Fireworks	Fireworks
Fireworks	Rejoining the Trans-Siberian at Taiga	Trains at Taiga station
Train at Taiga station

Yekaterinburg

The journey from Tomsk to Yekaterinburg marked the end of Siberia and the start of the Urals. In fact, Yekaterinburg was the only city I visited in the Ural region. The weather wasn't the best for seeing the city, but it had some attractive parts. It wasn't helped by the immense amount of construction work taking place, apparently partly in preparation for a forum it was going to host; once that is completed, it should feel like a bit less of a building site! I suspect the region is much better enjoyed by taking trips into the mountains, but time didn't allow for that on this trip.

Crossing a small river	An under-construction church	Church - name unknown
Church - name unknown	Church - name unknown	Church - name unknown
Along Prospekt Lenina	Opera House	Along Prospekt Lenina
Chapel of St Catherine	The Order of Lenin	Along Prospekt Lenina
Government building	Government building	Government building
Lenin Statue	Lenin Statue	Government building
Government building	The city pond	The city pond
The city pond	Church of the Blood, seen across the pond	The Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin	Unknown Statue	Church of the Blood
Church of the Blood	Church of the Blood	Church of the Blood
Saviour's Church	Church of the Blood	Church of the Blood
Rastorguyev-Kharitonov Mansion	Rastorguyev-Kharitonov Mansion	Church of the Blood
Church of the Blood	Accession Church	Statue by the Accession church
Statue by the Accession church	Church of the Blood	Church of the Blood
Accession church	Accession church	Park behind Accession church
Park behind Accession church	Park behind Accession church	Park behind Accession church
Park behind Accession church	An under-construction skyscraper	An under-construction skyscraper

Europe-Asia Point

Yekaterinburg lies just east of where Asia ends and Europe starts, so I took a trip to two of the sites that mark the border. Their positions are are based upon where the Ural mountains start. However, since Europe and Asia form one landmass, some don't consider them separate continents at all. The Urals do seem to form a commonly accepted boundary, though, however fake it perhaps may be in geological terms.

Bands tied by newlywed couples	Bands tied by newlywed couples	Distances from the Europe-Asia boundary to various cities
On the boundary...	...and with a food on each side.	The obilisk
The obilisk	A second obilisk elsewhere on the border	The top of the obilisk
Me with the second obilisk	The site as a whole	The site as a whole

Kazan

Kazan lies in the Volga region of European Russia. It was the only place in European Russia I spent any significant time in during this trip, having chosen to focus it more on the far east and Siberia. I could have chosen many places, but with hindsight I still would have chosen it. Capital of the autonomous region of Tatarstan, it has a number of curiosities, including the street signs being bilingual (the Tatar language is not at all related to Russian, but is instead a Turkic language). The Tatars are generally Muslim - meaning the city has plenty of good kebabs! Most impressive of all is the historic white Kremlin, open to the public. You can even walk up to the gates of the president of the republic's residence without anyone bothering you. Inside the Kremlin is an impressive mosque along with a church too, reflecting the long history of religious tolerance amongst the inhabitants of the city.

Along Bauman Street	Tower on Bauman Street	Along Bauman Street
Tower on Bauman Street	Along Bauman Street	Building on Pushkin Street
Pushkin Street	Statue overlooking the city	Statue overlooking the city
Statue overlooking the city	Looking over the city center	Looking over the city center
Looking over the city center	Building in Pushkin Street	Statue overlooking the city
In a park	Building on Pushkin Street	Along Pushkin Street
Church on Pushkin Street	Church on Pushkin Street	Along Pushkin Street
Brick church - name unknown	Brick church - name unknown	Another brick church - name unknown
Another brick church - name unknown	Bells on a brick church	Church on Pushkin Street
In a park	In a park	On the square by the lake
Lake Qaban	Lake Qaban	Square by the lake
The Kremlin	Kul Sharif Mosque rises above the kremlin walls	A (closed) kremlin entrance
Looking over the city from the kremlin	Looking over the city from the kremlin	A (closed) kremlin entrance
Wall of the kremlin	Wall of the kremlin	Front of the kremlin
Building near to the kremlin	Front of the kremlin	Building near to the kremlin
Front of the kremlin	Church near to the kremlin	Statue of Musa Jalil
Statue of Musa Jalil	Inside the kremlin	Inside the kremlin
Inside the kremlin	Inside the kremlin	Kul Sharif Mosque
Kul Sharif Mosque	Kul Sharif Mosque	Kul Sharif Mosque
Inside the kremlin	Inside the kremlin	Soyembika Tower
Annunciation Cathedral	Soyembika Tower	Inside the kremlin
The President's residence	Inside the kremlin, looking to the river	The President's residence
Annunciation Cathedral	Annunciation Cathedral	Another church visible from the kremlin, but outside of it
Statue in front of the Annunciation Cathedral	Annunciation Cathedral	Inside the kremlin
Metro station entrance		Along Bauman Street
Along Bauman Street	Along Bauman Street	The road to the kremlin
Tatarstan National Museum	Buildings by the kremlin	Exhibits in the Tatarstan National Museum
Exhibits in the Tatarstan National Museum	Exhibits in the Tatarstan National Museum	Exhibits in the Tatarstan National Museum
Exhibits in the Tatarstan National Museum	Exhibits in the Tatarstan National Museum	Exhibits in the Tatarstan National Museum
The kremlin	The kremlin	The kremlin entrance for cars
The kremlin	Inside the kremlin	Inside the kremlin
Inside the kremlin	Inside the kremlin	Inside the kremlin
Kul Sharif Mosque	Kul Sharif Mosque	Inside the kremlin
Inside the kremlin	Kul Sharif Mosque	Inside the kremlin
Kul Sharif Mosque	Kul Sharif Mosque	Annunciation Cathedral
Soyembika Tower	Annunciation Cathedral	Soyembika Tower
Gates to the presidential palace	Inside the kremlin	Inside the kremlin
Annunciation Cathedral	Annunciation Cathedral	SS Peter and Paul Cathedral
SS Peter and Paul Cathedral	SS Peter and Paul Cathedral	Along Bauman Street
The end of Bauman Street		Statue overlooking the city
	Statue in a park	Fountains by the lake
Fountains by the lake	Fountains by the lake	The square by the lake
Lake Qaban	Lake Qaban	Lake Qaban
Lake Qaban	Lake Qaban	Lake Qaban
Nurulla Mosque	Nurulla Mosque	Nurulla Mosque
Nurulla Mosque	Lake Qaban	Lake Qaban
Lake Qaban	Lake Qaban fountain	Lake Qaban fountain
Lit up waterfalls	Lit up waterfalls	Lit up waterfalls
Lake Qaban fountain and waterfalls by night	Lake Qaban fountain and waterfalls by night	Lake Qaban fountain by night
SS Peter and Paul Cathedral by night	SS Peter and Paul Cathedral by night	The kremlin by night
The kremlin by night	The kremlin by night	Annunciation Cathedral by night
Annunciation Cathedral by night	Soyembika Tower by night	Soyembika Tower by night
Kul Sharif Mosque by night	Kul Sharif Mosque by night	Kul Sharif Mosque by night
Kul Sharif Mosque by night	Kul Sharif Mosque by night	Kul Sharif Mosque by night
The train station	The train station	The train station

Moscow

Moscow marked the end of the Trans-Siberian journey. I didn't actually spend much time there - less than a full day, in fact. I'd been there before, and expected to be there again in the not too distant future with work. Here are the few photos I got from my rainy, gray afternoon's wondering around.

At Moscow station - the end of the journey!	In Saint Basil's Cathedral	In Saint Basil's Cathedral
In Saint Basil's Cathedral	In Saint Basil's Cathedral	The Kremlin
The Kremlin	On Red Square	On Red Square
Lenin's Mausoleum	Lenin's Mausoleum	Red Square

Final Thoughts and Thanks

Russia was a big place, and it's hard to write anything short that sums it up. I'm working on an ebook that will do that (that may be available already - I'll doubtless forget to update this text when it is). It's impossible to thank everyone who contributed to making this trip not only possible, but also enjoyable and interesting. I don't even know the names of some of them! However, to pick some of the people from Russia that come to mind most, I'd like to thank Andrew from Moscow, Dmitry, Ilya and Roman from Vladivostok, Timur from Kazan, Nadia from Tomsk and Nataly from Krasnoyarsk. I hope I get to see all of them again someday, somewhere. I'm also grateful to my clients for allowing me leave to take this trip without a single complaint, my friends and family for support, and to God for His protection and provision throughout the trip.