So you, dear readers, think that the Olympics is all about sports? Nay! It is of course all about the souvenirs! And about how a miserly correspondent is supposed to buy them in sufficient quantity for the many friends and family left behind on the "mainland" while he is "roughing it" in Sochi...

Is Russia a dangerous, expensive, complicated place to travel to? Is it full of mafia, alcoholics, communists and poverty? Sounds like it's time to debunk some myths about travel to modern Russia.

After the games are over and the crowds have gone home, Sochi will still be Sochi. We look at what this Black Sea resort has to offer visitors beyond Olympic wonders.

Just beyond Krasnoyarsk is a national park catering to adventurous travelers. Recent upgrades show what Russia’s national park system could become.

A compendium of 13 useful websites for persons interested in traveling to Russia, covering everything from the latest visa information to cruises, to what not to do when in Russia (etiquette).

The Great Siberian Tea Road, a historic and legendary route that once connected China and Siberia with European Russia, was one of the world’s longest trade arteries. We retrace its path, geographically and culturally.

It was the last, most difficult part of the Trans-Siberian to build – a 90 km stretch of railway bending around Lake Baikal’s southern coast. To this day it preserves the ethos of its age and is the symbolic heart of the 9,289 kilometer rail line.

Just a few hours’ drive from Moscow is the wonderfully preserved, ancient town of Kolomna. And here, amidst golden-domed churches and a beautifully restored kremlin, there is a hidden gem of a museum.

Two young Americans decide to ride across the breadth of Eurasia, and spent 162 days traversing 6000 miles of Russian roads (and non-roads). They survived. And they brought back this tale.

Winter offers unique travel opportunities to Russia, particularly when it comes to Siberia. For instance, how about a trek across the world’s largest freshwater lake? Or ice skating atop crystal clear waters, then enjoying a searing banya...?

An excerpt from George Kennan's famous diary of his travels across Siberia, Tent Life in Siberia, in which he finds out he is not so fluent in Russian as he thought he was.

In recent years, a resurgent interest in religious pilgrimages has swept through Russia. Stella Rock joined 20,000 Russians on a 150-kilometer journey through Kirov region and brought back this story.