Behind Closed Doors: Russian Exile & Intrigue
Like other countries, Russia has been protecting its security through espionage since its beginnings. But what set Russia - and later the Soviet Union - apart is the extent to which they spied on their own citizens. Range from Red Square, where Lenin still lies in state, to a former gulag on remote Solovetsky Island, and to St. Petersburg, a resplendent setting for czarist intrigue and revolutionary fervor.
Days 1-4: Moscow
From your base at a Stalinist hotel, the Sovietskaya, explore not only the classic sites of Moscow, but the Kremlin Wall Necropolis, where revolutionaries and socialist heroes were interred; the special 7th Continent store where the privileged were allowed to shop; the newly opened Sakharov Museum, tracing the loss of human rights, terror and imprisonment perpetrated by the USSR's totalitarian regime; Stalin's secret underground bunker and the Gulag History Museum.
Days 5-7: Archangelsk, Solovetsky Island
Experience serene Solovetsky, the UNESCO-listed island where 15th century monks began a secluded monastery that became the first of Stalin's network of gulags. The island's microclimate allows many exotic plants to thrive in the botanical garden here, though very close to the Arctic Circle.
Days 8-11: St. Petersburg
In Peter the Great's imperial city, investigate the Peter and Paul Fortress, the city's first structure; the Winter Palace and imposing Palace Square, where both the 1905 and 1917 revolutions began; and the Cruiser Aurora, which fired the first shot (a blank) that signaled the Bolsheviks to storm the Winter Palace.
Visit the Museum of Political History,founded by the Petrograd Soviet and the Smolny Institute, which Lenin used as his headquarters during the night of the October Revolution. Top it off with the Usupoff Palace, where the plot to murder Grigory Rasputin came to fruition, and the glorious Hermitage Museum, which should be experienced by any visitor to St. Petersburg.
Trip Details
| Length of Trip: |
11 Days |
| Departures in 2009: |
1 |
| Dates: |
July 30-August 9 |
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| Land Tour Cost |
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| 4-16 travelers |
$6,395** |
| Single Supplement |
$1,095 |
| **Land tour cost includes internal flight costs which are subject to change; see the Descriptive Daily Itinerary for details. |
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MIR Signature Features
- Descend to the secret underground bunker established by Stalin under the city of Moscow
- Climb to the lighthouse above the monastery-turned-gulag on remote Solovetsky Island
- Inspect the revolutionary Cruiser Aurora in St. Petersburg
Map - Click to Enlarge
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| Days 1-4: |
Moscow |
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| Days 5-7: |
Archangelsk, Solovetsky Island |
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| Days 8-11: |
St. Petersburg |
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Suggested Extensions
Extend your stay in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Contact us for details.
Some images on this page courtsey of Helge Pedersen
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