Wednesday 15th July – Saint Petersburg, Russia

• Arrive at your own leisure in St. Petersburg – the second largest city of Russia, and is well connected with the Caucasus and most Asian countries.
• Self-transfer to our centrally located hotel.
• A pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of our hotel at 6:00pm to discuss the tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
• St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great and is historically and culturally considered the beginning of the Russian Empire. We’ll head to our favourite restaurant which arguably serves the best borscht in the city!
• For those inclined we’ll head to a local bar for Zakuski – Russian hors d’oeuvres of gherkins, sausages, and pickled herring – consumed with Baltika beers and vodka!
• Overnight stay in St. Petersburg.

Thursday 16th July – Saint Petersburg

Morning

• Breakfast at our hotel before we began our epic journey of discovering and exploring key sites of the Russian Revolution!
• We’ll take a scenic walk along the Neva River to capture daily life and to meet our local guide and driver.
• Explore Lenin Square – here we’ll find the most iconic monument of Vladimir Lenin which depicts the revolutionary making a speech from atop an armoured vehicle. We’ll take an epic group photo here!
• Finlyandsky Railway terminal – best known as the terminal that Lenin used to return to Russia from Germany to start the 1918 Revolution. Lenin rode into St. Petersburg on engine #293 disguised as a railway worker, after previously fleeing persecution after the July Days riots.
• We’ll then visit the Cruiser Aurora, a famous vessel that fired the first shot that launched the Russian Revolution. The vessel also survived the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War.
• We’ll visit the famous Lenin Memorial Museum, where we will view his office and living quarters, the assembly hall in which he spoke, as well as the former school for the girls. It is one of the few Lenin museums still in existence.
• Visit the Apartment Museum of the Alliluevs or better known as ‘Lenin’s Secret Flat’. It was home to Sergey Allileuv, a Russian revolutionary, and his daughter Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin’s second wife. Allileuv was a participant in the October 1917 Revolution. The Allileuvs provided refuge to Lenin and Stalin when they were both fugitives.

Afternoon

• Lunch at a local restaurant – we recommend trying solyanka, a popular hearty soup.
• We’ll take a scenic route to Tauride Palace, one of the oldest and largest palaces in St. Petersburg. It was built by Catherine the Great. This was the site where the revolutionary provisional government was formed in 1917.
• Uprising Square – renamed in 1918, due to the number of revolutionary demonstrations and protests which have occurred here.
• Those wishing to purchase souvenirs, capture pictures, or grab a beer can freely do so – your guide will be able to assist with any recommendations.
• Dinner at a local restaurant. We recommend trying pelmeni, a delicious meat-filled dumpling that is also recognised as Russia’s national dish.
• Overnight stay in St. Petersburg.

Friday 17th July – Saint Petersburg – Moscow

Morning

• Early morning start with breakfast before we check out ready to experience the beautiful cultural heritage of St. Petersburg.
• We’ll visit the world-famous Hermitage Museum founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great. The former Winter Palace of the Tsars houses many world-class artefacts. This is the second largest museum on the planet, so you’ll be able to explore exhibits that fit your specific interests.

Afternoon

• For lunch, we’ll head to a local café. We recommend trying blini – Russian pancakes alongside a coffee.
• We’ll continue on our scenic walking tour to the Admiralty building, which used to be the headquarters of the Imperial Russian Navy.
• In Kazan Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, you’ll have the opportunity to see some of the finest examples of iconostasis depicting various biblical characters.
• Next, you’ll visit the most iconic site of St. Petersburg, the Church of the Savior on Blood. The beautiful church was erected on the site where Alexander II was assassinated by a political nihilist in 1883. The church was ransacked and looted during the Russian Revolution, used as a morgue during the Siege of Leningrad, and used as a warehouse to store vegetables and thus referred to as the Saviour on Potatoes.
• We’ll celebrate our final evening in St. Petersburg with some traditional Russian cuisine and drinks.
• We’ll head to the railway station and collect supplies for our train journey. We’ll be travelling on 4-bed sleeper compartments and, if you wish, meet in the restaurant carriage.
• Overnight on sleeper train.

Saturday 18th July – Moscow

Morning

• Arrival at 6:00am in Moscow – the largest and capital city of Russia, the city’s name derives from the River Moskva.
• We’ll transfer to our centrally located hotel for breakfast and to freshen up before heading out to explore one of the largest cities in the world.
• Lenin’s Mausoleum. Located in Moscow Red Square, it is the resting place of the Soviet leader, whose body has been preserved since 1924.
• Saint Basil’s Cathedral, locally known as the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed. This UNESCO World Heritage Site was constructed by Ivan the Terrible.
• We’ll visit the iconic GUM – the most famous department store in the Soviet Union.
• We’ll take the metro to the VDNKh, the Soviet-era exhibition complex whose name translates to Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy. Originally built to showcase the glory of Soviet industry and innovation, it’s now a blend of trade fair, museum, and amusement park.

Afternoon

• Lunch at our favorite canteen. We recommend trying okroshka, a traditional dish consisting of vegetables, meat and kvass.
• Once we’re ready, we’ll continue to the former KGB building which was expanded following the increased staff members from the Great Purge.
• Fallen Monument Park – with the collapse of the USSR, thousands of Soviet monuments were destroyed or dispersed. Some of the most formidable ended up here. We’ll explore the park and look for the Stalin statue with the missing nose!
• Dinner and drinks in Moscow, for those inclined we will head to traditional soviet bars that play a mix of soviet and western songs from 60s, 70s and 80s, a trip back in time!
• Overnight in Moscow

Sunday 19th July – Moscow – Ulyanovsk

Morning

• Breakfast at our hotel before we check out ready to explore the historical centre of Moscow.
• The Kremlin, which means “fortress inside a city”. The fortified complex was the former residence of the Russian Emperor and now is the official residence of the Russian President. You’ll visit the various Palaces, Cathedrals, and Armory chambers within the Kremlin walls.
• Kremlin Wall Necropolis – here you’ll find the graves of Bolshevik Revolutionary heroes including Yakov Sverdlov, Inessa Armand, and Viktor Nogin. Controversially, the final resting place of Joseph Stalin can be found here. It’s not uncommon to find flowers on his grave as he is still regarded as a hero by many.
• Before we leave the Kremlin, we’ll visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Here we’ll be able to see the changing the guard – a ceremony which takes place every hour.

Afternoon

• After a busy morning, we’ll grab lunch at a local café. We recommend trying guriev porridge – a sweet dessert that goes well with coffee.
• As it’s your final day in Moscow, you’ll have time to purchase souvenirs, take some pictures, or have a relaxing beer with your YPT guide.
• Around 16:30, we will head to the airport to catch our flight to Ulyanovsk
• Arrival in Ulyanovsk around 10pm, check in in the hotel
• Overnight in Ulyanovsk

Monday 20th July – Ulyanovsk

Morning

• Breakfast at the hotel, before we explore Ulyanovsk – the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin.
• First, we will visit the school where Lenin studied.
• We’ll visit the Lenin family home, a unique and interesting part of pre-revolutionary Russian history.
• Next, we’ll visit the most famous site in the city, the Lenin memorial centre. It is crammed with busts, photos, and portraits of Ulyanovsk’s most famous son.
• We’ll visit the impressive monument to Dmitriy Razumovskiy, a local Special Forces soldier who died during the Beslan school massacre that took place in 2004.

Afternoon

• For lunch, we’ll head to our favourite restaurant which has a selection of Armenian and Georgian cuisines. We recommend trying khinkali, the famous Georgian dumplings.
• We will spend the afternoon walking around the park next to the volga, trying the local ice cream and walking around the old streets 
• Dinner in a Ukrainian restaurant
• Overnight stay in Ulyanovsk.

Tuesday 21st July – Ulyanovsk – Kazan

Morning

• After breakfast, we will drive 3 hours to Kazan, the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan
• We will visit the house where Lenin and his family lived while he was studying in the university.
• We will see the university and the statue of young Lenin outside of it like looks a bit like Leonardo Di Caprio (when he was young)
• We will go to the Kazan Kremlin – constructed by Ivan the Terrible, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has lost many old buildings during Communist times.
• We’ll continue to the Kul Sharif Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Russia, and then Söyembikä Tower, locally referred to as Khan’s Mosque.
• Next, we’ll head to the Old Tatar Quarter, Staraya Tatarskaya Sloboda, one of the oldest districts in Kazan where many historical buildings have been preserved. Practically each of them relates to a figure of Tatar culture.

Afternoon

• For lunch, we’ll head to a traditional Tatar canteen. We recommend trying qazı (horse meat platter).
• We’ll continue to explore Kazan visiting Bogoroditskaya Monastery, where the Vatican copy of the Our Lady of Kazan Icon is held, and St. Peter and Paul’s Church, one of the most beautiful churches in Tatarstan and perhaps even Russia.
• We’ll take in Freedom Square, City Hall, Opera, and Ballet Theatre.
• Dinner to keep tasting the flavours of tatar cuisine.
• Overnight in Kazan.

Wednesday 22nd July – Kazan – Náberezhnye Chelny –  Izhevsk 

Morning

• After breakfast a minivan will be waiting for us, we will head to Náberezhnye Chelny, this industrial town is a good example of real life in Russia. Which will take us around 3 hours
• We will pass by the famous KamAZ factory – Russia’s largest heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer and one of the world’s top ten heavy-truck producers

Afternoon

• We will have lunch in a Soviet style canteen, where you can taste a big variety of pelmeni, the russian dumplings.
• We will walk between brutalist buildings and soviet monuments before getting on the car to drive to Izhevsk
• Dinner and drinks in Izhevsk, where you can try the Udmurtian food, like Perepechi, open pie shells have pinched edges and are filled with various ingredients such as ground beef, mushrooms and more
• Overnight in Izhevsk 

Thursday 23rd July – Izhevsk – Yekaterinburg

Morning

• Early morning starts with breakfast before we explore Izhevsk – the capital city of the Udmurt Republic. We will stroll through the city centre to see its monuments and the beautifully reconstructed church, destroyed in soviet times.
• Visit the Museum of Motorcycles, fitting, as Izhevsk was home to the famous Izh motorcycle factory during the USSR

Afternoon

• Time for lunch, we’ll head to a local restaurant that serves a selection of pelmeni, the Udmurt national dish.
• We’ll visit a centre dedicated to the man who created arguably one of the most lethal weapons in human history: The Mikhail Kalashnikov Museum, charting the creation of the weapon and the life of Kalashnikov. You will be allowed to fire a AK-47 if you wish as the museum basement has a firing range for a fee.
• Next, we’ll visit a unique exhibition displaying weaponry dating back to 1808.
• made our way to the traditional Udmurtian village of Ludorvai, where the traditions are preserved, we will sample their food and moonshine, and sing and dance with them
• Time for the last drinks, or eat something if you are still hungry after the village before catching the 22:50 sleep train to Yekaterinburg
• Overnight in the train

Friday 24th July – Yekaterinburg 

Morning

• Arrival in the Yekaterinburg station around 10 am
• On arrival, we’ll visit the Square of 1905. It became the centre of revolutionary events in the city during the early 20th century, when the Bolsheviks revealed the Manifesto of October 17. The rally was interrupted by the Black Hundreds and the Cossacks, and the ensuing fight resulted in several deaths.
• We’ll see the Statue of Yakov Sverdlov, a Bolshevik revolutionary and close ally of Lenin, before rounding off our walking tour at the opulent opera and ballet house. You’ll also see the statue of Boris Yeltsin, the first president of Russia, often vandalised.
• We will go inside the Yeltsin center, built in his honour since he was born in Yekaterinburg, his figure is still controversial in all Russia.

Afternoon

• lunch in a food court with all kind of cuisines for you to choose
• Church of All Saints – built on the site of Ipatiev House is where the Romanov family were murdered by the Bolsheviks ending the direct bloodline of the House of Romanov.
• Drive 40 minutes to Ganina Yama, the site where the remains of the Romanov family were initially buried. Today, it’s home to a peaceful monastery complex surrounded by wooden churches.
• After dinner, we will head to our private banya (tradicional russian sauna). Strip down (or use your swimwear), sweat it out in the scorching cedar chambers, then brace yourself for a shock as you dive into icy water or get flogged with birch branches called venik like a true comrade.
• We get on the 0:15 train to moscow
• Overnight in the train

Saturday 25th July – Yekaterinburg – Moscow

Morning

• Sleep as much as you want in the train, since we will spend most of the day there, the ‘provodnitsa’, assistant of the vagon, will bring the breakfast to your compartment
• Time to relax, play chess with the other travellers, share photos of the trip, or have a drink in the restaurant vagon.

Afternoon

• Lunch and drinks in the train
• Watch a soviet film, from your guide’s laptop or enjoy a good siesta 
• We will arrive around 10pm in moscow, and we will be transferred to our hotel
• Last farewell drinks in Moscow
• Overnight in Moscow

Sunday 26th July – Moscow

• We’ll have a leisurely morning, starting the day with breakfast at our hotel.
• Tour concludes – YPT can arrange additional nights in Moscow and airport drop-off for a fee. We are more than happy to provide advice for ongoing flights

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