By Robert Schrader | Published on December 13, 2021

I have fantasized about visiting Russia in the winter since studying Russian history and literature in school. As one could image, when I had the chance to walk into Red Square one snowy, January night, it was literally a dream come true.

"Does the cold not bother you?" my friend Dasha, whom I'd previously seen in balmy Bangkok, asked with shock and awe as we neared the domes of St. Basil's Cathedral.

The bitter air was difficult to bear, of course, but I forced a smile through my gritted teeth. Unlike Napoleon's doomed troops, I'd made it to Russia in the dead of winter alive. I'd lived — and I intended to tell the world about it.

Visiting Red Square's Christmas Markets

To compound the cold, traveling to Russia from the U.S. had left me beyond jet-lagged, though the dazzling lights all around motivated me to stay awake. The contrast between Russia's somber history and the cheery Christmas colors left me in awe. On my left was Lenin's tomb underneath the towers of the Kremlin, but on my right, Christmas lights still shined over the ornate facade of the GUM department store.

Visit Christmas Markets in Russia's Red Square, Moscow
Visit Christmas Markets in Russia's Red Square, Moscow

The crowdedness of the highly seasonal market surprised me, both because of the low mercury reading and the fact that Christmas had passed three weeks earlier. Relics of the Red Square Christmas Markets remained, too, with stalls selling matroeshka dolls and chai tea still open and a carousel for children (who were even less bothered by the sub-freezing temperatures than I was) spinning with wild abandon. It made sense that sellers would want to stay in business into the new year, if only for the chance of attracting passers-by like Dasha and myself, as we neared the entrance to GUM

"This was the closest thing Moscow had to a mall during Soviet times," Dasha explained as we went inside, eventually walking up to the second floor to take it all in. "It's shocking, of course, since this is one of the most European buildings (and the least Soviet ones) in the entire city." Built in 1893, the department store is a time capsule with its Russian Revival style architecture and stalwart stores from the 1950s.

Finding Russian Borscht (And Vodka) To Warm Your Body And Soul

The next day, I met Dasha and our mutual friend Tanya for a morning stroll through the Kremlin and a view of the city from Lubyanka children's store. We then piled into Dasha's car for a day trip to Sergiyev Posad, one of the old towns in the aptly-named "Golden Ring" around Moscow.

"I hope you're hungry," Tanya asked as we crowded into a cafe whose walls were papered into Soviet-era kitsch, and where the earthy aroma of beets filled the air. We were having hot borscht, a soup many foreigners believe is only served cold, alongside sweet cherry-filled vareniki dumplings — and, of course, shots of vodka to wash it all down.

Russian Food Served with a Drink of Vodka, Vladivostok, Russia
Russian Food Served with a Drink of Vodka, Vladivostok, Russia

It was the very picture you’d expect when visiting Russia in the winter as we warmed up with hot borscht while people bundled in thick fur-lined coats bustled by, and not a word of English being spoken outside of Dasha, Tanya and myself

Over lunch, my Russian friends explained to me that we were technically in another Kremlin. "The word simply means 'citadel,'" Dasha explained. Russians find it amusing that foreigners (and especially Americans) always used the word as if it represented the Russian government. "Every Russian city and town has a Kremlin — Putin only lives in the one along the Moskva River."

There's truly nothing else like it. Through the cold, remember that you can warm your body (and your soul) with a bowl of hearty borscht or an indoor museum tour and hold onto the knowledge that, like mine, the heat of your memories will live on for years after you say Dasvidaniya (that's Russian for "goodbye") to Russia.
Upon our exit from the citadel, my friends proceeded to ask me which I preferred, between Moscow's and Sergiyev Posad's. I honestly couldn't answer, as both were towering examples of traditional Russian architecture and both brought me close to fully living out the Russian winter dreams of my adolescence.
Travel to Red Square in Winter, Moscow, Russia
Travel to Red Square in Winter, Moscow, Russia

Ballet At The Bolshoi Theatre In Moscow For A Cozy And Enchanting Night Out

Because of my obsession with impressions of Russia from literature and history, I spent a lot of my trip walking around outside, dipping in and out of shops and being wowed by the ornate buildings. Though the one rule about enjoying winter in Russia is to spend as much time indoors as possible. So, back in Moscow, after our day in the Golden Ring, this meant watching a ballet performance inside Moscow's famous Bolshoi Theatre.

Ballet Performance at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in Russia
Ballet Performance at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in Russia
It's pure sensory overload, particularly if you're just a few days out from a long flight. Do you gaze straight ahead and immerse yourself in the tale being told (in our case, it was Sleeping Beauty) and create your own mental subtitles for the familiar tale as it plays out in Russian? Or do you look all around, at the golden balconies and burgundy walls behind them, and at the expressions on the faces of your fellow ballet-goers who are just as entranced by the novelty of the experience as you are? Whichever you choose, the wonderment will make you feel like a kid again.

Take A Step Back In Time At The Winter Palace Of St. Petersburg

Winter Palace near the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia
Winter Palace near the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia
Somehow, nearly five days had passed by the time I boarded the Krasnaya Strela (Red Arrow) overnight train from Moscow to St. Petersburg. I was still getting over my jet lag when I saw Dasha and Tanya waving goodbye to me, their facial expressions happy and sad at the same time, and it was as if I had yet to greet them at all.
Savior on the Spilled Blood Church and Museum in St Petersburg, Russia
Savior on the Spilled Blood Church and Museum in St Petersburg, Russia

I slept surprisingly well in the plush train cabin, to the extent that when I arrived in the city formerly known as Leningrad, I hit the ground running. Well, not quite running: The streets leading from the station to the iconic Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood were literally frozen. I walked like a penguin, as my mother has always said I should do on snow and ice, way back to when I was a kid.

The good news is that, due to my early arrival time, I made it to the courtyard of the Winter Palace before any footprints had been left in the deep snow (which gleamed powder blue in the first light of day) in front of its gold-accented mint facade. The bad news? I still had a few hours to kill before the world-class Hermitage Museum housed inside opened for the day.

Travel to St. Isaac's Cathedral During Winter in St. Petersburg, Russia
Travel to St. Isaac's Cathedral During Winter in St. Petersburg, Russia
But that wasn't actually bad news. I spent my frigid morning walking — slowly — to St. Isaac's Cathedral. Here, I enjoyed a stunning panorama of the city, in spite of the brisk, cold wind that blew in my face as I looked down on the city. From this vantage point, the winter wonderland looked like a postcard, and it was absolutely worth battling the ice and wind.
Catherine Palace in Winter, St. Petersburg, Russia
Catherine Palace in Winter, St. Petersburg, Russia

Take A Sleigh Ride Past Catherine Palace Are Straight Out Of A Fairy Tale

As had been the case in Moscow with Sergiyev Posad, I spent my second day visiting St. Petersburg just outside the center, in the small city of Pushkin. My destination here was to visit Catherine Palace, which as its name suggests was the former residence of Catherine the Great — well, one of them.

Although the palace's exterior is technically blue, my snowblindness upon reaching it fooled me into thinking it was a similar shade of sea-foam as the Winter Palace itself. For some reason, I tasked myself with exploring its entire frozen grounds on foot. Horse-drawn sleighs are available for hire (and at a competitive price, due to the historically favorable USD-RUR exchange rate) for a whimsical ride around the grounds. But I wanted to take in all the details of the place, which only a slow procession allows one to do. From the evergreen forests that towered over frozen ponds on the palace's periphery, to the barren trellises ensnared with deadened ivy branches closer to the entrance, the beauty of Catherine Palace is as much about the museum inside — and maybe, the ghost of the Tsarina inside — as it is about the carefully curated landscape outside.

After warming myself up in the museum, I walked back outside and wondered whether Catherine herself ever truly noticed the details that went into the creation of her refuge from the world. Or, whether the sum of the scene spoke more loudly than any of its parts — mindfully selected as each might have been.

Consider A Banya While Traveling Russia In Winter

Russian Banya in Winter Snow while Traveling to Russia
Russian Banya in Winter Snow while Traveling to Russia

I'll be honest: Bathing, mostly naked, alongside naked Russian men was not high on my list when I first orchestrated my travel to Russia from U.S. However, it seemed irresponsible not to sample the traditionally Russian banya bathing experience before I left, if only to warm my body, which was utterly frozen after a week spent mostly outside in January.

Compared with the other men relaxing inside the wood-walled chamber — the interior of which seemed traditional even though we were inside a modern St. Petersburg building — I didn't have much stamina amid the intense heat. Likewise, I very quickly excused myself from the "massage" session (which, due to the masseur's strength and hand size, felt more like a beating), but my stiff and sore muscles were grateful for it.

The silver lining of the experience was the plentiful vodka on offer throughout. Again, I couldn't keep up with any of the Russian men around me on this front either. Still, it softened my perception of a ritual that I struggled to see as relaxing.

However, my first banya was definitely transformative. I was rejuvenated walking back into the frigid air, which felt not only bearable but even refreshing as it had days before in Red Square when I experienced my first Russian snow. Overall, it felt good, which is not a conclusion I ever expected to reach, at least not without a caveat.

Russia Is One Of The Best Places To Visit In Winter

Traveling for Winter in St. Petersburg, Russia
Traveling for Winter in St. Petersburg, Russia
Even if you didn't spend your teen years dreaming of traveling to Russia in the winter like I did, there's no more authentic time to try and understand this misunderstood country than when it's at its most ... well, Russian. Beyond classic attractions in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the Russian winter environment will prove to be a character in your story, and a reliable travel companion even when you're own your own. There's truly nothing else like it. Through the cold, remember that you can warm your body (and your soul) with a bowl of hearty borscht or an indoor museum tour. And hold onto the knowledge that the heat of your memories will live on for years after you say Dasvidaniya (Russian for "goodbye") to Russia.

Written By
Robert Schrader

Robert Schrader is a writer, photographer and one of the web's original travel bloggers. In 2009 he launched his blog Leave Your Daily Hell, which has taken him to nearly 100 countries, and has since spun off niche sites focused on Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Italy. Robert seeks to inform, inspire, entertain and empower travelers through his work, which has been featured in in-flight magazines and digital media outlets around the world. He's excited about travel's post-pandemic rebirth, and in particular the cruise industry's comeback!

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