Artisans from the Urals have brought new life to the legacy of Carl Faberge, creating amazing worlds out of semiprecious stones and minerals.

Elena Laputskaya singlehandedly carried out evacuation procedures, rescuing several dozen people from a burning aircraft. The nation is still waiting for authorities to acknowledge this in the appropriate manner.

Count Nikolai Sheremetev knew how to have fun, no worse than French King Louis XIV. For the guests of his summer house he built aviaries with rare birds, orangeries with exotic fruits, and of course, the marvelous palace.

It is rare that you find yourself in a place where the majority of people can’t freely converse in English. But Russia is a special case. It is the first country I visited where performing music with the people has allowed us to have entire conversations with barely a word exchanged.