If the usual New Year’s Eve is still a long time to wait, there is an unusual alternative: go to the Jewish Autonomous Region in the fall and celebrate… Rosh Hashanah or Jewish New Year.

Leave the city for a couple of days, rent a cozy house in the Tver village or a hotel room for pilgrims and enjoy walks through the cozy territory of the Nilo-Stolobenskaya desert.

Arkhangelsk Region and the Kenozero National Park will captivate you at any time of the year. You can admire endless lakes, breathe fresh air in the thick green forests or, if you are lucky enough to visit in July, celebrate the most summery holiday - Midsummer Day!

The frost swirls behind the ‘Buran’ snowmobile have dissipated, we can see frequent antlers and a neat snow-covered log cabin in the back: we have come to visit the Khanty!

When winter begins to slowly recede, the Nenets drive countless herds of reindeer closer to the edge of the Barents Sea.

Although Buryatia is considered the center of Russian Buddhism, shamanism has been practiced in the area around Lake Baikal for thousands of years. Many locals even consider themselves dual believers: they pray to Buddha and make offerings to the Spirits at the same time.

Straight into village life in the vicinity of Omsk!

Staraya Terizmorga is a small village in the Republic of Mordovia, which was founded in the 16th century. Local residents still respect their traditions: For almost 20 years, the ancient Finno-Ugric people, who originally inhabited these lands along with the Erzya, have been revived here.

There are only a dozen village houses around, the guest house of the reserve, a pond and an endless green forest. A man slowly passes by on his bicycle, the old resident, Baba Tonya, friendly nods as she stands at the gate and the sun slowly approaches the horizon. Welcome to Chukhrai!

The Dargavs Necropolis is a strange place in every respect. It consists of “houses with windows”, with skulls, skeletons and mummified body parts inside. There used to be writing on the wall of one of the tombs that said: “Look at us with love. We were like you, you will be like us.”