Western Russia includes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) and the Black and Caspian Seas, making this region the commercial and political core of the nation. Initially the capital of Russia, St. Petersburg was built by Peter the Great and is filled with both haunting and enchanting remnants of a time past. St. Petersburg is certainly the most European and best preserved city, adorned with stately architecture and regal cathedrals that echo of a romantic and prestigious era. In the early 20th century, the capital moved away from the European border to Moscow where the Kremlin, Red Square and Lenin’s Mausoleum (where you can view his embalmed body!) stand as testaments to Russia’s rocky history. In the Southwest, Volgograd is traditionally accepted as the origin of the Russian Empire and was fortified in the 1500s to protect tsarist Russia’s southern border from Cossack and Viking pillages. With these bases covered, leave the crowds behind and head east into a land with a history all its own.