Behind Closed Doors: Russian Espionage & Intrigue
Like other countries, Russia has been protecting its security through espionage since its beginnings. In the 20th century,
the Soviets were specialists in secrecy and subterfuge, and masters of clandestine counterintelligence. Range from Red Square, where Lenin still lies in state, to a former gulag on remote Solovetsky Island, and to St. Petersburg, a resplendent setting for czarist intrigue and revolutionary fervor.
Days 1-4: Moscow
Explore not only the classic sites of Moscow, but the Kremlin Wall Necropolis, where revolutionaries and socialist heroes were interred; the special 7th Continent store where only the privileged were allowed to shop; the Sakharov Museum, tracing the loss of human rights, terror and imprisonment perpetrated by the USSR's totalitarian regime; Stalin's secret underground bunker and the Gulag History Museum.
Days 5-7: Archangelsk, Solovetsky Island
Experience serene Solovetsky, the UNESCO-listed island in the White Sea where 15th century monks founded a secluded monastery that later became the first in Stalin's network of gulags. The kremlin and monastery buildings include three beautiful 16th century churches that are regularly visited by Orthodox pilgrims. The island's microclimate allows many exotic plants to thrive in the botanical garden here, though it is very close to the Arctic Circle.
Days 8-11: St. Petersburg
In Peter the Great's imperial city, investigate the Peter and Paul Fortress, the city's first structure; the Winter Palace and imposing Palace Square, where both the 1905 and 1917 revolutions began; and the Cruiser Aurora, which fired the first shot (a blank) that signaled the Bolsheviks to storm the Winter Palace.
Visit the Museum of Political History, founded by the Petrograd Soviet and the Smolny Institute, which Lenin used as his headquarters during the night of the October Revolution. Top it off with the Usupoff Palace, where the plot to murder Grigory Rasputin came to fruition, and the glorious Hermitage Museum, which should be experienced by any visitor to St. Petersburg.
Trip Details
| Length of Trip: |
11 Days |
| Departures in 2010: |
1 |
| Dates: |
August 5-15 |
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| Land Tour Cost: |
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| 4-16 travelers |
$5,995** |
| Single Supplement |
$695 |
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| No Hidden Costs! |
| **Land tour cost includes internal flight costs which are subject to change; see the Descriptive Daily Itinerary for details. |
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MIR Signature Features
- Descend to the secret underground bunker established by Stalin under the city of Moscow
- View the monastery-turned-gulag on remote Solovetsky Island from the heights of a lighthouse
- Climb aboard the Cruiser Aurora, which started the Bolsheviks' 1917 attack on St. Petersburg's Winter Palace
Map - Click to Enlarge
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| Days 1-4: |
Moscow |
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| Days 5-7: |
Archangelsk, Solovetsky Island |
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| Days 8-11: |
St. Petersburg |
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| Moscow |
Moscow Kremlin and Red Square (UNESCO World Heritage site), Armory Museum, Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Lubyanka Prison, 7th Continent Supermarket, 23rd Hospital Taganskaya, House on the Embankment, Donskoi Monastery cemetery, Moscow White House, Novodevichy Convent cemetery (UNESCO World Heritage site), Gulag History Museum, Moscow Metro, Izmailovksy Park, Sakharov Museum
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| Solovetsky Island |
Solovetsky Island (UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site), Solovetsky Monastery and Kremlin, St. Nicholas Church, Assumption Cathedral, Transfiguration Cathedral, Russian banya, Sekirnaya Gora, Svyato-Voznesensky Skit, botanical gardens
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| St. Petersburg |
Historic city center (UNESCO World Heritage site), Winter Palace and Palace Square, "Dark Corridor," White Dining Room, Usupoff's Palace, Smolny Cathedral and Convent, Tavrichesky Palace, Fortress of Peter and Paul, St. Petersburg History Museum, Engineer's House, Cruiser Aurora, Museum of Political History
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Suggested Extensions
Extend your stay in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Contact us for details.
Some images on this page courtsey of James Beers
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