Volga Region & the Urals

From Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara on the middle Volga to the Ural Mountains, the boundary between Europe and Asia, and Yekaterinburg.

This region combines the Volga Federal District and the Ural Federal District: the oblasts of Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Samara, Saratov, Ulyanovsk, Penza and Orenburg; Perm Krai; the republics of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chuvashia, Mari El, Mordovia and Udmurtia; and Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan and Tyumen oblasts, along with the Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets autonomous okrugs. It borders Central Russia to the west and Volgograd (Southern Russia) to the south; Omsk and Novosibirsk to the east belong to Siberia.

Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan. Inside the Kazan Kremlin (a World Heritage site), the blue-domed Qolsharif Mosque stands alongside the Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral, reflecting the meeting of Islamic and Orthodox cultures; nearby are the island-town of Sviyazhsk and the ruins of ancient Bolghar. Nizhny Novgorod sits at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers, and Samara has a long Volga riverfront promenade. On the Ural side, Yekaterinburg is where the last tsar's family was killed, and the Church on the Blood stands on the site; a Europe–Asia boundary marker stands on the city outskirts. In Chelyabinsk Oblast, Taganay National Park and Zlatoust are good for hiking; near Perm lies the Kungur Ice Cave, and Bashkortostan has nature reserves in the southern Urals. The Yamal Peninsula in the north is tundra and reindeer-herding country, where travel conditions are harsh.

Allow 2–3 days for Kazan and 2 days for Yekaterinburg; both can be combined with Moscow by train or plane. Volga river cruises also run in summer. Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad do not work in Russia; verify visa policy and your government's travel advice before departure.

Destinations

Itineraries