The tour introduces tourists to the three cities that played the leading role in the history of Russia at different periods of its creation: Kiev, Moscow and St.Petersburg. Although since 1991 Kiev is the capital of the independent state of Ukraine, it still holds its place in the hearts and minds of the Russians, along with Moscow and St.Petersburg, as the oldest historical capital of the first great Eastern Slavonic state.
The very name of the world’s largest country originates from Rus', which is Old Russian name for ‘Russian land’. The state of Rus', with its capital in Kiev, was founded in the 9th century by the Eastern Slavs in the middle reaches of the Dnieper. Known also as Kiev Rus, it expanded throughout most of the territory of the modern Ukraine and European part of Russia and existed until the 12th century, when, as a result of intestine wars, it disintegrated into separate feudal principalities. The role of Kiev in creating self-consciousness of the Russians can be hardly overestimated. Suffice it to say that it was the city where Christianity was adopted by the Eastern Slavs (988), with its following spread over other Russian lands. Constant attacks of the nomads and constant quarreling and even war within the ruling dynasty considerably weakened Kiev Rus' and led to its fragmentation. A direct result of disintegration of the first Russian state was its weakness against the biggest peril in the Eastern European history: the Mongol invasion in mid-13th century.
Following the invasion most of the Russian civilization laid in ruins. It was a small provincial town of Moscow, left relatively unscathed that led the resurrection. Thriftiness and diplomatic skills  of the Moscow princes allowed them to win the time and eventually liberate Russia from the Mongols. Moscow principality consolidated Eastern Russian lands and became powerful centralized  state once again, with its capital in Moscow as a seat of the Tzar. The old Western core of the Russian civilization remained occupied by the Poles at that time.
In Moscow's Russia the classical Russian culture had reached its peak, but the country lacked technological development lagging behind Western European states in this respect. One of the Tzars of the new Romanov dynasty saw this weakness and decided to modernize Russia. One of his moves was to transfer the capital from conservative Moscow to entirely new city, built from the scratch by the best Russian and European architects. In 1712 St.Petersburg, founded few years earlier, replaced Moscow as the capital of the Russian Empire, which got its final shape by the late 19th century, as a result of Russia’s expansion to the vast territories of the Far East, Siberia and Central Asia.

Kiev Firstly mentioned in Russian Chronicles in 860, the city was the capital of the ancient Russian state Kiev Rus (9-12 centuries). After disintegration of the state it became a part of the Great Duchy of Lithuania (until 1654). In 1667 the city, along with lands located on the left bank of the Dnieper, became a part of Russia. In the Soviet times it was the capital of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine. It is the capital of independent Ukraine since 1991.

Moscow With its population over 10 million citizens, it is one of the world’s greatest megalopolises. Firstly mentioned in the Chronicles in 1147, Moscow, as compared with old capitals of Europe, such as Athens, Rome, Paris and London, is a middle-aged city. However, it is the standing that really matters, not the age. Being the capital of the world’s biggest country Moscow always played the very important role in political and cultural life of Europe and the world as a whole.

St.Petersburg Designed by Europe’s and Russia’s best architects to be one of the world’s most beautiful cities, it was the capital of the Russian Empire for as long as two centuries.

The program of the tour: