Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area. It is part Asia, part Europe (the area west of the Urals is considered part of Europe) and features Mount El'brus, Europe's tallest peak, and 37,653 kilometres of coastline in some of the world?s harshest terrain. Churchill described Russia as a ?riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma? and this captures the contradictions of the place. Remnants of the extravagance of old Russia lie alongside the drab legacies of the Soviet era. It is a land of ancient pine and birch forests, picturesque villages with onion-domed churches, together with thoroughly modern cities. Moscow is an enigma where the golden onion domes of the Kremlin's Orthodox churches look out past Lenin's mausoleum and over the massive GUM shopping complex. St. Petersburg on the other hand, is the cultural heart of modern day Russia. Created by Peter the Great in 1703 to be his "window to Europe", St. Petersburg combines fascinating Russian heritage with a distinctly European outlook. There are plenty of attractions for the visitor in Russia, from the volcanoes and geysers of Kamchatka and the Siberian taiga to the mineral spas around the Black Sea coast. This is Russia.