Kolyvan vase (1843) by Avraam MelnikovThe State Hermitage Museum
It's the world's largest country by land mass, and boasts a rich cultural, literary, and scientific heritage. Scroll on and use the click-and-drag function to explore seven top Russian museums in Street View.
Tap to explore
Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
Founded by Empress Catherine the Great in 1764, the Hermitage Museum stretches across six historic buildings on the bank of the Neva River, including the Winter Palace, the home of the tsars and which was captured by the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution.
Statue of Jupiter (Ancient Rome. End of 1st century) by UnknownThe State Hermitage Museum
The Hermitage's collection comprises 3 million artefacts, and while it holds the largest collection of paintings in the world, it's best known for its enormous holdings of sculptures and statuary, such as this ancient Roman Statue of Jupiter.
Tap to explore
Fabergé Museum, St Petersburg
The incredible wealth of the Tsars is evident at the Fabergé Museum. Peter Carl Fabergé was a jeweller from the city, who became a favourite of the Romanov Dynasty for his jewel-encrusted Easter eggs, commissioned by the Tsars as gifts for their families.
Coronation Egg Coronation Egg: opened view with the surprise otside (19th - 20th Centuries) by House of Fabergé, workmaster M. Perkhin, copy of the carriage made by G. SteinFabergé Museum
As many as 69 of these intricate and expensive gifts were made. Each year becoming more elaborate. The Imperial Coronation Egg, which contained a miniature coronation carriage, was made in 1897 to commemorate Tsarina, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna.
Tap to explore
Erarta Museum, St Petersburg
If you're looking for something a little more modern, head to the city's Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art. This private art collection exhibits paintings, prints, videos, and installations dating from the 1950s to the present day.
Model of Bipolar Activity (2008/2009) by Kawarga DmitryErarta Museum of Contemporary Art
Here you can find the work of reclusive contemporary Russian artist Dmitry Kawarga, who has developed his own style of 'biomorphism' in sculpture, creating beautifully complex structures that resemble those found within the brain.
Tap to explore
Kaliningrad Regional Amber Museum
During the medieval era, the area of Kaliningrad was rich in amber, and exported the precious material far and wide. Fragments have even been found in Istanbul. The city's Amber Museum, housed in the Dohna Tower near the old Rossgarten Gate, documents this history.
Tap to explore
The museum's worth visiting just to see the incredible building. The Dohna Tower was built in 1853 in the Neo-Gothic style as a part of the city's new defence system. It was named after Friedrich Karl Dohna, who participated in the Russian fight against Napoleon Bonaparte.
Tap to explore
Kosmonavt Viktor Patsayev
The Kosmonavt Viktor Patsayev was a scientific research vessel designed to track and communicate with spacecraft via its enormous radio telescope. It's named after Viktor Patsayev, a cosmonaut and Hero of the Soviet Union who was born in Leningrad.
Tap to explore
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The Tretyakov Gallery is dedicated to collecting and exhibiting fine art that has contributed to Russian culture. This prestigious institution began life as the private collection of a Moscow merchant, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, who gave his collection to the city in 1892.
Composition VII (1913) by Vasily KandinskyThe State Tretyakov Gallery
As well as realist works by nationally-recognised artists including Vasily Surikov and Ilya Repin, the museum holds the experimental abstract works of modernists such as Wassily Kandinsky, whose work transcended borders, and blazed a trail for later European artists.
Tap to explore
Panorama Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad, Volgograd
The brutality of the fighting between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany between 1941-1945, known in Russian as The Great Patriotic War, touched every single family. But nowhere was worse than Stalingrad. This museum modern-day Volgograd commemorates that bloody battle.
Tap to explore
Upstairs, an enormous painted panorama places you right in the middle of the battle, as seen from the top of Mamayev Kurgan hill, a strategic point which changed hands numerous times throughout the six month siege. Clickand drag to explore the whole thing, here.
Black Spot (1921) by Wassily KandinskyKunsthaus Zürich
Want to know more about Russian art? Zoom in on a virtual tour of Kandinsky's Black Spot
