Travel Guides
- Trans-Siberian Railway by Lonely Planet
- Trans-Siberian Handbook by Bryn Thomas
We purchased both of these and took them on our trip. The Planning information is excellent, but they also provide details of the train routes and provide interesting information about the cities and villages along the way. You’ll use these on the train.
Helpful Websites
- Real Russia Buy your train tickets here online
- The Man in Seat 61 Comprehensive Train information
- Visa Express.net Visas for Russia and China
- Way to Russia Guide Similar to Real Russia
- Student Guide to Russia Cellphone and Laptop tips
- Lonely Planet Forum Traveler experiences
- The Moscow Metro The official government site
- How to use the Moscow Metro Good info on Metro in Russia
- AeroExpress Transit from Moscow airports to the city
- Hipmunk Airfare comparisons
Books
Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier. Ian Frazer is an American writer who made several trips to Russia but much of the book is about a very interesting and humorous 6 week driving trip from St Petersburg to Vladivostok.
Siberia and the Exile System by George Kennan. The complete details of life in Siberia for exiles in the late 1800’s.
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford. For nearly 200 years, the Mongols controlled most of the land mass of Asia and parts of Europe.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Covers the War of 1812 and events leading up to it. A Russian ‘Gone with the Wind’.
Moscow 1941 by Rodric Braithwaite. Through the personal remembrances of soldiers, politicians, writers, artists, workers, and schoolchildren, he gives us an understanding of how the war affected the daily life of Moscow, and of the extraordinary bravery, endurance, and sacrifice–both voluntary and involuntary–that was required of its citizens.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Considered one of the greatest works of fiction ever written.
Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie. Excellent way to understand 18th century Russian history.
The Romanovs, The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie. The final months of Nicholas II and his family and the story of the discovery of the remains 70 years later.
Movies
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me. A German movie and the true story of a German officer exiled to Siberia near the end of World War 2. He escapes and walks over 8000 miles over 3 years to return to his family in Germany.
The Way Back. Another true story of imprisoned soldiers during World War 2. They eventually escape and walk across Siberia, Mongolia and the Himalayas to freedom.
Other Media(available from Netflix)
Russia: Land of the Tsars. Traces the history of Russian imperialism (which ended with the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and Czar Nicholas II’s murder) via footage from historic sites and museums and insightful commentary from some of the foremost scholars on Russian history.
Russian Revolution in Color. The Russian Revolution brought about the end of the reign of the czars and saw the rise of communism. The documentary explains the events that paved the way for the formation of the Soviet Union.
The Eastern Front: 1941-1945. Twenty-eight million lives were lost on the Eastern Front during World War II; this two-part documentary chronicles the four-year conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union, considered the bloodiest of the entire war. “The Road to Stalingrad” outlines the steps taken by the German army to invade the Soviet Union. “The Road to Berlin” follows Soviet forces as they mount a fierce counterattack against the Nazis and ultimately liberate Auschwitz.
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