Ecotourism
The association between Russia and its two biggest metropolises, Moscow and St Petersburg, is strong in the minds of tourists, but given its vast expanses and low population density, Russia is a nature lovers paradise as well. Russia has a network of exceptional natural areas, comprising 35 National Parks and 100 Nature Reserves zapovednik covering a total land mass larger than Germany. List of Russian Nature Reserves in Russian one can find here (http://mnr.gov.ru/part/?p...)
Some Russian Nature Reserves on the internet:
Provided your paperwork is in order, you may visit these areas independently. For those wishing to seek guidance, there are travel agencies specializing in ecotourism in Russia such as:
Russia has a long-standing tradition in high-quality education for all citizens. It has also one of the best mass-education systems in the world, with excellent results at international educational competitions.
Basic general education lasts for nine years. Graduates of this level may continue their education at senior high school to receive secondary general education. They may also enter an initial vocational school or non-university level higher education institutions.
Higher education is provided by public and non-public non-State accredited higher education institutions, of which Lomonosov Moscow State University (http://msu.ru) and Saint Petersburg State University (http://spbu.ru) are the most famous.
Due in great part to demands of the international educational organizations, the system of education in Russia began to adopt a system similar to that of Britain and the US: 4 years for the Bachelor's degree and 2 years for a Master's degree. The universities are still in the process of these changes; some of them offer the new system and others still work according to the prior 5-year system, particularly in programs such as law.
Russia's top universities have very competitive entry requirements, and special entry exams are held each year. One of the great attractions of education in Russia is the cost, especially when compared to the quality. Degree study tuition can range from $2000 to $8000 per year, with other costs room & board, books, etc. ranging from $1500 to $5000 per year, depending on location and spending habits.
The academic year lasts from Sept 1 to Mid June everywhere, with long summer vacations from July 1st to Aug 31.
Several universities and private schools offer Russian language courses individual and group tuition.
Ruslanguage (http://russian-moscow.com) - Center for Russian Language Studies in Old Arbat, Moscow
Study in Russia (http://edurussian.com) â Russian Language Courses at Voronezh State University
Educa (http://educalanguageschool.com) â Centre for Russian language and Volunteer & Internship programmes in Saint Petersburg
Extra Class (http://learnrussian.ru/) â Private school near Dostoevsky Museum in Saint Petersburg
Liden & Denz (http://lidenz.ru/) â Private school in Moscow and Saint Petersburg
ProBa Language Center (http://studyrussian.spb.ru/) St.Petersburg, Russia
SRAS (http://sras.org) School of Russian and Asian Studies all major Russian cities
Moscow Times (http://themoscowtimes.com...) Study Guide from Moscow Times newspaper
Ziegler & Partner (http://studyrussian.com) Russian language courses at Moscow State University