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I've been fortunate to travel to the Soviet Union/Russia-Ukraine on two occasions. I've joked that I was Russian in a prior life and it really felt like it the first time I saw what was then known as Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). On my first trip, I traveled alone and was paired with another "single" to share lodging. Could have been a disaster, but Sheila and I got along so well, that the rest of our tour group thought we were long-time friends. The itinerary for that trip was Leningrad/Kiev/Moscow.  The second trip was with my sister after the fall of the Soviet Union. This itinerary was St. Petersburg/Odessa/Moscow. The highlight was our Moscow hotel, the Rossiya, right on Red Square. St. Basil's was, literally, at our front door. The Rossiya was the largest hotel in Europe until its closure in 2006.
1. Winter Palace and Alexander Column on Palace Square seen through Arch of the Building of the General Staff (photo by Richard Nowitz)
2. St. Andrew's Church-Kiev (photo by Xsandriel)
3. Odessa Theatre of Opera and Ballet (photo by Assedo)
4. St. Basil's on Red Square (photo by Izzet Keribar)

CREDITS: MAP: web; PHOTOS: from web-1. by Richard Nowitz; 2. by Xsandriel; 3. by Assedo; 4. by Izzet Keribar; KITS: This or That by Etc. by Danyale; Project Mouse World China by brittishdesigns; FONT: Cyrillic; Myriad Pro; Comic Sans;  MATRYOSHKA DOLLS: by me