Kent Pinkerton asked:




River cruising is a very popular form of vacationing in Russia. With plenty of offers and affordable options, river cruising is becoming a favorite with everyone.

River cruising has many advantages, the most important being its flexibility- a cruise can range from just a couple of hours to a week or even a month. Besides, it can be for any kind of occasion: a romantic evening, a relaxing getaway, recreation, a venue for parties, a way to entertain, a unique hideaway and more.

Russia river cruises are being offered with many attractive options these days. They differ greatly based on the size, the style, the kind of cruise, the source and destination points, the length of the trip, package, discount offers, etc. Russia river cruises also differ on the basis of style: luxury cruises, budget cruises, expedition cruises, niche cruises, sailing cruise lines, wilderness cruises, adventure cruises, small cruises, romantic cruises, single cruises and others.

The most common source and destination points in Russian river cruises are: Moscow, St. Petersburg and Rostov-on-Dov. The cruise can be round-trip, meaning the source and destination are the same, or it can be from one location to another. Prices range from $1,100 to $2,600 or more, depending on the kind of cruise. The cruises are also based on specific themes like: Russian Waterways, Journey of the Czars, Great Mother Volga, Waterways of the Czars and more.

You can know more about Russian river cruises by visiting a travel agent or a tour operator. The most popular river cruise tour operators in Russia are Imperial Travel, Value World, Globus, Viking, and Intrav. Advertisements also provide useful information about Russian river cruises. The Internet is a very good source of information, providing exhaustive information about all kinds of cruises. These can be compared, chosen and even booked online. Most operators offer attractive discounts and package deals for tourists.

Richard Chapo asked:




Romance and Russia, the two words just go together. Unless, of course, you are trying to speak in Russian.

Russian Language

The Russian language is not one that is typically considered a romance language. Based on the Cyrillic alphabet, there are a lot of stops and starts not to mention the occasional harsh noise. Given the fact that I was from California and thus could barely speak proper English, it was all the more a challenge.

Russian Women

In that I was living in Russia for a year, it was inevitable I would pick up a Russian girlfriend. Hey, there had to be at least one crazy one in the city!

Russian women are much sought after for their beauty and grace. Indeed, 9 out of 10 desperate men prefer to order addresses from a Russian mail order bride web site versus all other nationalities. Okay, I made that up, but you get the idea.

In truth, I found Russian women to be all they are touted to be and excellent cooks. As a single male in Siberia sans microwave, the cooking part was critical. Due to the lack of Pepto in Siberia, poisoning oneself is not recommended.

Still, Russian women do suffer from one flaw inherent in all women. Upon finding a boyfriend lacking in certain areas, a Russian woman will endeavor to fix them. In my case, the improvement involved the Russian language and love.

Ya tyebya lyublyu! This is the Russian phrase for “I love you.” At no point in time could I pronounce it correctly. I could declare my love, but never in the right direction. Because of the nuances of the Russian language, my inability to profess my love would lead me to say the equivalent of:

“I love tree”

“I love door”

“I love dog”

Of course, I could cuss like a local, but that was frowned upon by the girlfriend.

After months of aggravation, my girlfriend became determined to resolve this flaw in my moral character. Practice was the key and practice I did. Like that odd person in the bookstore, I mumbled “Ya tyebya lyublyu!” everywhere I went. This often led to random Russian women smiling at me and less enthusiastic Russian men giving me harsh looks. I won’t even mention what the occasional dog tried to do to my leg. Despite my efforts, my immortal soul could not be fixed. We gave up. Still, she had the determined look in her eyes, so I knew I wasn’t out of the woods yet.

One fine Siberian winter morning, which is to say it was –30 degrees, I was groggily greeted by an excited Tatyana. I was ordered to say “yellow blue bus.” I did. I was told to say it faster. I did. A yelp of triumph was heard across the permafrost of Siberia.

I had learned how to say “I love you” in Russian.

The door to which I had professed my love so many times went into depression.