Private guides and guided tours in Russia
Private guides in Russia
Travel Agency in St. Petersburg - Elean Loukianchikova
(Member Since 2019) Languages: EnglishHello, dear travelers! My name is Elena; I'm free-lance English speaking guide with licenses for all museums in St. Petersburg and its suburbs. I am 36. I graduated from the Russian State University of Culture and Arts.
Private Guide in St. Petersburg - Elena
(Member Since 2016) Excursions/tous in the following cities: St. Petersburg Languages: English, GreekDear Friends! What a good idea to come to Saint-Petersburg! My name is Elena and 'd be glad to see you here and to take you around my beautiful city.
Private Guide in Kaliningrad - Elena Antipova
(Member Since 2018) Languages: English, German, Spanish, FrenchHello! Let me introduce myself. My name is Elena Antipova, but many friends call me Alena. I'm from Kaliningrad – it is an Russian enclave at the Baltic sea.

Russia
COMMENTS ABOUT Russia:
The Russian Federation is located in northern Eurasia and is the largest country in the world. Russia shares borders with sixteen countries, including maritime borders with Japan across the Sea of Okhotsk and the state of Alaska in the U.S. across the Bering Strait. The country is so large it has nine time zones and many different landscapes and environments. Russia also has the largest population in the world with 143 million people (2012.) Most of the country has a subarctic climate, except for Black Sea coastal areas with its milder winters.
Tourism in Russia is mainly centered around the fascinating cultural and historical heritage, with amazing architecture, museums and landmarks throughout the country, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg. One of the most recognizable icons in Mosow is the St. Basil’s Cathedral with its colorful, ornately decorated domes and spires. Overlooking St. Basil’s and Red Square are the massive fortifications of the Kremlin and all its palaces and cathedrals.
In St. Petersburg, the Winter Palace is a monumental Baroque-style Imperial residence constructed in 1728, and is the home of the Hermitage Museum with some of the most priceless works of art in the world.
Another extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage Site is the open-air museum on Lake Onega, a beautiful reconstruction of peasant life in Old Russia and site of the Church of the Transfiguration.
Popular tours in Russia
Guide Licensing Information for Russia
Russia offers a very broad range of tour possibilities due its immense territory and vast cultural diversity. However, despite the official licensing requirements, there is a very large number of guides operating without a license. Moreover, since every city has its own guide licensing requirements, it is often not feasible for private guides to get a license, which is rarely required for general tours. However, when conducting tours in national museums, especially in large cities like Moscow or Saint-Petersburg, a valid tour guide license is always required. That’s why the main cultural tourist attractions are usually serviced by officially licensed guides.
In order to get a guide license in Russia the applicant has to possess relevant knowledge in the respective domain. If there’s no proper education, guiding courses can be found in almost any large city, however it is important to make sure that they will provide a valid certificate or diploma. After completing the courses and obtaining the certificate, the guide will have to register with the local authorities of the city he or she is willing to operate in. But this only refers to guides, who are willing to focus their tours on history and culture by including national museums to their tours. For general interest tours no license is required.