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Sergei Ponomarenko, the Man who Slipped Through Time

In science fiction, time travel is a common occurrence. In reality, not so much: there are a slew of logical, observational and practical reasons why we strongly believe time travel to be an impossibility.

This is not 100% true, however. What is amazing is that outside the typical perceptions of time, traveling forward into the future by several milliseconds has been proven possible within the frameworks of special relativity (the relationship between space and time ) and general relativity (Einstein’s theory of gravity).

But, unless you can retrofit a DMC DeLorean with a flux capacitor like Doc Brown did in the film Back to the Future , we won’t be going anywhere.

But then there was Sergei Ponomarenko, a Ukrainian time traveler who was whisked away from 1958 Kyiv and dropped off in 2006 Kyiv in 2006 in a single moment. This story may seem crazy, but when we look at the photographic proof and time-stamped videos of Sergei Ponomarekno from 2006 questions arise.

Did Sergei Ponomarneko travel into the future? And how?

Sergei Ponomarenko

On April 23, 2006, a man in his late 20s to early 30s was arrested by the police for suspicious behavior. The young man was incredibly confused and kept asking what year it was.

The man said his name was Sergei Ponomarenko and, until two minutes ago, was living in the year 1958. The police asked for the man’s identification, and when Sergei Ponomarenko handed over his credentials, the officers were caught off guard.

The ID Sergei produced was the national ID cards citizens were given during the Soviet Union . Ukraine gained independence when the Soviet Union disbanded in 1991, and the ID was at least 15 years old.

The officers looked up from the ID and noticed that the man in front of them, Sergei Ponomarenko matched the photo on the ID card. Upon further observation, the police noticed Sergei dressed differently than everyone else.

Instead of modern clothing, Sergei Ponomarenko was wearing what would be described as “vintage” clothing from the 1950s and had an antiquated film camera around his neck. The police were convinced Sergei Ponomarenko was insane and needed medical intervention.

The police dropped Sergei Ponomarenko off at a psychiatric clinic in Kyiv, where Dr. Pablo Kutrikov saw him for examination. Dr. Kutrtikov recorded the session, which took place on April 23, 2006.

In the video, Sergei Ponomarenko said that his name was Sergei Valentinovich Ponomarenko and that he was born in Kyiv on June 16, 1932. The man in front of Dr. Kurtikov was not a 74-year-old man. He looked around 30 years old.

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When asked his age, Sergei only confirmed this, saying that he was 25 years old. Sergei Ponomarenko told the doctor that the last thing he remembered was that he was taking a walk in Kyiv with his fiance, Valentina Curish, and the two took a picture with Sergei’s camera. Just after this, Sergei spotted something strange in the sky.

Sergei described the strange object as bell-shaped and was “flying in a strange way.” He told the doctor that he thought he would be able to get a better look at the object if he took a picture of it, and suddenly Sergei found himself in 2006.

This would be easily dismissed as a rambling fantasy, but of course Sergei claimed he had proof. To determine if Sergei Ponomarenko was suffering from delusions or to convince the man that he did not time travel after taking a picture of a UFO, Dr. Kutrikov had the photos developed.

Sergei had a vintage camera, and the film could not be developed using 21st-century techniques. An expert in photography was called in to develop the film.

When the photography expert received the film, he was shocked when he realized that the film was old. That specific type of film went out of production in the 1970s but was in perfect condition. The photos taken by Sergei Ponomarenko were able to be developed.

There were photographs of Kyiv from the 1950s, an image of a woman about the same age as Sergei Ponomarenko, and a photo of Sergei wearing the same outfit he wore in the interview with Dr. Kutrikov. But the most impressive picture was a bell-shaped UFO in the sky, just as Sergei had described.

This was enough to warrant further investigation, and on April 25, 2006, Sergei Ponomarenko sat again in a recorded interview with Dr. Kutrikov. The doctor presented Sergei with the images. Sergei basically said, “yeah, I told you so,” and was recorded saying, “I so far do not understand what this object [UFO] is and how something like that happened to me at the same moment when I took the picture, and I went down to look at the camera and somehow ended up in this year.”

When the two men finished speaking, Sergei was seen on the security camera entering his room at the clinic and was never seen again . Sergei Ponomarenko is never captured exiting the room, and bars on the windows made escape impossible.

Now the police had a missing person to find. The police investigated old ID records from the Soviet Union and verified that there was a man named Sergei Valentinovich Ponomarekno from Kyiv. However, the reports indicated that this Sergei Ponomarenko was officially declared missing in 1960.

The police had a picture of Sergei’s fiancée, Valentina Chrish, and went to see if she knew what was happening or where the man went. They found Valentina, an elderly woman in her 70s, and she told them that her fiancé Sergei Ponomarenko had indeed disappeared for a few days back in 1958.

But Sergei had returned.

Lauren Dillon

Lauren Dillon is a freelance writer with experience working in museums, historical societies, and archives. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Russian & Eastern European Studies in 2017 from Florida State University. She went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Museum Studies in 2019 from the University of San Francisco. She loves history, true crime, mythology, and anything strange and unusual. Her academic background has inspired her to share the parts of history not in most textbooks. She enjoys playing the clarinet, taking ballet classes, textile art, and listening to an unhealthy amount of true crime podcasts. Read More

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April 26, 2023

Is Time Travel Possible?

The laws of physics allow time travel. So why haven’t people become chronological hoppers?

By Sarah Scoles

yuanyuan yan/Getty Images

In the movies, time travelers typically step inside a machine and—poof—disappear. They then reappear instantaneously among cowboys, knights or dinosaurs. What these films show is basically time teleportation .

Scientists don’t think this conception is likely in the real world, but they also don’t relegate time travel to the crackpot realm. In fact, the laws of physics might allow chronological hopping, but the devil is in the details.

Time traveling to the near future is easy: you’re doing it right now at a rate of one second per second, and physicists say that rate can change. According to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, time’s flow depends on how fast you’re moving. The quicker you travel, the slower seconds pass. And according to Einstein’s general theory of relativity , gravity also affects clocks: the more forceful the gravity nearby, the slower time goes.

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“Near massive bodies—near the surface of neutron stars or even at the surface of the Earth, although it’s a tiny effect—time runs slower than it does far away,” says Dave Goldberg, a cosmologist at Drexel University.

If a person were to hang out near the edge of a black hole , where gravity is prodigious, Goldberg says, only a few hours might pass for them while 1,000 years went by for someone on Earth. If the person who was near the black hole returned to this planet, they would have effectively traveled to the future. “That is a real effect,” he says. “That is completely uncontroversial.”

Going backward in time gets thorny, though (thornier than getting ripped to shreds inside a black hole). Scientists have come up with a few ways it might be possible, and they have been aware of time travel paradoxes in general relativity for decades. Fabio Costa, a physicist at the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, notes that an early solution with time travel began with a scenario written in the 1920s. That idea involved massive long cylinder that spun fast in the manner of straw rolled between your palms and that twisted spacetime along with it. The understanding that this object could act as a time machine allowing one to travel to the past only happened in the 1970s, a few decades after scientists had discovered a phenomenon called “closed timelike curves.”

“A closed timelike curve describes the trajectory of a hypothetical observer that, while always traveling forward in time from their own perspective, at some point finds themselves at the same place and time where they started, creating a loop,” Costa says. “This is possible in a region of spacetime that, warped by gravity, loops into itself.”

“Einstein read [about closed timelike curves] and was very disturbed by this idea,” he adds. The phenomenon nevertheless spurred later research.

Science began to take time travel seriously in the 1980s. In 1990, for instance, Russian physicist Igor Novikov and American physicist Kip Thorne collaborated on a research paper about closed time-like curves. “They started to study not only how one could try to build a time machine but also how it would work,” Costa says.

Just as importantly, though, they investigated the problems with time travel. What if, for instance, you tossed a billiard ball into a time machine, and it traveled to the past and then collided with its past self in a way that meant its present self could never enter the time machine? “That looks like a paradox,” Costa says.

Since the 1990s, he says, there’s been on-and-off interest in the topic yet no big breakthrough. The field isn’t very active today, in part because every proposed model of a time machine has problems. “It has some attractive features, possibly some potential, but then when one starts to sort of unravel the details, there ends up being some kind of a roadblock,” says Gaurav Khanna of the University of Rhode Island.

For instance, most time travel models require negative mass —and hence negative energy because, as Albert Einstein revealed when he discovered E = mc 2 , mass and energy are one and the same. In theory, at least, just as an electric charge can be positive or negative, so can mass—though no one’s ever found an example of negative mass. Why does time travel depend on such exotic matter? In many cases, it is needed to hold open a wormhole—a tunnel in spacetime predicted by general relativity that connects one point in the cosmos to another.

Without negative mass, gravity would cause this tunnel to collapse. “You can think of it as counteracting the positive mass or energy that wants to traverse the wormhole,” Goldberg says.

Khanna and Goldberg concur that it’s unlikely matter with negative mass even exists, although Khanna notes that some quantum phenomena show promise, for instance, for negative energy on very small scales. But that would be “nowhere close to the scale that would be needed” for a realistic time machine, he says.

These challenges explain why Khanna initially discouraged Caroline Mallary, then his graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, from doing a time travel project. Mallary and Khanna went forward anyway and came up with a theoretical time machine that didn’t require negative mass. In its simplistic form, Mallary’s idea involves two parallel cars, each made of regular matter. If you leave one parked and zoom the other with extreme acceleration, a closed timelike curve will form between them.

Easy, right? But while Mallary’s model gets rid of the need for negative matter, it adds another hurdle: it requires infinite density inside the cars for them to affect spacetime in a way that would be useful for time travel. Infinite density can be found inside a black hole, where gravity is so intense that it squishes matter into a mind-bogglingly small space called a singularity. In the model, each of the cars needs to contain such a singularity. “One of the reasons that there's not a lot of active research on this sort of thing is because of these constraints,” Mallary says.

Other researchers have created models of time travel that involve a wormhole, or a tunnel in spacetime from one point in the cosmos to another. “It's sort of a shortcut through the universe,” Goldberg says. Imagine accelerating one end of the wormhole to near the speed of light and then sending it back to where it came from. “Those two sides are no longer synced,” he says. “One is in the past; one is in the future.” Walk between them, and you’re time traveling.

You could accomplish something similar by moving one end of the wormhole near a big gravitational field—such as a black hole—while keeping the other end near a smaller gravitational force. In that way, time would slow down on the big gravity side, essentially allowing a particle or some other chunk of mass to reside in the past relative to the other side of the wormhole.

Making a wormhole requires pesky negative mass and energy, however. A wormhole created from normal mass would collapse because of gravity. “Most designs tend to have some similar sorts of issues,” Goldberg says. They’re theoretically possible, but there’s currently no feasible way to make them, kind of like a good-tasting pizza with no calories.

And maybe the problem is not just that we don’t know how to make time travel machines but also that it’s not possible to do so except on microscopic scales—a belief held by the late physicist Stephen Hawking. He proposed the chronology protection conjecture: The universe doesn’t allow time travel because it doesn’t allow alterations to the past. “It seems there is a chronology protection agency, which prevents the appearance of closed timelike curves and so makes the universe safe for historians,” Hawking wrote in a 1992 paper in Physical Review D .

Part of his reasoning involved the paradoxes time travel would create such as the aforementioned situation with a billiard ball and its more famous counterpart, the grandfather paradox : If you go back in time and kill your grandfather before he has children, you can’t be born, and therefore you can’t time travel, and therefore you couldn’t have killed your grandfather. And yet there you are.

Those complications are what interests Massachusetts Institute of Technology philosopher Agustin Rayo, however, because the paradoxes don’t just call causality and chronology into question. They also make free will seem suspect. If physics says you can go back in time, then why can’t you kill your grandfather? “What stops you?” he says. Are you not free?

Rayo suspects that time travel is consistent with free will, though. “What’s past is past,” he says. “So if, in fact, my grandfather survived long enough to have children, traveling back in time isn’t going to change that. Why will I fail if I try? I don’t know because I don’t have enough information about the past. What I do know is that I’ll fail somehow.”

If you went to kill your grandfather, in other words, you’d perhaps slip on a banana en route or miss the bus. “It's not like you would find some special force compelling you not to do it,” Costa says. “You would fail to do it for perfectly mundane reasons.”

In 2020 Costa worked with Germain Tobar, then his undergraduate student at the University of Queensland in Australia, on the math that would underlie a similar idea: that time travel is possible without paradoxes and with freedom of choice.

Goldberg agrees with them in a way. “I definitely fall into the category of [thinking that] if there is time travel, it will be constructed in such a way that it produces one self-consistent view of history,” he says. “Because that seems to be the way that all the rest of our physical laws are constructed.”

No one knows what the future of time travel to the past will hold. And so far, no time travelers have come to tell us about it.

Vladimir Putin’s Trip to North Korea Reeks of Desperation, Not Strength

I t must be somebody pretty important in your life to warrant a personal airport pickup at 3 a.m. But that’s the honor North Korean “Supreme Leader” Kim Jong Un paid to Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning, greeting the Russian President on a red carpet-laid runway in the wee hours and then riding with him through Pyongyang streets festooned with roses and murals of his stout, balding guest, whom Kim had earlier hailed as an “invincible comrade-in-arms.”

The last time Putin visited North Korea, it was his first year as Russian President and Kim was still ensconced under a fake name at a Swiss boarding school. (Kim’s late dictator father, Kim Jong Il, played host instead.) Twenty-four years on and Putin’s return to the “Hermit Kingdom” comes as he’s embroiled in Europe’s deadliest land conflict since World War II and the younger Kim wields a nuclear arsenal capable of threatening the continental U.S.

The Kremlin described the trip as a “friendly state visit,” though the prospect of the two leaders inking partnerships on security, food, energy, and foreign currency prompted the White House to express concern about the “deepening relationship.” At a joint press briefing with U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg echoed those worries, particularly “potential support that Russia provides to North Korea when it comes to supporting their missile and nuclear programs.”

Certainly, ties between these two pariahs are stronger than any point since the fall of the Soviet Union. In a letter published in Rodong Sinmun , mouthpiece of North Korea’s ruling Workers Party, Putin promised to develop trade and security systems with Pyongyang “that are not controlled by the West,” while promising to help his host stave off “U.S. pressure, blackmail and military threats.” Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide, told Russia’s Tass news agency that the meeting could result in a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”

Washington and Seoul have accused Kim of supplying Russia with artillery, munitions, and other equipment to help Russia’s military navigate a shortfall over the winter, for which North Korea likely received food, fuel, and military technology in return. Both North Korea and Russia deny the existence of an arms deal, though on Wednesday Putin opened talks with Kim by gushing about Pyongyang’s support “including in the Ukrainian direction,” according to Tass. Kim responded by congratulating Russia’s role in “maintaining the strategic balance in the world.” Meanwhile, analysis of debris in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region indicates North Korean short-range missiles had been deployed there.

Putin’s arrival also comes at a time of heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. In recent weeks, North Korea has sent hundreds of balloons with bags of trash and excrement into the South in apparent retaliation to activists there dispatching anti-Pyongyang propaganda. Meanwhile, several North Korean soldiers were reportedly maimed or killed on Tuesday while laying landmines in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that have separated both sides since the 1950-53 Korean War. In addition, more than 20 North Korean soldiers briefly encroached into the DMZ on Tuesday for the second time in less than two weeks but retreated following warning shots, according to South Korea.

The question is whether Kim’s blossoming bromance with Putin risks emboldening the North Korean despot. Historically, one of the main reasons North Korea has pursued improved relations with the U.S. was to negotiate sanctions relief. But if Russia offers a viable long-term solution for improving North Korea’s economy, Kim has less of an incentive to improve relations with Washington.

Russia’s permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council makes this autocratic rapprochement particularly valuable for Kim. Despite previously supporting the most robust sanctions regime in history against North Korea, Russia on March 28 vetoed a U.N. resolution renewing the bloc’s Panel of Experts’ mandate to monitor sanctions enforcement. Moscow is also taking steps to permanently dismantle punitive economic measures targeting Pyongyang by calling for a “sunset clause” for the existing sanctions regime.

At the least, any financial or political cover that Putin can provide enables Kim to ramp up the brinkmanship —alternating threats and conciliatory gestures to eke concessions—that has formed the bedrock of North Korean foreign policy since the days of Kim’s illustrious grandfather. It also eases the burden on national coffers under such strain that currently human hair for wigs and fake eyelashes accounts for 60% of declared exports to China, North Korea’s largest trading partner.

“This really takes some pressure off of the North Korean economy, which I expect to rebound,” says Stephan Haggard, professor of Korea studies at the University of California San Diego. “In effect, this is a positive shock for the country. It can churn out munitions and get food and possibly fuel in return.”

From Putin’s perspective, any cost imposed to Western allies is a net positive. Putin’s message to Japan and South Korea, says Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, is “your help shredding thousands of young Russian boys on the battlefield is having a price as we can create problems for you from North Korea.”

Yet budding ties may risk fissures developing between Moscow and its only backer that really matters: China. Credible reports suggest Putin originally intended to travel directly to Pyongyang at the culmination of last month’s visit to China but was dissuaded by nervous Beijing officials. For while both Kim and Putin both likely scroll Bond villain YouTube compilations on the can, China’s Xi Jinping clings to a notion of the Middle Kingdom as legitimate global power, and he fears the optics of belonging to, as Gabuev puts it, a “triangular Axis of Evil in the Indo-Pacific.”

Moreover, China only tolerates North Korea’s existence—including the very real threat of nuclear catastrophe just 500 miles from Beijing—because that is deemed strategically preferable to a unified, U.S.-allied Korean peninsula on its border. Putin coming along and whipping Kim into rattling cages isn’t necessarily part of Beijing’s plan. “The Chinese are probably weary or unnerved about North Korea and Russia becoming too close,” says Daniel Pinkston, an East Asia expert at Troy University in Seoul.

So while Russia and North Korea getting chummy is never a good thing, even a “comprehensive strategic partnership” between two of the most sanctioned countries on earth is unlikely to tip the balance in any meaningful way, and could well backfire if Beijing gets peeved. Ultimately, “Authoritarian regimes are transactional, and dictators can always renege on their commitments, so they’re not credible partners,” adds Pinkston. “Russia and North Korea are both aggrieved, revisionist states, but they don’t have shared values other than overturning the status quo.”

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Why Is Putin in Vietnam?

President Vladimir V. Putin is keen to maintain the longstanding military ties between Russia and Vietnam, as Hanoi has developed deeper bonds with Washington.

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By Sui-Lee Wee

Reporting from Bangkok

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia wrapped up a state visit to one ally, North Korea, and moved on to another, Vietnam, arriving early Thursday hoping to shore up crucial partnerships in the region as he wages a protracted war in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine has left him isolated from the West, and his need for munitions to fight that war has pushed him closer to North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un. The two leaders have bonded over their common historical opponent, the United States, and on Wednesday revived a Cold War-era mutual defense pledge between their nations.

In Vietnam, by contrast, Mr. Putin met with officials who have recently forged deeper bonds with Washington. But Moscow has long been Hanoi’s main source of weapons, and Mr. Putin is keen to hold on to that position.

It is Mr. Putin’s fifth visit to Vietnam and follows trips last year by President Biden and President Xi Jinping of China, two leaders who sought assurances from Hanoi that it was not taking the other’s side.

For Vietnam, Mr. Putin’s trip will be an opportunity to solidify ties with Russia, its most important defense partner. Even though it has upgraded relations with the United States, Vietnam was still looking for secret ways last year to purchase Russian military equipment in contravention of American sanctions.

On Thursday morning, in typical scripted fashion, Vietnamese schoolchildren — waving both the Russian and Vietnamese flags — lined the Hanoi streets as Mr. Putin’s motorcade drove by. He was greeted by Vietnam’s newly installed president , To Lam, who gave him a hug.

Later, Mr. Putin was given a 21-gun salute at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, an important historical site in the center of the capital. A military band played the national anthems of both countries. The two leaders will hold a news conference after the talks are over, according to Vietnamese state media.

Washington has rebuked Hanoi for inviting the Russian leader, saying, “No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities.”

This week, Mr. Lam told the local Russian envoy that Hanoi “always considers Russia one of the top priority partners in its foreign policy.”

Here’s what to know about relations between Moscow and Hanoi.

Russia and Vietnam have deep military ties.

In 1950, the Soviet Union was among the first countries to give diplomatic recognition to what was then the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, or North Vietnam. Over decades, Moscow became Vietnam’s biggest donor, providing military aid when Hanoi was fighting its wars against France and the United States.

The defense relationship has underpinned many ties between the two countries, which over the years also shared communist ideology. Mr. Putin arrived in Vietnam with his new defense minister, Andrei R. Belousov, underscoring how security matters are central to the visit.

Russian equipment represents about 60 percent to 70 percent of Vietnam’s defense arsenal, according to Nguyen The Phuong, who studies Vietnam’s military affairs at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Russia has supplied Vietnam with coastal defense missile systems, six Kilo-class submarines, fighter jets and many more lethal weapons.

Nearly all of Vietnam’s naval vessels come from Russia, according to Mr. Phuong. Russia’s T-90 tanks, which were the last-known major purchase of Russian arms by Vietnam in 2016, form the backbone of Vietnam’s armored forces, he added. This means that Vietnam is still going to be reliant on Russia in the years to come.

Vietnam has looked beyond Russia for weapons.

But the imposition of Western sanctions on Moscow has increased concerns in Hanoi about Russia’s reliability as a supplier, and made it increasingly awkward for Vietnam to continue dealing with Russia as it engages with the West.

Many of Vietnam’s leaders are also aware of the Russian military’s struggles against Ukraine — footage has shown the T-90 tanks being blown apart by drones used by Ukraine. They are also cognizant of Russia’s deepening relationship with China, which they regard as a threat because of a longstanding territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

In recent months, it has turned to countries like South Korea, Japan and the Czech Republic as alternative sources of weapons. It has also tried to build up its own defense industry. It has looked to India, another former Soviet ally, to retrofit some of its weapons.

The United States has been actively offering more weapons to Vietnam, with senior officials traveling to the country in recent months. But analysts say the top echelons of Vietnam’s defense leadership remain suspicious of Washington. They are reluctant to tie their fate to a country where arms sales have to be passed through a Congress that could make the deal contingent on human rights.

The two nations have joint ventures in the oil business.

Russia has a significant stake in Vietnam’s lucrative oil and gas sector. Vietsovpetro, a joint venture run by Russia’s Zarubezhneft and Vietnam’s state-owned PetroVietnam, operates Vietnam’s largest oil field, Bach Ho.

The profits from Vietsovpetro have generated millions of dollars for both Russia and Vietnam. Zarubezhneft and Gazprom, another Russian state-owned energy firm, are also involved in oil exploration projects in Vietnam.

For Moscow, these projects come at a time when Russian oil and gas exports to Europe have plummeted following the imposition of sanctions from the European Union. But they have irked Beijing because they are in waters that it contends are part of its territory.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Vietnam was also a particularly attractive destination for Russian tourists. In 2019, Russia sent the sixth-highest number of tourists of any nation to Vietnam, just after the United States. But the numbers dropped during the pandemic and fell further after Vietnam stopped direct flights in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Direct flights resumed this year.

Mr. Putin is seen as popular with the Vietnamese brass.

Beginning in the 1950s, thousands of Vietnamese Communist Party officials , top business officials, doctors, teachers and soldiers were trained in the Soviet Union and Russia. That list includes the current party chief, Nguyen Phu Trong.

But some felt those deep ties were ignored by the last Soviet leader, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, and Russia’s first president, Boris N. Yeltsin.

“The Vietnamese feel that Gorbachev in the 1980s abandoned Vietnam in an effort to improve relations with China; Yeltsin, all through the 90s, barely paid any attention to Vietnam,” said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. “Once Putin was in power in 2000, he gave a lot of face to it. So the Vietnamese are grateful for that.”

He added that the Vietnamese leadership liked Mr. Putin because “he put Vietnam-Russia relations back on track.”

Paul Sonne and Damien Cave contributed reporting.

Sui-Lee Wee is the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Times, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region. More about Sui-Lee Wee

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Best Time to Visit Russia

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Want to travel to Russia but not sure where to start? Travel to Russia is a little more complicated than going to the Dominican Republic or France because of the following reasons. 1. Russia is far away. 2. Russia is cold. 3. You will need a visa to travel to Russia.

When to Go on Your Long-Awaited Trip to Russia

Don't worry! You've come to the right place. We'll help you understand Russian weather and find the best time for you to travel to Russia . Let's start with a brief overview of weather averages in Moscow & St. Petersburg.

Find out in the video above why traveling to Russia in summers is an excellent choice!

Weather in Russia

Next to consider when planning your travel to Russia is temperature. Russia is most beautiful in winter. After all, it is a northern country (coldest in the world actually) that spends 8/12 months in winter and knows how to make the most of it. If you travel to Russia in winter, you can save lots of money & expect a better service, & get to do many fun things, such as troika rides. If you don't like the cold, your safer bet is to travel to Russia next summer.

Don't try to fool the weather and travel to Russia in inter-seasons. You might be in for a big surprise. Of course, you will travel to Russia for different reasons than Napoleon, but you should know that snowing starts in October and ends in April! Or you could just ask your travel agent who is helping you to organize your travel to Russia to ensure that you spend as little time as possible in the snow.

Weather Averages in Moscow, Russia

Weather averages in  Moscow  fluctuate significantly depending on the season. July and August are the hottest months in the Russian capital.

The average temperature stays at 19°C (65°F) and often surpasses 30°C (86°F). Due to the continental climate and megapolis environment, peak temperatures often feel boiling hot. The coldest month in Moscow is January with an average temperature of -8°C (18°F).

Tip: the best time to visit Moscow weather-wise is late spring-early June. This is the period when the weather is the most convenient for long hours of sightseeing.

Weather Averages in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Weather averages in  St Petersburg  are generally lower than for Russia's capital, Moscow. July & August are the hottest months in St Pete's (and also have the longest daily sunshine hours.

The average temperature during summers is usually at 18°C (64°F). However, sometimes it gets really hot and thermometers climb up to 30°C (86°F). The coldest month obviously is January with an average temperature of -6°C (22°F). The wettest months are October & November.

Tip: the best time to visit St. Petersburg weather-wise is late spring-early June. This is the season when the weather is the most convenient for long hours of sightseeing.

The Best Time for Flying to Russia

There are few flights, so airfares fluctuate depending on seasons (New York - Moscow flight is $450 - $1200). It's cheapest to Travel to Russia in November, March and late August and most expensive during summers.

Overview of Travel Seasons in Russia

The high season for traveling to Russia is May through October. This is the best time to  tour Russia  and admire its masterpieces like the fountains of  Peterhof ,  parks of Pushkin , and the quaint countryside of the  Golden Ring . However, during summers main tourist routes are crowded and sometimes even impossible to access. So the best time to visit Russia is in inter-seasons like late spring and early fall. In addition, if you are brave enough, visiting Russia in winter can be just as rewarding if not more. Watch the video on the left and discover what's traveling Russia in winter like.

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France is the closest it has been to having a far-right government since World War Two, with the anti-immigrant National Rally (RN) riding high in opinion polls ahead of a snap legislative election on June 30 and July 7.

Best Time to Visit Russia (Bright Lights & Winter Wonderlands!)

Plan your trip to Russia with our guide on the best times to visit for natural beauty, fewer crowds, and ideal weather. Perfect for eager travelers!

Popularly known for being the largest country in the world, this beautiful destination has over forty state parks and is surrounded by breathtaking landscapes everywhere you turn. Enjoy the exciting culture of Russia, with a social scene comparable to New York City. From fabulous art to its historical charm, Russia is simply a country worth experiencing.

May, June and September are the best times to visit Russia, due to the milder climate that allows you to comfortably sightsee all day long. With far fewer crowds than the busy summer season, you will have no trouble going to each attraction. It's the ideal time for events and adventuring without inclement weather interfering as well. For colder weather, visiting in January through March can also provide you with a crowd free experience, and a lower cost on accommodations overall.

Best Time to Visit Russia: Natural Beauty & Stunning Landscapes Await

Russia is most certainly a country that experiences the four seasons. While the average temperature is roughly 65°F (19°C), each month can vary greatly. The coldest month of the year is January, without a doubt, sometimes going as low as 18 F (-8°C). During the summer, you can experience daily temperatures as high as 86 F (30°C) or warmer. If you’re looking to visit during a milder climate, your best bet is to visit during the late spring. May, June and September offer ideal weather that allows you to sightsee comfortably all day long.

Best Time to Avoid Crowds

Keep in mind that the busiest season for traveling to Russia is May through October. Summer is the peak time for touring the country and admiring all the beauty it has to offer like the fountains of Peterhof. With that being said, late spring and early fall tend to be a bit easier when it comes to handling the crowds of tourists.

While winter temperatures can be brutal, it is an easier season for tourists. No crowds and waiting and easier access to all of the attractions. Even if you’re looking to escape the cold, Russia has more to offer than you think during the bitter, winter months.

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Cheapest Time to Visit Russia

While you may already know the time of year you’d like to visit, it's good to know what to expect when it comes to cost. With summer being the most expensive and popular travel time, your best bet is to opt for November, January through March or late August for a cheaper flight. The beginning of October can also provide you with a more cost-effective option.

The Best Time to Visit Russia - A Monthly Breakdown

January: a winter wonderland.

The average temperatures range between 16°F ( -6°C) and 25°F (-4°C) throughout the month of January. There will typically be twelve days of precipitation, so expect snow covered grounds. Bundle up because it's about to get chilly!

Enjoy a beautiful winter wonderland when you visit Russia in January. Snow brings an additional, unmatched beauty you simply have to experience. With several attractions that stand out during winter, you are sure to love embarking on adventure even in the coldest month of the year.

Venture out to these nearby attractions or participate in the many Russian holidays during the month of January. Don’t forget to enjoy the magic of Russian Christmas, celebrated on January 7th of each year.

• Sviatki Events
• Russian Christmas
• Trans-Siberian Rail Journey

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February: Pancake Week & Ice Trekking

The average temperature during February is roughly 19°F (-7°C).  in Russia during this cold, winter month. Russia will typically see sixteen days of snowfall, so prepare to be sightseeing in warm and snug, waterproof boots!

Adventure in beautiful Russia with virtually no crowds when you visit in February. There are lots of fun events and activities that will add that bit of excitement to your trip.

Not to mention, this is one of the more cost-effective months for travel prices when you venture internationally to Russia.

Embark on snow filled adventures and enjoy the natural beauty of Russia in the winter.

• Maslenitsa Festival (Pancake Week)
• Ice Trekking
• Husky Sled Ride
• Ice Fishing

March: Month of the Golden Mask Festival

The average temperature in March stays around 3 3° F (1°C). Russia is getting a bit warmer once you reach this winter month.

March can be a month of excitement with lots of places to go and events to attend. The Golden Mask Festival is perfect for lovers of art and culture.

Visit the Festival of the North to watch exciting sled and snowmobile races if you're into the competition of outdoor sports.

With so much to visit and participate in, March can be a great month to visit Russia. Here are a few fun ideas for visiting in March:

• Bolshoi Theatre
• Festival of the North
• Golden Mask Festival
• International Women's Day Events
• Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

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April: Moscow Easter Festival

Weather in April tends to remain between 28-40°F ( -2°C). While still a bit chilly, this is decent weather for sightseeing comfortably for extensive hours.

April is an exciting month to visit. With events and attractions, in addition to warmer weather, this is the perfect transitional weather before a hot summer.

Pack your winter coat because it will still be chilly, but you can spend long hours sightseeing without freezing your toes off. Avoid the crowds and snag a cheaper flight ticket during this off season.

Join in the celebration of Moscow's Easter Festival, should it fall in April the year that you visit. Cosmonautics Day is a widely celebrated holiday that toasts to the history of space exploration in Russia. Here are some events and attractions you should check out:

• Cosmonautics Day
• MAPIC Russia Expo
• Moscow Easter Festival
• Bolshoi Ballet

May: Victory Day & Night at the Museum

Temperature highs in May average between 60°F (16°C) and 64°F (18°C). This makes for comfortable sightseeing weather, with flowers abloom and surrounding beauty.

May is a great month to embark on adventure in Russia. With so many events and attractions during this warmer weather, you will simply love visiting this time of year.

The Night at the Museum tradition brings all ages together to enjoy a fun evening with a themed museum experience. You can join in on the patriotism and celebration of Victory Day as well.

With a vast display of cats, a widely known symbol in Russian culture, what is not to like? May is an exciting month to check out some of these fun events:

• St. Petersburg Night at the Museum
• Victory Day
• Day of the Hermitage Cats
• The Smelt Fish Festival
• Fountain Seasoning Opening at Peterhof

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June: The Scarlet Sails

The average temperature in June is around 74°F (52°C), though it is not uncommon for it to get  as high as the mid 80's. Summer weather makes for perfect beach visits and fun in the sun.

Let Summer commence! June is bringing you warm weather, sunshine and an unforgettable experience. Embark on a beautiful celebration when you visit during the Scarlet Sails.

This tradition boasts a party complete with a circus, concerts, fireworks and more that you simply can't miss.

If music is your jam, come to Russia during STEREOLETO, a music festival featuring Franz Ferdinand. This group of events will add excitement to your trip:

• The Scarlet Sails
• White Nights Festival
• Russia Day Events

July: White Nights Festival & Beach Season

The average July temperatures are frequently between 71°F (22°C) and 77°F (25°C), although they can jump much higher on occasion.

It's beach season! In July, you can enjoy the hotter temperature and hit the beautiful beaches in Russia. The Black Sea Coast in Sochi has all the nightlife and coastal views you could ask for.

The White Nights Festival continues so you view all the magic of the lit-up cities during this incredible tradition. Mir Sibiri is a popular folk festival, known popularly for its worldly music.

With so much to do and see, July is a great month for visiting Russia. Check out the following:

• Sochi (Beach Attractions)
• Mariinsky Theatre
• Herring Festival

August: Afisha Picnic

Summer is coming to a close but in Russia, there is still opportunity for those hot beach days. The average temperatures averages 19°C (65°F) but still often surpasses 30°C (86°F).

Lots of excitement await when you visit in Russia. Lovers of music can participate in the beloved event, Afisha Picnic. This music festival is widely celebrated and looked forward to in Russia.

If you're up for a bit of competition head to Tuvan Naadym for four full days of sports such as wrestling, archery and horse riding.

Here are some of August's best attractions and events to visit when you adventure to Russia:

• Afisha Picnic
• Tuvan Naadym
• Black Sea Coast
• Ural Mountains
• Golden Ring Tour

September: Moscow City Day

September is bringing a milder climate, perfect for sightseeing and visiting all the beauty Russia has to offer. Typically, the average stays around 60°F (15°C) in all the main areas of Russia.

Enjoy the excitement of Russia's Moscow City Day. Throughout the month of September various parades and firework displays with celebrate Moscow City Day. In addition to milder temperatures, you can embark on longer sightseeing ventures and check out some of Russia's best landmarks.

Don't forget to head to the fountains of Peterhof before they close in the winter! Here is a list of things you need to check out if you visit Russia during the month of September:

• Moscow City Day
• Kizhi Island
• Fountains of Peterhof

October: Autumn Fair & Interregional Exhibition

Autumn has peaked and the average temperature highs are roughly around 42°F (6°C). While it's a bit chilly, the seasons are changing and it's a great time to head to Russia and avoid the crowds of tourists for sightseeing.

Autumn Fair is about to ensue during the beautiful month of October. This fair trade event offers artisan quality items and businesses throughout Russia all venture to be there to sell their products.

The Interregional Exhibition, though similar, specializes in antiques and collectibles at this popular fair held in October. For a list of events of attractions, see below for all the exciting happenings in October:

• Interregional Exhibition
• Autumn Fair
• Moto Expo Show
• Free Museum Days
• Ensemble Labryinthus

November: Revolution Day

Average temperatures are falling around 39°F (1°C) during the month of November. Though a bit cold, there is so much to do and see in beautiful Russia during this chilly month.

Lovers of history and patriotism will love participating in Revolution Day, widely known and celebrated in the month of November. It's time to gather for some winter activities- ice skating, trekking, and more await for those ready to embark on adventure.

Now that its off-season, you can avoid the crowds and indulge in some fine arts and culture. Here are some of Russia's greatest attractions during the month of November:

• Revolution Day
• Ice Skating

December: Winter Festivals & More

With December dropping below freezing, you should expect the average temperatures to fall around 26°F (-3°C) daily.

December is one of the coldest months but boasts festivals galore. The Russian Winter festival starts in late December and goes into the New Year. From culture to music, this festival has it all and is something to see if you visit Russia in the winter.

December Nights Festival is another gathering that takes place at the Pushkin Museum that offers food, music and more. Here are some of Decembers best attractions:

• December Nights Festival
• Russian Winter Festival
• Ice Skating/Trekking/Fishing

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When you're planning your next trip and eyeing Azimuth Airlines for your travel, safety naturally tops your list of concerns. It's the silent question buzzing in every traveler's mind: "Is my flight going to be a safe one?" Well, you're not alone in pondering this crucial aspect of air travel.

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Ukraine-Russia war latest: US warns North Korea against sending troops to Ukraine - as NATO appoints new chief

NATO has appointed a new secretary general - while the US has warned North Korea against sending troops to fight in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Evan Gershkovich has been seen before the start of his behind-closed-doors trial in Russia.

Wednesday 26 June 2024 14:55, UK

• NATO appoints new chief
• Russia working on 'big treaty' with Iran
• US warns North Korea against sending troops to Ukraine
• US journalist seen ahead of trial in Russia
• North Korea missile explodes mid-air after launch
• Your questions answered : Has Western media been honest about Ukrainian military failures?
• Big picture : What you need to know this week
• Listen to the Daily above and tap here to follow wherever you get your podcasts
• Live reporting by Bhvishya Patel 

Ask a question or make a comment

NATO has appointed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its next secretary general.

The outgoing leader of the Netherlands will take charge of the world's biggest security organisation at a critical time for European security.

Mr Rutte's appointment was sealed by NATO ambassadors during a meeting at the 32-nation alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

Joe Biden and his counterparts will formally welcome him to their table at a summit in Washington from 9 -11 July.

The Dutch premier will then take over from the current secretary general, Norway's Jens Stoltenberg, on 1 October.

Congratulating his appointment, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "confident" Mr Rutte would continue Mr Stoltenberg's "outstanding work in keeping NATO strong and united".

By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

In general, the official line from the Kremlin on this case is that it's a matter for the court and it therefore can't comment.

That was the answer last week when Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was asked why the trial would be held behind closed doors.

Russia insists its courts are independent, and that justice must be left to run its course.

Today, the line evolved slightly. Mr Peskov said the case was "not so resonant" in Russia.

That's not how it felt at the courthouse in downtown Yekaterinburg.

There were dozens of camera crews and photographers there, including a local outlet called Scream TV, which appeared more interested in us, as foreign media, than the case itself. 

The US accuses Russia of stockpiling Americans, like Evan Gershkovich, to use as human bargaining chips.

If that's the case, it feels like the Kremlin is trying to maximise its leverage, because Mr Peskov also said today that there was currently no sign of a possible exchange.

Moscow is working on a "big treaty" with Iran, Russia's foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova has said.

Ms Zakharova's comment appeared to be a reference to a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement that is being negotiated between Tehran and Moscow.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Iran had supplied Russia with ballistic missiles.

Reuters news agency reported that the Iranian regime had supplied around 400 missiles to Russia for the first time since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion.

The munitions included many short-range ballistic missiles, with the ability to strike targets at a range of between 186 and 435 miles.

And in January, Russia's foreign ministry said that a new interstate treaty reflecting the "unprecedented upswing" in Russia-Iran ties was in the final stages of being agreed.

European Union countries have agreed a sanctions package against Belarus today, in an effort to close off a route to avoiding restrictions on Russia.

EU diplomats and Belgium announced the development, as the bloc adopted its 14th package of sanctions to punish Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The new measures included clauses that increased responsibility on EU companies exporting via non-EU countries.

"This package will strengthen our measures in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including combating circumvention of sanctions," Belgium, which holds the EU presidency until the end of June, said on X.

"With this package, we just closed the biggest loophole of our sanctions regime," the EU presidency said in a separate statement.

Efforts to close loopholes have intensified since last year and diplomats say Belarus amounted to one of the biggest.

The EU has been working since early last year to align sanctions already imposed on Belarus before Russia's invasion of Ukraine with measures in response to the war, but the country's major potash exports were one of the stumbling blocks.

One diplomat specified the text aligns measures on dual-use goods such as chips found in basic appliances as well as advanced technology and military wares.

The package dropped a provision some countries sought that would have allowed Belarusian potash and other agricultural goods to be exported via Europe in the event of price spikes.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov are "absurd", the Kremlin has said.

Speaking to reporters today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We do not recognise the jurisdiction of this court.

"We are not members of the relevant statutes.

"Accordingly, we do not recognise these orders. Moreover, we consider it quite absurd, like the last two warrants that concerned the head of state and our children's ombudsman."

For context : Yesterday, the ICC Issued arrest warrants for Sergei Shoigu, the former Russian defence minister, and leading Russian general Valery Gerasimov for alleged crimes committed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It brought to eight the number of arrest warrants issued against senior Russian suspects since the invasion. They include Vladimir Putin, who faces charges over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The Hague-based court said Mr Shoigu and Mr Gerasimov were suspected of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity for directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects in Ukraine.

Judges had found there were "reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure".

Mr Shoigu is now secretary of Russia's Security Council and Mr Gerasimov is chief of the Russian army's general staff.

The US embassy in Russia has said that Moscow has failed to provide any evidence to support espionage charges against Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

In a statement on the first day of Mr Gershkovich's closed trial on spying charges, the embassy said the case was about the Kremlin using US citizens to achieve its political objectives.

"Russian authorities have failed to provide any evidence supporting the charges against him, failed to justify his continued detention, and failed to explain why Evan's work as a journalist constitutes a crime," the embassy said.

Earlier, Mr Gershkovich was seen standing in a glass box, with a shaved head, ahead of the trial.

The 32-year-old reporter, who has already spent nearly 15 months behind bars in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo jail, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Russian courts convict more than 99% of the defendants who come before them, and prosecutors can appeal sentences they regard as too lenient, and can even appeal acquittals.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited troops in the eastern frontline Donetsk region today with his top military leadership.

In a statement on Telegram , Mr Zelenskyy said he held a detailed meeting on security with military leaders and addressed many issues.

"There will be a separate conversation in Kyiv, particularly with officials who must be here and in other areas near the frontline - in difficult communities where people need immediate solutions. Solutions that simply cannot be seen from Kyiv," he said.

Mr Zelenskyy said he was "surprised" to learn that some relevant officials have not been in the region "for six months or more".

"There will be a serious conversation, and I will draw appropriate conclusions regarding them," he added.

What do we know about the Donetsk region?

The eastern region forms part of the Donbas - along with Luhansk - and fighting here is relentless.

The region was once known for its coal and steel manufacturing but it is now part of the Kremlin's ongoing invasion, with Vladimir Putin intent on seizing the entire territory.

Parts of the Donbas are occupied by Russian proxy governments.

A Russian official has suggested publicly whipping disobedient Russians.

In a translated clip shared by columnist at The Daily Beast Julia Davis, State Duma deputy Andrey Svintsov discussed his thoughts on those who spoke out against the Kremlin.

"Those who repent should publicly apologise and publicly receive 20 lashes with a whip in Red Square," he said.

"After that, they could continue their entrepreneurship but with a new tax rate."

He went on to say that if people spoke out against the country they needed to be punished "officially".

"It's mandatory, whipping them is mandatory," he said.

"We have to bring back physical punishment."

If North Korean troops were sent to Ukraine to help the Russian army they would become "cannon fodder", Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said.

In a briefing yesterday evening, Mr Ryder was asked about the possibility of North Korean forces being sent to Ukraine as the country advances its military partnerships with Russia.

Mr Ryder did not say there was any indication of North Korean troops actually being sent into combat, but he cautioned the North against that potential development.

"That's certainly something to keep an eye on," he said.

"I think that if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine."

During a summit in Pyongyang last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin signed a deal requiring each country to provide aid if attacked. They also vowed to boost other cooperation. 

Observers say the accord represents the strongest connection between the two countries since the end of the Cold War.

Ukrainian shelling destroyed a radiation control post in Velyka Znamyanka in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russia's management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine reports.

"Specialists carried out a number of compensatory measures to control the radiation situation in the area," the management said.

Radiation levels, the management added, do not exceed safe levels.

For context :  Russian troops seized the Zaporizhzhia plant in the early days of Moscow's invasion on Ukraine in 2022.

Moscow and Kyiv have since routinely accused each other of endangering safety around it.

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As most foreigners have an exaggerated fear of the cold in Russia, the best time to visit is summer , lasting from the beginning of June to mid-September. Days and nights are warm and sultry, with heat waves likely during August, when Muscovites leave in droves for their dachas in the countryside. Spring is chiefly rewarding for the rituals and candle-lit processions marking Orthodox Easter , when cathedrals are so packed that people wait for hours to get in. (Christmas services are as splendid yet not nearly so crowded.) Several major music festivals start around this time, or in May, accompanied by such national holidays as Victory Day and May Day. Autumn is likewise excellent for festivals, despite cloudy skies and falling temperatures, and you can still look forward to a week or two of Babe leto (“Granny’s Summer”).

Subzero temperatures and snow can set in up to two months before winter officially begins in December. Blanketed in fresh snow, Moscow is magically hushed and cleansed, and Muscovites revel in the crispness of the air. Days are often gloriously sunny, and the temperature only a few degrees below zero, so skiing and sledging are popular pursuits. The secular New Year and Orthodox Christmas in early January are occasions for shopping and merrymaking, but at some point a cold snap will send the temperature down to -20°C or lower, while traffic and thaws turn the snow into mounds and lakes of black ice or brown slush, which linger on until late March.

Finally, make sure you bring the right gear. Lots of layers, a hat and waterproof footwear with nonslip soles are essential for winter. A compact rainproof jacket will protect you from showers in the spring or autumn. Shorts and t-shirts are fine for summer, but pack long trousers or a skirt for visiting monasteries, the ballet or dining out – and a mosquito net to drape over your bed if you’re unsure that your lodgings have screens on the windows.

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Soviet movies about time travel

In the top there are new films of 2020, a plot description and trailers for films that have already been released.

High school student Ichigo Kurosaki lives an ordinary life, besides being able to see ghosts and the blurry memories of his mother death under strange circumstances when he was a kid. His peaceful world suddenly breaks as he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a God of Death.

Shurik Timofeev builds a working model of a time machine. By accident, Ivan Bunsha, an apartment complex manager, and George Miloslavsky, a petty burglar, are transferred to 16th century Moscow, while Tsar Ivan the Terrible goes into the year 1973.

Soviet television movie adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy novel "The Hobbit".

On their way home through an unknown city, Alexander and his father are attacked and seriously injured by some drunken juvenile delinquents. The father dies, and Alexander becomes a dangerous witness, which must be eliminated.

A new doctor from Moscow arrives at a provincial mental institution. His interest is the peculiarities of the psyche of a patient who believes that he is Yakov Yurovsky, the man who assassinated the last Russian tsar. In the course of their conversations it transpires that the patient is a kind of philosopher, not without a gift for suggestion. In a while the doctor himself falls under his patient’s influence: he tends to relive that fatal night of June 16-17, 1918 when, without any investigation or trial, Tsar Nicholas II, who had recently abdicated, was murdered, together with his wife, daughters and incurably ill heir. Soon the doctor realizes that the tragedy of the last Russian tsar is in part his own tragedy, too...

Two not quite similar men, our contemporaries, Sergey Pshenichny and Andrew Nemchinov, are walking in the street in their native mining town and found themselves in 1949. It's a common knowledge that real miracles happen without technical devices: time comes miracle happens. They spend in 1949 only one day the next morning they found that it is the same day that was yesterday. All several months, they spent in the past, they spent in one and the same day: the 8th of May, Sunday, the day of heightened coal production. In the morning to the coal mine, in an hour an accident in a coalface, at 10 o'clock wire from the Ministry, after work reunion concerning the Stalins anniversary; robbing of pay desk, death of policeman Ryabenko, in the evening - volunteer Sunday work… and in the morning the same, and so for ever and ever Philosophic fiction, accompanied by music of group Nautilus Pompillius. After a novel of S.Rybasa of the same name.

A romantic and funny fantasy about the events occurred during the building of a first railroad in Russia.

Shown a life in the remote siberian village. Vasia, who never leave his family, village, comes to pass summer holiday on the Black Sea. New world, new people - so, hi's temted by a half-crazy woman (Raisa Zaharovna). And after short time Vasia returns to his wife and children.

A kindergarten director Troshkin is a dead ringer for a criminal nicknamed "Docent" who stole the priceless...

Russian general have to find and bring back to St. Petersburg girl claiming her right to the throne...

Semyon Gorbunkov goes on a cruise with a smuggler on board. In Istanbul, he slips and breaks his arm. What he didn't know is that this was a signal for the gang of smugglers.

Anatoli Yefremovich Novoseltsev works in a statistics institution, whose director is an unattractive and bossy woman. An old friend of his, Yuri Grigorievich Samokhvalov, who gets appointed assistant director of the institution, wants to make Novoseltsev the head of the department but encounters objections from Ludmila Prokopievna Kalugina, the director. Samokhvalov then advises Novoseltsev to lightly hit on the boss. Ironically, Novoseltsev and Kalugina fall in love with each other...

An unexpected romance occurs for a female Red Army sniper and a White Army officer.

Country girl Nadia moves to the city and becomes a maid in Valya's apartment. Valya, who is a member of the local District Committee, does not know that Nadia fell in love with her currently absent husband, a geologist named Maksim, when he had visited Nadia's village during a recent expedition.

A man, who becomes mistaken for his brother who was immigrating to Israel from USSR, finds himself caught up in the middle of a bureaucratic mess when he realizes that if he tells the truth about who he is, he will go to jail and his brother's family will never be allowed to leave the USSR. He therefore assumes his brother's identity to get to Israel hoping his distant uncle living there will help him out. The plan backfires, however, when he realizes that the uncle is a paranoid lunatic thinking the KGB is out to get him. He becomes stranded in Israel with no friends, no money, and no passport, trying to figure out a way to get back home.

Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors is a 1964 Soviet fairy tale film directed by Aleksandr Rou based on a story with the same name by Vitali Gubarev. Both the surreal story by Vladimir Gubarev, together with the 1964 film, written in a Through The Looking Glass style. Alice-type Soviet girl, named Olya meets her counterpart Yalo, while looking into the mirror. Yalo is an absolute antipode to Olya, for example where Olya is precise and neat, Yalo is absent-minded, careless, etc. The explicit plot relates to Olya learning to see herself differently, but this occurs through an experience in the Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors which serves as a mechanism for commenting on the ability of a society to manufacture a false reality.

The story takes place on the desert planet "Pluke" in the "Kin-dza-dza" galaxy, where two Soviet humans previously unknown to each other ("Uncle Vova", a gruff construction foreman from Moscow, and "The Fiddler", a student from Georgia) are stranded due to an accidental encounter with an alien teleportation device. The movie describes their long quest to find a way back home.

Based on the novel by Viktor Nekrasov “In the Hometown”. Former front-line intelligence officer, captain Nikolai Mityasov, after being wounded, returns to the destroyed city and learns the sad news: his wife Shura cheated on him. Bitterness and confusion gave way to hope. But peace has come, demobilization has begun, it is necessary to restore the homeland. Nikolai finds the strength to continue living, enters a construction institute, meets Valya and begins a new happy life without war...

The Best Time to Visit Russia for Weather, Safety, & Tourism

The best times to visit Russia for ideal weather are

May 28th to August 26th

based on average temperature and humidity from NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Read below for more weather and travel details.

Russia Travel Guide

Temperature.

• Perceived Temperature
• Rain and snow
• Humidity and wind
• The busiest and least popular months
• Overall travel experience by time of year

Other Russia Travel Info

Weather in russia.

Average temperatures in Russia vary an incredible amount. Considering humidity, temperatures feel cold for most of the year with a low chance of precipitation most of the year. The area is less temperate than some — in the 39th percentile for pleasant weather — compared to tourist destinations worldwide. Weeks with ideal weather are listed above . If you’re looking for the very warmest time to visit Russia, the hottest months are July, August, and then June. See average monthly temperatures below. The warmest time of year is generally mid July where highs are regularly around 74°F (23.3°C) with temperatures rarely dropping below 53.7°F (12.1°C) at night.

Russia Temperatures (Fahrenheit)

Russia temperatures (celsius), “feels-like” temperatures.

The way we experience weather isn’t all about temperature. Higher temperatures affect us much more at higher humidity, and colder temperatures feel piercing with high winds. Our perceived temperatures factor in humidity and wind chill to better represent how hot or cold the day feels to a person.

Russia Perceived Temperature (F)

Russia perceived temperature (c), average russia temperatures by month.

Daily highs (averaged for the month) usually give the best indication of the weather. A significantly lower mean and low generally just means it gets colder at night.

Show Fahrenheit

Show celsius, precipitation (rain or snow).

If dry weather is what you’re after, the months with the lowest chance of significant precipitation in Russia are February, March, and then January. Note that we define “significant precipitation” as .1 inches or more in this section. The lowest chance of rain or snow occurs around mid February. For example, on the week of February 19th there are no days of precipitation on average. By contrast, it’s most likely to rain or snow in late July with an average of 1 days of significant precipitation the week of July 23rd.

Chance of Precipitation

The graph below shows the % chance of rainy and snowy days in Russia.

Snow on the Ground

The graph below shows the average snow on the ground in Russia (in).

Average Rain and Snow by Month

Show inches, show centimeters, humidity and wind.

Russia has some very humid months, with other comfortably humid months. The least humid month is May (53.2% relative humidity), and the most humid month is November (74.4%).

Wind in Russia is usually calm . The windiest month is April, followed by March and May. April’s average wind speed of around 5.8 knots (6.7 MPH or 10.8 KPH) is considered “a light breeze.” Maximum sustained winds (the highest speed for the day lasting more than a few moments) are at their highest in late April where average top sustained speeds reach 10 knots, which is considered a gentle breeze.

Relative Humidity (%)

The graph below shows the average % humidity by month in Russia.

The graph below shows wind speed (max and average) in knots.

Average Wind Speeds

Show wind speeds.

All wind speeds are in knots. 1 knot = 1.15 MPH or 1.85 KPH.

Show Relative Humidity by Month

Is it safe to travel to russia.

Our best data indicates this area is generally not safe. As of Dec 04, 2023 there are very strong travel warnings for Russia; avoid all travel. Check this page for any recent changes or regions to avoid: Travel Advice and Advisories . This advisory was last updated on Nov 29, 2023.

The Busiest and Least Crowded Months

The busiest month for tourism in Russia is May, followed by February and March. Prices for hotels and flights will be most expensive during these months, though you can save if you purchase well in advance. Tourists are unlikely to visit Russia in December. Those willing to visit at these times will likely find it the least expensive month.

Estimated Tourism by Month

Most popular months to visit, overall russia travel experience by season, spring (march through may).

Humidity and temperatures combine to make this season feel moderately cold. Highs range from 64.9°F (18.3°C) and 18.6°F (-7.4°C) with far warmer temperatures in the later months. Rain is rare with 2 to 4 days of significant precipitation per month. Spring is the busiest for tourism, which makes it a good time for those looking for things to do.

Summer (June through August)

The middle-year months have comfortably cool weather with high temperatures that are comfortable. These months see the most precipitation with 4 to 5 days of precipitation per month. June – August is the second busiest season for tourism in Russia, so lodging and other accommodations may cost slightly more.

Fall (September through November)

Fall daily highs range from 62.5°F (16.9°C) and 16.8°F (-8.4°C), which will feel very chilly given the humidity and wind. It rains or snows a significant amount: approximately 4 days per month. Tourism is the slowest during these months due to the weather, so hotels may be affordably priced.

Winter (December through February)

Weather is far too cold this time of year in Russia to be enjoyable for warm weather travelers. The average high during this season is between 18.6°F (-7.4°C) and 4.9°F (-15.1°C). On average, it rains or snows a smalll amount: 2 to 3 times per month. These times of year are fairly slow with tourists.

Best Times to Travel › Russia

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Best Time to Visit Russia

Photo by Ivan Zhuldybin on Unsplash

When should I visit Russia?

• Summer: With temperatures in the pleasant upper 20’s Celsius (70’s Fahrenheit), Russia’s continental summers provide the perfect backdrop for sightseeing and partying.
• Winter: The frigid coldness of Siberia can’t be imagined; it has to be experienced. And, even St. Petersburg’s and Moscow’s milder winters of -10 to -20c (+14 and -4 F) can be breathtaking for those who have never experienced a true, northern winter.
• Spring & Autumn: The most turbulent times of the year combine the best of both seasons. Autumn in particular, with its warm days and quiet museums, can be quite splendid.

The stereotype that Russia has a cold and generally miserably climate has, as all stereotypes do, a drop of truth and a bucket-load of fallacy. Yes, due to their latitude, the main northern cities can get rather chilly in winter but that doesn’t mean winter is a whole-year affair. It’s difficult to generalize when talking about such large swathes of land but, as the majority of Russia is landlocked, summers tend to be a lot warmer than most people expect. Wild-fires in places like Siberia are a common-occurrence, with global-warming only increasing their frequency. Even St. Petersburg has been known to get as balmy as the Maldives on some summer nights.

Average Temperatures

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

From June to August temperatures rarely drop below 16c throughout Russia. In Moscow, summers are usually splendid with daytime temperatures ranging from the upper 20s and low 30s (Celsius) or the mid 70s to mid 80s (fahrenheit). St. Petersburg can get a little chillier and, being near the coast, there is a chance of rain but a light jacket or mackintosh should be more than sufficient to get you through the odd, grey day.

Spring and autumn are turbulent times. One day the temperature could be +18c and then the next day it could easily drop down to +9c. Layers, wellington boots and a pair of sunglasses should ensure you’re always prepared for whatever the elements thrust upon you in these unpredictable months.

By mid-November snow begins to gather on the ground and winter starts full-blast. Typically the temperatures hover between -10 and -20c or +14 and -4 F in the main cities. In rare instances, it can get unbearably cold – down to -40c, but this is not the norm in either Moscow or St. Petersburg. Be prepared if you are visiting Siberia however, as frigid temperatures are to be expected!

When to Come – Summer or Winter?

Best time to visit moscow and st. petersburg.

If you come in July or August, you’re almost certain to enjoy a sunny stay wherever you go in Russia. Indeed, in St. Petersburg the sun never seems to set.

Under the glare of the sun, Russia metamorphosis into something quite different. Smiles, often foreign to Russians, can suddenly be found plastered on most any face. Doors and windows, usually barred shut from the snow, swing open and, without the biting wind to scurry from, Russia’s safe streets buzz with live bands and strolling couples into the early morning. For those who like to make merry, summer is the time to visit. During the weeks of the white nights the very air seems to buzz with infectious energy.

Due to the current diplomatic tensions the crowds at attractions, though noticeably greater in summer, are nowhere near as large as those to be found in Venice or London. For those who simply want to have a ball of a time and who haven’t set their hearts upon seeing a world-class ballet performance (most dance companies leave for tours to Europe in summer), then summer is undoubtedly the best time to visit.

From December to February, Russia turns into a winter wonderland. For those who have never experienced a real, northern winter, the bright-white snow and glistening icicles can be breathtaking. But navigating cities can be a treacherous experience, with ice covering everything and after more than an hour, the cold can pierce through even the thickest of gloves. Most of Russia hibernates at home, even on New Year’s Eve which is more of a family-centered holiday in Russia than it is in the west, and Christmas markets haven’t quite established themselves over here yet. The plus side is that --apart from during the week-long New Year holidays—you’ll have the sites all to yourself and for a quarter of the price to boot!

Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash

Spring and autumn though fleeting and capricious, can be spectacular. Autumn can be particularly magical, especially in St Petersburg where the whole city is set ablaze with the fiery reds, crimsons and glimmering golds. By September, the crowds have shrunk by half but the weather is generally still fine enough to stroll in. If you’re planning to take a long-distance train journey, this is the best time to do it as the cabins can get stifling in summer.

Whatever the weather, as long as you’re prepared, a tour to Russia will be nothing short of magnificent.

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