Churchill's 'riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma' remains an apt description of Russia; most outsiders have only a hazy idea of its realities. A composite of the extravagant glories of old Russia and the drab legacies of the Soviet era, it is a country that both befuddles and beguiles. This is a land of snow and deadly winters, but also of a midsummer sun that never sets. Its people, in the words of a Russian proverb, 'love to suffer', yet they can be disarmingly generous and hospitable. A part of Europe that really is ‘one on its own’ - prepare to be truly amazed by what Russia has to offer.