Moscow – Uglich – Yaroslavl – Goritsy – Kizhi – Mandrogi – Saint Petersburg

Rybinsk is the second largest city of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia, lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna Rivers, 267 kilometers north-east of Moscow.

Population: 200,771 (2010 Census).

Time: Moscow Time.

Rybinsk is one of the oldest Slavic settlements on the Volga River. The place was first recorded by chroniclers in 1071 as Ust-Sheksna, i.e. "the mouth of the Sheksna". During this period the settlement was a regional center for craft and metal based produce and for trade. In the mid-13th century, Ust-Sheksna was laid waste by invading Mongols. For the next few centuries, the settlement was referred to alternatively as Ust-Sheksna or Rybansk. From 1504, it was identified in documents as Rybnaya Sloboda (literally: "the fishing village"). The name is explained by the fact that the settlement supplied the Muscovite court with choice sturgeons and sterlets. In the 17th century, when the sloboda was capitalizing on the trade of the Muscovy Company with Western Europe, it was rich enough to build several stone churches, of which only one survives to the present. More old architecture may be found in the neighborhood, including the last of Muscovite three-tented churches (in the Alexandrov Hermitage) and the Ushakov family shrine (on Epiphany Island).

Tutayev is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia.

Population: 41,005 (2010 Census)

Time: Moscow Time.

Before 1918, it was called Romanov-Borisoglebsk, and before 1822, when an order of the Tsar united them, there were two separate towns: Romanov (on the left bank of the Volga) and Borisoglebsk (on the right bank). Romanov had existed in the 14th century and Borisoglebsk— in the 15th century. In the 15th century, Romanov was ruled by the khans of Nogay Horde. The majority of the population lives on the right bank of the river (the former Borisoglebsk). The areas of town nearest to the Volga's right bank have many old wooden houses and historical buildings (including the Resurrection Cathedral), but further away from the river, Soviet-era apartment buildings predominate. There is no bridge across the Volga in Tutayev, so people have to use a ferry or, alternatively, travel north to Rybinsk or south to Yaroslavl to cross.

Uglich, one of the oldest cities on the Volga, was founded in 937, where the river makes a sharp turn, forming a corner. Perhaps this feature gave the city its name.

Population: ~ 32,000 (as of 2017).

Time: Moscow time.

Uglich is a popular tourist destination and visiting it is included in most weekend cruises from Moscow.

You can get here by bus or car, but it is more convenient - by ship. First, it's just comfortable. Secondly, almost all the attractions are located near the pier: the so-called Kremlin, museums, including the Museum of Hydropower plant. Here you can see a turbine that used to work at the power plant, a map that shows water stations in Russia, and even watch the process of generating energy.

Uglich has never been a big city. The attention of the whole country was drawn to it only once. In 1591 the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry, who lived here and accidentally died while playing with knives. This tragedy made an impression even on the famous writer Alexandre Dumas, who came to Uglich.

During the tour, you will get to the territory of the Kremlin. The fortress walls are not preserved and there are old churches and princely chambers. The Kovcheg ensemble loved by citizens and tourists performs here.  A small program is performed for tourists free of charge.There are more than 10 museums in this small town. In addition to the classic ones, there is, for example, the Park-Museum of the Fire Rooster or the Museum of Hydropower plant -an interactive complex where you can touch the exhibits with your hands.

A short walk from the pier, at the entrance to the Victory Park, there is a souvenir market where you can choose something to remember Uglich by. In addition, local watches are made in Uglich — the local factory is the largest manufacturer in Russia. And we advise fans of dairy products to pay attention to the brand "From Uglich".

Dubna is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of naukograd (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and one of the largest scientific foundations in the country.

Population: 70,663 (2010 Census)

Time: Moscow Time.

Fortress Dubna belonging to Rostov-Suzdal Principality was built in the area in 1132 by the order of Yuri Dolgoruki and existed until 1216. The fortress was destroyed during the feudal war between the sons of Vsevolod the Big Nest. The village of Gorodishche was located on the right bank of the Volga River and was a part of the Kashin Principality. Dubna customs post was located in the area and was a part of the Principality of Tver. Before the October Revolution, few villages were in the area: Podberezye was on the left bank of the Volga, and Gorodishche, Alexandrovka, Ivankovo, Yurkino, and Kozlaki were on the right bank. Right after the Revolution one of the first collective farms was organized in Dubna area. In 1931, the Orgburo of the Communist Party made a decision to build the Volga-Moscow Canal. Genrikh Yagoda, then the leader of the State Political Directorate, was put in charge of construction. The Canal was completed in 1937. Ivankovo Reservoir and Ivankovo hydroelectrical plant were also created as a part of the project. Many villages and the town Korcheva were submerged under water. Dubna is mentioned in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's book The Gulag Archipelago as the town built by Gulag prisoners. Since 2007 Dubna is a headquarters and primary location of international jazz festival MuzEnergo with free for public one-day open air festival in summer and one-week events in local venues in spring and autumn.

There are several museums in Dubna, including:

• Museum of Archeology and Local History of Dubna
• The JINRMuseum of the History of Science and Technology
• Museum of Natural History at Dubna International University
• Museum of Locks

Kostroma is a part of the Golden Ring of Russian towns; it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma.

Population: ~ 277,000 people (2018 Census).

Time: Moscow time.

The city was first recorded in the chronicles for the year 1213, but some historians believe it could have been founded by Yury Dolgoruky more than half a century earlier, in 1152. Since many scholars believe that early Eastern Slavs tribes arrived in modern-day Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia AD 400 to 600, Kostroma could be much older than previously thought. The city shares the same name as the East Slavic goddess Kostroma.

Like other towns of the Eastern Rus, Kostroma was sacked by the Mongols in 1238. It then constituted a small principality, under leadership of Prince Vasily the Drunkard, a younger brother of the famous Alexander Nevsky. Upon inheriting the grand ducal title in 1271, Vasily didn't leave the town for Vladimir, and his descendants ruled Kostroma for another half a century, until the town was bought by Ivan I of Moscow.

Nizhny Novgorod is an ancient city on the Volga River.

Population: ~ 1,259,000 people (2018 Census).

Time: Moscow time.

Nizhny Novgorod was founded on Volga and Oka rivers in 1221. Nowadays, it is a popular cruise stop.This is one of the few cities in Russia where the Kremlin has been preserved. Moreover, Nizhny Novgorod is included in the list of one hundred UNESCO cities of historical and cultural value. In total, there are about 600 attractions in the city: both ancient architectural monuments and modern ones are among them. Originally the name was just Novgorod (“Newtown”), but to distinguish it from the other, older and well-known Novgorod (Veliky Novgorod) to the west, the city was commonly called “Novgorod of the Lower lands”, or “Lower Newtown”. This land was named "lower” (nizhniy) even though it is actually higher in altitude than Veliky Novgorod, because it is situated downstream of other Russian cities such as Moscow, Vladimir and Murom.

Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an area of 425.3 square kilometres.

Population: ~ 1,244,000 people (as of 2018).

Time: Moscow time.

Kazan was founded in the late 13th century by the Golden Horde. In 1438, Kazan became the capital of the Khanate of Kazan. In 1552, Kazan was captured by Ivan the Terrible and became a part of Russia. The city was seized and largely destroyed during Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773–1775, but was later rebuilt during the reign of Catherine the Great. In the following centuries, Kazan grew to become a major industrial, cultural and religious centre of Russia. In 1920, after the Russian SFSR became a part of the Soviet Union, Kazan became the capital of the Tatar ASSR. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazan stayed as the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. Kazan is renowned for its vibrant mix of Tatar and Russian cultures.In 2015, 2.1 million tourists visited Kazan, and 1.5 million tourists visited the Kazan Kremlin, a World Heritage Site. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the "Third Capital of Russia".In 2009 it was chosen as the "Sports capital of Russia",and it still is referred to as such. Kazan hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade, and was one of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Ulyanovsk is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River 705 kilometers (438 mi) east of Moscow.

Population: 613,786 (2010 Census);

Time: Moscow Time +1.

 The city, founded as Simbirsk was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born Ulyanov), for whom it was renamed after his death in 1924; and of Alexander Kerensky, the leader of the Russian Provisional Government which Lenin overthrew during the October Revolution of 1917. It is also famous for its writers such as Ivan Goncharov, Nikolay Yazykov and Nikolay Karamzin, and for painters such as Arkady Plastov and Nikas Safronov. UNESCO has designated Ulyanovsk as a City of Literature since 2015. In 1924, the city was renamed Ulyanovsk in honor of Vladimir Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, who was born in Simbirsk in 1870. Two other Russian political leaders, Alexander Kerensky and Alexander Protopopov, were also born in Simbirsk.

The construction of the Kuybyshev hydroelectric plant (completed in 1957) 200 kilometers (120 mi) downstream of Ulyanovsk resulted in the flooding of significant tracts of land both north and south of Ulyanovsk and increasing the width of the Volga by up to 35 kilometers (22 mi) in some places. To this day, some populated neighborhoods of Ulyanovsk remain well below the level of the reservoir, protected from flooding by a dam: it is estimated that its catastrophic failure would submerge parts of the city comprising around 5% of its total population with as much as 10 meters (33 ft) of water. During the Soviet period, Ulyanovsk was an important tourist center, drawing visitors from around the country because of its revolutionary importance.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the tourist importance of Ulyanovsk sharply decreased. In the 1990s, the city went through the hardest times—a slump in production in all branches, mass unemployment, and a population impoverishment. Besides the policy of the regional authorities of that time leaning against the grants and the Soviet system of managing, has led to serious crisis of a city infrastructure. In the first decade of the 2000s the economy started to grow. Ulyanovsk slowly recovered from these downturns into regional manufacturing, educational and transportation clusters.