Moscow is beautiful but very expensive and bougie. And St Petersburg is too westernized. If you want to see real Russia go to Nizhny Novgorod or Yekaterinburg.
I’d say go to Dzerdzhinsk for real experience, but that might be too cruel for a new visitor.
Also, both Nizhny and Ekaterinburg work well as tourist destinations, the former’s administration has been working hard on creating the image of a tourist attraction
Moscow is beautiful but very expensive and bougie. And St Petersburg is too westernized. If you want to see real Russia go to Nizhny Novgorod or Yekaterinburg.
I’d say go to Dzerdzhinsk for real experience, but that might be too cruel for a new visitor.
Also, both Nizhny and Ekaterinburg work well as tourist destinations, the former’s administration has been working hard on creating the image of a tourist attraction