Winter and summer are quite different of course, since much of Russia is very cold and snowy during the winter, but can be very warm or even hot in the summer. Also, depending on how far north you will be, the length of the days might be very different. In St. Petersburg, in the middle of the summer, they have what is called "White Nights" - where the days are so long that the sun hardly sets at all. These weeks are full of celebrations and people stay out very late, even children.
On the other hand, in winter there is a special magic about visiting Russia and seeing the beautiful old churches covered in snow. New Year is also a special time of celebration, and you will see many streets decorated with strings of lights.
Then there is the question of the size of Russia - in a word, it's huge! If you are there for a short time, most people stick to the biggest cities in the European part of Russia - Moscow and St. Petersburg. In Moscow, many of the 'must see' sights are near the Kremlin and Red Square. There you can see the beautiful church St. Basils (and also go inside). You can tour the inside of the Kremlin fortress, which is both the active seat of government and a beautiful historic collection of old churches. They also have a museum there, for an extra ticket price, where you can see famous jewels and crowns of the royalty of the past. Near Red Square you can also see the Bolshoi Theatre, which is a beautiful building and also home to some of the best ballet in the world.
In St. Petersburg, the big 'must see' attraction would probably be the Hermitage Museum. Once the Winter Palace of the last Tsar's family, now it's an enourmous museum full of art. It takes ages to walk through the whole thing, and it's hard to decide which to pay more attention to - the paintings or the rooms themselves. It's also nicely situated right on the Neva River, which in itself is beautiful. In the summer, at night, you can see the bridges go up to let ships through - though make sure you're not caught on the opposite side from where you are staying, or it will be a long night out. You can also see St. Isaac's Cathedral, and take the stairs to the top for a great view of the city. Across the Neva, you can see the Peter and Paul Fortress, the oldest part of the city. There are many great theatres and ballets here too, the most famous being the Mariinsky Theatre. If you're interested in Russian literature, there are many house museums where famous writers lived, including Pushkin and Dostoevsky.
If you have a little bit more time, it's not hard to get to one of the old Golden Ring towns, to see something different from the big cities. Suzdal is often considered the prettiest of these old medieval Russian towns, which many of the churches and monasteries preserved. (Several even have hotels within their walls, where you can take a quiet retreat in a beautiful old setting.) There isn't a lot to do there, besides walk around old churches and quiet streets or rivers, but it's a nice change of pace from the busies cities.
Here's the thing - if you have a LOT more time, there is a lot more you can do or see. Depending on what direction you choose to go (assuming you are starting in Europe)...
North? Check out the spectacular wooden churches on Kizhi Island, or go even further north to Solovetsky Island, just below the arctic circle, with amazing nature to explore as well as beautiful monasteries and a tragic past from Stalin's GULAG era.
South? Check out the colossal statue of Mother Russia in Volgograd, or see the splendid mountains of the Caucuses, or enjoy the summer resorts like Sochi where the recent Olympics were held.
Or East? This is a big one. You could go see Yekaterinburg, which is about 20 hours by train from Moscow (a nice chance to get a taste of rail travel). The town is right on the edge of Europe, and it's easy to arrange a tour to the Europe/Asia border. This is also where the last Tsar and his family were murdered, and there are many monuments to them. If you're going further east, Siberia has insane amounts of phenomenal nature to explore. The true "must-see" here is lake Baikal - the oldest and deepest lake in the world - and the region surrounding the lake itself. There are great areas around there to camp or stay in cozy little cottages, and explore the amazing wildness of the terrain. You can also travel easily from there to either China or Mongolia or continue East to Vladivostok and on to Japan by ferry. Tons of options!
Long answer, but there really is a huge variety of places to check out, depending on where you are and how far afield you want to go, and no matter whether you're there for a short time or a long time, there's plenty to see. Whatever the nature of your trip, enjoy! :)
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