Vologda Oblast

Vologda Oblast ( www.vologda-oblast.ru) is a region in Northwestern Russia, which borders Tver Oblast and Novgorod Oblast to the southwest, Leningrad Oblast to the west, Karelia to the northwest, Arkhangelsk Oblast to the north, Kirov Oblast to the east, Kostroma Oblast to the southeast, and Yaroslavl Oblast to the south.

Vologda Oblast is spread out, but offers some pretty magnificent sights for the visitor. Sights you won't want to miss include the capital city of Vologda, the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Russian North National Park, and of course, the Ferapontov Convent.

• Vologda — the capital has its own kremlin, an important monastery, and lots of other sights to see
• Belozersk — a small, pretty, medieval town near both the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and the Ferapontov Convent
• Cherepovets — the largest city in the region has a long history, several important architectural monuments, and is a major center of the Russian steel industry
• Ferapontovo — a village between Vologda and Kirillov, home to a monastery with XV century wall paintings included into UNESCO World Heritage list.
• Kirillov — a small town around the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery
• Veliky Ustyug — a large medieval town with stunning cathedrals
• Vytegra — a small town in the west of the region with a real diesel submarine fully converted into museum.

• Darwin Nature Reserve
• Russian North National Park (Russky Sever)

The daily overnight train from Moscow takes 8 hours to get to Vologda and an additional 3 hours to get to Cherepovets. The overnight train from Saint Petersburg to Vologda leaves Ladozhsky Train Station at around 20:00 and arrives 12.5 hours later, around 08:30.

Vologda's butter is reportedly Russia's best.

Trains head north from Vologda to Arkhangelsk and southeast to Kostroma.