Russia's Solovetsky Islands, less than 100 miles from the Arctic Circle, have become a popular tourist destination. Originally an outpost of the Orthodox Church, they later became home to a brutal prison. Now, islanders and church officials are battling for control.
Astrakhan, on the Volga River, once was known as Russia's caviar capital — but no more. As the fish neared extinction, Russia banned all commercial sturgeon fishing in the area and the export of all black caviar. Now, both the sturgeon and the local people struggle to survive.
Nowhere is the Volga River more hallowed than in the city named after it: Volgograd, better known as Stalingrad, site of one of World War II's most important, and bloodiest, battles. Today, Volgograd residents are still adjusting to the post-Soviet changes that have altered Russia.