Russia, the largest nation in the world, borders European and Asian countries, as well as the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Its landscapes range from tundra to subtropical beaches and forest. The country is famous for Bolshoi ballet companies in Moscow and Mariinsky in St. Petersburg. Founded by the Russian tsar Peter the Great, the city of St. Petersburg has a Baroque winter palace, which now houses part of the collections of the Hermitage Museum.
