The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.^[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage.^[2] The Soviet Union ratified the convention on 12 October 1988.^[3] The first five sites in the Soviet Union were inscribed to the list at the 14th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, in December 1990. Of these five, three are located in the present-day Russian Federation (or Russia): the monuments of Saint Petersburg (then called Leningrad), Kizhi Pogost, and Moscow Kremlin and Red Square.^[4]

Komi Forests

Western Caucasus

St Petersburg

Kizhi Pogost, Petroglyphs

Moscow

Novgorod

Solovetsky Islands

Vladimir

Trinity Lavra

Kazan

Ferapontov Monastery

Curonian Spit

Derbent

Yaroslavl

Bolghar

Sviyazhsk

Pskov

Gogland
(Struve Arc)

Location of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the European part of Russia.

Lake Baikal

Kamchatka

Mountains of Altai

Sikhote-Alin

Uvs Nuur Basin

Wrangel Island

Putorana Plateau

Lena Pillars

Dauria

Location of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Asian part of Russia.

As of 2022^[update], there are 30 World Heritage Sites in Russia, with a further 28 sites on the tentative list. The most recent site listed was the Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea, in 2021.^[3] There are nineteen cultural sites and eleven natural. Four sites are transnational. The Curonian Spit is shared with Lithuania, the Landscapes of Dauria and Uvs Nuur Basin are shared with Mongolia, and the Struve Geodetic Arc is shared with nine European countries.^[3]

UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.^[5]

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World Heritage Sites

Site	Image	Location	Year listed	UNESCO data	Description
Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments		Saint Petersburg	1990	540; i, ii, iv, vi (cultural)	Saint Petersburg was conceived by Tsar Peter the Great as a new capital and a port city at the banks of the Neva River, at the Gulf of Finland. The city was constructed in the early 18th century on a difficult terrain of marshes, peatlands, and rocks. The World Heritage Site comprises the historic centre of the city with its Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, as well as surrounding monuments and palaces, such as those in Pushkin and Petergof. Notable buildings in the city include the Winter Palace (pictured, home of the Hermitage Museum), the Admiralty, and the Marble Palace. In the 20th century, the city was the site of the October Revolution and the Siege of Leningrad during World War II.[6]
Kizhi Pogost		Karelia	1990	544; i, iv, v (cultural)	The architectural ensemble of the Kizhi Pogost (enclosure) on the Kizhi Island in the Lake Onega comprises two wooden churches from the 18th century (the Church of the Transfiguration and the Church of the Intercession) and a clock tower from 1862. They were built in a unique artistic style and represent a culmination of Russian carpenter techniques. Although the buildings have seen periodic repairs, they have not been significantly reconstructed.[7]
Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow		Moscow	1990	545; i, ii, iv, vi (cultural)	The Moscow Kremlin is the oldest part of Moscow, first mentioned in 1147. In the 13th century, it served as the seat of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and a religious centre. The walls and the towers were constructed in the late 15th and early 16th century, as well as the churches that were designed by invited Italian architects and show influences of the Italian Renaissance. The Assumption Cathedral was the site of coronations and the Cathedral of the Archangel served as the burial site of Russian princes and tsars. Civic buildings were constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Red Square is located outside the Kremlin walls. Saint Basil's Cathedral, located at the end of Red Square, is pictured.[8]
Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings		Novgorod Oblast	1992	604; ii, iv, vi (cultural)	Novgorod was the first capital of Kievan Rus' in the 9th century and the capital of the Novgorod Republic from the 12th to the 15th centuries. Located at the intersection of trade routes linking Northern Europe with Central Asia and Byzantine Empire, the city grew to one of the most important centres of Russian art and culture, as well as a spiritual centre. The majority of the preserved monuments in the city, such as churches and monasteries, are from the Novgorod Republic period. The Kremlin is pictured.[9]
Cultural and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands		Arkhangelsk Oblast	1992	632; iv (cultural)	Six islands of the archipelago in the White Sea have been inhabited at least since the 5th century BCE. A fortified Solovetsky Monastery was founded in the 1430s and remained active until the 1920s when it was converted into a prison camp under the Gulag system. The prison camp closed in 1939 and the complex has since returned to the Orthodox church. The World Heritage Site comprises the monastery complex, a former monastic village, monastic cells and hermitages, prehistoric sites, memorial sites of the prison camp, and the surrounding cultural landscape shaped by people living in remote and harsh conditions of the North.[10]
White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal		Vladimir Oblast	1992	633; i, ii, iv (cultural)	Vladimir and Suzdal were the main towns of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality in the 12th and 13th centuries. The World Heritage Site comprises the monuments in a unique architectural style developed in the region. The monuments are the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, and the Golden Gate in Vladimir, the Princely Castle and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl in Bogolyubovo, Suzdal Kremlin, the Cathedral of the Nativity, and the Monastery of Our Savior and St Euthymius (pictured) in Suzdal, and the Church of Sts Boris and Gleb in Kideksha.[11]
Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad		Moscow Oblast	1993	657; ii, iv (cultural)	The monastery in Sergiev Posad is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the seat of the Patriarch. It was founded in 1337 and developed through centuries. The Trinity Cathedral dates from 1422 and houses Andrei Rublev's most famous icon, The Trinity. The Assumption Cathedral, from the second half of the 16th century, houses the tomb of Tsar Boris Godunov and his family. The complex is surrounded by thick defensive walls that protected it during the Polish-Lithuanian siege of 1610.[12]
Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye		Moscow	1994	634rev; ii (cultural)	The Church of the Ascension was built in 1532 to commemorate the birth of the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The church is significant because of its tented roof built in stone, an architectural novelty in Russian architecture; such roofs were previously constructed in wooden structures. The roof rises from an octagonal base and features several decorative elements called kokoshniks. The church had a strong influence on the architecture of Russian churches until the middle of the 17th century.[13]
Virgin Komi Forests		Komi Republic	1995	719; vii, ix (natural)	Virgin forests of this World Heritage Site cover 32,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi) in the Ural Mountains. They consist of boreal forest (taiga), tundra, and alpine tundra. The most common tree species are conifers, aspens, and birches. There are also extensive peatlands.[14]
Lake Baikal		Irkutsk Oblast, Buryatia	1996	754; vii, viii, ix, x (natural)	At a depth of 1,700 metres (5,600 ft), Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and contains about 20% of world's unfrozen fresh water. It is also the oldest lake in the world, with an age of 25 million years. Due to its characteristics, it is home to a unique combination of freshwater flora and fauna, with many endemic species.[15]
Volcanoes of Kamchatka		Kamchatka Krai	1996	765bis; vii, viii, ix, x (natural)	The Kamchatka Peninsula contains a large density of active volcanoes and associated volcanic features, there are also many glaciers. The area is home to species such as sea otter, brown bear, white-tailed eagle, and Steller's sea eagle. The rivers are spawning areas for salmonid species. The boundaries of the property were expanded in 2001 to include six areas in total. Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano is pictured.[16]
Golden Mountains of Altai		Altai Republic	1998	768rev; x (natural)	This site comprises the Altai and Katun Natural Reserves, Lake Teletskoye, Belukha Mountain, and the Ukok Plateau. The area is important in view of biodiversity, with altitudinal vegetation zones spanning from steppe, forest steppe, mixed forest, to subalpine and alpine vegetation. It is also home to snow leopard.[17]
Historic and Architectural Complex of the Kazan Kremlin		Tatarstan	2000	980; ii, iii, iv (cultural)	Tsar Ivan the Terrible conquered the city of Kazan from the Khanate of Kazan (successors to the Golden Horde) in 1552 and built the Kremlin upon the site of a Tatar fortress. The buildings in the citadel, most of them erected between the 16th and the 19th centuries, reflect the interaction of Russian and Tatar influences, as well as Christian and Muslim faiths. The Kul Sharif Mosque is a new structure, constructed in the 21st century on the site of an earlier mosque.[18]
Western Caucasus		Krasnodar Krai	1999	900; ix, x (natural)	This site comprises seven properties (including the Caucasus Nature Reserve) in the western part of the Caucasus mountains, that represent one of the few mountain forest areas that have not been significantly modified by human activities. They contain a wide variety of ecosystems from lowlands to subalpine zone. They are home to several animal and plant species and are the site of reintroduction of the mountain subspecies of the European bison.[19]
Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery		Vologda Oblast	2000	982; i, iv (cultural)	The monastery was founded by Saint Ferapont in 1398 in the inhospitable Russian North. The buildings date from the 15th to the 17th century, with a stone wall added in the 19th century. The monastery is a prime example of a Russian Orthodox monastic community from the period, and has been well preserved. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin (built in 1490 by masters from Rostov) has interior walls covered by frescos by master Dionisius.[20]
Curonian Spit*		Kaliningrad Oblast	2000	994; v (cultural)	The Curonian Spit, a 98-kilometre (61 mi) long sandy dune (a spit) that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Intense logging activities in the 17th and 18th centuries resulted in the dunes moving towards the Lagoon, burying the oldest settlements in the process. Dune stabilization work started in the 19th century and is still ongoing. It includes building a protective dune ridge, as well as planting trees and hedges. In time, some of the ancient fishermen villages have been transformed into tourist resorts, with lighthouses, piers, churches, schools, and villas. The area is also important for its sand flora and fauna, and as a bird migration path. The northern part of the Spit is in Lithuania, while the southern part is in Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia.[21]
Central Sikhote-Alin		Primorsky Krai	2001	766bis; x (natural)	This site comprises three properties in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range: Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve, Goralij Zoological Preserve, and the Bikin River Valley (added as an extension in 2018, pictured). The temperate forests represent a unique meeting point between the taiga and the subtropics, and are home to species such as the Siberian tiger, Himalayan black bear, Siberian musk deer, wolverine, and sable.[22]
Uvs Nuur Basin*		Tuva	2003	769rev; ix, x (natural)	This transnational site comprises seven properties in Russia and five in Mongolia. The Uvs Nuur Basin is a large endorheic basin that drains into the large, shallow, and very saline Uvs Lake. The basin contains a wide variety of habitats, including wetlands, steppe, different types of forests, fresh and saltwater ecosystems, as well as mountain tundra. The area is home to several bird species, snow leopard, Mongolian gerbil, argali, and Siberian ibex.[23]
Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent		Dagestan	2003	1070; iii, iv (cultural)	Derbent, the oldest city in Russia, is located on a narrow plain between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus mountains. Due to its strategic position between Europe and Asia, defensive structures were built already in the first millennium BCE to control the passage. Two parallel walls were built in the 5th and 6th century CE by the Sassanian Empire, parts of them surviving to the present day. The citadel and the city that developed between the walls were shaped by the Arab, Seljuk, Mongol, Timurid, and Safavid rule. The area came under the Russian Empire in the 19th century and gradually lost its military function.[24]
Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve		Chukotka Autonomous Okrug	2004	1023rev; ix, x (natural)	Wrangel Island is located in the Arctic Ocean between the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea. As it was not covered by ice during the Quaternary glaciation, it preserved a large number of plant communities that were otherwhere disrupted by ice, and keeps the highest biodiversity of all Arctic islands. It was also the site of the last known surviving woolly mammoths. In addition to the main island, the site also includes the smaller Herald Island and the surrounding waters. The area is home to seabirds, snow geese, and a large walrus colony, and is a major feeding ground for gray whales.[25]
Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent		Moscow	2004	1097; i, iv, vi (cultural)	The monastery was founded in the 1520s. The complex was constructed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Muscovite Baroque style, and is the representative example of the style that was popular in the region in that period. It was closely linked to the royal family, as the chosen convent for women of aristocratic and wealthy families who became nuns, as well as the burial site for the nobles. The convent is surrounded by walls that were, at the time of construction, integrated into Moscow's defenses.[26]
Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl		Yaroslavl Oblast	2005	1170; ii, iv (cultural)	The city of Yaroslavl is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl rivers. Founded in the 11th century as a small wooden fortress, it developed into a strong commercial centre after being incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow in 1463. Several churches from the 16th and 17th centuries are preserved. Following the town-planning reform of Empress Catherine the Great at the end of the 18th century, Yaroslavl's centre was redesigned in a Neoclassical style with a radial urban plan.[27]
Struve Geodetic Arc*		Leningrad Oblast	2005	1187; ii, iii, vi (cultural)	The Struve Geodetic Arc is a series of triangulation points, stretching over a distance of 2,820 kilometres (1,750 mi) from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea. The points were set up in a survey by the astronomer Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve who first carried out an accurate measurement of a long segment of a meridian, which helped to establish the size and shape of the Earth. Originally, there were 265 station points. The World Heritage Site includes 34 points in ten countries (North to South: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine), two of which are in Russia, on the island of Gogland.[28]
Putorana Plateau		Krasnoyarsk Krai	2010	1234rev; vii, ix (natural)	Putorana Plateau is the northernmost part of the Central Siberian Plateau. Geologically, it is mainly composed of basalt from the Siberian Traps. This remote and mostly untouched area includes several ecosystems, such as taiga, forest tundra, tundra, Arctic deserts, lakes, and rivers. The vegetation marks the meeting point between Western and Eastern Siberian floras. The plateau is on a major reindeer migration route.[29]
Lena Pillars Nature Park		Sakha	2012	1299bis; viii (natural)	Lena Pillars are a natural formation overlooking the Lena River. The pillars, reaching up to 200 metres (660 ft) in height, were formed by harsh continental climate with cold winters, with temperatures far below freezing, and hot summers, resulting in freeze-thaw action widening the intervening joints between the rocks. The pillars consist of Cambrian rocks and contain fossils documenting the early differentiation of species during the Cambrian explosion. A minor boundary modification took place in 2015.[30]
Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex		Tatarstan	2014	981rev; ii, vi (cultural)	Bolghar was the intermittent capital of Volga Bulgaria, a Bulgar state between the 7th and 15th centuries. Following the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, it became an early capital of the Golden Horde and remained an important trade centre during the Khanate of Kazan. The state adopted Islam as official religion in 922 and Bolghar still remains a pilgrimage site of the Volga Tatars.[31]
Landscapes of Dauria*		Zabaykalsky Krai	2017	1448rev; ix, x (natural)	Dauria, or Transbaikal, is a region east of Lake Baikal. The transnational site comprises areas of Daursky Nature Reserve in Russia and three areas in Mongolia, including the Mongol Daguur Biosphere Reserve. The landscape includes different steppe ecosystems, forests, and grasslands, as well as wetlands and lakes. The area is important as a nesting ground or migration route for several bird species, such as the white-naped crane, and is also a migration area of the Mongolian gazelle.[32]
Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk		Tatarstan	2017	1525; ii, iv (cultural)	The town-island, located at the confluence of the Volga, the Sviyaga, and the Shchuka rivers, was founded in 1551 by Ivan the Terrible. Located at a strategic position at a crossroads of Volga route and Silk Road, it was the initial outpost for Ivan's conquest of the Khanate of Kazan. The cathedral and the monastery complex were built in the 16th and renovated in the 18th century. The frescos in the cathedral are among the best examples of Russian Orthodox paintings and are painted in a unique fusion of styles from different regions of Russia.[33]
Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture		Pskov Oblast	2019	1523; ii (cultural)	This site comprises ten churches or monasteries and related buildings in the city of Pskov. They represent the work of the Pskov School that drew from the Byzantine and Novgorod traditions, fused them with the local vernacular tradition, and adjusted the architecture to the use of local resources. The churches date from the 12th to the early 17th century, with the peak of this style in the 15th and 16th centuries. The architects from Pskov worked on monuments in several Russian cities, including Moscow, Kazan, and Sviyazhsk. The Cathedral of St. John from the 12th century is pictured.[34]
Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea		Karelia	2021	1654; iii (cultural)	This site comprises 33 properties with petroglyphs in two clusters. The petroglyphs at Lake Onega depict birds, animals, half human and half animal figures, as well as geometric shapes possibly representing the moon and the sun. The petroglyphs at the White Sea represent hunting and sailing scenes, together with related equipment, as well as animal and human footprints. They were created 6 and 7 thousand years ago and provide an insight into the lives of Neolithic cultures of Fennoscandia.[35]
Astronomical Observatories of Kazan Federal University		Tatarstan	2023	1678; i, ii, iv, vi (cultural)	This nomination comprises two astronomical observatories. The one at Kazan Federal University was founded in the early 19th century and the one at Engelhardt (pictured) in 1901. They were used to map the positions of stars and objects of the Solar System, as well as to develop astronomical instruments.[36]

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In addition to sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, member states can maintain a list of tentative sites that they may consider for nomination. Nominations for the World Heritage List are only accepted if the site was previously listed on the tentative list.^[37] As of 2022^[update], Russia recorded 28 sites on its tentative list.^[3]

• List of World Heritage Sites in the Soviet Union
• Tourism in Russia