教堂是俄羅斯人民的精神與心靈寄託，宗教在俄羅斯有著相當大的穩定和影響力量。俄羅斯的東正教徒佔80%，色彩鮮艷的洋蔥型尖頂教堂，是俄 羅斯東正教的象徵；教堂不僅是居民祈福、做禮拜的地方，其獨特的外觀與室內聖像、壁畫、雕像都是藝術創作之精典，也成為旅客必訪的旅遊景點。

　　皇宮也是俄羅斯的建築佳作與最珍貴的藝術寶藏，尤其採巴洛克式奢華建築的聖彼得堡冬宮、夏宮與凱薩琳宮，從裡到外宛如一座寶藏；以冬宮為例，收藏物300多萬件，要一覽而盡談何容易，遊客只能走馬看花、匆匆掠過。聖彼得堡人口約500萬，有俄羅斯的小歐洲之稱，也有北方威尼斯之美名，旅遊其間有如置身歐洲。

　　莫斯科人口近1,000萬，集政治、經濟、教育、文化於一體。莫斯科的知名觀光景點包括紅場聖瓦西里教堂、列寧墓寢、國立歷史博物館…，以及新闢的金環旅遊線，吸引了許多國內與來自全球的遊客絡繹不絕，更是拍婚紗的熱門景點。地鐵也是莫斯科的一絕，不容錯過，因為地鐵不僅代表俄羅斯的建築美學，也是俄羅斯展露其藝術深度與文化精髓的最佳體現。

　　俄羅斯國土1,703萬5,400多平方公里，橫跨歐、亞、大陸，是世界土地最大的國家，大家若前往旅遊最好要結伴同行，尤其4月份更要小心，因為在法西斯紀念日常會有光頭黨攻擊亞洲人的事件發生。俄羅斯人普遍給人冷漠、現實、官僚之觀感，歷經經濟蕭條、通貨膨脹與生活恐慌，到現在的經濟活力與繁榮，外匯存底僅次於中國和日本，不得不讓人對俄羅斯刮目相看！

　　俄羅斯的興衰與再崛起，正應驗了中國人所說的風水輪流轉、天助自助，也帶給我們很多省思。

A Profile of Russia

The four so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations shimmer with the golden aura of the future. With a total population exceeding 140 million, these countries are relying on their immense human resources, plus minerals, forests, and petroleum deposits, to enhance their profile and power in the world of the 21st century.

The Orthodox Church has always provided a spiritual refuge for the people of Russia. Religion plays a big role in many Russians' lives, and the Church is a major source of stability. As many as 80% of all Russians are believers. The brightly colored onion domes of Russian churches are a unique symbol of the Orthodox Church. Russian churches also feature interesting architecture and contain many works of art, including murals, icons, and sculpture. Visitors to Russia commonly tour the country's most famous churches and cathedrals.

Russia's Czarist palaces are architectural marvels and contains sumptuous collections of art. In particular, St. Petersburg's Baroque Winter Palace, the Czar's Palace, and the Catherine Palace are full of treasures inside and out. The Winter Palace, for instance, has a collection of more than three million works of art. It's literally impossible to see everything at this museum; visitors feel like all they can do is catch a hasty glimpse.

Moscow has a population of close to ten million, and is Russia's political, economic, educational, and cultural center. A few spots popular for wedding photographs are especially crowded. The Moscow subway is the pride of the city and shouldn’t be missed.

Russia occupies more than 17 million square kilometers of land. It spans the distance from Europe to China, and is the world's largest country. Russia has overcome its past problems of inflation and economic stagnation, and is displaying great economic vitality and prosperity. Russia is now behind only China and Japan in terms of foreign exchange reserves. Perhaps it's time for a new and closer look at Russia!

It's worth pondering whether the time has come for Russia to rise again in the world. God will help Russia if the Russians can help themselves.