Monday kicked off the 39,000-mile trek the Olympic Torch will make across Russia before kicking off the Games on February 7.
We were curious to see where it will be going from now til then--it'll be making over 130 stops before the opening ceremonies. Russia is full of superlatives (largest city in the world above the Arctic Circle) and oddities, so we decided to check out some of the more interesting stops.
Come on, let's check out Russia.
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Before You Go
Grozny
AP
People walk in downtown Grozny, which is the capital of Chechnya.Grozny is famous for Central Mosque, Europe's largest. (AP Photo/ Musa Sadulayev, file)
Volgograd
Getty Images
Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, is famous for its namesake World War II battle, in which the Red Army fought the Nazis in one of the world's bloodiest fights. Now one of the country's most famous monuments, 'Rodina-Mat' zovyot!''(Mother Motherland Is Calling for Fight) aka Mother Motherland statue, sits on Mamayev Hill.The city will once again be known as Stalingrad on the days commemorating the 1943 battle.(MIKHAIL MORDASOV/AFP/Getty Images)
Izhevsk
WikiMedia:
Izhevsk is perhaps known for its most famous resident: Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of the AK-47, who still lives in town. The rifle is still produced in town.
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Kaliningrad
WikiMedia:
Kaliningrad, which sits between Lithuania and Poland, is known as the birthplace (and final resting place) of Immanuel Kant. It's now home to the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University.
Vladivostok
WikiMedia:
The eastern terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, Vladivostok is Russia's largest port on the Pacific. Seven days away by train from Moscow (it sits near North Korea and China) the city now has one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world.
Anadyr
WikiMedia:
The mayor of this capital from 2001 to 2008 was none other than Roman Abramovich. The town of roughly 13,000 sits on the Bering Sea; July is reportedly the hottest month, with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees.
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Murmansk
AP
Murmansk served as an important port for the U.S. and British to bring supplies to the Soviets during World War II. Today, it's also known as the largest city in the world above the Arctic Circle.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)