We transfer this morning to Moscow’s Yaroslavski station to join our private sleeping car train, the Golden Eagle that will be our home for the next 14 days. There will be a welcome reception and introduction to the train staff in the bar car, followed by dinner, as we depart eastwards towards Yaroslavl; Be warned, there will not be many hours of darkness in the next two weeks as this is the time of year the Russians call ‘White Nights’ 

Kungor, located in the Urals, is famous for its Ice Caves which date back some 12,000 years. One of the biggest caves in the world, the network of 100 grottoes and 60 lakes are connected by nearly 6 kilometres of underground passages. Late evening we continue our journey towards Yekaterinburg. Founded in 1723 by Peter the Great, the third largest Russian city is also the capital of the Urals. The cultural and architectural influences of European and Asian civilisations come together in this fascinating and cosmopolitan landscape.  Our short city tour takes us to the poignant site where the Romanov, Nicholas II of Russia was executed with his family by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Now a church dedicated to their memory, this site provides us with a powerful insight into the turmoil of the Russian Revolution.

This morning we arrive in the town of Kalino where we take the opportunity to visit the preserved Perm-36 Gulag and Museum in nearby Kutchino. Here was the site of one of the harshest Soviet Gulag prison camps for political opponents during the communist Soviet period, only closing in 1990. Perm-36.

In Slav culture the traditional character of Ded Moroz plays a role similar to that of Santa Claus. The literal English translation of the name is Father Frost. We will visit the official residence of Ded Moroz which is located close to the town of Veliky Ustyug, as well as touring the once important and beautiful city on the bank of the Sukhona River.

In the afternoon we arrive in the coal-mining town of Vortuka which is the location for one of the more notorious forced labour camps of the Gulag which was established in 1932 and remained open until the 1980s.

From Labitnangi we cross the River Ob to prosperous and modern Salekhard for a tour of the town. It is believed to be the only town in the world that is located right on the Polar Circle. After leaving Labitnangi, we make a stop in the mid-afternoon at the Europe/Asia Monument.

Kotlas is a town in the south of Arkhangelsk Oblast, situated at the confluence of the Northern Dvina and Vychegda Rivers.  Kotlas is an important river port as the Northern Dvina is one of the largest and most important waterways of the northern European portion of Russia. It flows 462 miles (744 km) in a generally northwesterly direction and enters the Dvina inlet of the White Sea.

We spend the day touring Arkhangel, a town located on the banks of the White Sea that was the chief seaport of medieval Russia. On our city tour we will have the opportunity to visit the British and American Arctic Convoy War Graves and the Wooden Architecture Museum.

After arriving early morning into Kem we transfer to a small boat bound for Solovetsky Monastery on Solovetsky Island in the White Sea.  The Island is also infamous for its ‘Special Purpose Camp’ set up by Stalin and is the location used as the basis for Solzhenitzyn’s Gulag Archipelago. Late this evening, in daylight, we will cross the Arctic Circle as we head to the most northerly point on the journey.

Mid-morning we will arrive at Nikel, on the border with Norway.  The station is close to the Nikel smelting plant which in part has caused the devastation to the surrounding countryside that will have been evident for the 20 miles before our arrival. An eerie place but has been one of the highlights of our previous tours. Early evening we will arrive in Murmansk for a city tour and a visit to the Nuclear Icebreaker Museum Ship.

A leisurely day onboard our private train as we return south from the Arctic Circle. 

After breakfast we alight in Pavlovsk and visit Catherine’s Summer Palace in Pushkin, including a visit to the Amber Room. Lunch at the Podvorye Restaurant (a typical Russian Log House) after which we continue to St Petersburg hauled by Russia’s oldest working steam locomotive Ov. 324 built in 1905.  There is an afternoon tour of the city of St Petersburg incorporating a visit to the Imperial Waiting Room at Vitebski and an optional visit to the Railway Museum before we rejoin the train for dinner.

In the morning we tour Novgorod, one of the oldest towns in Russia, with its five-domed Cathedral before continuing to Pskov with its ancient and well restored centre on the Latvian border and in whose station Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on 15th March 1915.

Our final morning on the train sees us travelling down the St Petersburg - Moscow mainline with a before we arrive at Moscow Leningradski station and transfer to the 5 star Marriott Royal Aurora (or similar) located in the centre of the city. Enjoy free time in the afternoon before the tour farewell dinner is served in the hotel.

Breakfast in the hotel brings the tour to a close and airport transfers are provided for departing flights.