Baikal Lake is a rift lake in Russia, located in southern Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast. Lake Baikal is the larges freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water. With 23,615.39 km³ (5,670 miles) of fresh water, it contains more water than the North American Great Lakes combined.

The Altai Mountaints are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and are where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The name "Altai" means "Gold Mountain" in Mongolian, the mountains have retained a remarkably stable climate changing little since the last ice age. As stated in the UNESCO description of the site, "the region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation".

The Ural Mountaints are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocea to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. They have rich resources, including metal ores, coal, precious and semi-precious stones. Since the 18th century the mountains have contributed significantly to the mineral sector of the Russian economy. The Urals have been viewed by Russians as a "treasure box" of mineral resources, which were the basis for its extensive industrial development.

The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometre-long (780 mi) peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about 270,000 km² (100,000 sq mi).The Kamchatka peninsula contains the volcanoes of Kamchatka, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kamchatka receives up to 2,700 mm (110 in) of precipitation per year. The summers are moderately cool, and the winters tend to be rather stormy though rarely producing lightning. Kamchatka is famous for the abundance and size of its brown bears.

The Trans-Sebirian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East. With a length of 9,289 kilometres (5,772 miles), it is the longest railway line in the world. There are connecting branch lines into Mongolia, China and North Korea. It has connected Moscow with Vladivostok since 1916, and is still being expanded. The Trans-Siberian line remains the most important transport link within Russia; around 30% of Russian exports travel on the line. While it attracts many foreign tourists, it gets most of its use from domestic passengers.