One of the most venerated sites within the old Soviet Union, Lenin’s embalmed body has been on display here since 1930. The podium of the building is equally famous as the spot from which members of the Politbureau watched parades pass through Red Square.

This fascinating complex served as underground headquarters during WWII. Students can explore the whole underground chamber and see the original items used by Stalin and his staff.

Formerly the Museum of the Revolution and housed in the former English Club, the museum now covers many aspects of Russian history in the 20th century, although many of its most striking artefacts and displays still relate to the 1905 and 1917 revolutions.

Situated out of the city, Catherine Palace was the summer residence for the Russian Tsars.

Famous as the scene of the murder of Rasputin by Count Yusupov, its sumptuous rooms give a vivid insight into the lifestyles of the aristocracy prior to the Revolution.

A small but moving museum opened in 1989 and replacing one destroyed at Stalin’s orders in the post-war purges. It tells the story of the 900 day siege and is in part a memorial to the 700,000 civilian dead.

Situated in an attractive art nouveau mansion, the building was seized by the Bolsheviks and used as their headquarters in 1917. Formerly The Museum of the Revolution, the collection was renamed and reinterpreted in the mid 1990s and now covers the period from Catherine the Great to the present day.