Russia also officially known as the Russian Federation is a country in Eurasia. At 17,075,200 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world by surface area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area,and the ninth most populous, with over 144 million people at the end of March 2016. The European western part of the country is much more populated and urbanised than the eastern; about 77% of the population live in European Russia. Russia's capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world; other major urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan.

Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U.S.state of Alaska across the Bering Strait.

Russia is a huge and beautiful country, surrounded by seas and oceans, filled with lakes, with a great variety of excellent places for diving. In the European part of the most popular and recommended for diving White and Barents Sea with a bright and diverse underwater world. In these northern seas you can swim with large mammals: minke whales, beluga whales, harp seals. The Baltic Sea is turbid and poor in life, but its bottom is literally strewn with sunken ships of different times and peoples. Other northern seas washing Russia are also, quite possibly, interesting for diving, but they are harsh and little known because of their inaccessibility even in the summer. Black Sea - as the warmest and most accessible sea in the country - was the cradle of diving in the USSR, despite the scarcity of underwater life. It was there that the first scuba divers came every summer with tents and Soviet underwater equipment. But in the Black Sea expanse lovers of racks and archeologists - the bottom is covered with a layer of sunken ships and ancient artifacts.

In the European part of Russia, including in the Moscow region itself, there are many lakes and reservoirs with a turbulent freshwater life and rather muddy water, in which undersea hunters are much more interested in swimming than for divers. But here there are beautiful water bodies, in which there is something to see, especially in periods when the water becomes transparent. Of the most beautiful, transparent and suitable for diving it is worth noting Lake Wischenec in the Kaliningrad region and Spas-Kamenskoe lake in the Moscow region.

Moving on the map of the country to the east, we meet with the surprisingly beautiful and famous in narrow circles Orda cave in the Perm region . Horde, as it is called divers, is a favorite place for cave courses and cave dives .

Lake Baikal is a pearl of Siberia. The deepest lake in the world, transparent and beautiful, is inhabited by endemic invertebrates and fish. Diving in Lake Baikal is interesting, but not easy due to cold water all year round and severe underwater landscapes with steep walls that extend to great depth. The nature of the Baikal shores is striking in its beauty and savagery. Optimal rest with dives - diving safari .

The Far Eastern coast, washed by the Pacific Ocean, is perhaps the most saturated with underwater life and the most interesting for diving in Russia. The Sea of Japan - relatively warm and accessible, is the most developed dive industry and a rich infrastructure: on the coast of Primorsky Krai from the Vityaz Bay in the south to Nakhodka there are several dive centers offering diving, including on picturesque islands and in the Far Eastern Marine Reserve.

Island of Sakhalin and the island Moneron , Kuril and Commander Islands , Kamchatka and Chukotka - all this is an extremely beautiful place, where you can endlessly enjoy the scenery, interesting diving and swimming with large marine animals: whales, killer whales, seals. At the same time, these regions are poorly mastered by the diving industry, and for organizing safe diving trips one has to apply a lot of professional efforts.

Practically all diving in Russia is diving in cold water, from 20 ° C in the Sea of Japan in summer to 2 ° C in Baikal and -1 0 ° C in the White Sea under ice. In such cold water you need to swim in a dry suit, having finished the corresponding special course PADI Dry Suit Diver. In addition, it is important to safely organize dives, because even on the surface in cold water you will not last long, and if a dry suit leaks - especially. The beaches are sparsely populated, there are few other ships and boats, so you should count only on the dive center or the safari yacht, which organize your diving. We are just building the right diving infrastructure in inaccessible places, and reliable operators offering a decent service are few. But if you went with us to the Russian wilderness with the idea of "Diving in Russia", then you will be provided with bright grandiose impressions of beautiful landscapes and wild nature.

Schedule of diving tours in Russia

Detailed descriptions and programs of our diving trips across Russia:

• White Sea
• Barencevo sea
• Spas-Kamenskoe Lake
• Lake Baikal
• Japanese Sea
• Sakhalin island
• Kurile Islands
• Commander Islands
• Kamchatka
• Star city (from December 1, 2014, the diving in the Hydrolaboratory was discontinued due to a major overhaul, which will last approximately until the end of 2016)

Photo reports from RuDIVE diving tours around Russia