It'll be a destination for wealthy Russians who, as of Wednesday, had been deprived of their glitzy casino nights in Moscow.

FORBES: Gambling

It took seven consecutive days and nights on trains to get from Moscow to Beijing, each day spent gazing out the windows for hours as the Siberian plains swept by.

BBC: How I quit my job to travel: The lawyer

Vladimir Gusinsky, a media tycoon on bail in Spain and under heavy fire from the Kremlin, has given money to improve conditions at one of Moscow's worst prisons, where he spent a few uncomfortable nights last summer.

ECONOMIST: Russia