Russia’s historic gateway to Western Europe, the North-West is home to St. Petersburg, the country’s capital until the early 18th century. A very large area bordering Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Belarus in the west (as well as Kaliningrad, the little extra slice of Russia that lies between Lithuania and Poland), North-West Russia stretches in the east to the Ural Mountains. A large number of Russia’s national parks are here, as well as the historically significant areas of Novgorod and Karelia.