Russia: Belarus & Ukraine

This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting Russia.

As usual for the Insight series, this book provides a great deal of practical information on the history, cultures, life, and tourism, especially for the visitor to the great cities of the Russian Federation, along many spectacular photographs. However, I thought the chapter on Lake Baikal was disproportionately long at the expense of other parts of rural Russia. Perhaps the book's greatest deficiency is the skimpy treatment of Ukraine (and Belarus, for that matter), which should now appear in their own full guides. Less than 60 pages of photos and text just doesn't cut it for these two countries combined. A charming photograph of a bunch of Ukrainian schoolkids posing for the camera more or less seems to ask the reader, "What about us?" Simply put, they should have an Insight Guide book of their own next time around.