Founded by Peter the Great in 1723 Ekaterinburg remains notorious as the place where the Romanovs were executed in 1918. It is regarded as the economic and cultural capital of the Ural region and spawned a huge defence industry – it was closed to foreigners until 1990 because of the many factories producing weapons.

It is possible to visit the merchant’s basement where the Romanovs were killed and a cathedral has been built to mark the place. There are several interesting museums in the city including a Fine Arts Museum, Mineralogical Museum and Geology Museum.