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If you've thought that only countries like the US, Australia, or Canada have national parks that protect a diverse array of environments, then think again. The world's largest country may mostly be covered in ice, snow, and Arctic wilderness, but even within these landscapes lie a diverse range of different environments, ecosystems, and wildlife – perhaps you might not have known that the all-famous Siberian tiger only lives in the Russian Far East.

Understand

A road in Prielbrusye National Park in the Central Caucasus

National parks in Russia are quite a new thing; in fact, the first national parks were only established in the 1960s when a bunch of Soviet scientists went to the US, visiting Yellowstone and the Great Smoky Mountains; impressed by the US' national park system, it eventually kickstarted the Soviet Union's conservation movement.

Though the Soviet Union's conservation movement started in the 1960s, the areas that were protected weren't "national parks", these were nature reserves. It was not until 1983 when what is now Russia's first national parks were declared: Sochi National Park and Losiny Ostrov National Park. After the two were established, several others followed suit; Samarskaya Luka National Park was established in 1984, Mariy Chodra National Park in 1985, and several others in 1986.

Though the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, that did not stop more the establishment of more national parks – both before and after the collapse. In fact, many national parks were actually established during those two years, with many more national parks declared ever since.

Today, Russia's 64 national parks protect over 155,672 km² (60,105 sq mi) of Russia and that's not including other nature reserves. For comparison, that's more than the area of Iceland and Switzerland combined; if you paid attention in geography lessons, you would know that both these countries are very vast and remote.

National parks

Altai Republic

• 1 Salair National Park
• 2 Saylyugemsky National Park

Amur Oblast

• 3 Tokinsko-Stanovoy National Park

Arkhangelsk Oblast

• 4 Kenozersky National Park
• 5 Onezhskoye Pomorye National Park
• 6 Russian Arctic National Park
• 7 Vodlozersky National Park

Bashkortostan

• 8 Bashkiria National Park

Buryatia

• 9 Zabaykalsky National Park

Chelyabinsk Oblast

• 10 Taganay National Park
• 11 Zigalga National Park
• 12 Zyuratkul National Park

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug

• 13 Beringia National Park

Chuvashia

• 14 Chuvash Forest National Park (Chavash Varmane Bor National Park)

Crimea

Though Crimea remains a subject of tension between Ukraine and Russia, it is currently under de facto Russian control.

• 15 Tarkhankut National Park (Russian name) / Charming Harbo(u)r National Nature Park (Ukrainian name)

Dagestan

• 16 Samursky National Park

Irkutsk Oblast

• 17 Pribaikalsky National Park – nestled quietly along the southwest banks of Lake Baikal, it's one of those underrated hidden gems that surprisingly doesn't get crowded (the park only receives about 400k visitors annually)

Kabardino-Balkaria

• 18 Prielbrusye National Park

Kaliningrad Oblast

• 19 Curonian Spit National Park

Kaluga Oblast

• 20 Ugra National Park

Karelia

• 21 Kalevalsky National Park
• 22 Ladoga Skerries National Park
• 23 Paanajärvi National Park – borders Oulanka National Park in neighboring Finland

Kemerovo Oblast

• 24 Shorsky National Park

Khabarovsk Krai

• 25 Anyuysky National Park
• 26 Shantar Islands National Park

Komi Republic

• 27 Koygorodsky National Park
• 28 Yugyd Va National Park

Krasnodar Krai

• 29 Sochi National Park

Krasnoyarsk Krai

• 30 Krasnoyarsk Stolby National Park –––––– ru.voy guide
• 31 Shushensky Bor National Park

Mari El

• 32 Mariy Chodra National Park

Mordovia

• 33 Smolny National Park

Moscow Oblast

• 34 Losiny Ostrov National Park

Murmansk Oblast

• 35 Khibiny National Park

North Ossetia–Alania

• 36 Alaniya National Park

Novgorod Oblast

• 37 Valdaysky National Park

Oryol Oblast

• 38 Orlovskoye Polesye National Park

Primorsky Krai

• 39 Bikin National Park
• 40 Land of the Leopard National Park
• 41 Udegeyskaya Legenda National Park
• 42 Zov Tigra National Park

Pskov Oblast

• 43 Sebezhsky National Park

Ryazan Oblast

• 44 Meshchyorsky National Park

Sakha

• 45 Kytalyk National Park

Samara Oblast

• 46 Buzuluksky Bor National Park (partially in Orenburg Oblast)
• 47 Samarskaya Luka National Park

Saratov Oblast

• 48 Khvalynsky National Park

Smolensk Oblast

• 49 Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park

Stavropol Krai

• 50 Kislovodsk National Park

Sverdlovsk Oblast

• 51 Pripyshminskiye Bory National Park

Tatarstan

• 52 Nizhnyaya Kama National Park

Tver Oblast

• 53 Zavidovo National Park

Tyumen Oblast

• 54 Gyda National Park

Udmurt

• 55 Nechkinsky National Park

Ulyanovsk Oblast

• 56 Sengiley Hills National Park (Sengileevskie Mountains National Park)

Vladimir Oblast

• 57 Meshchyora National Park

Vologda Oblast

• 58 Russky Sever National Park

Yaroslavl Oblast

• 59 Pleshcheyevo Ozero National Park

Zabaykalsky Krai

• 60 Alkhanay National Park
• 61 Chikoy National Park
• 62 Kodar National Park

See also

• Finnish national parks
• Ukrainian national parks