Russia

The tail end of the various Sochi controversies, the problematic levels of homophobia, and Putin's recent expansionist efforts into Ukraine make the Russian Federation a complicated tourist destination. 25 million people visited Russia in 2012 but whether these recent controversies in the ex-Soviet Union will put off future visitors is difficult to say. With a landmass of over 17 million km squared there is a range of possible tourist activities and destinations including winter sports, the beautiful Black Sea coastline, the domed Orthodox churches of St. Petersburg, and Moscow's Red Square (which has a lowest recorded temperature of  −42.2 °C).