Russia is so utterly mind bogglingly large that it spans an entire continent, and ranges from the Arctic Circle almost as far south as the tropics, and has almost every conceivable climate at some point within it.
European cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg are pleasantly warm in summer, and intensely cold in the winter, while the coast of the Black Sea in the south is a pleasant place to visit almost year round with many resorts and Dachas along the beaches.
Siberia is only really accessibly in the summer, during which period, the barely bearable temperatures are still icy and its easy to see why being sent to the Gulags in the region were such a punishment.
The Ural Mountains offer some good skiing, and are popular as climbing destinations in the summer months among those who've already "done" the Alps.
