Hello r/askhistorians! My Father and I are planning a driving holiday around eastern europe, but most guidebooks seem to focus on very touristy cities full of boutiques: We are more interested in the USSR and how it has left a mark on the lands, things like museums, monuments, very soviet looking towns and places. If you were going to take your historically interested 16 year old son round eastern europe, where would you take him? We are not planning on going as far as Moscow, we are planning on flying into Latvia or another further off country, hireing a car, and making our way back to the UK through Former Soviet Union nations. I understand that historians like youselves should have better imformation and advice than any standard guidebook. Thank you very much, look forward to hearing from you! :)
If you're in the baltic area there is the Hill of Crosses near Šiauliai in Lithuania. Basically it's a hill covered in crosses of varying size and style taken there by christian Lithuanians. During Soviet occupation the hill was bulldozed numerous times but the Lithuanians kept replacing the crosses. The significance of the hill is pre-Soviet but it did mark an important religious conflict within the USSR and was eventually honoured by Pope John Paul II.
From pictures it looks very interesting but I'm not sure how easy it is to get there, hope this helps.
St. Petersburg, Formerly known as Leningrad, and Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, are historical sites of their own due to the famous battles that took place there in WW2. St. Petersburg is basically around the corner from the Baltic States, considering the distances you'll travel, but Volgograd is much farther. Looking at your travel routine i'd suggest going there separately as it is nearer to the Caspian Sea than to the Baltic.
Hill of crosses, as explained by /u/Loonquawll in Lithuania.
Danzig, in Poland, not only for the history of Poland in WW2, but for the subsequent soviet rule. Danzig is quite the historical city!
Eastern Germany, and, if you can, the numerous Concentration camps(Altough not pertinent to USSR history per se, but still a nice afternoon trip), and maybe see the old Berlin Wall.
I'd strongly advise against traveling to Ukraine(primarily Crimea and Eastern Ukraine), shit's still going down there, pardon my French.
Belarus was the sight of many, many, many glorious battles in WW2, including Operation Bagration, which is considered a part of the turning point in the Eastern Front in WW2. I'd suggest an all-around trip.