DianaZ

As mentioned already, try the Golden Ring cities if you wish to see one of the oldest Russian architectural masterpieces and more of a real life in Central Russia (though I know you have experienced that in Siberia :-)

Sergiyev Posad
Pereslavl-Zalesskiy
Rostov Velikiy
Yaroslavl
Kostroma
Ivanovo
Gus-Khrustalny
Suzdal
Vladimir
Rybinsk
Uglich
Myshkin
Alexandrov

My top destinations are Suzdal, Vladimir, Yaroslavl and Kostroma, though each deserves a visit, for sure!

Behindthecurtain

Check out the golden ring towns and also Sergiev Possad if you want a short trip from Moscow

If longer, Try Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Baikal region (which is not a boring as folks represented here. I have been Scuba Diving there, Ice Fishing in the middle of January and white water rafting in the summer up there Nizhney Nogorad, or Novgorod between St Pet and Moscow.

South Coast Towns such as Sochi and Krasnodar are worth a visit too

Oh and if you feel adventurous go to Yakustk in Winter.. -48 average! and lowest ever temperature in a populated area recorded 12 miles away from Yakutsk was -71

ParisMoskau

Yes - great place. I've been there 3 or 4 years ago. We didn't fly, but rented a car in Novosibirsk and drove down there - it's takes about six hours by car to reach the foot of the Altai (Gorno-Altaisk). From there, we followed Chuysky Trakt (the main road which will 1-2 hours past Gorno-Altaisk leave the main tourist area and after 3-4 hours the most beautiful sections starts - check out some details on this site: http://www.waytorussia.net/Altay/

I believe that there is now also a direct weekly flight from DME to Gorno-Altaisk on S7, but in case you want to rent a car this might be easier in Novo (not sure though).

Tizzette

Does anyone know how to contact a local guide or taxi service in Vladimir or Suzdal?

I'd like someone reliable to meet us at the Vladimir train station and take us to Suzdal for the afternoon, then back to the train station to return to Moscow the same day. A guide with a car would be ideal but a prearranged taxi would do.

eielef

There a pretty cities also north-west from Moscow, like Pskov. If you have a car, I'd go from Moscow to Pskov, from there to Veliky Novgorod (amazing city), from there to St Petersburg, from there to the Ladoga Lake and further north to Petrozavodsk. That will give you a good image of the interior of Russia.
If your time is more limited I'd do the golden ring but not all of it. Vladimir, Suzdal, Sergiev Posad and eventually Gus Khristalvny are more than enough.
Going south there is not much to see, just Kursk (if you are interested in history), and further south, Krasnodar and Rostov are not really interesting, but you can find Novorossiysk which is amazing, as well as Crimea (the whole of it, specially the smaller towns), and even further south down to Sochi and if you want Abkhazia. You need a visa for Abkhazia, but you won't be stamped on your passport than you left Russia, so It's fine if you have a one entrance visa.
I've done the whole of it (from Petrozavodsk to Sukhumi) last summer, a 3 weeks road trip (and then back to Moscow) doing next to 8000km. It was an experience. Cities like Voronezh, Lipetsk, even Rostov, Belgorod, are just nice if you know people there, but there are pretty un-impressive. From the East, i've visited all between Vladivostok and the Baikal (took the Baikal Amur Magistral or BAM Rail) which was impressive, but don't know much of big cities as Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk or Krasnoyarsk. Recently visited Yekaterinburg and that was really disappointing, unimpressive, with rude people and dirty air...
Is not a surprise that Russia is the world largest country (by far) so you'll never finish visiting all of it. There are 85 federal subjects (states or provinces), and i've seen so far 28, and I don't think i'll ever see them all....