Staraya Russa is an old town south of Novgorod, known for mineral springs, medieval churches, and its deep connection with Fyodor Dostoevsky. It is quieter than Novgorod and more literary than monumental, but that is exactly its appeal.
Dostoevsky spent summers here in the 1870s, and the town fed directly into The Brothers Karamazov. The Dostoevsky House Museum is the main reason many visitors come, but Staraya Russa is not only a literary pilgrimage. The old spa, riverside streets, and surviving churches give it a layered provincial character.
The town works best as a slow overnight or a long day from Novgorod if you are interested in Russian literature, small historic towns, or the older settlement pattern around Lake Ilmen. It is not polished in the way big-name museum towns are, which is part of the draw.