As I mentioned, a long time ago, I have been looking into backpacking in Russia. Somehow, Russia seems to be "reluctant" to let in the backpackers of the West. This is a real shame, as this vast country has such abundance of interesting areas for backpackers. The -istan - countries are opening up: Kyrgyzstan opened up some years ago, Kazakhstan three (?) years ago and Tajikistan has also opened for a visa-at-the-airport of Dushanbe. Kyrgyzstan already has local companies, offering variety of choice for the foreigner: cultural-, bike- and backpacking tours along with a bunch of day-tours. I stick to choosing local service - I really can not see the light in adding a in-between Westerner, usually taking more to himself (the Western company) for their "service" than the whole package actually costs - if paid directly to the local service providers. Nepal might be the prime example of this exploitation. For example, companies in Iceland offering tours in Nepal (a tour "led" by Icelandic "leader" - but with a local guide) for four times the price of the tour - if compared to dealing directly with the same local guide in Nepal. Same goes for U.K. companies, French companies etc. Least of the money paid for the tour goes to the locals.
Kazakhstan companies offer a wide range of services for the foreigner but Tajikistan is so freshly on the market that finding a local tour-operator for a backpacking tour might not be so easy. All kinds of culturally - related tours and driving the foreigner to the most important "tourist spots" are in store. So - if you want to go bumping on the Silk road, drive up to spectacular lakes etc. you can.
The backpacking tour in Russia, which I have been looking at is a long one, of 12 days. Some days of walking with the backpack, some days of letting the tents stay up and hike up to mountaintops nearby with just water and food for the day. This means possibilities of brakes/days off if necessary. More later.