MOSCOW TRAVEL GUIDE,MOSCOW CITY,RUSSIA

Moscow Travel Guide

Moscow is the capital of the world's biggest country, situated in the centre of the European part of Russia. At the very heart of the city, and indeed the country, is the Kremlin, the Russian place of command for almost eight centuries, and the religious centre. Red Square and the exquisite, colourful domes of Saint Basil's Cathedral, and the jewelled, Faberg? Easter eggs of the Tsars are images that have long been associated with the Soviet Union in the minds of Westerners.

Moscow Attractions
MOSCOW TRAVEL GUIDE:The Kremlin
The oldest part of Moscow dating back to the city’s foundation in 1147, and situated at the very heart of the city on top of a hill, the Kremlin is a fortress surrounded by a thick red wall interspersed with 20 towers. The complex consists of a number of glittering, golden-domed churches and palaces, museums, residences, offices, assembly halls and monuments. It was the royal regime during the Tsarist rule and from 1918, the seat of the Communist government. Cathedral Square is the religious centre of Moscow and the historic heart of the Kremlin, and is home to numerous churches. The attractive Annunciation Cathedral was set aside for the private use of royalty and contains beautifully painted murals and icons on the interior walls. The throne of Ivan the Terrible can be found in the Cathedral of the Assumption, which was used for the coronation of tsars; most of the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church were buried here and their tombs line the walls of the spacious, richly coloured interior. The Belfry of Ivan the Great is the tallest structure within the walls and a visible city landmark. At its foot lies the world’s biggest bell, broken in a fall from its bell tower in 1701, and nearby is the world’s largest cannon, the Tsar Cannon. Also within the Kremlin is the Armoury Palace, the richest and oldest museum housing a staggering collection of treasures gathered over the years by the church and Russian state, including jewel-studded coronation capes, thrones encrusted with diamonds, royal coaches and sleighs and the renowned jewelled Faberg? Easter eggs, each containing an exquisitely detailed miniature object of precious metal inside. The Diamond Fund Exhibition in the same building contains the 180-carat diamond given to Catherine the Great by Count Orlov.

MOSCOW TRAVEL GUIDE:Red Square
Red Square is a dramatic open cobbled space in the centre of Moscow, originally the city’s market place that served as a public gathering place to celebrate festivals, listen to government announcements or to witness executions, especially common during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The Soviet state turned it into a memorial cemetery, and constructed Lenin’s Mausoleum to one side - a crystal casket containing the preserved body of the founder of the Soviet Union that is still open to public viewing today. The communist government destroyed several ancient buildings around Red Square, including the Resurrection Gate and chapel, to make space for and to allow easy tank access to the demonstrations and military parades that frequented the area. The current Resurrection Gate and chapel are replicas that were built in the 1990s. Its most impressive parade involved the gathering of thousands of Russian soldiers ready to march to war against the Nazis in 1941, the rumble of tanks a demonstration of Soviet might during the Cold War. The word ‘red’ doesn’t apply to the colour of the brickwork, neither is it a reference to communism. The meaning of the word ‘krasny’ originally meant ‘beautiful’ in Old Russian, referring to St Basil’s Cathedral at the southern end, but over the centuries the word changed to mean ‘red’ too, thus the square’s present name. St Basil’s Cathedral is the city’s most well known building and is crowned by the bulbous multicoloured domes that have made it an instantly recognisable landmark.

MOSCOW TRAVEL GUIDE:St Basil’s Cathedral
St Basil’s Cathedral with its multicoloured domes is the most famous image of Russia, standing on the edge of Moscow’s Red Square, a striking design that was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate his victorious military campaign against the Tartar Mongols at Kazan in 1552. Legend has it that Ivan was so overwhelmed by its beauty that he had the architect blinded to prevent him from creating anything to rival it. It comprises a central chapel surrounded by eight red brick tower-like chapels, each crowned with a different coloured and uniquely patterned onion-shaped dome. The church escaped demolition many times during the city’s turbulent history and with the beginning of the Soviet regime the cathedral was closed and later turned into a museum. The interior is a dimly lit maze of corridors and delicately decorated chapels, one of them housing a priceless 16th century screen decorated with icons that shields the inner sanctuary. In comparison to the exquisite exterior, the interior can seem disappointing.

MOSCOW TRAVEL GUIDE:Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre
Moscow's oldest theatre, the Bolshoi dates from 1824 and is Russia's most famous theatre, with its world-renowned opera and ballet companies in residence. Completely rebuilt after a fire in 1856, the grand building is a masterpiece of Russian neoclassicism, including an eight-columned entrance porch topped by a horse-drawn chariot of Apollo, patron of the arts. The glittering five-tiered interior is richly adorned with red velvet furnishings, gold decoration and chandeliers, and the size of the auditorium makes it the largest theatre in the world. The Bolshoi Theatre has hosted some of the world's most celebrated premieres and performers, including Swan Lake, Spartacus and concerts by Richard Wagner, and an evening performance at the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre constitutes one of Moscow's best nights out.

MOSCOW TRAVEL GUIDE:Tretyakov Gallery
The Tretyakov Gallery houses some of the great masterpieces of traditional Russian art from before the Revolution and has the world's finest collection of Russian icons from the 11th to the 17th centuries. The gallery's collection of paintings, graphics and sculptures covers Russian art from the 18th to the 20th century. The gallery was named after its founder, Pavel Tretyakov, an art collector who donated about 2,000 works of art from his private collection to the city of Moscow, forming the basis of the collection to which state acquisitions were later added. He also donated his own house, which became the original site of the art gallery. Two separate buildings at different locations house the works selected for display.

The city of Moscow is a fusion of both splendour and ugliness that is evident in the massive concrete slabs and high-rise apartments of the Stalinist era, and in the ornate churches, beautiful neo-classical houses, and the impressive architecture of the old city. Wide grey thoroughfares give way to narrow winding inner city streets, and golden church domes gleam between the looming skyscrapers. It attracts not only those eager to embrace new business and free enterprise, but also the poor from across the country, and the extremes of affluence and impoverishment are evident everywhere.
Since the fall of communism Moscow has been injected with a sense of urgency to change the face of the 'Mother City', embracing capitalism and shaking off the years of communist-imposed atheism, with flashy shop fronts housing western franchises, new restaurants and glossy hotels, and the restoration of lavish Orthodox churches. The once dreary streets are now a vibrant commotion of life with markets and eager vendors offering an assortment of goods that were unavailable during the Soviet years.
It is also a city of entertainment, with theatres and the renowned Moscow Circus, museums and art galleries. It boasts the world's largest and most efficient metro system with gleaming stations deep underground, astonishingly decorated in elegant marble, glittering chandeliers and gilded works of art and magnificent mosaics. It is the soul of the new Russia and an intriguing mix of history and politics, business and culture.