moscow – москва

The capital of Russia. The city was first mentioned in chronicles in 1147. The major sights the Kremlin and Red Square make the center of Moscow. At least one full day is required to see the Kremlin, Red Square, Kremlin Cathedrals, Armory, Diamond Fund and to take a walk across the central part of Moscow to see the KGB headquarters, the Bolshoi Theatre, State Duma (Russian Parliament) and other monuments and historic buildings.

Red Square at daytime.

Red Square at night.

GUM (ГУМ) literally State Department Store was built in 1893.

GUM at night.

The 1561 Saint Basil's Cathedral was built to commemorate the victory over the Kazan Khanate in 1552.

In front of the St. Basil's Cathedral stands the 1818 monument to Minin and Pozharsky. A merchant Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky rallied a people's army to resist the Polish intervention in 1612. See also Nizhny Novgorod Oblast page.

The 1491 Saviour Tower.

Red Square as seen from the St. Basil's Cathedral.

The 1883 History Museum.

The view of the History Museum from the roof café of the nearby Ritz Carlton Hotel.

The 1993 Kazansky Cathedral is to the right of the History Museum. The 1625 original was demolished in 1936.

The Lenin Mausoleum.

The Kremlin wall and towers were mainly built in 1485-95. There are 20 towers. The wall is 2,235 m long and 5-19 m high.

Best views of the Kremlin wall and cathedrals towering over the wall are from the opposite side of the Moskva River.

General public enters the Kremlin grounds mainly through the Kutaphiya Tower. The Trinity Tower behind it measures 80 meters in height. Thus, it is the tallest tower of the Moscow Kremlin.

Within the Kremlin walls. The Cathedral Square. The 1479 Assumption Cathedral.

Left of the Assumption Cathedral is the small 1485 Deposition of the Holy Robe Church. Right are the mid-17th century Patriarch Chambers and the Twelve Apostles Church.

The 1489 Annunciation Cathedral. It used to be a domestic church of Russian royal families.

The 1508 Archangel Cathedral houses tombs of many Russian Tsars.

The 1508 Bell Tower.

The 200-ton Tsar Bell was cast in 1730s.

The Tsar Cannon was cast in 1586.

Other cannons are military trophies captured in the 1812 war with the Napoleon army.

In 1999 the skyline consisted of only kremlin towers, cathedrals and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the distance.

Later the cluster of high-risers named the Moskva-City was added to the picture.

The President Hotel offers a comfortable stay and good views of central Moscow.

The  Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and statue of Peter the Great.

The Moskva-City Business Center as seen from the Sparrow Hills.

The main building of the Moscow University on the Sparrow Hills.

The Victory Park.

To victims of World War I.

To victims of Holocaust.

The Bolshoi Theatre. 2015. Above the quadriga is Russia's coat of arms.

The Bolshoi Theatre. A postcard of 1980s. Above the quadriga is the Soviet Union's coat of arms.

The KGB Headquarters in Lubyanka Square.

The Cosmos Hotel was built by a French company for the 1980 Summer Olympics. Hence a statue of Charles de Gaulle.

The view from the Cosmos Hotel on the Space Museum, Ostankino TV tower and Expo.

The Space Museum.

The main entrance to Expo.

The Expo. A postcard of 1980s.

The view of Moscow from the Ostankino TV tower.

The 1524 Novodevichy Convent. A postcard of 1980s. On the hill is the Moscow University.

The Novodevichy Convent nowadays.

Next to the Convent is the Novodevichy Cemetery - the resting place of many prominent public figures.

The tomb of Boris Yeltsin. The first President of Russia.

The tomb of Raisa Gorbacheva. The wife of Mikhail Gorbachev. The first and last President of the Soviet Union.

The tomb of Nikita Khrushchev. The head of the USSR in 1956-64.

Half white, half black means that Nikita was a controversial figure: 50% good\right, 50% bad\wrong.

The tomb of Alexander Lebed. The former governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai.

The Moskva River views.

The Metropol Hotel.

The National Hotel is right across the Kremlin.

The Ritz Carlton Hotel is behind the National Hotel.

The view of Red Square, History Museum and Kremlin from the roof café of the Ritz Carlton.

Lenin in Oktyabrskaya Square. A postcard of 1980s.

Same Lenin as of 2009.

The festive atmosphere during the 2018 Football World Cup.

A fake Lenin and a fake Stalin are waiting for clients to take pictures.

tsaritsyno – царицыно

The 1776 palace and park ensemble in the south of Moscow is a nice place for a walk and pictures.

The architects: Vasily Bazhenov and Matvei Kazakov.

Nostalgia. More postcards of Moscow in 1980s. The former Moscow main Communist Party office. Currently is the Town Hall.

The view from the Bell Tower in the Kremlin.

The former Ukraine Hotel. Currently the Radisson Royal Moscow.

The former Gorky street. Currently Tverskaya street. The highrise is the Intourist Hotel. Demolished. Replaced with Ritz Carlton.

The Krymsky (Crimean) Bridge.

The Triumphal Arch.

The Pashkov House.

The White House.

The building with big windows is TASS: Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union.

The former Kalinin Avenue. Currently Novy (New) Arbat.

Pushkin Square.

Old Arbat. A walking street.