Moscow - Red Square
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Our
trip started in Moscow, and there is no place more symbolic than Red
Square. While this gate is red, and the Kremlin wall is red bricks, the
name Red Square comes from translating the medieval name that means
either red or beautiful. This is the north end of "Beautiful" Square.
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adjacent to the gate above, this is the Kazan Cathedral. Its
checked past dates to 1630, but this version was built in 1993 based on
the drawings done by an architect who restored it between 1929 and
1932. What happened in between? Stalin. He had it
destroyed in 1936.
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north end of Red Square is dominated by the State Historical Museum of
Russia. This building dates to the Victorian era, as if that
makes any difference here, but it sort of looks Victorian to me.
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west side of the square is defined by the Kremlin walls. Kremlin
means "fortress," so these walls were designed with a defensive
purpose. Of course the center of the picture is Lenin's Tomb,
absent a line-up of aged, overweight leaders.
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Savior Tower was built in 1491, and its clock was installed in the
early 16th century. Commonly known as the Kremlin Clock, this is
the source of official Russian time.
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The
extreme south end of Red Square is marked by this church, which has a
variety of names, but we know it best as St. Basil's. This was
actually built on the orders of Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV) some time
before his death in 1584. It is actually a cluster of chapels all
on one foundation. The other thing is its size. This is a
really small building, but it is beautiful inside and out.
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wall of each chapel is an iconostasis, meaning the place where the
icons stand. Behind this, there is a high altar, which is only
accessible to the priests.
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| Moscow, the Kremlin
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is the Grand Kremlin Palace. It is used mainly for state events,
not as a residence. It is fairly modern, dating to 1838, but it
was massively renovated in 1990.
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the left in this picture is the Palace of Facets, part of a palace that
was originally built in 1491. The church we are facing is the
Cathedral of Dormition. This version was built in about 1479, and
Ivan the Terrible was crowned here in 1547. He was the first czar
of all Russia.
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| Speaking of Ivan the Terrible, this was his palace.
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| At the time we were there, Vladimir Putin had his offices in this building. Note the extra security.
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Here we look over the Kremlin walls to see the top of the palace the Stalin used to live in.
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| Elsewhere in Moscow
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The
Cathedral of Christ the Savior is the largest church in Russia,
accommodating 10,000 people (all standing, I believe). It was
originally built to celebrate the 1812 victory of Russia over Napoleon,
but it wasn't finished until 1883. However, Stalin didn't care
much for churches, so he had it destroyed in 1931. The current
edifice is a rebuild that was done in 1999. This church is
visible from Red Square.
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The
Novodevichy Convent was the place where wayward royal wives and
daughters got to live. It translates to "New Maidens'
Convent." Remember Ivan the Terrible? He provided
much of its early funding in the form of cash, villages and
serfs. I think this scheme is probably better than Henry VIII's
solution to wife problems.
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This area was home to the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympiad. Several major stadiums are sprinkled through this valley.
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Wherever
tourists gather, you will find matryoshka dolls for sale. The
prices and workmanship vary all over the map. The best are
magnificent.
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This
is the Lenin Hills campus of the Moscow State University. This
style of building appears all around Moscow, and it is associated with
Joseph Stalin. The university has about 50,000 students.
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Finally, the famous Moscow subway.
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