Orientation
Moscow lies in the center of
what is known as European Russia. The border between Europe and Asia runs
down the west side of the Ural Mountains, 1300km (805mi) east of Moscow.
East from the city, then south, flows the Volga River, one of Russia's
historic highways.
The Kremlin, a north-pointing triangle with sides 750m (2460ft) long,
is at the heart of Moscow in every way - symbolically, historically and
strategically. Red Square lies along its east side, the Moscow River flows
past its south side. From here, Moscow spreads out in four distinctive
rings of development, each area having its own collection of monasteries,
museums and elegant buildings. Most of the city's sights are within the
first circle - an area which can easily be covered on foot. Otherwise,
Moscow is flat, flat, flat and has few useful landmarks for getting your
bearings from a distance: probably the most prominent buildings are
Stalin's ugly 'Seven Sisters'.
Moscow's five airports are all beyond the outer ring road, 30 to 40km
(19 to 25mi) from the city centre. Sheremetevo-2, where you'll arrive if
you fly in from outside the former Soviet Union, is to the
north-west.
Attractions
The Kremlin
The Kremlin is the place to which all Russian roads
lead and from which most Russian power emanates. Here Ivan the Terrible
and Stalin orchestrated their terrors; Napoleon watched Moscow burn; Lenin
fashioned the dictatorship of the proletariat; Khrushchev led communism in
the Cold War; Gorbachev unleashed perestroika; and Yeltsin struggled to
keep reform afloat. The Kremlin occupies a roughly triangular plot of land
covering little Borovitsky Hill on the north bank of the Moscow River,
probably first settled in the 11th century. Today it's enclosed by high
walls. Red Square lies outside the east wall. The Kutafya
Tower, which forms the main visitors' entrance, stands away from the
Kremlin's west wall.
Most vistors are surprised to see so many churches in what was, for
decades, a den of militant atheism, but the Kremlin was once the centre of
Russia's Church as well as its state. Start with Archangel
Cathedral (the royal burial church), Assumption Cathedral (the
burial church of religious leaders) and Annunciation Cathedral
(icons, icons everywhere). Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a famous
Moscow landmark, visible from 30km (20mi) away, with the cracked Tsar
Bell at its foot. The towers lining the Kremlin include the Tower
of Secrets (the oldest) and Gothic and Renaissance Saviour's
Tower.
Come and
keep your comrade warm
Central Moscow
A visiting 19th-century French aristocrat, the
Marquis de Custine, described the exterior of St Basil's Cathedral
as `a sort of irregular fruit bristling with excrescences, a cantaloupe
melon with embroidered edges'. The exterior is so magical that the
interior is a bit of an anticlimax. Nearby, you can still pay your
respects at Lenin's tomb. Bordering Red Square, the magnificent
GUM (State Department Store) was built in the 19th century to house
1000 shops. The hefty building north of Red Square is the stuff of
nightmares and airport novels. It housed the KGB and the notorious
Lubyanka prison.
A walk up the city's most famous thoroughfare, Tverskaya Ulitsa,
reveals 19th-century palaces, 1930s apartment blocks and glimmers of
colour bouncing off the domes of half-obscured churches. The Arbat,
once the quarter of court artisans, is also a good place for a stroll,
passing elegant buildings, Stalinist eyesores and a pedestrian precinct
complete with buskers and souvenir-sellers. As much a fabulous museum as
it is an underground transport system, Moscow's famous metro
survives in all its Constructivist glory, with more chandeliers than
Buckingham Palace and enough marble to fit out the kitchens of the world.
Forty-four of its stations have been designated as architectural
landmarks.
Museums
The Pushkin State Fine Arts Museum, in the
south-west of the inner city, boasts a broad selection of European works
from the Renaissance onward - mostly confiscated from private collections
after the revolution. The Tretayakov Gallery, near Gorky Park, has
the world's best collection of Russian icons and a fine collection of
pre-revolutionary Russian art. The Central Artists' House, next to
the new Tretyakov Gallery building, is one of the places you're most
likely to find good contemporary art. Past shows have ranged from
19th-century sacred art to the works of Gilbert & George. There are
also numerous literary museums, usually situated in the houses of
famous writers, such as Tolstoy, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol and
Lermontov.
Gorky Park
The most famous of Moscow's parks and gardens is Gorky
Park, etched into Western consciousness thanks to a best-selling novel, a
blockbuster movie and William Hurt's furry hat. The park stretches almost
3km (1mi) along the river and is a combination of ornamental garden,
funfair and entertainment zone, hosting everything from science lectures
to rock concerts in its auditoria. In summer, boats leave from the pier on
river excursions, and in winter the ponds are flooded to transform the
park into a huge ice-skating rink.
Novodevichy Convent
The Novodevichy Convent (New Convent of the
Maidens), a cluster of 16 sparkling domes behind turreted walls in the
south-western loop of the Moscow River, is perhaps the most beautiful of
the city's convents. The convent was popular with noblewomen, who would
often retire here, but it was also used as a prison for rebellious royals,
including Peter the Great's half-sister and his first wife. The convent's
cemetery is Moscow's most prestigious resting place after the
Kremlin wall. Sleeping peacefully are Chekhov, Eisenstein, Gogol,
Khrushchev, Kropotkin, Mayakovsky, Prokofiev, Stanislavsky and
Shostakovich.
Off
the Beaten Track
Sanjunovskaya Baths
The Sanjunovskaya Baths, in the narrow winding
streets of the city's north, is Moscow's most famous bathhouse. These
fading but grand 19th-century baths are a mixture of sauna and social
club, with the sexes strictly segregated. For hours you can move between
steam rooms and pools, interspersed with massages and birch-twig
whippings. Traditionally men have a few beers with their mates while they
steam themselves silly.