Moscow

Places of Interest - Russia

introduction

Moscow is located in the highlands between the Oka and the Volga and is the capital of Russia. The river Moskva lies as a snake through the city from northwest to southeast and you are never far away from this lifeline. Everyone knows the Red Square, Lenin's Mausoleum and the Kremlin, but this metropolis has more to offer.

You can watch a beautiful performance in the Bolshoi theater, view ice sculptures in the Krasnaya Presnya park or visit the Novodevichy monastery and cemetery. But do not forget to travel by metro in the capital of Russia. The metro is best known for the rich decorations in the stations: wall decorations, mosaics, chandeliers, and so on. A feast for the eyes and completely free.

If you like history, Moscow has got a lot to offer too - museums like the "armed troops" where you can see the banner with which the Russians waved when they stood on the Reichstag in 1945 or the bunker of Stalin. Moscow is like any big metropolis - you can shop, eat, go out and sit in a park.

Once the armies of Russia and Napoleon stood against each other at Borodino a few hours before Moscow. In 1941, the Russians chose exactly the same place to prevent the Nazis from occupying Moscow. Now it is a magical place full of monuments, a museum and memorials. One of the golden towns in the ring around Moscow is Suzdal - it is located east of the capital and has a wealth of attractions.

Countless monasteries, churches and cathedrals but also a very good atmosphere, peace and a very rich history.

highlights

Kremlin (incl. Red Square and Lenin mausoleum):

The Kremlin is after the White House in Washington the most important and most mentioned political building complex in the world. From here, Ivan the Terrible" Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev and today President Putin reign(ed). Already in 1150, a fortified complex was builded here - in the 14th century a stone wall was built around it with approximately the same dimensions as the current Kremlin today.

In the complex (which can be visited as a museum) are a few very important (and characteristic) cathedrals and other buildings. The most important is probably the mother of Russian cathedrals - Uspenski cathedral - beautifully decorated with frescoes, the kings and other high-clad people were worshiped and consecrated here at the time of the tsars. Other cathedrals are the archangel Michael, where tsars married and were buried and the cathedral of proclamation.

Just outside the Kremlin walls (between the Kremlin and the Red Square) you can visit the Lenin mausoleum (free of charge). Here too, greats such as Stalin, Brezhnev and Zhoekov are buried here. The Red Square is adorned by the red brick walls of the Kremlin; the other side is largely occupied by the very luxurious Gum department store. The square itself may have built up negative fame due to the military parades - in WWII the tanks rolled directly from the factory via the Red Square to the front - during the Cold War the most modern rockets were shown to the West to remind them of the Armory of the Russians.

But the most famous building that Russia is always associated with is the colored onion-shaped domes of the St. Basil's Cathedral. Finally, it is your duty to walk around in the adjacent Alexandrovsky park - romantic water features but you can also pay tribute to the tomb of the unknown soldier including eternal flame.

Park Pobedy and around:

After the Russians withdrawn from the battlefield of Borodino during WWII (see below) they put a new line of defense in what is now park Pobedy.

The whole area has been transformed into a military area and consists of various museums, monuments and memorials. First, you have the Borodino panorama which of course represents the whole battle in 1941.

A large arch has been built to help remind us of the eventual loss of Napoleon in Russia (and perhaps its total destruction that followed) who conquered Moscow. There is also a row of T-34 tanks on the street and there is the museum of the Great Patriotic war that mentions the most famous battles. Finally, there is also a museum in honor of the Jewish fallen in the Holocaust.

Novodevichy cemetery and monastery:

The Novodevichy cemetery is located near the Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow. This cemetery is regarded as one of the most prestigious in Russia, and was only subordinate to the Kremlin wall in terms of status during the Soviet regime.

In the Novedevichy cemetery are the graves of countless prominent figures.

There are important politicians (such as Chroestjov and Molotov), writers (such as Chekhov) but also important painters, composers, musicians, film directors and scientists.

Borodino:

Borodino became world famous because it was part of the famous War and Peace book by Russian writer Tolstoy. It was here after 3 months of retreat that the Russians made battle against the Gran Armee of Napoleon.

Hundreds of thousands of deaths as a result. The Russians retreated but the French lost too many good soldiers. The whole area of battle contained about 100 km2 but on the centre piece of the old battlefield became the memorialarea with a museum and countless monuments.

Remarkably enough, in December 1941, the Russians once again chose to deliver a battle here - now with the Nazis who also targeted Moscow. You can make a somewhat hurried day trip to this interesting area from the capital.

Suzdal:

Suzdal is one of the cities which is part of what the Russians regard as the golden ring around Moscow. Once the capital of old Russia, now a tourist resort full of beautiful monasteries, churches, old brightly colored wooden houses and a relaxed atmosphere.

You can visit the monastery where the discarded tsars women lived of the Kremlin which you can not miss by the presence of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary with its bright blue onion-shaped dome with golden dots.

The best thing is to stay here two nights and sleep in a Gostevoy Dom (a guest house) so that you can enjoy Russian hospitality. Read the "Travel story" about Suzdal.

Other attractions:

The Ice sculpture gallery (only winters open?), Bolshoy theater, armed troops museum (see museums), metro stations, Kolomenskoy (retreat of the tsars in Moscow), white house and the Christ the Redeemer cathedral.

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history

The Beginning:

The oldest remnant of human habitation near Moscow, the archaeological site of Sjukinskaya at the Moskva River, dates back to the Stone Age. At the end of the 11th century, when the city was first mentioned, Moscow was a remote provincial town with a feudal center and a trading place at the mouth of the Neglinnaja river (now an underground tunnel), in an area that was mainly occupied by the now extinct Finnish people the Merja. In 1156 Dolgoroeki built a wooden wall and a moat around the city.

However, these did not have the desired result, because in 1177 the city was burnt to the ground and its population was massacred. In 1237-38 the city was conquered by the Mongols, and again the city was burnt down and the population was massacred. The city, however, recovered and became the capital of an independent principality. Because of its strategic position near the upper course of the Volga, the city slowly but steadily grew. Her stability and wealth also attracts refugees from elsewhere in Russia. Slowly the city expands and under Ivan I Moscow defeated Tver in the battle for the throne of Vladimir.

The Khan of the Golden Horde initially tries to limit the power of Moscow, but when the power of Lithuania grew, he saw an important ally in Moscow. Under Ivan III, Moscow liberates itself from Mongol rule and grows into the capital of the whole of Russia (called Muscovia until the 17th century). Moscow remains the capital of Russia until 1712 and called itself the third Rome (after the loss of Constantinople to the Turks). In that year, Tsar Peter I of Russia made St. Petersburg, which he had founded in 1703, the new capital.

Napoleon:

In 1812, Napoleon began his Russian campaign because Tsar Alexander did not keep his promise concerning the agreements regarding trade with England. After an undecided battle near Moscow in Borodino, Napoleon with his "Gran Armee" stood before Moscow. On September 14, 1812 when the leader of the French with his armies wanted to take possession of the city the famous fire broke out.

The Moscow fire devastated three quarters of the city. Napoleon stayed for a while didn’t know what to do. When his soldiers started to die due to lack of food he decided to leave the city again. After the withdrawal of Napoleon the reconstruction started, partly in European style, but (and thus distinctive of St. Petersburg) while maintaining its own oriental style.

What stood out was that the fire had created a lot of space: the Red Square became a real public space from which three new avenues spread out over the city, connected by two large ring roads (the Boulevard-ring and the Garden Ring), which still remain today. the main veins of the city. There was also a lot of private money invested in the rebuilding of the city and it was not long before the avenues were flanked by elegant villas and grand palaces.

Moscow now:

After the Russian Revolution, around 1918, Lenin made Moscow again the capital of the country. Also because he was afraid that the Germans were too close to Leningrad. Throughout the Soviet period she remained the center of power and even now the government of Russia is still in the Kremlin.

After WWI, an industrial Revolution followed under Stalin and historic buildings such as cathedrals and monuments were destroyed for new construction. By the end of 1941, the Nazis were 30 kilometers from the Kremlin when an army unit from Siberia stopped them with the help of a very early winter frost. Under Kroetsjov large new residential areas were built around the center of Moscow. During the Cold War about one third of the capital 'industrial production and a quarter of the working capital was used for defense.

The KGB had a second (secret) metro system installed under the city. On 18 August 1991, heavy Russian tanks drove on the streets to prepare a coup. President Yeltsin climbed on one of the tanks and managed to make the coup fail. In the late 1990s, a number of serious terrorist attacks followed, including in the metro. In 2002, a group of Chechen people with explosives on their belts walked into Moscow's theater and held 800 people hostage until Russian elite troops intervened – the result were 120 dead and dozens wounded.

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tips & advice (2001 en 2014)

There are four airports around the capital of Moscow. The Moscow metro provides the city with local transport for more than 10 million people every working day. The construction of this metro system began in 1935. Today there are 12 lines and more than 150 stations. Because the metrostations are quite far apart, there is a dense network of buslines leaving from each subway station and serving the surrounding neighborhoods.

Buses depart very frequent, sometimes even more often than once a minute, and are inexpensive with tickets of around € 0.50. None of the 13,000 residential blocks in Moscow is more than a few minutes away from a bus stop. There are also some tram lines and a trolleybus network in the city and recently a monorail line was put into use in the north of the city.

Airport Domodedevo - Moscow: the best you can take from the airport is the "aero express train" that goes every hour and within 45 minutes you are in the center - train station "Paveletskaya". Costs 400 Rubles. From that station you can continue with the metro.

Moscow (city center) - Borodino: From "Beloruskkaya" metro station you can take an electric (suburban train) directly to train station "Borodino". The journey takes 2 hours. There is certainly a train at 10:35. Price is 220 Rubles.

Moscow (center) - Vladimir (Suzdal): at 8:12 in the morning (the next is only at noon) a suburban train (electric) goes from "Kurskaya" station to Vladimir - the journey takes more than three hours (11: 17 arrival) and costs 333 rubles. From Vladimir (the bus station is opposite the train station) you can take a bus (which goes every half an hour) to Suzdal.

This ride takes an hour; first the driver takes you to the bus station in Suzdal which is 2.5 km outside the city and costs 74 rubles. You can pay an extra 6 Rubles to take you to the center.

Moscow (center) - Kursk: there is at least one night train (direction Kharkiv) at 23:05 arriving at 6:07 in Kurk. A sleeper (not in the coupe) costs 972 rubles and the train leaves from station Kurskaya (train station).

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Name: Museum of the Armed Forces

Address: Ul Sovetskoy Armii 2

Price: 120 rubles

Time: 10:00 - 16:30 (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays)

Website: www.cmaf.ru

Content:

If you get off at metro station Dostoevskaya it is a minute or two to walk to this impressive war museum. The building is divided into two floors and starts at the beginning of the Russian army. Therefore, most attention is paid to WWII and in particular to the battle of Stalingrad and Kursk. But there is also a room dedicated to the war against Napoleon and WWI.

There is an awful lot of war gear in the form of photos, text (only in Russian), uniforms, weapons and maps arranged in large glass cases. Highlights are the Russian flag (banner) that was shown on the Reichstag and the wreck of the U2 - the American espionage plane that was shot down over the Urals in 1960. Finally, there is an overcoat that Stalin himself has worn.

Outside there is a considerable arsenal of tanks, planes, helicopters, artillery pieces, armored cars, a submarine and an armored train. Inside you can eat a bite in a fake bunker. Definitely worth it even though you will not understand anything if you do not know the Russian language.

If you want to eat something or have a drink, you should go to Arbat street - this is a pedestrian zone with numerous restaurants, shops and cafés. Unfortunately they lack the pubs or bars as we know them. We have watched Kpyxka football in a local (snack)restaurant - you can order a beer for 85 rubles, but also pizza or something else.

Name: Moscow Home Hostel

Address: Neopalimovskiy per. 1/12 2nd.

Price: 408 Ruble (dormitory)

Phone nr. : +7 495 778 24 45 / +7 910 461 09 31

Website: www.moshostel.com

Content:

This hostel is centrally located and consists of two buildings - in one is the reception and some rooms - in the other are more rooms. There are 68 beds in dormitories (of which I slept in a 14 bed mix dorm) and 9 private rooms. There is a supermarket nearby and you can walk to the Red Square (3.5 km) if you want.

In addition, you get a towel (there are enough toilets and showers, even though they can use a facelift), clean sheets and personal curtains hang in front of your bed. It is a bit grubby (including the fridge, kitchenette and TV room) but the staff is friendly (and speaks reasonable English) and you can easily stay a few nights here.

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