Tour of Moscow at night

On the north side of Red Square, to the right of the Iver Gate, is the State Historical Museum, a red building in the Russian-Byzantine style with typical shields, towers and turrets.

Opposite the State Historical Museum is the Kazan Cathedral, built to celebrate victory over Poland. The icon of the Mother of God of Kazan is stored here. This building was demolished and rebuilt at Stalin's command only in 1993. It is open daily from 8:00 to 20:00.

The Iver Gate stands in the Kazan Temple and Museum. Through the Iverian Gate, or the Gate of the Resurrection, the main entrance to Red Square leads from the north side. The gate was originally part of the walls, which from 1538 surrounded Kitay-gorod (the main business district of old Moscow). The Iverian Icon of the Mother of God was once housed in the Iver Gate Chapel. Before entering the Kremlin, all the tsars bowed to this supposedly miraculous work. In 1931, the gate was overthrown at Stalin's command. It was not restored to its original state until 1996. On the pavement directly in front of the gate there is a zero-kilometer mark, from which all distances in Russia are measured.

Equestrian statue of Marshal Zhukov in front of the State Historical Museum.

Red Square was established in the 1990s at the north-eastern Kremlin wall after the demolition of the buildings that originally stood here. The huge space (700 × 130 m) was used as a marketplace and also as a gathering place for rebels, and a place for political demonstrations and military searches. The original name of the square was derived from the wooden church that stood on it, namely Trojické náměstí. It was not until the second half of the 17th century that it was called „Krasnaya Platzad“, which meant Beautiful Square. After the October Revolution, a new translation, ie Red Square, took precedence. The square is hardly separable from the Kremlin and together with it is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

At the Kremlin wall, between the Spasskaya and Nikolská towers, there is a austere stepped structure made of polished red granite and red labradorite – Mausoleum of VI Lenin (accessible: Tue – Thu and Sat 10:00 – 13:00, free entry). After Lenin's death, only an emergency mausoleum broken from planks was built on this site. In 1924, it was rebuilt and replaced by an oak building. In 1930, a stone building was built as we know it today. A special Scientific Research Institute for Biological Structures was set up to keep Lenin's dead body intact. At present, when it does not receive financial resources, it offers its services to the general public. Material preservation of the body will cost $ 250,000, and the price includes inspections every two years and possible repairs to the body.

The dominant feature of the eastern side of the square is the GUM department store. It is open daily from 10:00 to 22:00. This stately building, which used to be a market place, was built between 1890 and 1893. It is built in the Russian-Byzantine style. Today you will find dozens of Russian and foreign shops, restaurants, canteens, and also a somewhat kitschy imitation of a typical socialist food trade – Gastronomy No. 1.

View of the lower part.

In places where the southern side of the square slowly descends to the Moscow River, the colorful domes of St. Basil's Cathedral or the Pokrovsky Cathedral shine. It is a unique monument of Russian architecture, built by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in memory of the conquest of Kazan and the annexation of the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanate to Russia in 1552. In one of the side altar ships of the temple lived „God man“, a beggar and religious fanatic Vasily. They got used to him there and even became a favorite of the tsar, so the temple became known as the Temple of Vasily the Blessed. The interior does not form one large space, but is divided into eight more or less separate churches, which symbolize the days of the decisive struggle for Kazan. Passages decorated with colorful geometric and floral motifs are interconnected. It is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00, entrance fees apply.

In front of the church stands a sculpture of Minin and Pozharsky by Ivan Martos from 1818. It depicts a prince and a butcher, two leaders of a popular uprising, during which the Polish occupiers were expelled from Russia in 1612. A short distance away is the „Lobnoje“ or „Front“ place, formerly used as an execution site, and there was also a kind of podium, from which the most important state decisions were announced, the „anger and grace“ of the monarch was proclaimed. The current appearance of the stage with a white front stone dates from 1786.

View from the Moscow river.

The Manéžní náměstí and Alexandrovský sad are located a short distance below the Kremlin walls. Alexanrovsky sad was built in 1821, when the river Něglinka was drained underground. We find the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, an artificial cave in the wall of the Kremlin, Ruins, reminiscent of the ruined Moscow during the Napoleonic Wars. Near the orchard stands the Manege, a yellow neoclassical building with white columns, after which the whole square is named, was originally a riding school from 1817 and today is an exhibition hall.

View of the Kremlin.

The Kremlin, (Fri. – Wed. 10:00 – 17:00, admission), is the spiritual and artistic heart of Russia. It occupies an area in the shape of a triangle with an area of 27.5 hectares. It is located on a cliff above the Moscow River. Originally an independent city, over time its walls widened and shifted. For centuries, a flag with a double-headed eagle, a symbol of the Romanovs and Imperial Russia, flew here, and in 1917 it was replaced by red stars. Today, the Kremlin is the official residence of the president. The red Kremlin walls are 2.2 km long, 5 to 19 meters high, 3.5 to 6.5 meters thick, and have 20 towers. Behind the walls is the Temple Square (Dormition Church, Church of the Imposition of the Robe of the Virgin Mary, Archangel Church, Church of the Annunciation, Palace of the Patriarchs, Church of the Twelve Apostles, Ivan the Great Bell Tower), Grand Kremlin Palace, Senate, Presidium, Facet Palace, Terem Palace and Armory with coronation jewels.

Views of the Kremlin and the famous Embankment House, built in the late 1920s, as exclusive housing for senior Communist Party officials. During its existence, more than 100 ministers and 150 of their deputies took turns here. Khrushchev, for example, and Stalin's daughter Svetlana Allilujevová also lived here. During the Stalinist purges, 700 officials and their families were evicted from their homes, and many were imprisoned or executed.

The Temple of Christ the Savior was built between 1839 and 1883 in honor of the Russian victory over Napoleon. Stalin had it razed to the ground in 1931, but after the fall of the regime, the temple was rebuilt on the same site and on December 31, 1999, it was consecrated. It is the largest Russian church. It measures 103 m in height and can accommodate up to 10,000 believers. The diameter of the dome is almost 30 m and is gilded with 53 kilograms of titanium-gold alloy. On the lower floor there are stalls and a small museum. Fragments of the original frescoes that were saved are preserved here, as well as a remarkable collection of icons and relics. The aristocracy lived in the streets around the temple.

Modern Moscow district.

Modern Moscow district.

Paradoxically, in 1993, one of the government buildings by the Moskva River, the White House, on the Krasnopresnany embankment, in front of which rallies were held in support of Boris Yeltsin, became the center of anti-Shelcin resistance by the Russian parliament. Yeltsin broke his opponents only after he ordered the army to attack the building.

One of Stalin's „sisters.“

Another of Stalin's „sisters.“

Near Kiev railway station on Europe Square.