The Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin, sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of Russia.
The name The Kremlin is often used as a metonym to refer to the government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) and its highest members (such as general secretaries, premiers, presidents, ministers, and commissars), in the same way the name Whitehall refers to the British government, or White House refers to the executive branch of the government of the United States. It is still used in reference to the government of the Russian Federation. "Kremlinology" referred to the study of Soviet policies.
Telephone: (095) 202 3776; Website:
www.kremlin.museum.ru; Transport: Metro stop Biblioteka imeni Lenina or Aleksandrovsky Sad; Opening time: Daily except Thursdays from 10am to 5pm; Admission: 300 rubles; Armoury Museum 350 rubles. Concessions available
Red Square
Red Square is the most famous city square in Moscow, and arguably one of the most famous in the world. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod. As major streets of Moscow radiate from here in all directions, being promoted to major highways outside the city, Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and of all Russia.
Address: Krasnaya Ploshchad; Transport: Metro stop Ploshchad Revolutsii
St Basil's Cathedral
The famous St. Basil's Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built on the edge of Red Square between 1555 and 1561. Legend has it that on completion of the church the Tsar ordered the architect, Postnik Yakovlev, to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again. (He did in fact go on to build another cathedral in Vladimir despite his ocular impediment!) The cathedral was built to commemorate Ivan the Terrible's successful military campaign against the Tartar Mongols in 1552 in the besieged city of Kazan. Victory came on the feast day of the Intercession of the Virgin, so the Tsar chose to name his new church the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin on the Moat, after the moat that ran beside the Kremlin. The church was given the nickname "St. Basil's" after the "holy fool" Basil the Blessed (1468-1552), who was hugely popular at that time with the Muscovites masses and even with Ivan the Terrible himself. St. Basil's was built on the site of the earlier Trinity Cathedral, which at one point gave its name to the neighboring square.
Address: Krasnaya Ploshchad 4; Telephone: (095) 298 5880; Transport: Metro stop Kitai Gorod; Opening time: Daily except Tuesdays between 11am and 5.30pm; Admission: 100 rubles, concessions 50 rubles
Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre (Russian: Большой театр, Bol'shoy Teatr, Large, Great or Grand Theatre, also spelled Bolshoy) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by the architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and greatest ballet and opera companies of the world, respectively. The theatre is the parent company of The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, a world-leading school of ballet.
The company was founded in 1776 by Prince Peter Urusov and Michael Maddox. Initially, it held performances in a private home, but in 1780, it acquired the Petrovka Theatre and began producing plays and operas.
Address: Teatralnaya Ploshchada; Telephone: 095) 292 9270 (ticket outlets); Website:
www.bolshoi.ru; Transport: Metro stop Teatralnaya; Admission: Ticket prices for performances vary
Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world.
The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Moscow merchant Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov acquired works by Russian artists of his day with the aim of creating a collection, which might later grow into a museum of national art. In 1892, Tretyakov presented his already famous collection to the Russian nation.
The façade of the gallery building was designed by the painter Viktor Vasnetsov in a peculiar Russian fairy-tale style. It was built in 1902–04 to the south from the Moscow Kremlin. During the 20th century, the gallery expanded to several neighbouring buildings, including the 17th-century church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi.
The collection contains more than 130,000 exhibits, ranging from Theotokos of Vladimir and Andrei Rublev's Trinity to the monumental Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky and the Black Square by Kazimir Malevich.
Address: Lavrushensky Pereulok 10/12, and 10 Krymsky Val; Telephone: (095) 951 1362, 238 1378, 230 9766; recorded message: 230 7788; E-mail:
tretyakov@tretyakov.ru; Website:
www.tretyakovgallery.ru; Transport: Tretyakovskaya or Novokuznetskaya metro stop to Lavrushensky Pereulok, or metro to Park Kultury; Opening time: Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 7.30pm