Moscow
Moscow's origins as a symbol of Russian spiritual and political power goes back 850 years, so it's no surprise that today the city is the barometer and nucleus of the changes sweeping through Russia. Its vitality and chaos are a direct result of the collapse of Communism and the efforts of its citizens to reinvent their lives. The populace now prefer impromptu street markets to the huge state department stores, and churches which were destroyed or abandoned during the Soviet era are being lovingly restored.
The Kremlin is Moscow's heart, symbolically, historically and strategically: Red Square lies along its eastern side and the Moscow River is to the south. 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.
The centrally located Travellers Guest House has been described as 'the second most important place in Moscow after the Kremlin', and it's the place to meet up with other budget travellers to swap travel info. There are other hostels in Moscow but they're out in the boondocks. If you've got more cash to throw around, there's a cluster of good but expensive hotels just a stone's throw away from the Kremlin. They include the National, one of the city's finest hotels, which has reopened after five years of renovations - it even includes a branch of Maxim's. Forget the news images of queues and bare cupboards, Moscow's being taken over by a new international brigade of takeaway franchises, pizza bars, bar & grills, pasta restaurants, Irish pubs...For something more indicative of your far-flung location, there are dozens of Georgian places, stand-up cafés etc.
Places to Visit
The Kremlin
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 Belltower is a famous Moscow landmark, visible for 30km, 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.
Central Moscow
A visiting 19th-century French aristocrat, the Marquis de Custine, described the exterior of St Basil's 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 shopping
centre 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
If you're after more conventional museums, there are scores to choose from. 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 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.
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.
VDNKh Propaganda Park
The vast propaganda park known universally as VDNKh (USSR Economic Achievements
Exhibition), in the north-east of the city, was an early casualty when those in power finally admitted that the
Soviet economy was a disaster. Funds were cut off in 1990 and it remains a
frightening and decaying monument to Soviet dogma. Avenues stretch into eternity beside grandiose
pavilions, glorifying every aspect of Socialist construction, and fountains embellished with lurid gold Socialist Realist statues. It's a bit of an embarrassment these days, so the exhibits are gradually being replaced with private advertising displays.
Stanislavsky's Moscow
The Moscow Art Theatre, in the inner north, gave the world Chekhov, revolutionised Russian
drama and heavily influenced Western theatre. Founded by actor-director Konstantin Stanislavsky, the Art
Theatre adopted a realist approach and stressed the importance of team-work by the cast, believing every
player had something to contribute. There is also a Stanislavsky museum in the mansion where he lived.
Entertainment
There's enough going on in Moscow's theatres and halls to keep anyone entertained for months. While a night of
ballet or opera at the Bolshoy, or a concert at the Conservatory, would be top
priorities for most, there are at least 60 other theatres to choose from (worthwhile even if you can't understand Russian) and plenty of less high-brow entertainment. Pubs and drinking establishments are a bit
thin on the ground, but so-called 'authentic' discos are beginning to pop up around the place. If
you enjoy watching baby bears, forced into hotpants, performing cabaret style, then book in to see one of
Moscow's three circuses.
