Moscow
The first mentioning of Moscow as a settlement in the annals of
history dates back to 1147. This very year is, thus, considered
to be the year of its foundation. Moscow’s founder is Yuri
Vladimirovitch Dolgorukiy, Prince of Suzdal. His followers in
forming Muscovy were the famed Princes and Czars Andrey
Bogolubskiy, Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoy, Ivan the 3d, Boris
Godunov, Mikhail Romanov and many others. After Peter the Great
came to the throne cities and towns of the Russian state were
assigned to provinces headed by governors. Till 1917 governors
of Moscow faithfully served the city and the Russian state.
Muscovites still remember names of many: Boyar Streshnev, Count
Tchernishov, Prince Volkonskiy, Count Rostopchin, Prince
Golitsin. All in all, there were more than 50 of them.
Since 1917 the functions of the local administration’s head were
carried out by chairmen of executive committees of the Moscow
Soviet of People’s Deputies. Lately these functions have been
performed by mayors of Moscow. Almost nine centuries have
already passed. Our city was repeatedly conquered and destroyed
but again and again it was successfully rebuilt. At present
Moscow is one of the largest cities of the world. The
exceptionally favorable location of Moscow gave it advantages
over other cities of the emerging Russia.
From the very beginning the territorial development of Moscow
was determined by the need to have a reliable defense. There
were constant threats of invasion by nomadic hordes from the
South and East and by Lithuanian and Polish conquerors from the
West. During that time such famous convent-fortresses as the
Simonov, Spaso-Andronikov and Novo-Devichiy ones were built on
approaches to Moscow. After the victory in the Kulikovskaya
battle (1380) and the ’Ugra standing’ (1480) that put an end to
the Tatar-Mongolian yoke the might of Muscovy started to quickly
grow.
In the 15th century by the size of its territory and population
Moscow surpassed London, Prague and other largest cities of
Europe. After the abolition of serfdom (1861) and in the course
of developing capitalism in Russia rates of Moscow’ s growth
increased and the city became the largest commercial and
industrial center. By the end of the 19th century there were
over 20 thousand commercial and industrial enterprises. Moscow’s
industrial structure was dominated by textile, building,
woodworking and food sectors. The period of the industrial
upsurge was marked by vigorous advances of the foreign capital
penetrating the Russian industry.
All chemical and electrotechnical enterprises in Moscow were in
the hands of foreign companies. Moscow’s machine-building
industry gathered momentum in its deelopment after the October
coup. The Moscow of calico gave way to the Moscow of
machine-building and electrical engineering. Retaining its very
important role in producing consumer goods for the country as a
whole Moscow became the powerful industrial center.
No new industrial enterprises have been opened in the city
during the period of democratic changes and this has had
positive effect on the local ecology. What is more, many old
enterprises now either curtail their production or move beyond
city limits. At the same time new buildings (mainly,
administrative, office and trade ones) keep cropping up. They
are constructed by special design and architecturally are in
harmony with the existing city structure.
For hundreds of years Moscow has been the center of the Russian
national culture. The city possesses the most valuable
historical and architectural monuments of world importance: the
Kremlin, Novo-Devichiy Convent, Church of Pokrov in Fili, Moscow
State University, Triumphal Arch, Memorial complex of Victory on
the Poklonnaya Gora. The Temple of Christ, the Savior, on
Kropotkinskaya embankment (it became Moscow’s Cathedral), the
Kremlin’s Voskresenskiye Gates together with the Iverskaya
Chapel and Temple of Icon of Kazan Mother of God on Red square
were built anew.
A great number of historic monuments are being reconstructed and
restored. The process to preserve the historic heritage goes on
and the Moscow government bodies act as its sponsors and active
participants. A lot is done to make Muscovites and visitors feel
nice and comfortable in the streets of the capital city.
Pedestrian zones are set up, new hotels, cafes and restaurants
are opened. Moscow regularly hosts major festivals, Olympiads,
sports competitions and various international contests. Moscow
is famous for its museums and such exhibition halls as the
Tretyakov Art Gallery, Pushkin Museum, Manege. Those, who
already visited Moscow, are sure to wish to come back to our
hometown again. Moscow is considered one of the most beautiful
cities of the world, is it not so?
Moscow’s
places of interest
Moscow
has a plenty of architectural monuments, inseparably connected
with the history of Russian State. In the 16th century to
commemorate the annexation of the Mongol states of Kazan to
Russia St Basil Cathedral was erected on Red Square. In honor of
Russian army that had routed troops of Napoleon the Cathedral of
Christ the Savior was constructed. In the 20th century famous
Stalin's sky-scrapers appeared
Arbat
The Arbat, the famous street between Arbatskiye Vorota Square
and Smolenskaya Square, has become a true symbol of old Moscow.
There are two versions of the street's name origin. According to
the first of them, the word Arbat is of Slavonic origin and was
formed from the word "gorbat", that signified "hilly ground".
According to the second hypothesis, the name of the street stems
from the Arabic word for suburb. That can be easily explained as
in the 15th century only the Kremlin itself was considered to be
the town proper and all the territories around it were treated
as outskirts and suburbs.
In the ancient days on the site of the present crowded Arbat
there was a thick forest and a stream Chertory that now runs in
the underground pipe. The street probably appeared in the
14th-15th centuries, not later, as in 1493 it was mentioned for
the first time in Moscow chronicles. In that year the majority
of the wooden construction of Moscow were engulfed by terrible
fire, sparked by a candle in the Church of St. Nicholas in Peski,
which is situated in the Arbat.
In the medieval Moscow the Arbat was one of the most important
streets, as it was a conjunction of many roads, leading to
Kremlin. At first mainly court craftsmen and common people
inhabited the Arbat and the adjoining streets. The names of side
streets - Plotnikov (Carpenter's), Denezhny (Money), Serebryakov
(Silver) Lane remind of the district first residents. Besides in
the houses in the Arbat and near streets soldiers of Streletzky
regiment were quartered. The Streltsy mounted guard in the
streets of Moscow, took part in the military actions, and in
their free time occupied themselves with trade and crafts.
In response to Streletzky uprising of 1698 the Streltsy and
their families were evicted from Moscow, and the famous regiment
was disbanded. Gradually this part of city developed into
prestigious and fashionable and was built up with the mansions
of Moscow aristocracy and nobility. The Arbat became, as Gertzen
wittily called it, "Saint-Germain suburb of Moscow".
After the terrible fire of 1812 the ashes was all left of
wonderful wooden buildings. The Muscovites, striving to raise
Moscow from ruins as quickly as possible, started to rebuild the
Arbat. New stone one- and two-story buildings belonging to the
merchants, gentry, officials and creative intelligentsia
appeared in the Arbat. Although in the first part of the 19th
century the Arbat partly lost its former glory, it stayed "Gospodskskaya"
Street ("masters' street") as common people called it.
In the second part of the 19th century the Arbat gradually
turned into a typical market street of Moscow. Numerous shops,
hotels, inns and eating-houses entirely replaced the living
houses. The Arbat was one of the most progressive streets of the
city: at the end of the 19th century a horse tramway traveled
back and forth it, and in 1904 the first tramway went down the
Arbat.
At the beginning of the 20th century the Arbat turned out to be
in the center of crucial events of Russian history. Twice - in
revolution of 1905 and 1917 - the street was a place of fierce
fighting for freedom and new beautiful world. During the Soviet
times the Arbat regained its title of an aristocratic street,
but this time the aristocracy was quite different - the elite of
Soviet bureaucracy.
Arbat Street was one of the first included in the list of
reserved historical places of Moscow. Thanks to the painstaking
restoration work the facades of the old buildings now look like
they did a century or two ago. The pavement was cobbled, the
decorative street lamps beautified the street, trees were
planted and lawns were laid out. In 1986 the Arbat became the
first pedestrian street of Moscow.
Nowadays the Arbat is associated with innumerable souvenir
stands, fashionable boutiques, numerous cafes and restaurants.
At any time of the day and night the Arbat is crowded with
artists, eager to draw your portrait, buskers, poets, mimes,
fortune-tellers and beggars.
The Muscovites and the guests of the city rank the Arbat, by
which is often understood not only the street itself but also
adjacent small streets and side lanes, among the most popular
walking places. This area takes the walkers back to the charming
world of old Moscow with its quiet lanes and beautiful houses of
18th-19th centuries.
GUM Department store
In Russia everything is possible. For example you can go
shopping to some supermarket and find yourself in a museum. The
building of GUM department store on Red Square is not only very
beautiful but has a great architectural and historical value.
The
first shopping arcade along the Eastern Wall of the Kremlin
appeared in the 15th century when Ivan III ordered to take down
all the wooden constructions around Moscow and set on their
place a market square. The liveliest market of medieval Moscow
was crowded with small stores and stalls, where the Muscovites
could buy all sorts of things.
At
the end of the 16th century the first stone Upper Trading Rows
were built. In the course of the 17 - 18th centuries they were
reconstructed more than once. According to the ancient documents
and city plans, already in the 17th century they played the
leading role in the commercial life of Moscow, as it is there
all city retail and wholesale trade concentrated.
During the invasion of Napoleon and famous fire of 1812 Red
Square suffered greatly. Architect O.I. Bove was entrusted the
reconstruction of the main city square. He rebuilt the Upper
Trading Rows, having preserved the characteristic features of
the original construction. The new cupola and portico with 12
columns attached stateliness and monumentality to the edifice.
But by the end of the 19th century this building had become
dilapidated and out of date. In Russian architecture in that
time pseudo Russian style dominated, according to which the most
important streets and squares of Moscow were rebuilt. In 1888 a
nationwide tender for the best construction project for the
Upper Trading Rows was announced. The project of Pomerantzev,
which fully met the tender artistic and city-planning demands,
was awarded the first prize.
According to his project the building consisted from three
arcades connecting Nikolskaya and Ilyinka streets and covered
with a glass roof. In the neighborhood to the Upper Trading Rows
in the same style Middle Trading Rows were erected by architect
R. Klein.
In 1839 all the construction and finishing works in the Upper
Trading Rows were completed and they at once became the favorite
walking place of Muscovites, that came with their families to
admire the beauty of the building and such wonders as
electricity.
The trading square was divided among the traders, this time, not
into stores but into salons, that offered the customers
practically all kinds of manufactured goods and even some
foodstuffs. The most expensive and exquisite furniture, giant
mirrors and rich decorations of the salon amazed the visitors.
The Upper Trading Rows were the most progressive shopping center
of those times. It was the Upper Trading Rows where price-lists
were used for the first time in Moscow. In other shops the
salesmen used to name the price themselves that was several
times higher than the real one, and then the usual long haggle
used to start. The bargaining was one of the most popular
Russian entertainments for centuries. In the Upper Trading Rows
the first complains and suggestions register book appeared. For
to make the trading centers as attractive as it was just
possible, the customers were offered a range of extra services.
In the Upper Trading Rows there was a bank department, a post, a
restaurant, jeweler's and engraver's workshops, hairdressing
saloon, dentist's office and many more. The Upper Trading Rows
became a prototype of European contemporary shopping centers,
where not only goods are sold, but also different concerts,
exhibitions and shows are organized.
In 1917 Soviet government nationalized the Trading Rows, as well
as all other retail outlets and wholesale outlays of Moscow. But
what to do with them the new government couldn't decide for
quite a long time. According to the Utopian dreams of the
revolutionists, in Soviet State all shops would be useless, as
each citizen would get everything necessary from the state, that
could better than anyone else determine the needs of the each
person. For some time the building stood devastated and ruined,
and then it was given over to different soviet institutions.
In the years of NEP (New Economical Policy) all of a sudden
trade was reestablished in the Upper Trading Rows on the Red
Square. The majority of the shops sold stationary as the
ever-growing Soviet bureaucracy needed them desperately. Thus
the name and abbreviation GUM, the State Department Store,
appeared. In the early 30s the building was again occupied by
offices and bureaus. Soon after the shops were utterly crowded
out by them.
The year of 1953, when the Soviet Government decided to move all
the institutes out of GUM and resume trade there, is considered
to be the date of its second birth. The building desperately
needed last-scale reconstruction that was carried out in record
time. The largest Soviet department store, the GUM, was
generously supplied with goods produced in different parts of
vast USSR. For the opening ceremony GUM was filled up with
goods. Long lines regulated by militiamen gathered in the
department stores and in front of it. Those standing in the
lines to GUM, craving to buy at least something in the "time of
total deficit", were ironically called "gumanists" (humanists).
It is not an overstatement to assert that nowadays every Russian
knows GUM. It is a prestigious department store that for more
than a hundred years has remained the leading shopping center of
the country. GUM managed to successfully overcome the
consequences of the 1990s economic crisis and stays one of the
best shops of Moscow, offering its customers the products of
prestigious leading world companies and high level of services.
Kitai-Gorod
Kitai-Gorod
is one of the oldest and most interesting historical parts of
Moscow. People that are not very good in Russian history, wonder
whether medieval Moscow had such strong economic, diplomatic or
spiritual relations with China (Kitai-Gorod in Russian is
"China Town"), that even a district was named in its honor. In
fact this district is in no way connected with the East. Such a
confusing toponym most likely have been formed from the archaic
Russian word "kita", that meant a sheaf of poles or twigs that
were widely used for the construction of the first fortification
structures.
The small settlement on this place was known since the 11th
century. By the 14th century the settlement, called Bolshoi
or Veliky Posad ("Large or Grand settlement") had
grown considerably and occupied vast territory to the south-east
of the Kremlin.
In 1534 Veliky Posad was encircled with earth mound and giant
wicker fence, made from long poles vertically drove into the
ground. These poles gave the name to the whole district and in
the 16th century the name Kitai-Gorod was used in Moscow
chronicles for the first time. The Muscovites considered earth
mound not safe enough and in 1535-38 stone defensive walls with
13 towers and 6 gates enclosed Kitai-Gorod. The thickness
of unassailable walls (6 meters) was practically equal to their
height. Nowadays some fragments of this unique fortification
structure, destroyed in the early 1930s, can be found. For
example, in the southern hall of underground station "Kitai-Gorod"
the well-preserved white-stone basis of an ancient tower can be
seen.
At the beginning of the 16th century Kitai-Gorod was
inhabited by boyars, clergy and nobility. Craftspeople and
merchants, that were the first residences of this district, were
forced out to Moscow outskirts from well fortified and close to
Kremlin Kitai-Gorod. The number of stores and stalls were
constantly increasing, and Kitai-Gorod developed into the
trade center of Moscow.
In the 17th century the territory of Kitai-Gorod was
rapidly built up. At that time a lot of stone residential
constructions as well as numerous churches, schools and
colleges, and different public establishments appeared in
Kitai-Gorod. In 1687 in the Monastery of the Saviour
Behind-the-Icon-Stalls in Nikolskaya Street the first
Slavic-Creel-Latin Academy was opened. In 1697 the Mint was
erected and at the beginning of the 18th century the building of
City Council appeared.
In 1712 the capital of Russia was moved to Saint Petersburg and
many residents of Kitai-Gorod moved to Northern Venice.
Thus Kitai-Gorod lost its fame of aristocratic district.
Kitai-Gorod
suffered greatly in the terrible fire of 1812. When the district
was being rebuilt, mainly stone constructions were erected. Many
of them have preserved quite well till nowadays.
By the first decades of the 20th century the residential
constructions replaced by numerous shops, banks and different
offices had practically totally disappeared from the district.
Kitai-Gorod, where commercial and business life of Moscow
concentrated, turned into a typical western downtown.
Today Kitai Gorod is part of the capital's public and
administrative center and one of the capital's most treasured
preserves. On the territory of Kitai-Gorod one can find a
lot of architectural monuments dating back to the 17 - 20th
century. The list of most famous attractions includes the Church
of Prophet Ilya, Saint Nicholas the Wonder-worker Church, "Bolshoi
Krest" (Big Cross), the Church of Protection Mother of God
and Great Matryr Varvara, Sinodalnaya printing-house, the
Bogoyavlensky monastery and the Monastery of the Saviour
Behind-the-Icon-Stalls. and. In the near future Nikolskaya
Street, that was called in the 18 - 19th centuries the street of
enlightenment and education, is to be turned into a pedestrian
zone. In this street many interesting buildings are situated,
like the Slavic-Creek-Latin Academy (the first Russian
institution of higher education), Russia's first publishing
house, numerous bookshops and the largest bookstore in the
pre-revolutionary Russia, that was owned by famous Russian
publisher Sytin.
Nowadays Kitai-Gorod is one of the most important
business districts of Moscow, a sort of city within a city.
During the day it is crowded and full of life, in the evening
this district becomes a silent and deserted corner in the very
center of Moscow.
Novodevichy
Convent
There are two places in Moscow that each tourist, who come to
the capital of Russia, just must visit. They are Red Square
with the Kremlin and the Novodevichy convent.
One
of the most beautiful architectural ensembles of Moscow, the
Novodevichy convent, was founded by Grand Duke Vasily III,
father of Ivan the Terrible, in 1524 to commemorate the
return of the town of Smolensk to Russia.
In contrast to another Moscow Devichy ("maiden") convent this
monastery was called Novo Devichy (literally "new maiden"). In
the 16th - 18th century the convent enjoyed a privileged
position and was generously supported by Grand Dukes and boyars.
This great interest is explained by the fact, that many women
from the royal family and top-ranking boyar families became the
nuns of the privileged convent.
For
example, there the widow of tsar Vasily Shuisky, Marina Buinova
Rostovskaya, the widow of tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, czarina Irina,
sisters of Peter the Great, Catherine and Yevdokiya, were forced
to take the veil.
At the end of the 17th century the Novodvichy convent
was engaged into the race for power between Peter the Great and
his stepsister Sophya. After the Streletzkoye Uprising was
suppressed, Sophya was forced to take the veil and spent the
rest of her life confined in the Novodevichy convent.
In 1698 fallen into disgrace Evdokiya Lopukhina became a
nun and was exiled to the Intersection Cathedral in Suzdal. In
1727 Emperor Peter II allowed her to return back to
Moscow and to settle in the chambers of the Novodevichy convent
that later were called Lopukhinsky in her honor.
The architectural ensemble of the convent had been formed by the
end of the 17th century and till nowadays remains the gem
of Russian architecture. The central place of the ensemble
occupies the five-dome Cathedral of the Holy Virgin of Smolensk
(1524 - 1525), modeled on the Assumption Cathedral in the
Kremlin. Many well-preserved buildings of Novodevichy convent
were built under the supervision of Sophya who by the twist of
fate later became the prisoner of the convent.
As soon as the convent was founded, in the early 16th
century, a cemetery was laid out on its ground. It became a
traditional burial place for Moscow clergy and nobility and
later on, in the 19th century, of the intelligentsia and
merchants. At the end of the 18th century beyond the
convent's south wall so-called New cemetery was established. Its
territory was enlarged considerably in 1949. On the
Novodevichy cemetery many prominent public and cultural
figures are buried. There lie the bodies of outstanding writers
V. Bryusov, Demyan Bedny, D. Furmanov, V. Mayakovsky, A.
Tolstoy, A. Fadeev, N. Ostrovsky, A. Tvardovsky; composers N.
Rubinshtein. A. Skryabin, S. Prokofiev; actors and directors E.
Vactangov, K. Stanislavsky, V. Nemirovitch-Danchenko, V.
Kachalov; scientisis V. Komarov, S. Vavilov, V. Vernadsky, V.
Obruchev, N. Burdenko and many others. In the 1930s the remains
of writers S. Aksakov, N. Gogol, A. Chekhov, artsists V.Serov
and I. Levitan and others were buried on the Novodevichy
cemetery.
In 1922 the Novodevichy Convent as a unique
cultural and architectural monument was turned into a museum.
Since the 1930s the convent housed the branch of State
Historical Museum.
Such well-preserved constructions as the refectory, the gateway
churches, the Irinskiye and Lopukhinskiye Chambers, the bell
tower and several cells are reckoned among the best monuments of
17th century Russian architecture. The walls of the
ancient Cathedral of the Holy Virgin of Smolensk are ornamented
with 16th century frescoes representing historic episodes
in the struggle for the formation of a centralized Russian
state. The Cathedral of the Holy Virgin of Smolensk also
treasures multitiered gilt carved iconostasis - one of the
finest ornamental works of the 16 - 17th centuries. The
icons, decorating it, were painted by famous Russian artisans,
who worked on the wall-paintings of many Kremlin cathedrals. The
museum boasts an extensive collection of Russian icons, jewelry,
embroidery and manuscripts of the 16 - 17th centuries.
In 1994 the Holy Synod blessed the re-opening of the
Novodevichy convent. Although the entire complex is now open
to visitors, the convent and churches stay functional, that's
why women should wear heats or scarf on its territory.
Poklonnaya Mountain
The project of the Memorial and Park of Victory were developed
well before the end of Second World War. After the famous
Victory Parade on Red Square there was even a suggestion to
build memorial complex right in front of the Kremlin, on Red
Square, but to make room for the memorial several historical
buildings in the very center of Moscow were to be demolished.
Fortunately, this project wasn't approved. In the middle of the
1950s the place for the future memorial was chosen at last - it
was the Poklonnaya Mountain.
From of old the Poklonnaya Mountain was of special
importance to the city and its citizens. In the old days all
Orthodox believers came to the ancient capital of Russia, went
up the hill from where they admired a breathtaking panorama of
the entire city and bowed, thus greeting and paying respect to
uncountable churches and monasteries of Moscow.
This explains the name of the hill - the word "Poklonnaya"
has been derived from "poklon", that as translated literary from
Russian means "bow". In Russian culture this gesture was heavy
with meaning - people bowed to pay respect to a person or object
of high reverence. Many glorious and tragic chapters of Russian
history are connected with the Poklonnaya Mountain. In
1812 on the Poklonnaya Mountain Napoleon waited in
vain for the keys from the city gates. In 1941 from the
Poklonnaya Mountain Soviet troops marched to the front.
On February
23, 1958 on Poklonnaya Mountain a memorable
granite sign was established with the inscription: "A monument
to commemorate the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great
Patriotic War will be erected here". In the 60s the Park of
Victory was laid out. In 1985 a new project of the
memorial was approved and the construction of it, that would
last for almost 10 years, was started.
The solemn opening of the Victory Memorial on the Poklonnaya
Mountain was timed to the Victory 50th anniversary and was
held on May 9, 1995. The ensemble of the memorial, that
stays the largest in the city, is comprised of a museum,
sculpture groups, an open-air exhibition and Orthodox cathedral.
The central alley consists of five terraces, symbolizing five
war years, and is beatified with 1418 fountains, as
Second World War lasted 1418 days.
The
center of the whole complex is a white stone Museum of the Great
Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Its exposition tells about
all the important events of Second World War. There visitors can
learn many interesting facts about the eve of war, key battles,
military leaders, heroic deeds of rank-and-file soldiers,
partisan warfare, soviet home front, liberation of European
countries, war-crimes trials, etc. The exhibition includes a set
of dioramas on the major battles of the war - from the defense
of Moscow in winter 1941 to the fall of Berlin in spring
1945.
The obelisk designed by famous Moscow sculptor Tzereteli soars
above Victory Square, where the museum is located. At the foot
of the monument stands the statue of Saint George the Victorious
striking the dragon with the spear. The obelisk is crowned with
the bronze statues of Nika, goddess of Victory, and angels
trumpeting the victory of Russian people.
To the left from the central alley there is the Cathedral of
Saint George, who is the patron saint of Moscow. St George
Cathedral, designed by architect Polyansky, combines the
traditional features of Old Russian architecture and modern
elements (giant bronze bas-reliefs, window walls, etc.).
In
the Victory park there is an open-air exhibition of Soviet
defense technology, displaying weapons, tanks and armored
vehicles, fighters and helicopters, submarines and warships used
by the Soviet Army during Second World War.
The memorial complex on Poklonnaya Mountain has appeared
in Moscow just recently, but the project of its reconstruction
is already discussed. On it site the large cultural and
entertainment complex is planned to appear in the near future.
There will be the Memorial Alley, several museums devoted to
Russian army and navy, monuments to the heroes of wars. The
ensemble of religious construction will also be enriched - in
addition to St George Cathedral, Synagogue and Musk, two more
cathedrals will be constructed - Armenian and Buddhist.
The Theater of Singing Fountains, the Parks of Attractions,
specially equipped grounds for extreme roller-skaters, the
Oceanarium and other entertainment will make the Poklonnaya
Mountain an ideal place for family rest. The Oceanarium will
be constructed not on the Poklonnaya Mountain, but in the
ravine near it (nowadays there is dump there). The visitors will
walk through the 120-meters long underwater tunnel and admire
the several thousands of amazing sea creatures, the Oceanarium
will be home to. For those, looking for something special, there
will be a sea restaurant and a hotel where everybody will be
welcome to stay in the company of sharks, cramp-fish and
crocodiles.
Red
Square
Red Square
is the main, the oldest and undoubtedly the most beautiful city
square. For five years of its existence it has witness the main
events of Russian history. In the Middle Ages Red Square
was the center of Moscow life: there boyars and merchants
gathered to discuss affairs of state, common people came to
listen to royal decrees and to watch public executions, on
holidays festive religious procession walked across it. Under
the Soviets Red Square served as the site of countless
military parades and Workers' and Peasants' demonstrations,
regularly organized by Communist Government to inspire Soviet
people to work and struggle and to show the West the mighty of
Soviet State. To sum it up, Red Square has always been
the main city square, its political and commercial center.
According to the ancient chronicles the square was set up at the
end of the 15th century, when Ivan III ordered to clear away the
territory around the Kremlin,
RUSSIA
BAHRAIN
