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Moscow
City Guide
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Moscow City Guide
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
- Official name: Moscow
- Capital: Moscow
- Language: Russian
- Religion: Christianity is a predominant religion in Moscow. Russian Orthodox Church is most popular and other religious societies are active: Moslems, Protestants, Old-believers, Single-believers and Judaism.
- Currency : Russian ruble
Moscow Sights and Museums
WHAT TO SEE - St Basil's Cathedral: Gaudy and garish, the multicoloured cupolas of St Basil's Cathedral rising out of Red Square have been one of Moscow's most striking and enduring symbols for five centuries.
Cost: Rbl75-Rbl100
Opening Hours:10am-5.30pm
- Novodevichy Cemetery, adjacent to Novodevichy Convent, is the most famously populated graveyard in the Russian capital. But it is those with an artistic bent that may make it worth the visit.
Opening Hours: 9am-6pm; last entry 5pm
- Red Square. With the onion domes of St Basil's Cathedral to the south and the walls of the Kremlin to the west, Red Square probably represents more things to more people than any other man-made landmark. Visit it at the very heart of Moscow.
- Kremlin. It has several palaces. These include the State Kremlin Palace, home to the Kremlin Ballet Theatre. It is also home to the Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles, Cathedral of the Annunciation and Church of the Deposition of the Robe, as well as the Armoury with its precious stone collection, the State Diamond Fund.
- Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Russia's largest cathedral, was originally built to give thanks for the delivery of Moscow from Napoleon in 1812. Under the Communists, it was reduced to rubble, with a huge statue of Lenin planned to take its place. Eventually, under Kruschev, a massive swimming pool was built on the site
Opening Hours:10am-5pm
- Stalin's Seven Sisters. Built following a special decree of the USSR Council of Ministries in 1947 to forge a uniform town-planning design, these seven high-rise buildings should have been eight, but one was never built. As a monument to the last days of Stalin (who died in 1953), they still stand proud.
- Moscow Metro. In 1937 the opulent designs of the stations - described as "Moscow's underground palaces" - won prizes at the Paris international exhibition, with Mayakovskaya station awarded the Grand-Prix. Don't miss Novoslobodskaya, Ploschad Revolutsii, Kieveskaya, Belorusskaya and Park Kultury. Visit Sportivnaya station for the Metro Museum (Thursday only, 10am-4pm).
Moscow Entertainment
EVENTS : - May: Victoy Day. A sombre, sentimental, deeply Russian affair about commemorating the Russian dead in the Red Army's defeat in the autumn of 1941, during which they were forced back to Moscow and repeatedly savaged. The commemoration is held on Victory Park (Park Pobedy).
- 23 June-2 July: Moscow International Film Festival.
- August-December: International Folklore Festival, held in the Hermitage Gardens in the centre of Moscow, international folklore festival Voices of the World returns to the capital to present a variety of music and musicians. Participants include ethnic music and dance collectives from Russia, Bulgaria, Belarus, Great Britain, Italy, Germany and France.
- December-January: Russian Winter Festival . In Moscow, in Izmailovo Park tourists are offered diverse opportunities to get acquainted with traditions of the New Year festivities in Russia, to hear world famous singers and musicians and see the best performances.
Moscow Transports
TRANSPORTS Local transport includes the Moscow Metro
As Metro stations outside the city center are far apart in comparison to other cities, up to four kilometers, an extensive bus network radiates from each station to the surrounding residential zones.
Suburbs and satellite cities also connected by commuter electric rail network.
The buses are very frequent, often more than one a minute. Every large street in the city is served by at least one bus route. There are also tram and trolleybus networks.
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