Visit Russia home & sightseeing

03/12/2021

Moscow is getting dressed up for the Holiday Season

17/09/2021

Peaceful place 70 km away from Moscow. Very diverse in architecture and really authentic

25/07/2021

THE MOST UNFORTUNATE PALACE OF CATHERINE II

Catherine the Great ruled for 34 years. Certainly, she spent more time in Saint Petersburg, the capital of Russia of the era, yet she visited Moscow from time to time

Tzaritsyno, or Tzarina’s palace, was to become her residence in Moscow.

Once built by her favorite architect Bazhenov, the palace was immediately pulled down by his successor Kazakov.

The reason behind (one of many hypotheses as Catherine never had to explain her orders) was that the premise for the empress and the one for her son Paul were of the same size.

Immediately Catherine suspected a plot. She found her son incapable to rule, so she didn’t treat him as a hire. Instead she decided to pass the crown to her eldest grandson Alexander bypassing her own son.

So any sign of respect in direction of the misfortunate Prince Paul was perceived as an insult to the empress.

So, the palace was demolished and never completed afterwards despite many attempts.

Ironically, the palace was unveiled long after monarchy was overruled, in 2007

It was made behind numerous drawings which were produced for the construction. So, it is the original, after all 😉

22/07/2021

MOSCOW IS NOT JUST READ

Moscow has many colors ☺️ In Red Square it is definitely red. In the Boulevard Ring, for example, it is green, pink, yellow.

Moscow architects enjoyed a lot of freedom. The landlords tried to outscore each other in the beauty of their mansions and gave the architects a free hand. The brief often contained just one phrase: make it a ‘wow’ 🤩

It is never one style or one shade, even in the same street. So, Moscow is never boring

22/07/2021

21/07/2021

Moscow is a very green city. It ranks high among the world capitals in greenery per capita. Almost half of Moscow’s vast territory is taken up by parks and gardens.

There is a national park with wild spices like elks, foxes, and even bores within the city limits.

This summer is very hot, so green parks is a shelter for the Muskovites.

19/07/2021

Do not say ‘GUM’, say GUM 😉

On Red Square opposite the Kremlin there sits the most famous department store called GUM. It is a must-see of Moscow.

English-speaking people often call it ‘gum’ (like in ‘chewing gum’). It has to be GUM [gʌm]

It was open in the end of XIX century, at the same time as Gallerie Lafayette in Paris, Rinascente in Milano or Harrods in London.

It is the most luxurious shopping mall in Russia and an architectural attraction. It is covered by a glass roof and keeps its historical layout.

The outdoor cafe gives a visitor an overwhelming sensation: you sit in Red Square with an ice-cold glass of Moscow mule and look at the medieval Kremlin wall. Isn’t it fantastic?

22/01/2021

Moscow still keeps on its New Years decorations. So, enjoy!

Soon they are going to be removed till next year.

09/01/2021

Today is Christmas eve in Russia. Yes, our Christmas is after the new year, not before.
It so happened that Eastern Christian Church (Russian Orthodox Church) sticks to the Julian calendar.
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In XVI century the Roman pope George XIII switched his Catholic flock to a new calendar. This calendar was named after him, Gregorian. It is the modern calendar of today.
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The Russian Archbishop Jeremy II refused to follow his innovative peer and lead his flock in a different direction: stay loyal to the old Julian calendar.
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It was 1917 when the Bolsheviks transferred Soviet Russia to the global Gregorian calendar. The church though remained faithful to tradition.
By now the accumulated difference is 14 days. Hence, Christmas is on January, 7.
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