Red Square, the Kremlin & Saint Basil's Cathedral — Heart of Russia
Red Square (Krasnaya Ploshchad — the large public square at the centre of Moscow, between the Moscow Kremlin to the west and the GUM department store to the east, 330 metres long and 70 metres wide, UNESCO World Heritage Site) is the symbolic heart of Russia, the setting for military parades, state ceremonies, and historical events that have defined Russian history from Ivan the Terrible to the Soviet era and beyond — flanked by the most recognizable building in Russia, Saint Basil's Cathedral, and containing the Kremlin — the political centre of the Russian state.
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Red Square — The Symbolic Heart of Russia
Red Square (Krasnaya Ploshchad — the name derives from the Old Russian word 'krasnaya' meaning both 'red' and 'beautiful,' though the square's association with the colour red also reflects its political identity through the Soviet period): the square has been the commercial and ceremonial centre of Moscow since the 15th century, when it was established as the main marketplace of the city outside the Kremlin walls; major events in Russian history witnessed on Red Square include the public executions of Ivan the Terrible's enemies (16th century), the entry of Napoleon's army in 1812, the Bolshevik Revolution celebrations (1917 and after), the legendary November 7, 1941 military parade (when Stalin reviewed troops who marched directly from the parade to the front line of the Battle of Moscow), all subsequent November 7 Soviet military parades, and the 1987 landing of West German teenager Mathias Rust's Cessna aircraft on the square; the square is the site of the State Historical Museum (1875-1883), the Lenin Mausoleum, the Kazan Cathedral (rebuilt 1993), and the Iberian Gate and Chapel.
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Saint Basil's Cathedral — Russia's Most Iconic Building
Saint Basil's Cathedral (Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, Pokrovsky Cathedral, Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat — built 1555-1561 by order of Tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) to commemorate the Russian capture of Kazan from the Kazan Khanate in 1552, attributed to the architects Postnik Yakovlev and Barma): the cathedral's extraordinary exterior (the most recognizable building in Russia and one of the most recognizable buildings in the world) consists of nine separate chapels, each with a distinctive onion dome in a different colour, pattern, and shape, arranged around a central tower 47.5 metres high; the legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architects to prevent them from creating anything more beautiful is a popular story with no historical basis; the cathedral was never actually used as a cathedral after the Soviet period — it was converted to a branch of the State Historical Museum in 1923 and remains a museum today; the interior (accessible to visitors) is a maze of narrow passages, staircases, and small chapel rooms covered in elaborate frescoes.
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The Moscow Kremlin — Seat of Power for 500 Years
The Moscow Kremlin (Moskovsky Kreml — the triangular fortified complex on Borovitsky Hill at the confluence of the Moscow River and the Neglinnaya River, surrounded by 2.2 kilometres of red brick walls with 20 towers, the highest (the Spassky Tower) 71 metres tall): the Kremlin has been the seat of Russian power since the reign of Ivan III (the Great, 1462-1505), who built the current brick walls and invited Italian Renaissance architects to Moscow to construct the Cathedral of the Assumption (1479), the Cathedral of the Archangel (1508), and the Cathedral of the Annunciation (1489) — the three cathedrals of Cathedral Square that remain the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church; the Kremlin also contains the Grand Kremlin Palace (the official residence of the Russian President), the Senate Building, the Arsenal, the Armory Museum (the oldest museum in Russia, housing the Tsar's treasures, the imperial regalia, and the Fabergé eggs), and the enormous Tsar Bell (the largest bell ever cast, 200 tonnes, never rung, on display in the Kremlin grounds) and Tsar Cannon (the largest cannon ever cast, 38 tonnes, 1586, never fired).
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Lenin's Mausoleum — Soviet Shrine on Red Square
Lenin's Mausoleum (V.I. Lenin Mausoleum — the red and black granite stepped pyramid structure on the western side of Red Square directly in front of the Kremlin Wall, built 1930, designed by architect Aleksei Shchusev): Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924, the Bolshevik revolutionary who led the October Revolution of 1917, founded the Soviet state, and served as its first leader) died on January 21, 1924; against Lenin's own wishes (he had requested a simple burial next to his mother), the Soviet leadership decided to preserve his body and display it to the public in a permanent mausoleum; Lenin's embalmed body has been on public display continuously (with interruptions during World War II, when it was evacuated to Tyumen in Siberia) since 1924 — the longest continuous public display of a preserved human body in history; the mausoleum is open to visitors four days per week (Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday, 10am-1pm); along the Kremlin Wall behind and beside the mausoleum are the graves of other Soviet leaders (Stalin, Khrushchev-era foreign minister Molotov, cosmonauts Gagarin and Korolev) and the Eternal Flame.
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GUM Department Store — Imperial Arcades on Red Square
GUM (Glavny Universalny Magazin, 'Main Universal Store' — the large department store occupying the entire eastern side of Red Square, built 1890-1893 by architect Alexander Pomerantsev in the Russian Revival style, with three parallel arcades covered by glass vaulted rooftops designed by engineer Vladimir Shukhov): GUM was the largest store in Russia at the time of its construction and remained the primary Soviet state department store throughout the Soviet period (though its shelves were frequently empty during the Soviet era except for elite goods available only to Communist Party members); after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, GUM was privatized and transformed into a high-end shopping mall featuring international luxury brands alongside traditional Russian food shops and cafes; the GUM ice rink (opened December-March in the outdoor square in front of the main arcade) is one of Moscow's most popular winter attractions and one of the most atmospheric skating rinks in the world, set against the backdrop of Saint Basil's Cathedral.
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State Historical Museum & Alexander Garden
State Historical Museum (Gosudarstvenny Istorichesky Muzey — the large red brick building at the northern end of Red Square, designed by Vladimir Shervud in the Russian Revival style, built 1875-1883, containing approximately 5 million objects documenting Russian history from the Stone Age to the present): the museum's 39 exhibition halls trace Russian history chronologically, from prehistoric artefacts through the Kievan Rus period, the Mongol invasion, the growth of the Moscow principality, the Romanov dynasty (1613-1917), and the Soviet period; Alexander Garden (Aleksandrovsky Sad — the landscaped public garden running along the western wall of the Kremlin between the Kremlin walls and the Kutafya Tower, established 1819-1823 under Alexander I, covering 10 hectares): the garden contains the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Mogila Neizvestnogo Soldata, with the Eternal Flame burning since 1967 in honour of the estimated 27 million Soviet citizens who died in World War II) — the most visited war memorial in Russia, where the changing of the Guard of Honour takes place every hour.