Moscow Things to Do Tips by easyoar

Space Obelisk at the VDNKh VDNKh (exhibition) Review

This Space obelisk statue is in a similar vein to the Uri Gagarin statue. This one can be found at the USSR Economic Achievements Exhibition which is commonly abbreviated in Russian to VDNKh.

VDNKh is the country's largest museum, and is a huge park containing pavilions, aircraft and rockets amongst other things. I like the grandiose sculptures that were created in the Soviet era as I feel they have a certain style to them, even if a lot of them appear to be created for a megalomaniac!

Directions: metro VDNKh

Statue of Yuri Gagarin

I really like this statue of Yuri Gagarin. In case you don't know who he is, he was the first man into space in 1961, and was adored by the Russian people. When he died in a plane accident it was considered a national tragedy.

The figure of Gagarin in this statue is 13 metres tall, and the column he stands on is 30 metres tall. At the base of the statue is a model of the spaceship "Vostok" in which Gagarin made his historic trip.

This statue can be found in Gagarin Square on Lenin avenue.

Address: Gagarin Square on Lenin avenue.

Directions: Metro Leninsky Prospekt

The Tsar Bell inside the Kremlin The Kremlin Review

This bell has existed in a varity of guises and sizes over many years. It is the largest bell in existence and weighs 200 tons (or about 15 times heavier than the Big Ben bell in London - Note:- Common misperception is that Big Ben is the Clock Tower in London, it isn't, it is the bell inside the clock tower). The cracked segment itself weighs 11 tons. We're talking really heavy metal here.

The bell has never been properly raised up into a tower. It seems to be just too heavy! One version of the bell weighing a mere 130 tons had an attempt made to raise it into position, but it dropped to the ground and shattered. The pieces salvaged were then used to make this even bigger bell (obviously they thought "If we can't lift 130 tons, we'll make it 50% heavier and lift that one instead"). This new version of the bell cracked in 1737, it was involved in a fire and got red hot. Some genius decided to pour cold water over it to cool it down, and the sudden contractions of the rapidly cooling bell caused it to crack! The bell has been in its current location here in the Kremlin since 1836.

Website: http://www.kreml.ru/

Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed (St Basils) Red Square Review

If there one icon of Moscow that everyone knows, it is the Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed (or Saint Basils as we know it in English). It is the onion domed church at one end of Red Square.

The church was originally built by Ivan the Terrible, and very impressed with it he was too. When he asked the builders whether they would be able to build anything more beautiful, the assured him they could. At this he flew into a terrible rage and ordered that the builders be blinded so that his church would remain the most beautiful building in the world.

In latter years, the church almost came to grief. Stalin thought that the church blocked the view from the river into Red Square, and was going to have it demolished. A very brave advisor (Stalin didn't think twice about killing people that disagreed with him) argued that the church was too beautiful and managed to change Stalins mind.

Address: Red Square

Changing the Guard at Lenins Tomb Red Square Review

I'm not sure whether this still happens, but if they do still do it, make sure you stand near Lenins mausoleum just before the hour. The guard is changed every hour on the hour, and to watch it take place is to watch the pinnacle of perfection. A few minutes before the guards are due to change, three new soldiers (one is the commander) leave the Kremlin, and start to slowly goosestep up to Lenins Mausoleum. They arrive just in time to do an intricate changeover in time with the ringing of the Spasskaya Tower bell. The Commander then takes the two previous guards back into the Kremlin in perfect goosestep formation.

I was told by a Russian who had worked in the Kremlin that inside of the Kremlin was a perfect full size reproduction of the walkway and the entrance to the mausoleum, and that the soldiers practised again and again to get the timing exactly right. I can easily believe it as to get something to be that good must take an incredible amount of practise.

Address: Red Square

Directions: Red Square, along the wall of the Kremlin

The Tsar Cannon inside the Kremlin The Kremlin Review

This cannon is massive, and is one of the largest ever made. It weighs 40 tons, and the barrel is over 5 metres long. Its original purpose was to defend the Saviours Gate of the Kremlin, but it has never been fired.

The large cannonballs in front of it are purely ornamental (you'd probably need a crane to load them!). The cannon was intended to only fire stone shot.

Website: http://www.kreml.ru/

The statue of Iron Felix (or what's left of it) ex-KGB headquarters/Lubyanka Review

In front of the KGB headquarters in Lubyanka was a black statue commemorating the much hated founder of the KGB "Iron Felix". In 1991, this statue was toppled (it now resides in the "graveyard of fallen monuments".

This picture shows a Cossack protest shortly after Iron Felix came down. They wanted the statue replaced by a cross to commemorate the many Russians who were killed inside the KGB headquarters.

Address: Lubyanskaya ploschad'

Directions: metro Lubyanskaya

The KGB Headquarters in Lubyanka ex-KGB headquarters/Lubyanka Review

The KGB headquarters in Lubyanka is still a building hated by the Russians. No big surprise, as it terrorised them for many years, and many a Russian was shot in the back of the head inside its doors.

Indeed the Russian Secret Police are still based here today, but these days are called the FSK.

Address: Lubyanskaya ploschad'

Directions: metro Lubyanskaya

Lenin's Tomb Red Square Review

I believe Lenin's Tomb is still open to visitors. Once upon a time you had to queue for hours to see the very waxey looking figure of Vladimir Illyich Lenin in his crystal sarcophagus, these days a few minutes will probably do the trick.

It is highly secret how the Russians have managed to preserve Lenin's body, but after seeing it for myself, I suspect Madame Tussauds may have had something to do with it! You aren't allowed to take any photos inside the mausoleum, so an outdoor shot will have to do instead.

There were rumours a few years ago that the Russians were going to take Lenin's body on a road show over to the USA, but I do not believe anything ever came of this. The Russians are obviously starting to embrace capitalism in a big way!

Address: Red Square

Buying a Gorby Doll Arbat Streets Review

When it comes to buying a souvenir of Moscow, the most popular choice seems to be a Gorby Doll, which is a twist on the popular Matrushka nested dolls. The quality varies tremendously, and so do the prices. A really fine example can have around 10 dolls and go all the way back as far as Ivan the Terrible. Popular figures to find in a set are Gorby, Yeltsin, Breznev, Krushchev, Lenin, Stalin, Catherine the Great, Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible