Red Square and The Kremlin

We spent our last full day in Russia on a tour of the Red Square and the Kremlin. Red Square (in Russian, Красная площадь) means both Red Square and Beautiful Square. The color red has long been associated with beauty in Russian culture, and the naming of the square has nothing to do with communism. Nevertheless, it still houses the mausoleum where Lenin’s preserved body is on display. We visited the square on the 6^th of November, which is they day before the day when the USSR celebrated the Revolution. Today, modern Russians celebrate WWII on this day. Nevertheless, we happed to be so luck to see a delegation of the Russian Communist Party (the largest opposition party) hold a ceremony on red square, where they honored the revolution by delivering flowers to Lenin. Apparently, it is quite a rare sight in modern Russia, so we were delighted to be able to experience it.

The Entrance to Red Square

The Communists

Lenin's Mausoleum

The Communist Party is almost entirely made up of old people

A Statue of Marshal of the Soviet Union, Georgy Zhukov, in Revolution Square, right outside Red Square

St. Basil's Cathedral

Later that day, we had a guided tour of the Kremlin, which is the citadel of Moscow, where the Tsar, the Soviet Union, and the modern Russia Federation all conducted their government business. It is also the location of many of the most important churches in Moscow, because there was virtually no separation of church and state in Tsarist Russia. Indeed it was an important symbolic decision to house the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in the same location as the Tsar. It certainly made for the perfect ending for a very interesting trip to Russia. I am so glad I got the chance to go, and see some truly amazing things. Below are some photos of Red Square and the Kremlin.

Moscow

Moscow is perhaps one of the most overwhelming cities I have ever visited, which make sense as it is the largest city in Europe, home to somewhere around 15 million people. Additionally, we arrived in Moscow after a night of very little sleep on the night train from St. Petersburg, which might have added to our confusion. Nevertheless, our first day there is somewhat of a blur in my mind. Our first destination was a hill near Moscow University where we got a wonderful panoramic view of the city.

Our second destination was the Novodevichy Cemetery and Convent, which is the final resting place of many famous Russians, including Gorbachev and Yeltsin. We wondered the cemeteries of the convent for quite a while. One thing about this particular cemetery is that there is a tradition of placing an image or statue of the deceased on their tombstone, so the cemetery is really a gallery of the faces of the long dead.

This is Yeltsin's Tomb

This is Khruschev'sTomb

We then visited an enormous post-soviet WWII monument, and then finally, we visited the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which is the largest Orthodox church in the world. It was destroyed in 1931 by the Soviets, and rebuilt by Yeltsin in 2000. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside the church, but believe me when I tell you it was absolutely wonderful.

Novgorod

Novgorod is a medieval city located about three hours south of St. Petersburg. It recently celebrated its 1150^th birthday, having been founded in the year 859. It was a fortress and trading city, and is home to some of the oldest Russian Orthodox Churches still standing. We spent most of the day exploring the different churches and buildings of the area, and much to our delight, it began to snow just as soon as we arrive. The snow continued to fall throughout the day, so by the time we visited the Yuriev Monastery to visit a Russian Orthodox Monk named Father Dmitri, there were a few inches of snow on the ground. It was an amazingly old city, and I don’t think we could have chosen a better day to visit.

Walls of the Old City

The Cathedral of St. Sofia

A View of the City

A Small Church

A Russian Orthodox Monk

Yuriev Monastery

The Fortress and Cathedral of Peter and Paul

The Fortress of Peter and Paul is an island that was built on the north shores of the Neva River that houses a naval base that defended the city. It was also, for a time, the prison that held Dostoyevsky. Today it is primarily known for its cathedral, a golden church, in which all of the Russia Tsars from the time of Peter the Great are buried. It is not at all a traditional Russian Orthodox church. It has large tower as opposed to onion-shaped domes, and iconostasis (wall of icons behind which the altar is hidden) is more of an open gate. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful church that houses the tombs of the Tsars and their families. Below are some photos of the cathedral.

The Tomb of Peter the Great

The Remains of the Last Tsar Nicholas II, and his family, including Anastasia

The Hermitage and A Russian Ballet

St Petersburg is home to the largest collection of art in the world, and it is house at a museum known as The Hermitage. The Hermitage was one of the palaces built for the Tsars on the banks of the Neva River, right in the heart of St Petersburg. It is also known as the Winter Palace. The Winter Palace is that part of the building that the Tsar would use for state proposes. The rest of the building is the Hermitage, into which the Tsar could retreat from the public eye, and enjoy his growing collection of art. Below are some photos of the Winter Palace, and of the Hermitage.

Picasso Works

I also had the opportunity to see a ballet whilst in St Petersburg. Perhaps it was my mother’s passion for Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker or even the Disney film Anastasia, but I have always dreamt of experiencing the Russian Ballet. And indeed, ballet is one of the things for which Russia is known to the outside world. I saw the Ballet Le Corsaire at the Mariinsk Theater, which is currently in its 227^th Season. The music was a compilation of selections from Adolphe Adam, Cesare Pungi, Leo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo, and Pyotr Oldenburgsky. The scenery to the ballet was amazing, comprised mostly of layers of ornately painted screens, but also a working fountain for one scene. The dancing was incredible. I very much enjoyed the choreography of Pyotr Gusev. It was an experience unlike any other and I am so thankful I had this opportunity. I will certainly never forget it. Below are some photos of the inside of the theater, before the performance started.

Walking St Petersburg

I have now returned from Russia and Spain, and I will be posting all of the blogs I have written over the next two weeks. Look forward to descriptions and photos of both Russia and Spain.

So without further ado, here is my first post from Russia.

A large part of our tour to Russia was based on experiencing life in its cities, and there is no better way to do this than simply wondering around. We had several opportunities to see different neighborhoods of St Petersburg. One of out tours took us to the neighborhood where Fyodor Dostoyevsky lived and worked. We saw Haymarket Square, the canals of the city, as well as the house where Dostoyevsky wrote Crime and Punishment. We also saw the house Raskolnikov is supposed to have lived, as well as the place where it is believed he murdered the pawnbroker and her sister. We ended this tour by visiting the nearby (St. Nicholas' Cathedral).

Another day we went on a walk with a Russia reporter who wanted us to see ‘Russia-behind the façade.’ St Petersburg is very much a city that maintains a pleasant appearance on the outside, but which is not always as pretty on the inside. We saw many of the backyards of the building, as well as the inside of markets where Russians do their shopping. We also visited a very run-down communal apartment, the likes of which were prominent under the Soviet Union, when each person was allotted 9 square-meters of living space.

Everything in this photo is pickled...

Nevertheless, St Petersburg also has more than its share of grand buildings and monuments.

There is a statue of Lenin located on Moscow Square.

There is the enormous St Isaacs’ Cathedral.

There is the candy-like Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood.

There are also many other beautiful buildings.

Overall, St Petersburg is a city that, like most of Russia, is full of paradoxes. It was created to be Russia window into Europe, and so has been heavily influenced by European Art and Architecture. But it was still part of the Soviet Union, and was very much changed during that period of time. It was a city that in many respects resembles the rest of Western Europe, in its design and layout, but it is still inhabited by a population that does not comport itself as the rest of Europe does. It has a different culture, history, attitude, and way of living, learning of which made my trip to Russia truly unique.