Moscow, the fascination of a thousand expressions

Moscow, the fascination of a thousand expressions
Magazine: May 2008

«Moscow….so many sentiments that this word strikes in the Russian heart, so many feelings it evokes!” Words from Pushkin which perfectly describe the role of Moscow inside Russia. The city encapsulates a thousand different faces. Antique and ultramodern, European and Asian, rich and poverty stricken, infi nite, disorderly, Moscow can capture you with its unique beauty. «Moscow of the thousand domes” it was called in the 19th century, thanks to the golden domes which glittered above the churches. Then the Soviet power, with Stalin in the front row, decided to modify the skyline of the city which was to be the fi rst socialist state: many churches were demolished and in their place the seven Stalinist sky scrapers were built. Another was later to be built, higher than the rest, topped with a statue of Lenin: the Soviet Palace. To build it, in 1931, the St. Salvatore church was demolished. However, the position of the bank of the river was discovered to be not solid enough for a construction of such a great height and, after the second world war, the project was abandoned. After the fall of the USSR, the mayor decided to rebuild the demolished church and for a while now the domes of the rebuilt St. Salvatore church, completely identical to the original, have redeemed their splendour.

A beautiful Red Square
To enter into the heart of Moscow the best route is, without doubt, the one that starts from the Krasnaja Ploscad’, the Red Square, but also Beautiful Square according to the ancient meaning of the word. An immense rectangular space, lined on one side by the Kremlin walls and on the other by the GUM department store. In the background St. Basil’s cathedral rises tall with its coloured domes. Under the walls of the Kremlin, the red marble mausoleum, which holds Lenin’s mummy, is on display. From the other side of the square the palaces and the cathedrals of the Kremlin can be glimpsed protected by towers with a red star. This “fortifi ed city” was the historical seat of Russian power at the time of Boris Godunov up to Putin and Medvedev. Also here the signs of different eras of history are summarized: the Cathedral square dates back to the XV century and hosts the Annunciation cathedral. Around this we fi nd the Terem palace made in the ‘700s, which seems to have stepped out of a fairytale, plus, the 18th century buildings, like the Senate house, and relics from the Soviet era like the Presidential palace, which dates back to the ‘30s. For a short pause, visit the Tolstoy housemuseum which charms with its simple elegance.

From the pages of a famous nove
Another “place to leave your heart” is the Kolomenskoe monastery (now museum) situated on a hill over Moscow at the gates of the city. Even though it is a few minutes away from the metropolitan effi ciency, to seems to belong to another world, half way between the great novels of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and the fi lms of Tarkovskij. The church of Our Lady of Kazan can be glimpsed in the distance with its blue domes embroidered with tiny golden stars. Further ahead the early 16th century church of the Ascension, a more discrete style with its beautiful tent shaped roof and aged brick and limestone exterior, and then nearer the river lays the ancient cemetery, surrounded by centuriesold oaks. From the other side of the river rise the tenements of the outskirts of Moscow, but from here we can also contemplate the light blue of the northern sky or, in the winter, the glittering of the snow which covers trees and monuments.