Majestic Moscow

Russia has a population of 142 million people, and out of that, around 50 millions live in the three regions: the city limits, the metropolitan area and the urban area of Moscow, This is phenomenal which makes Moscow the most populous city in the entire Europe. The three areas together constitute around 34,000 square kilometres, clustering Moscow with the largest cities in the world. 

As a city, Moscow had a history of changing fortunes. When Tsars expanded the powers of Russia, making it an empire, the capital was shifted from Moscow, established in 1147 as a small town, to St. Petersburg — My blog on St. Peterburg:https://nowhereperspectives.com/2020/05/18/the-city-of-white-nights/?fbclid=IwAR1H2zMJQUBE61POdtef8tcPsKVYJTNs1812agTuYcsdwFf86sJkmi_0oLw. Moscow regained its capital city status after the October Revolution of 1917. Moscow lives in modernity as much as in its history!

Some of the old buildings and their historical linkages from the city:

Modernity and the history are seamlessly merged in the make of the city. And the cityscape of Moscow is a testimony of this unity of diversity:

Juxtaposed with the historical-modern hybrid sphere are the sounds and rhythms of modern life and its accompanying infrastructure. I was in Moscow in July 2018, and there was a festival in the city during that time.

For a visitor, Moscow offers plenty to keep him/her engaged for the days she/he spends in the city. One such pull is the churches of Moscow. There is a plethora of towering churches, many of them being colorful with intricate and ornate designs. The most iconic church in Moscow is the St. Basil’s Church adjacent to the Red Square.

A few other churches in Moscow:

All these churches are near to the most important landmark in Moscow: the Red Square. It houses both history and the history-making. The historical remnants of the Bolshevik Revolution or the October Revolution of 1917, which thrust Socialism upon the world, are buried-but-live here in this Square. Kremlin, one of the two power centers of the world, is also seated at the Red Square. And the current incumbent, President Putin sits here.

The Kremlin:

History has its milestones, some of which get interpreted by different generations in diametrically opposite ways. We had seen that what one generation hailed as victory for humanity being pooh poohed by the generation that followed. The Red Square has one such milestone: the mausoleum of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, well known to the world as Lenin, the man who owned the history at some point of time and the man who was disowned by the history later. Passing by the side of his diminutive body. embalmed in a glass casket kept on an elevated platform and visible in yellow-bulb light, gave a few ‘moments of still and chill of the history!’ The guards strictly enforce the rule of ‘No Photos’ of the corpse of the man who changed the history.

The Red Square itself is majestic. Most of the main roads of Moscow end or begin from here. It is the central square of Moscow. If the world were a square, it would have been named as The Red Square! And that is the majesty of the Red Square!

The tombs of the Russian leaders since the October Revolution are housed in the Red Square:

The Red Square is also a venue for military parades on nationally important days:

During festive times, the main road approaching the Square will be closed. When I was in the city, there was an exhibition of the old vehicles of the vintage era:

From the Red Square, there is a pedestrian street named Nikolsyka Ulitsa for dine and shopping. The street is lit with multicolored lights hanging from the strips hooked on the buildings on either side. It is crowded in the evenings, and it is a fun to take a walk along the street.

Moscow is situated on the bank of the Moskva River, which is hardly a kilometre away from the Red Square.

There is a pedestrian bridge that extends over the road, enabling the visitors to have an aerial view of the river from much closer.