It’s a rare week when Russia doesn’t feature in our western news. We’ve been served up platters of mostly negative, dark diatribes. There’s been Crimea, MH 17, Sergei Skripal’s poisoning and before; the Communist doctrine, Cold War, space race, 1980 Olympics boycott, Kursk submarine and Chechen crisis. Add to this a youthful couple of years spent reading Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and it doesn’t take much more to get the bleak drift.
Hand on heart, I could not wait to plant my feet firmly on Russian soil. My strong travel belief is this; a country’s government and people are separate entities. People must not be judged on their government’s actions. Otherwise, we hold ourselves hostage to the familiar, never experiencing the unfamiliar.
We figured 6 days each in Moscow and Saint Petersburg would give us time to soak up some history, sights and culture. And, digest a little of what makes Russia tick.
Ural Airlines from Batumi Georgia flew us into Moscow’s Domodedevo Airport in a short two and a half hours. It’s been a long time (early 1970s I think) since I’ve been on a plane that’s landed to thunderous passenger applause. I liked it.
Gett taxi transported us from the airport quickly and efficiently to our hotel, The Red Brick. The hotel doesn’t have a Russian sounding name I know, but the comfy room, friendly bar and close proximity to the Kremlin were well and truly appreciated.
We hit the ground running on Day 1 by visiting the Kremlin, an enormous fortress/citadel built in 1482 with a number of palaces and cathedrals. The official residence of Vladimir Putin is here as well as Lenin’s Mausoleum.
A few days later, we returned to the Kremlin to visit The Armoury, a treasure house of Russia’s finest gold and silverware, Faberge eggs, bridal dresses, arms, armour and carriages. It was quite surreal to see such an extravaganza of sheer wealth. The Tsars certainly led privileged lives. Can almost feel a revolution in the making! No photos allowed, so these two photos are courtesy of Google!
It’s easy to buy tickets online through the Kremlin website. I bought two tickets; one for Architectural Ensemble in Cathedral Square and one for Armoury. Each ticket was $A10; excellent value. The bonus of buying tickets online is that with your printed ticket and passport, you can jump the queues at the ticket office. Book several weeks ahead for the Armoury.
Just outside the Kremlin lies Red Square, the scene of many military parades. In 1945, USSR staged a magnificent Victory Parade here after defeating Germany. The square is massive and on the beautiful sunny day we were rewarded with, we simply enjoyed walking around it.
Outside the Kremlin is a wonderful shopping centre called GUM. It’s high end shopping with beautiful displays throughout.
Walking around the streets near the Kremlin we lapped up these scenes – very nice.
A walk along the Moskva River to Gorky Park was a day well spent. Along the way is a 98 metre statue of Peter the Great who ruled Russia in the late 1600’s and is credited with establishing the country’s navy. The statue gets its fair share of criticism from tourists as well as Muscovites who dub it ‘ugly’. Adding salt to the wound, is the story that Peter the Great actually did not like Moscow and moved his court to Saint Petersburg.
Gorky Park is a 300 acre leisure park and its huge grassy areas, gardens, fountains, kids’ rides and ice skating rink are a real asset in the middle of the city. Maxim Gorky who died in 1936 was an influential writer and political activist.
These photos are of Arbat Street, a little touristy, but on this cloudless, t shirt wearing sunny day, it was a delight to walk.
We indulged our tastebuds in these very tasty Russian dumplings. Dumplings and mulled wine make a good combo.
Riding the Moscow Metro was on our bucket list. Some of the stations which lie deep down in the bowels of subterrania exhibit stunning art work.
We met up with friends in Moscow who live in the town of Alexandrov, a two hour drive from Moscow. Alexandrov forms part of Russia’s golden circle, one of a number of beautiful Russian towns arranged in a circular route.
In Alexandrov, we visited Ivan the Terrible’s Kremlim which dates from 1564.
We were treated to kind and warm Russian hospitality right here in Alexandrov. Thanks Yulya, Kosta, Sonya and Roman.
We made our way back to Moscow by train.
There are many Italian restaurants in Moscow. This restaurant had just opened near our hotel and the very friendly owner bent over backwards helping us choose our meals. He uses the freshest ingredients in his homemade pasta dishes and the cherries from Uzbekistan were the best I’ve tasted.
We even found time to attend a play – Ray Bradbury’s dystopic, antitotalitarian Farenheit 451 believe it or not! All in Russian, but we were familiar with the novel, so could follow it. Thanks Vika and Tatiana.
Russia is in full swing gearing up for the FIFA World Cup, and security here in Moscow is very visible. It’s a massive effort to host a competition of this scale; there are 11 host cities and we are in awe of the Russian organisational logistics. We will have left Russia before the first ball is kicked, but will follow it from the Baltic.
Obviously over 6 days, we simply touched the tip of the iceberg, but what we saw, we liked – very much. It was a wonderful introduction to Russia, a nation of 144 million people (12 million live in Moscow). Its incredibly rich history and culture though, deserve more time.
Worth noting; Australians need visas to enter Russia. These are issued by the Russian Consulate in Sydney at a cost of $135. If you have been in the military or you are a journalist, there are extra questions for you!
Tomorrow, we are off to Saint Petersburg.
Fuelled by travel 