The Place where Russia begins

It would be a crime to not start from the heart of Moscow and the whole country - Red Square.

Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia, because Moscow's major streets—which connect to Russia's major highways—originate from the square.

And we have the bronze plaque marking Russia's Kilometre Zero in front of the entrance to Red Square:

Kilometre Zero

Before the entrance there are two huge buildings: The State Historical Museum (1) and Former City Duma building (now the part of Historical Museum) (2).

1. The State Historical Museum

2. Former City Duma building (now the part of Historical Museum)

You can see a monument in front of Historical Museum. It is the statue of Marshal of USSR, Georgy Zhukov.

the statue of Marshal of USSR, Georgy Zhukov.

Georgy Zhukov (1896 – 1974) was a Soviet career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army drive through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the occupation of the Axis Powers and ultimately, to conquer the capital of Germany itself, Berlin. He is the most decorated general officer in the history of the Soviet Union and Russia.

Georgy Zhukov

But it's time to see Red Square inside. This is the main view to the square:

Red Square

On the right you see The Spasskaya Tower:

The Spasskaya Tower

It is the main tower with a through-passage on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin, which overlooks the Red Square.

The Spasskaya Tower was built in 1491 by an Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari. According to a number of historical accounts, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower appeared between 1491 and 1585. It is usually referred to as the Kremlin chimes and they designate official Moscow Time.

The main russian clock

Let's go closer
This beautiful fairy-tale building is Saint Basil's Cathedral

Saint Basil'a cathedral

Just like poetry...

There are only 3 cathedrals of similar appearance in Russia

In front of the Cathedral we see a statue - The Monument to Minin and Pozharsky (1818)

The statue commemorates Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, who gathered an all-Russian volunteer army and expelled the forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from Moscow, thus putting an end to the Time of Troubles in 1612.

The monument was conceived by the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Science, and the Arts to commemorate the 200th anniversary of those events. Construction was funded by public conscription in Nizhny Novgorod, the city from where Minin and Pozharsky came to save Moscow. Tsar Alexander I, however, decided the monument should be installed on Red Square next to the Moscow Kremlin rather than in Nizhny Novgorod. The competition for the best design was won by the celebrated sculptor Ivan Martos in 1808 (W).

Near the cathedral we have another interesting and very strange attraction - Place of Execution or Place of Skulls or Lobnoye mesto (Russian)

Place of Skulls

It is a 13-meter-long stone platform that was primarily used for announcing the tsar's decrees  and for religious ceremonies. Despite a common misconception, the circular platform itself was never a place for executions. Sometimes scaffolds were placed by it, but usually public executions were carried out at Vasilevsky Spusk behind St. Basil's Cathedral.

But let's turn to another side of Red Square

We see the man who's taking a picture of something. Right opposite of him there is Lenin's Mausoleum:

Lenin's Mausoleum

Lenin's Mausoleum, also known as Lenin's Tomb, is the mausoleum that serves as the current resting place of Vladimir Lenin. His embalmed body has been on public display there since shortly after his death in 1924 (with rare exceptions in wartime). Aleksey Shchusev's diminutive but monumental granite structure incorporates some elements from ancient mausoleums, such as the Step Pyramid and the Tomb of Cyrus the Great.

About all Kremlin towers I'll write another post.

Historical Museum and Corner Arsenalnaya tower as an ensemble:

Huge beige building on the right side is GUM (department store)

GUM

It's a shopping mall that was created when Catherine II of Russia commissioned Giacomo Quarenghi, a Neoclassical architect from Italy, to design a huge trade center along the east side of Red Square. The existing structure was built to replace the previous trading rows that had been designed by Joseph Bove after the 1812 Fire of Moscow.

Full history of GUM - http://www.gum.ru/en/history/

From the left side of GUM we see the church - Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan

Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan

Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan (Kazan Cathedral) is a Russian Orthodox church located on the northeast corner of Red Square in Moscow, Russia. The current building is a reconstruction of the original church, which was destroyed at the direction of then General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, in 1936.

Main russian religion is Orthodox Christianity. Here are some another symbols of The Russian Orthodoxy on Red Square.

Chapel of the Mother of God of Iver

Very interesting architectural piece near the entrance

Before leaving Red Square let's look at the most interesting visitors of that day:

The neighbour of Red Square is Manezhnaya Square and this is the Monument on a glass cupola to Saint George and the Dragon, patron of Moscow. It is decorated with a big map of the world and you can see it from the shopping mall (Okhotny Ryad) just below it (it's in the underground).

 the Monument on a glass cupola to Saint George and the Dragon, patron of Moscow

How without Olympics? Day counter and Tverskaya street in the background

Along the Kremlin wall and Manezhnaya Square we have the main Moscow park - Alexander Garden (1823, architect Osip Bove)

Alexander Garden

The Windy walk in the middle of Autumn is almost over...

... And there's only one more important thing I'd like to show you. For a strange reason I often come to Red Square at night and this is my favorite thing - every night Marshal Zhukov loses his head and becomes Headless rider.

Don't lose your head anywhere except in love and see you in Russia!

For any questions or suggestions please leave a comment!