Picture of Night Moscow near Kremlin

Center of Moscow at Night: Kremlin and the Moscow River

My native city is Minsk, the capital of the Republic of Belarus. I am living there since I was born in 1981. If you are going from Europe to Moscow by car it is very likely that you will see Minsk in transit, because it lies on the European highway E30 with core points Berlin-Warsaw-Minsk-Moscow. Minsk is rather big city with population around 2 million people but it is almost nothing comparing to Moscow's enormous 10 million population. On March 12, 1918, Moscow became the capital of Soviet Union and until now it is the greatest city on the territory of former Soviet Union.

Moscow is impressive not only by it's enormous population but also by rich history and a whole lot of famous places it acquired over the time. Among them are world-known theatres (e.g. Bolshoi), museums (Tretyakov Gallery) and universities (Moscow State University). Moscow is a center for orthodoxal church and some of the best cathedrals are located in Moscow as well (Saint Basil's Cathedral, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour). I am citizen of the Republic of Belarus but I was born in Soviet Union. Every former Soviet Union citizen knows a lot about Moscow because it was a center of Soviet cultural, economic and political life. Until now Moscow is a point of attraction for many people from all independent republics formed after collapse of Soviet Union.

My first visit to Moscow was in December 2005. I took one of the five overnight trains from Minsk to Moscow (distance is around 700 km or 435 miles), arrived Russian capital in the early morning and in the evening went back home. It was fascinating to visit many places so often seen on TV and in movies. By the way almost all trains from Europe arrive to "Belorusskiy Vokzal" or Belarusian Railway Station which was named after my native country.

This photo was taken on May 16, 2006, during my second visit when I went to Moscow to apply for Korean visa. There are no Korean embassy in Minsk so Belarusian citizens are served by Korean embassy in Moscow. After I settled everything at embassy I took a great possibility to walk over the center of Russian capital and take some pictures. What do you think first about Moscow? Ok, I believe Kremlin and Red Square are anyway in your top ten guesses.

I am standing with my camera on the bridge over Moscow River (Moskva River). You can see a part of Kremlin with red stars on towers (each tower has its name), Grand Kremlin Palace and church (there are seven of them inside of Moscow Kremlin). Red Square is forward behind the right edge of the picture. The big building far away in the left part of picture is one of the five Stalin's scyscrapers. I am not sure which one exactly it is, but they all have pretty recognizable style.

Moscow Kremlin and Red Square

The Moscow Kremlin (Russian: Московский Кремль) is a historic fortified complex at the very heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of Russia.

Red Square (Russian: Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad) is the most famous city square in Moscow. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter, known as Kitay-gorod. As major streets of Moscow radiate from here in all directions, being promoted to major highways outside the city, the Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and of all Russia.

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Wikipedia articles about Moscow, Kremlin and Red Square were used as a source.