All that glitters?

The first two days of my group tour were allocated to seeing the sights of Moscow. Given I arrived earlier, I had already had a wander about and regaled in its architecture, but i soon found that without the knowledge of the guide (ours was Nadia) my interpretation was meaningless.

First things first, some Moscow background. At the heart of Moscow is the Kremlin. Kremlin means fortress and there are many in Russia, maybe not as grand as in Moscow. It wasn’t until 1918 when Lenin transferred government to Moscow that it came into its own and took the mantle of capital city.

The city is divided by three ring roads that were once the city walls, hence why the roads are so wide (some have 8 lanes in each direction!) it is also a very green city, it has over 40 parks and it was also the first country to introduce free healthcare to the masses. The communists did get that right.

Its skyline is an amalgamation of the old and new, or at first sight that is how it appears. It’s history is steeped in conflict and contradiction and the architecture reflects this. Following the first revolution many buildings were destroyed, especially those associated with the Tsars or religion. Lenin had a hand in creating a new and forward thinking skyline of modernistic values (typified by the Seven Sisters, built between 1947-57).

However, following the creation of the Russian Federation in 1991; farewell to communism and hello again religion (btw: the majority of the country practice Russian Orthodox), the state looked to recreate many of its landmarks that had been previously eradicated.

The first glimpse of this was the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (or Redeemer). When I visited the day previously I took it to be an original 15th century building. Alas not! It was knocked down at the advent of communism for a project of Stalin’s which did not happen. After many years as waste ground it was eventually turned into outdoor heated swimming pool, yet in 2000 it was recreated in its original state; this time it took four and half years to build, in comparison to the 44 years it took to build it first time round.

Likewise, we got to visit the inside of St Basil’s (a separate blog will be dedicated to its sumptuous patterns for my design pals). It’s made up of nine small places of worship, each with its own unique decoration. It was as delightful inside as it is outside. However, again most of this had been recreated, I think not only as an attempt to wow the people but as homage to its past.

A few days visiting Moscow, even with a knowledgeable guide, is not enough to even scratch the surface of its multi faceted past, however, it does give you a glimpse of it’s history and the contradictions the Russian people have lived; and maybe to some point are living through. The saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’, might typify Russia, it’s history and its people, however likewise ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ also springs to mind.

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, built circa 2000.