Friday, October 05, 2007
Inside the Kremlin Walls
OK, Dad. I know you’ve been anxiously waiting to see my photos from Moscow. I figure there aren’t as many from Moscow as there are from our mondo trip to Italy over Christmas, so I’ll tackle these first. Yes, I still intend to share the photos from the Italy trip...and hope to have them all posted before the next Christmas season is upon us.
So, without further delay...
Everyone had to arrive in Moscow a few days before the air show began so the aircraft display locations/spaces could be negotiated, set up and prepared. This extra time meant that everyone had one free day to explore the city before beginning our long days with hundreds of thousands of visitors at Ramenskoye Airfield, just outside Moscow in Zhukovsky.
Naturally, we all took advantage of the time and hopped on an embassy-contracted bus (that we ended up using all week between the hotel and the air show), and headed out to hit a few of the city’s highlights. After stopping by an outdoor market (more on that in a later post), we drove past the former KGB Headquarters building, the Lubyanka Headquarters in Lubyanka Square, which is now the FSB (Federal Security Service) Headquarters building. The FSB is the state security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor of the Soviet KGB. One of the military officers who works in the embassy told us that he occasionally goes there to have a drink in the building’s bar. How’s that for ironic? A U.S. officer enjoying drinks alongside potentially former KGB officers! My, how times have changed!!
From there, we headed to the Kremlin. Our first stop inside the Kremlin was a tour of the Exposition Diamond Fund (think of a diamond, jewel and gold storehouse!). No photos allowed in there, though. Our tour escort told us many times, “Our Russian state is a very rich country,” as she pointed out Elizabeth’s jewels from the 18th century, Katarina II’s jewels from the 19th century, 5,000 diamonds displayed in a cross with rubies, Czar Peter’s coronation chain as well as his “everyday” one -- both from before the October Revolution, and many other royal regalia of the Russian Empire.
From there, we walked past the Great Kremlin Palace to Sobornaya Square. As I walked into the square, it was amazing to see the Annunciation Cathedral (1484-89, above) on the left, the ensemble of the Kremlin bell towers, also known as the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great (1505-08, right) on the right and the Cathedral of the Dormition, or Assumption Cathedral (1475-79, below) directly in front of me. All the golden domes were beautiful, breathtaking and stunning.
Master Andrey Chokhov’s Tsar Cannon (1586) with its massive cannonballs perched in front and the Assumption Cathedral behind was impressive.
I liked this shot of a policeman with all the cannons lined up behind him in front of the Kremlin Arsenal. Somehow, it says “Russia,” -- or rather, “Soviet Union” -- to me.
The national symbol of the Russian Federation is a two-headed eagle, seen here perched atop the Kremlin Palace. The two heads face opposite directions, representing that the country lies on two continents. The symbol is modeled after the double-headed eagle insignia that was used by the tsars.
This is the Troitskaya Tower and the bridge that leads into the walled area of the Kremlin...actually, it leads out of the Kremlin.
So, without further delay...
Everyone had to arrive in Moscow a few days before the air show began so the aircraft display locations/spaces could be negotiated, set up and prepared. This extra time meant that everyone had one free day to explore the city before beginning our long days with hundreds of thousands of visitors at Ramenskoye Airfield, just outside Moscow in Zhukovsky.
Naturally, we all took advantage of the time and hopped on an embassy-contracted bus (that we ended up using all week between the hotel and the air show), and headed out to hit a few of the city’s highlights. After stopping by an outdoor market (more on that in a later post), we drove past the former KGB Headquarters building, the Lubyanka Headquarters in Lubyanka Square, which is now the FSB (Federal Security Service) Headquarters building. The FSB is the state security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor of the Soviet KGB. One of the military officers who works in the embassy told us that he occasionally goes there to have a drink in the building’s bar. How’s that for ironic? A U.S. officer enjoying drinks alongside potentially former KGB officers! My, how times have changed!!
From there, we headed to the Kremlin. Our first stop inside the Kremlin was a tour of the Exposition Diamond Fund (think of a diamond, jewel and gold storehouse!). No photos allowed in there, though. Our tour escort told us many times, “Our Russian state is a very rich country,” as she pointed out Elizabeth’s jewels from the 18th century, Katarina II’s jewels from the 19th century, 5,000 diamonds displayed in a cross with rubies, Czar Peter’s coronation chain as well as his “everyday” one -- both from before the October Revolution, and many other royal regalia of the Russian Empire.
From there, we walked past the Great Kremlin Palace to Sobornaya Square. As I walked into the square, it was amazing to see the Annunciation Cathedral (1484-89, above) on the left, the ensemble of the Kremlin bell towers, also known as the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great (1505-08, right) on the right and the Cathedral of the Dormition, or Assumption Cathedral (1475-79, below) directly in front of me. All the golden domes were beautiful, breathtaking and stunning.
Master Andrey Chokhov’s Tsar Cannon (1586) with its massive cannonballs perched in front and the Assumption Cathedral behind was impressive.
I liked this shot of a policeman with all the cannons lined up behind him in front of the Kremlin Arsenal. Somehow, it says “Russia,” -- or rather, “Soviet Union” -- to me.
The national symbol of the Russian Federation is a two-headed eagle, seen here perched atop the Kremlin Palace. The two heads face opposite directions, representing that the country lies on two continents. The symbol is modeled after the double-headed eagle insignia that was used by the tsars.
This is the Troitskaya Tower and the bridge that leads into the walled area of the Kremlin...actually, it leads out of the Kremlin.
