History

Kremlin

Moscow

Moscow is the capital of Russia and it is founded in 1147 (first recorded reference to the town) by Yuri Dolgoruki. The area of the city extends to 879 km². It lies in the western part of Russia, in the European part of the country. The city was named by the Moscow River (502 km), which flows through the city. In 1462, the Russian principalities were combined to the empire of Moscow by Ivan III (Ivan the Great). In 1547 Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) became the first czar. From 1555 to 1560 the St. Basil' s Cathedral was built near the Red Square. The city structure of Moscow is laid out in the shape of a wheel with the oldest circle being the one around the Kremlin. The centre of Moscow is within the Sasdovoye Ring. The Bulevard Ring was added in 1586 and in 1593 the Garden Ring. The circular Road, which surrounds the city is 109 km long.

[Picture: citymap of Moscow]

From 1689 to 1725 Peter I (Peter the Great) was the czar and in the year 1712 he moved the capital to St. Petersburg. Moscow remained an important centre of culture and trade.
In 1755 the Lomonosov University was founded. The University is named after the Russian scholar Michail W. Lomonossov (1711-1765). In the year 1812 Napoleon and his troops arrived in Moscow, big fires destroyed 70% of the city. After a month Napoleon left Moscow.
After the revolution in 1917 the capital and the seat of government were moved back to Moscow under the leadership of Lenin. After Lenin´s death in 1924, Stalin takes his place and starts the construction of the Lenin Mausoleum. In 1932 the Metro of Moscow today well known for its splendid subway stations was built.

[ Picture: Metro-Station of Kol'cevaja linija (line 5)]

In 1941 (World War II), Germans attacked Russia, they advanced almost to the city but never captured it. In the summer of 1980 the Olympic Games were held in Moscow and some western states boycotted them. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the head of the USSR. In the end of 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved, in 1997 Moscow celebrated the 850 anniversary of the foundation.

Red Square

The Red Place has its name from the Russian word "krasnaya", which is the word for red and it is also an old Russian word for beautiful. The Red Square covers an area of 60000 m² In the 15th century it was a market place, it was also used for political demonstrations against the czar, proclamations from the czar and executions. One side of it is bordered by the wall of the Kremlin and the Lenin Mausoleum, the other side by the shoppingcentre GUM, in direction to the river by the St. Basil' s Chathedral and on the other side by the Museum of History.

St. Basil's Cathedral

The cathedral was built between 1555-1565, on the order of Ivan the Terrible to honour several military conquests over Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. The architecture of St. Basil's Cathedral is influenced by the Byzantine style with the onion-shaped domes. St. Basil's Cathedral has nine colorful onion-shaped chapels, the tallest is 155 feet high.

[ Picture: St. Basil' s Cathedral]

Sanct Basil´s architect was Postnic Yakovlev and the cathedral was originally known as the Cathedral of Intercession. Today the St. Basil's Cathedral is a museum. In front of the St. Basil's Cathedral is the Monument to Minin and Pozharski. It is the oldest civilian monument in Moscow and shows a meeting of Kuzma Minin and Prinz Dmitri Pozharski. In the liberation war (1612) they headed the peoples volunteer corps and drove the Polish invaders out of Moscow.

Spassky Tower

This tower is the main tower of the Kremlin. It was built by Russian craftsmen under an Italian architect in the year 1491. From 1624 to 1625 a Russian architect completed the tower. The clock of this tower weighs 25 tons, is 21 feet in diameter.

Lobnoye Mestro

Lobnoye Mestro is a platform of white stone (more than 400 years old). On this place public executions were carried out and the edicts of the czar were proclaimed.

Lenin Mausoleum

Originally a wooden Mausoleum was built after the death of Lenin. In 1930, it was replaced by a Mausoleum made of red granite and black labradorite. Lenin rests in a crystal sarcophagus. Behind the Mausoleum are the graves of politicans, scientists, astronauts and other distinguished people.

Lomonosov-University

[Picture: Main building]

Foundation: 1755, by the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna on the initiative of the scholar and scientist Michail W. Lomonossov (1711-1765).
Today the university has 27 faculties, 40000 students (including post-graduates) and 9000 professors, teachers and researchers.
The area of the university in Moscow is 205.6 hektar and is includes 632 buildings all over Russia.

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