WHY VISIT MOSCOW
Moscow is the capital and the main economic and political center of immense Russia. It is located on the banks of the river Moscova.
The first reference to the city dates back to a document dated 1147, cited by Prince Jurij Dolgorukij. The fortification built by the latter failed to prevent the looting and devastation of the city by the Mongols in 1237.
The privileged relationship with the Khan and with influential people like Ivan I were decisive for the growth and expansion of Moscow, able to free itself from the Mongols in 1480 with Ivan III and become known worldwide as the third Rome.
The role of the tsar in international affairs grew dramatically and to an opposite extent with the social conditions of the population. Transferred the role of capital of Russia to St. Petersburg (1703) the city rejected the descent of Napoleon (1812) and with Lenin returned to be capital after the success of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Second World War saw Moscow theater of the famous battle, decisive for the end of the Nazi advance with the final victory of the Red Army.
The city’s past history has left its mark on various architectural works, including churches, cathedrals, and museums, while “modern” activities such as shopping, fashion, and nightlife give the capital of Russia the great international metropolis.
WHAT TO SEE IN MOSCOW
Top attractions not to be missed are:
- Red Square and Lenin’s Mausoleum
- St. Basil’s Cathedral
- Kremlin
- Moscow Metro
- The State Tretyakov Gallery
- The building of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Hotel Ukraine and the Foreign Affairs Ministry
- The Worker and Collective Farm Woman
- Monument to Conquerors of Space
- Moscow-City
- Peter the Great Statue
- GUM Department Store
- Cathedral of Christ the Saviour
- Cathedral of the Annunciation (Blagoveshchensky Sobor)
Following instead some hidden spots of the city that only locals know!
- Novospasskiy Monastery
- Muzeon Art Park
- Sparrow Hills (Vorobyovy Gory)
- Bunker-42 Cold War Museum at Taganka
- Gorky Park
- Kremlin in Izmailovo
- Kuskovo Summer Palace
- Tsaritsyno Museum
- VDNKH
- Zaryadye Park (Парк «Зарядье»)
- Krutitsy
- Trolleybus n. 33
- Rooftop of the Central Children’s Store (Teatral’nyy Proyezd, 5/1)
- Skyline of modern Moscow from the Bagration bridge (Naberezhnaya Tarasa Shevchenko, 23а)
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WHEN TO GO TO MOSCOW
The best period to visit Moscow is from May to September.
Following a list of main events and typical festivals and celebrations of Moscow.
- Moscow International Film Festival
- Festival Circle of Light
- International Fireworks Festival “Rostec”
HOW TO REACH AND MOVE IN MOSCOW
The main airports are:
download the transportation map
download the transportation APP
WHAT TO DO IN MOSCOW
typical dishes of Moscow are:
- Beef Stroganoff: pieces of sautéed beef in sauce, with smetana (sour cream)
- Bliny: large pancakes
- Borscht: soup made of broth, beetroot, and tomatoes with vegetables (onions, cabbage, tomato, carrots, and celery).
- Kotleta po Kievskiy: french-inspired chicken cutlet with butter sauce as a filling
- Coulibiac: fish (usually salmon or sturgeon) loaf, with rice, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, and dill
- Dressed herring: diced, salted herring covered with layers of grated, boiled vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beet roots), chopped onions, and mayonnaise
- Golubtsy: cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings
- Guriev porridge: porridge dish prepared from semolina and milk with the addition of nuts (hazelnut, walnuts, almonds), kaimak (creamy foams) and dried fruits
- Kasha: porridge made of buckwheat, millet, oat, wheat or semolina
- Kissel: fruit dessert of sweetened juice, thickened with arrowroot, cornstarch or potato starch
- Knish: baked or fried potato dumpling made of flaky dough
- Kholodets or studen: meat jelly
- Kvas: a fermented non-alcoholic beverage made from black or regular rye bread or dough
- Medovukha: honey-based drink
- Mimosa salad: salad, whose main ingredients are cheese, eggs, canned fish, onion, and mayonnaise
- Okroshka: cold soup of mostly raw vegetables like cucumbers, spring onions, boiled potatoes, with eggs, and a cooked meat such as beef, veal, sausages, or ham with kvas, topped with sour cream
- Oladyi: small thick pancakes
- Olivier salad: diced potatoes, eggs, chicken or bologna, sweet peas, and pickles with a mayonnaise dressing
- Paskha: Tvorog (farmer’s cheese) plus heavy cream, butter, sugar, vanilla, etc., usually molded in the form of a truncated pyramid
- Pelmeni: dumplings filled of a meat wrapped in thin, pasta dough
- Pirozhki: small stuffed buns made of either yeast dough or short pastry, filled with different fillings
- Pozharsky cutlet: breaded ground chicken patty
- Rassolnik: soup made from pickled cucumbers, pearl barley, and pork or beef kidneys
- Sbiten: honey-based drink
- Shchi: cabbage soup that can be based on sauerkraut
- Solyanka: thick, piquant soup that combines components from shchi (cabbage, smetana) and rassolnik (pickle water and cucumbers), spices such as olives, capers, tomatoes, lemons, lemon juice, kvass, salted and pickled mushrooms
- Sorrel soup: qater or broth, sorrel leaves, salt, sometimes with whole eggs or egg yolks, potatoes, carrots, parsley root, and rice
- Syrniki: fried pancakes made of quark, usually topped with sour cream, varenye, jam, honey, or apple sauce
- Ukha: clear soup, made from various types of fish
- Vatrushka: pastry with a ring of dough and sweet farmer’s cheese in the middle
- Veal Orlov: braised loin of veal, thinly sliced, filled with a thin layer of pureed mushrooms and onions between each slice, topped with bechamel sauce and cheese
- Vinegret: diced boiled vegetables (beetroots, potatoes, carrots), chopped onions, and sauerkraut and/or pickled cucumbers
typical souvenirs of Moscow are:
- Matryoshka nesting dolls
- Birchbark crafts
- Flax table-clothes and napkins
- Soviet memorabilia
- Valenki felt boots
- gold jewels
- Budenovka, is a hat used as the uniform of the Soviet troops from 1918 until 1940
- Ushanka, a traditional Russian fur hat that has ear flaps that might be tied at the chin to protect ears and neck from the cold or fixed at the back of the head
- Krasnaya Moskva perfume
- furs
- Orthodox icons
- Samovar, the heated metal container traditionally used to heat and boil water for tea
- Podstakannik, tea-glass holder
- Gzhel porcelain
- Balalaika, wooden triangular base guitar
- amber and semi-precious stones
- Cheburashka plush
- red or black caviar
- honey from Siberia
- Vodka
The main theatre of Moscow is the Bol’šoj Theatre.
