MOSCOW
Whoever has been to Moscow knows Russia
Red Square
The end of the last century was marked by the completion of the Red
Square ensemble.
 The famous State
Department Store (GUM), which up to the Revolution was known as Upper Trading Stalls,
was built after the design of Pomerantsev and Klein in 1893. The building is constructed
in the Russian style, and for many years there were simply narrow trading stalls with
small counters. At the time the cries of street traders filled the air, inviting everyone
to buy goods: “Our wares are of good quality, but cheap; buy from us and get a
souvenir!” When a passerby entered a shop, the seller dashed to him and used all his
methods to make the man choose something. It was possible to hear even such phrases as:
“May God give you good health to the extent our jacket suits you!”
The building of the Historical Museum was erected in 1883 by the
architect Schervurd. The construction was so large that it surpassed the miniature
Resurrection Gates situated near by.
According to the designer, the museum was aimed to be the incarnation of the whole of
Russia. The architecture is based on the national idea, embodied in numerous details of
Russian patterns, hence the building itself can already tell us about the art of the
country.
Much attention was paid to the inclusion of the museum in the general ensemble of the
monuments on Red Square. The architect introduced vertical lines into the construction
what made the building have something in common with St. Basil’s Cathedral, as well as
with the Kremlin towers.
Being located on the square that is the embodiment of Russian history, the purpose of the
Historical Museum is to present the development of the history of the country. There are
more than 4.5 million displays in the museum. It has the richest collection of
archeological artifacts, a numismatic room, a collection of Eastern and Western arms,
clothes from Russia and other countries, objects of wood, metal, glass, ivory, ceramics,
paintings and, finally, the world renowned collection of ancient manuscripts and printed
books.
In addition to the permanent exhibitions there are also temporary ones in the museum. Very
often objects are brought from the museums of other countries.
 Near the Historical
museum we can see the Monument to Marshal Zhukov, designed by the sculptor
Klykov to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the victory over Fascist Germany. There are a
lot of disputes linked with the monument, as some details seem to be very strange. For
example, the tail of the horse is, funnily, raised up. Normally when a horse walks it does
not look like this.
Not far from Red Square, beneath the Kremlin wall, lies the
Alexander Garden which was laid out almost 200 years ago on the design of Bove.
Before, there, was the Neglinka River that protected the northern approaches to the
fortress. Today the river is enclosed and flows under the garden.
On the eastern side the Garden is decorated by splendid iron railings made after drawings
of Pascal. There are lictor axes on their pillars, which are the Roman symbols of strength
and unity. For Muscovites it was a reminder of the recent victory over the French army in
the Patriotic War of 1812.
 Near the entrance to the gardens one can see the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, that is the main memorial to the heroes of the Second World
War. The remains were brought from the common grave located in the Moscow region, and
buried in the Garden for the 25th anniversary of the defeat of the German army. On 8 May
1967 the Eternal Flame brought from St. Petersburg was lit on the Tomb.
At the Tomb, fire comes from a bronze, five-pointed star situated on a red granite
gravestone. Above it one can see a sculptural composition in the form of a banner, a
branch of laurels and a soldier’s helmet. The inscription under the star on the monument
says: “Your name is unknown, your deeds are immortal”. On the left of the Tomb on the
granite wall we read: “1941. To those who died for the fatherland. 1945”.
There are monumental blocks of red porphyry with the names of city-heroes along the
Kremlin wall in the Alexander Garden. Inside them there is earth brought from Brest, Kiev,
Minsk, Volgograd, Tula, Murmansk, Smolensk, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol, Odessa,
Novorossisk and Kerch.
Further one can see the Obelisk to the Fighters for Freedom. The
column was raised in 1913 in honour of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanovs. It
originally bore the names of all the Romanovs tsars and was crowned by a double-headed
eagle. In 1918 Lenin decided to use the Obelisk for propaganda purposes and the names of
famous revolutionists as well as of socialists appeared on the monument. The double-headed
eagle was replaced by a golden globe symbolising earth.
 Next to the Obelisk is the Grotto of Ruins,
designed by Bove and erected in 1821. It stands on a slight mound near the Middle Arsenal
Tower. This mound is, in reality, a redoubt left after earth fortification of the epoch of
Peter the Great. These fortifications were made between 1707 and 1708 while expecting
attacks of the Swedish army. According to a legend the redoubt was built out of stone
cannon balls that long ago were used instead of iron ones.
 The right-hand side of the Alexander Garden offers us
the view on Maneshnaya Square. It was built to celebrate the 850th anniversary of
the capital, and the architect responsible for the construction was Zurab Tsereteli. Many
ancient objects were found during work on the square: coins, decorations, and even a part
of an old bridge. The Moscow mayor proposed to open a Museum of Moscow History that
would display all these precious things.
No sooner said than done, the museum appeared near the Historical Museum. It is not like
the majority of other buildings, as it is situated underground. There is only the roof
with the name of the museum above, and to reach the treasures you go downstairs.
No one will regret his visit to the museum as it is possible not only to see displays in
the glass cases but also to watch films about the history of the city telling us about
ancient coins, walls and, of course, about the construction of the museum itself. Besides
visitors can walk on the old bridge located right in the centre of the museum and feel the
atmosphere of ancient times.
Questions to the Next Part:
1. When did the street linking Moscow and Tver appear?
2. How could the central streets of Moscow be changed according to the
project of Kaganovitch?
3. Why did Fascists bring granite stones with them and what was their
destiny?
4. What was the place where now the monument to Dolgoruky is located
used for?
5. How did buns with raisins appear in Moscow?
6. Why was the sale of wine in Elysseevsky Gastronom prohibited?
Compiled by Alevtina Kozina
|