Moscow – That’s a wrap!

One final Moscow post!

Some random Moscow shots, with text explanation, to finally conclude MB’s Moscow photos stories.

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The joke from Soviet/communist days goes that the only sober taxi driver in the whole of Moscow was the Greek God Apollo, on top of the Bolshoi Theater! Incidentally, the recent USD 500M refurb of the Bolshoi included the placement of a cover over the ‘manhood’ of Apollo – presumably because Putin did not want anyone outdoing him in that department!

The tomb of the unknown soldier outside the Kremlin wall. The two ‘guard’ soldiers are totally motionless during their period of duty. The ceremonial changing of the guard occurs  every hour 

Shots from the famous Cafe Pushkin, one of the most incredible restaurants that MB has ever dined in. There are two primary dining rooms; the Library upstairs, complete with numerous shelves of books, and the Pharmacy room downstairs.  The first shot shows a Pushkin waiter pouring lighted Cointreau over a glazed cage which has home-made ice cream underneath. The lighting liquid fire melts the entire cage in a 20-second gastronomic ‘show’ before the diner’s eyes.

Scenes outside the Kremlin walls

The most famous department store in the whole of Russia – Guum on Red Square. During communist times it was famous for always having well-stocked shelves with all sorts of goodies. Party politicians drew up a plan to demolish it and replace it with some political or cultural building, but were forced to change their minds by protesting wives, who knew the value to the public of a decent shop! And so it was saved. 

Scenes around the Red Square locality. The first shot shows the entrance to the Square and the tiny building with a green front centre of photo is a very small orthodox church where prayer ceremonies take place throughout the day. The entire building is similar in size to the average living room, or perhaps smaller.

Statue of Karl Marx, which is located in a small square just opposite the Bolshoi Theater. This is the usual location for protests or Moscow street gatherings of the Russian Communist Party, which is the second largest political party in Russia today.

The Russian Duma (Parliament building)

A Kremlin doorway

The Metropol Hotel, located some 300m from Red Square and one of the most historic hotels in the whole of Russia. The lobbies on each floor are full of photos of famous guests who have stayed over its approx 100-year history, and include numerous famous political leaders, movie and sports stars. The Metropol also features in numerous movies.

The infamous Lubyanka prison. HQ of the FSB (formerly the KGB).

St Basil’s Cathedral

Street shots

Fireworks over Red Square