Sights in Russia
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Ice Sculpture Gallery
Ice sculpture has a long history in Russia, but it’s not usually a year-round attraction. Until now. Cool off in the first-ever year-round Ice Sculpture Gallery, which is housed in a refrigerated winter-wonderland tent at the west end of Krasnaya Presnya Park. The changing exhibit is small but spectacular – the frozen masterpieces enhanced by colourful lights and dreamy music. At the time of research, sculptures depicted elaborate scenes from Russian fairytales, but the exhibit is expected to change on a biannual basis. The admission price includes a special down vest and warm fuzzy foot-covers to protect you from the -10˚C climate.
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Museum of Erotica
n Inspect Rasputin’s Penis – the mad monk’s meaty 30cm-long member is the chief attraction at the otherwise eminently missable Museum of Erotica housed in a venereal disease clinic.
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Tsereteli Gallery
Housed in the 18th-century Dolgoruky mansion, this is the latest endeavour of the tireless Zurab Tsereteli. The gallery shows how prolific this guy is. The rooms are filled with his often-over-the-top sculptures and primitive paintings. If you don’t want to spend the time or money exploring the gallery, just pop into the Galereya Khudozhnikov (the restaurant inside the gallery), which is an exhibit in itself.
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Lubyanka Prison
In the 1930s Lubyanka Prison was the feared destination of thousands of innocent victims of Stalin’s purges. Today the grey building looming on the northeastern side of the square is no longer a prison, but is the headquarters of the newly named Federal Security Service, or Federalnaya Sluzhba Beopasnosti. The FSB keeps a pretty good eye on domestic goings on. The building is not open to the public. The much humbler Memorial to the Victims of Totalitarianism stands in the little garden on the southeastern side of the square. This single stone slab comes from the territory of an infamous 1930s labour camp situated on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea.
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Cosmonautics Museum
The soaring 100m titanium obelisk outside the All-Russia Exhibition Centre is a monument ‘To the Conquerors of Space’, built in 1964 to commemorate the launch of Sputnik. In its base is the Cosmonautics Museum, a high-concept series of displays from the glory days of the Soviet space program. Exhibits rely heavily on cool space paraphernalia – Yury Gagarin’s space suit, the first Soviet rocket engine and lots of charts and diagrams of various expeditions. The highlight is the awe-inspiring video footage from various orbit missions. Sadly there is no gift shop selling freeze-dried astronaut food. The museum was closed for renovations at the time of research, so who knows…
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Rublyov Museum of Early Russian Culture & Art
On the grounds of the former Andronikov Monastery, the Rublyov Museum exhibits icons from days of yore and from the present. Unfortunately, it does not include any work by its acclaimed namesake artist. It is still worth visiting though, not least for its romantic location. Andrei Rublyov, the master of icon painting, was a monk here in the 15th century. He is buried in the grounds, but no one knows quite where. In the centre of the monastery grounds is the compact Saviour’s Cathedral, built in 1427, the oldest stone building in Moscow. The cluster of kokoshniki (gables of colourful tiles and brick patterns) is typical of Russian architecture from the era. To the left…
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Armoury
The Armoury dates back to 1511, when it was founded under Vasily III to manufacture and store weapons, imperial arms and regalia for the royal court. Later it also produced jewellery, icon frames and embroidery. During the reign of Peter the Great all craftspeople, goldsmiths and silversmiths were sent to St Petersburg, and the armoury became a mere museum storing the royal treasures. A fire in 1737 destroyed many of the items. In the early 19th century, new premises were built for the collection. Much of it, however, never made it back from Nizhny Novgorod, where it was sent for safekeeping during Napoleon’s invasion in 1812. Another building to house the collection was…
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Red Square
Immediately outside the Kremlin’s northeastern wall is the celebrated Red Square, the 400m by 150m area of cobbles that is at the very heart of Moscow. Commanding the square from the southern end is St Basil’s Cathedral. This panorama never fails to send the heart aflutter, especially at night.
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Art Muzeon Sculpture Park
The wonderful, moody Sculpture Park, behind and beside the New Tretyakov, is Moscow’s most atmospheric spot to indulge in some Soviet nostalgia. Formerly called the Park of the Fallen Heroes, it started as a collection of Soviet statues (Stalin, Dzerzhinsky, Sverdlov, a selection of Lenins and Brezhnevs) put out to pasture after they were ripped from their pedestals in the post-1991 wave of anti-Soviet feeling. These discredited icons have now been joined by contemporary work, ranging from the playful to the provocative. Tsereteli’s Peter the Great surveys the scene from his post on the embankment of the Moscow River.
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Church of the Resurrection
Officially known as the Church of the Resurrection, this multidomed dazzler, partly modelled on St Basil’s in Moscow, was built between 1883 and 1907 on the spot where Alexander II, despite his reforms, was blown up by the People’s Will terrorist group in 1881 (hence its gruesome name).
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Catherine Building
To the west of Monplaisir is an annexe called the Catherine Building, which was built by Rastrelli between 1747 and 1755. Its name derives from the fact that Catherine the Great was living here – rather conveniently – when her husband Peter III was overthrown. The interior contains the bedroom and study of Alexander I, as well as the huge Yellow Hall.
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Grand Palace
Providing an amazing backdrop to the fountains of the Grand Cascade at Peterhof, the Grand Palace is an imposing edifice, although with 30-something rooms, it is not nearly as large as your typical tsarist palace. It is open to foreign tourists only at specific times during the day, so you are advised to come here immediately upon arrival if you are interested in going inside. Tickets are sold near the lobby where you pick up your tapochki (slippers to wear over your shoes to avoid damaging the wooden floors).
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Hermitage
At the Peterhof, the 1725 Hermitage is a two-storey pink-and-white box featuring the ultimate in private dining: special elevators hoist a fully-laid table into the imperial presence on the 2nd floor, thereby eliminating any hindrance by servants. The elevators are circular and directly in front of each diner, whose plate would be lowered, replenished and replaced.
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Imperial Bicycles
In front of the Grand Palace, the Upper Garden occupies the grounds between the palace and the town. A few small museums line the road out to town, including an exhibition on Imperial Bicycles and a Museum of Wax Figures.
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Petrodvorets Watch Factory & Museum
One bus stop west of the main palace entrance is the Petrodvorets watch factory & museum with a little boutique selling very cool watches.
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Tsaritsyn & Olgin Pavilions
There is more to see in the centre of the town of Peterhof. In the midst of Kolonistsky Park, two islands sit side by side in the middle of a pond known as Olgin Prud (Olga’s pond). The two islands house the Tsaritsyn & Olgin Pavilions. Nicholas I had these elaborate pavilions built for his wife (Alexandra Fedorovna) and daughter (Olga Nikolaevna) respectively. Only recently restored and reopened, they boast unique Mediterranean architectural styles reminiscent of Pompeii.
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Mamaev Kurgan
Sights Mamaev Kurgan
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Saint Sofia's Cathedral and Bell Tower
Saint Sofia's Cathedral and Bell Tower
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Yaroslavl Art Museum
Contains 18th- to 20th-century Russian art.
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Nevsky Church
Nevsky Church is pretty new.
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Ascension Church
The Ascension Church is restored.
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Tall Tower
Inside Vyborg Castle, you can climb the tall tower.
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Fire Station
Passing curiosities include an old spired fire station.
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Tomsk Art Gallery
Tomsk Art Galleryis thought-provoking .
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