Went to Moscow in December for a week of business,
but I managed to get both weekends to myself so I could see the
town. I was surprised by what I saw, but then I knew before I went
that I had no idea what I was getting myself into (I love that feeling).
Moscow was a huge, exciting city, which I expected, but I wasn't
ready for how fast and rich it was. I'd been ready for a bigger,
dodgier version of Saint Petersburg (my friends from Saint Petersburg
suggested I really watch myself in Moscow). But as it turned out—at
least the few days I was there and the few places I saw—it
was tough, but not as dirty or dodgy as what I remember from New
York when I was a kid there in the 70s.
It was relatively easy to get by, though I could tell my Russian
has gotten really rusty from lack of use. Note to travelers: very
few "ordinary" Russians speak English, which makes it
difficult if you want to visit the places normal people go to and
avoid the (incredibly expensive) tourist traps.
And the city was fast... there was a palpable hum of commerce,
of things happening in the streets, in the clubs, and under the
surface. It was a good, motivating feeling, and I don't mind a little
dodginess. I think I prefer a place that requires you to use some
wit and craft to get by.
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| Krasnaya Ploshchad and the Kremlin |
One of my colleagues took this shot. Red Square was gorgeous.
On either end you have Saint Basil's (pictured) and the National
Museum behind the cameraman. On the left of the shot out of the
picture is the big GUM mall, and on the right is Lenin's tomb
and the Kremlin. It's one of those bizarre turns of history that
Lenin's tomb now faces one of the biggest and most expensive consumer
malls in Russia.
|
On our last day, Cec and I went to Red Square again to pay our respects
to dear old Vladimir Ilych, before heading for the airport. The
tomb was closed and there was a furious snowstorm. But walking back,
I saw this demonstration of old Communists forming up by Saint Basil's.
I couldn't believe my eyes at how picturesque it was.
I do feel sorry for the poor people who have lost their pensions
during the political collapse of 90-91 and the financial meltdown
of 98. |
The
Kremlin wall on the left, Saint Basil's ahead and the Moskva River
on the right.
|
View through the portal to Red Square.
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Kremlin
wall.
|
Statue
of Zhukov trampling Nazi symbols, behind the National Museum.
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The
memorial for the Great Patriotic War
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The eternal flame for victims of the war. |
Cecilie
and Alex by the Leningrad memorial. Alex had just come down on
the train from Saint Petersburg, so it was fitting.
|
Saint Basil's at night. |
Part of the Kremlin and Saint Basil's.
|
Badly lit shot of Cec and I in Red Square. On the far left is
GUM, and the low, boxy structure on the far right is Lenin's tomb.
|
One of the Kremlin towers. The yellow building behind the
Kremlin wall is the Russian Senate, I was told.
|
Shot of the Russian Museum with Saint Basil's at my back.
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Krasnaya zvyesda. I wish I'd had a tripod for better night
photos.
|
|
| Around town |
Detail
from the facade of the Bolshoi theatre.
|
Hotel Monopol, famous for its Art Nouveau facade and interiors. I
really wish I'd been staying here (at least when the biz was paying
for it), but I was across the river at the Slavyanskaya, just next
to Kievskaya station. |
Front
of the V.I. Lenin library.
|
The Russian Duma. There was a suicide bomber while I was in
Moscow. They think she had been heading here, but the bomb went
off too soon, in front of a hotel a couple of streets over. I was
meant to have been passing by around then too—one of my colleagues
and I had made plans to take our lunch downtown that day so we could
do some sightseeing. But we were too busy to get away from the office.
I guess that was luck.
|
When
work was finished and I was on my own tab again, Cec flew out
from Copenhagen and met me, and we checked into the Hotel Rossiya,
a huge old Soviet-style hotel that had been recently renovated.
People told me beforehand that the place was legendary for its
ugliness, but I thought the interiors were fine, and I kind of
like that brutalist architecture anyway.
|
Shot at night towards the Rossiya's tower from my hotel room.
|
Shot
across the river from the Slavyanskaya, towards one of the "seven
sisters," seven huge buildings commissioned personally by
Stalin.
|
 |
Another
of the Seven Sisters.
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Moscow street life at night.
On Saturday, my friend Natasha came down from Saint Petersburg,
introduced us to her friends and showed us some of the cool places
in the city we wouldn't have found otherwise (thanks for being so
charming Natasha!).
There was Syp (Soup), a mellow bar/restaurant that specializes
in different kinds of soup, and which plays excellent downtempo
music.
|
...And then she took us to Propaganda, another really cool
restaurant/bar that served food and drinks till midnight, then
cleared the tables away and turned on some really interesting
(and danceable) beat-heavy uptempo. Great place.
Here's Zhenya, Natasha, me and Cecilie.
|
|
| The Metro |
The
one thing above all others that blew me away about Moscow was
the Metro system. There are nine Metro lines, including a ring
line that links them all. The Metro is gorgeous, incredibly efficient
(a train every 3-5 minutes until one in the morning at every station),
and cheap—five rubles a ride, which is like 20 US cents.
|
Inside
one of the Metro cars.
|
Each Metro station was pretty big and very deep underground
(though not as deep as in Saint Petersburg), two lines linked
by a central hallway. Each line was also unique, decorated to
match the theme of its name.
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Mayakovskaya station. |
Inside
Mayakovskaya
|
Down the escalator. The rumor is that the Metro systems in former
Eastern Bloc cities were built so deep because they were meant to
function as bomb shelters if they needed to.
|
Mosaics
in the ceiling of Mayakovskaya. There must have been a dozen of
these set into the ceiling along the central hall.
|
 |
Kievskaya station. This was close to one in the morning when
there was no one around. I was really lucky to get these shots
free of the usual crowds.
|
Kievskaya on the surface level |
Connecting
tunnel in Kievskaya. The stations are all decked out in marble,
and brass, like underground cathedrals. I loved it.
|
 |
Ploshchad
Revolyutsii station, almost right under Red Square.
|
Ploshchad Revolyutsii had four sets of about a dozen bronze
statues, depicting workers, soldiers and students in ideal poses.
The idea is really cool.
|
Playing
airplane.
|
Football player. Once again I wish I'd had a tripod. But I was
trying not to be conspicuous when I was taking these. There were
a lot of police around the metro stations, looking pretty antsy
after the suicide bombing a few days before.
|
Female
sniper. These pics were optimized for a Macintosh. I realized
too late that they may look a little too dark and contrasty on
a PC.
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K-9
scout.
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Female
fighter pilot.
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Cec
and I in the Metro.
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Moscow 2003
