Christ the Savior Cathedral, located a bit west of the Kremlin.
There’s always more to see that can’t be fit into the trip. Here are some random thoughts about the things we didn’t see.
* Christ the Savior Cathedral – This 340-foot tall church is the tallest Orthodox church in the world and was blown up by the Soviets in 1931 with plans to build the “Palace of Soviets” in its place. This never happened and after the fall of Communism the church was rebuilt. There is also a lookout tower you can go up to see the city. If you love churches, definitely see this.
* Gorky Park – A mediocre park I wouldn’t consider worth visiting. It’s not a bad park, but it’s an average park with a fountain, wide paths, trees, and so forth, but it’s a bit out of the way from the other attractions. So, if you happen to be in the area and want to stop by a park, go for it. But unless you’re a fan of the novel (or film) “Gorky Park” or the Russian rock band named after the park I’d pass it by.
* Art Park Museon – A sculpture garden across the street from Gorky Park. I saw this last year looking forward to seeing the old, torn-down Soviet statues and was disappointed. Yes, there are Soviet-era statues – in particular a large Dzerzhinsky (founder of the Cheka, predecessor to the KGB), a Stalin, and a number of Lenins including one where he still has hair. But I’m not really a big sculpture fan and I would have preferred spending the time here in other attractions, like the Christ the Savior Cathedral. If you love sculptures, check it out. Otherwise, put it at the bottom of your list. If you want to see Lenin in his glory, either go to the All Russian Exhibition Center, or check out the still standing statue at Kaluzhskaya Square, near the Oktyabraskaya metro station. Oh yes, tickets cost about $3.
Some of the Lenins in the Art Park Museon.
* Moscow River Cruise – I’ve wanted to do this both times I’ve been to the city, but haven’t found the time. There are piers along the river where boats depart about every twenty minutes and make numerous stops along the way (the Moon’s Moscow-St. Petersburg guide recommends the pier by Kievskaya metro station) with a single ride costing about 400 rubles ($13).
A boat cruises past the Peter the Great monument heading towards the Kremlin. The monument is the sixth tallest statue in the world and was built to commemorate the 300 year anniversary of the Russian Navy, which Peter the Great founded.
* Contemporary History of Russia Museum – I would have chosen this over the State Historical Museum if I ‘d known the State Historical didn’t cover 20th Century Russia. I haven’t been there, so I don’t know if it’s a good museum or not, but I wanted to see a historical museum covering the Soviet Union.
* Gulag History Museum – Located close to Theater Square, this museum covers the “Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps” better known by the acronym ГУЛАГ (Gulag). Dad read “The Gulag Archipelago” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn over the course of the trip and was amazed by the breadth of purges made against the various “wreckers” between 1918 to 1956.
* Kubinka Tank Museum – A must-see for the military buffs out there. This is the Russian equivalent of Aberdeen Proving Grounds and features an extensive equipment park with many rare or experimental vehicles. For instance, their World War II German tank gallery includes the only Maus super-heavy tank in the world, a Tiger II heavy tank, and a Sturmtiger assault tank with a 38cm rocket launcher. They have another four halls of Russian tanks, BMPs, and BTRs and a further hall with foreign tanks. The downside is that us foreigners need to coordinate through a Russian tour company to make the necessary arrangements to visit the museum. The museum itself is short on written explanation though when I went there last year the guide was able to explain the backstory on most of the vehicles. I tried to coordinate with Intourist for this trip (the tourist company that arranged the trip last year), but they didn’t respond to my e-mails. It’s also a bit expensive particularly for small groups since the tour company needs to arrange transportation (the museum is about 60km outside Moscow), a translator, and coordinate with the museum itself – for one person it costs about $300, though it scales nicely so two would be about $340, three $390, etc.
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| The Maus super-heavy tank at Kubinka. This 200-ton vehicle has incredibly thick armor, moves at a snail’s pace, and has to ford rivers because bridges can’t take its weight. | A Russian BMP-3, their modern infantry fighting vehicle, unique in having both a 100mm cannon and a 30mm autocannon for its gun weapon systems. |
* The Golden Ring – These are a number of towns and cities that can be seen on day trips from Moscow with a rich cultural history and which showcase a bit more of traditional Russian or rural life instead of the bustle of the big city. sergiyev Posad is the closest featuring the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (a lavra is the highest level of monastery in the Orthodox Church and there are only four of them in the world), and Suezdal is further away but considered to be the best preserved as the entire town is essentially a museum. I originally planned on seeing Sergiyev Posad on my first trip to Moscow, but changed my plans after the Intourist travel guide told me about Park Povedy. I will definitely visit at least one of these towns on my next trip to Russia.
* Cosmonauts Memorial Museum – Yes. Just don’t go on Monday because they’ll be closed.
* The Bolshoi Theater – The ballet theaters in Moscow are all high quality and palace-like on the inside, but the Bolshoi has the name-brand recognition. It’d be like going to Syndey and seeing an opera in some place other than the Sydney Opera House. Just remember if you’re planning a trip to Russia, the Bolshoi is closed in August.
* The Kremlin Armory – Tickets to this cost about $23 and does not include the rest of the Kremlin. I saw this on my first trip. If you like seeing jewelry, ecclesiastical objects, or treasures then definitely see it. Otherwise, I don’t think it was worth the cost of the tickets.
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