Russia’s capital offers an overabundance of history. Numerous churches, monasteries, and cathedrals tell of the golden age of the Tsars. Buildings constructed in the monumental 'wedding cake’ style, and skyscrapers with their bland, functional design, remind of the communist era of the Soviet Union.
A FEAST FOR THE EYES
For hundreds of years Moscow has played a prominent role in the daily life of the whole country. Russian writer Leo Tolstoy once said: “Every Russian, when looking at Moscow, gets the feeling that it is his mother.” The city of Moscow has been expanding on both sides of the Moscow River for nine hundred years, and Muscovites have been singing about the beauty and greatness of their capital, recorded in numerous legends, songs and myths. Nowadays, the metropolis of Moscow with its 10.5 million inhabitants is one of the largest cities in Europe. There are more than 100 different nationalities and ethnic groups living in Moscow: however, 90 % of the city’s inhabitants are in fact ethnic Russians. The multitude of buildings worth seeing are a testimony to architectural styles of the past and the present. Included in these are monuments dedicated to famous writers, academicians and statesmen, as well as monuments erected in memory of great historical events. The most significant structure and historic monument is the Kremlin, the oldest city district of Moscow, and is the seat of the Russian president. A city wall and nineteen towers still remaining today were constructed in the 15th century and at the time were considered a remarkable, formidable fortress.
