The Kremlin

Monday, 4th July 2005 by

This is the Moscow Kremlin, which is commonly referred to simply as The Kremlin (which in Russian means 'citadel'). The complex is the seat of Russian power, as it serves as the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Russian Federation (Wikipedia entry).

Moscow Kremlin

The irregular triangle of the Kremlin walls encloses an area of 275,000 square metres, and is home to some of Russia's most popular tourist destinations, including Cathedral Square. The Cathedral of the Dormition is the oldest structure (1479), which was built to be the main church of Moscow and is where all the Tsars were crowned. In our thumbnail it is the building capped with five golden cupolas. (Wikipedia entry, and a good ground level shot.)

Cathedral Square

Just outside the Kremlin walls lies Red Square, which is around 695 meters long and 130 meters wide. In our thumbnail you can see the south side of the square and Lenin's Mausoleum (Wikipedia entry), which is the final resting place of Vladimir Lenin, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. Lenin's embalmed body has been on public display there since he died in 1924. Though supposedly 'rejuvenated' annually, Lenin's body looks so waxy that many people wonder if the body is still real. Some parts might be fake, or partially fake for the needs of presentability.

<img src='http://www.googlesightseeing.com/wp-content/images/leninstomb.jpg' alt='Lenin's Mausoleum' />

Finally for this visit to Moscow, we can see Saint Basil's Cathedral. It's a shame that it's so unimpressive from up here, especially given how stunning it is when seen from ground level (Wikipedia entry).

<img src='http://www.googlesightseeing.com/wp-content/images/saintbasils.jpg' alt='Saint Basil's Cathedral' />

There's far too many things here to point them all out, so for further information, check out this detailed map of the area ๐Ÿ™‚

Thanks to Alekseev Vladimir, Alan, Todd Holden, Nels N Nelson, Nathan, Caius Toneriko, Patrick, Ben, Tom D, Vaclav Papousek, Adam, Julian, Terry Foster, Aaron, DJ Swammi, Stephen Train, Stephan Segraves, Max, Steve, Lee Bennett, Efreet, fedor, Patrick Kent, Hendrik Dacquin, Akos Vagi, seamus and Adam Parker.