For example, Sadovoye Koltso ("Garden Ring") inner ring road was laid where the old Moscow fortress walls used to stand. It's complemented with the recently built Third Ring Road that lies further from Moscow center.

However, you haven't seen anything unless you've been on MKAD - the famous Moscow Ring Road that's more than 100 kilometers long.

The road was built to allow people get around Moscow smooth and fast, without all those narrow streets and traffic lights. Unfortunately, even though the ring road has five lanes in every direction, it still gets jammed pretty heavily. Plus, it's hard to compare it to European or American highways - the maximum speed allowed on Moscow Ring Road is only 100 km/h.

By the way, building a beltway around Moscow wasn't a modern idea at all. On the contrary, the first projects were drawn in 1937, during Stalin's rule. The construction was about to begin in 1940 when the war broke out.

Instead of building a permanent road, a provisional one was built for the passing Red Army forces. Naturally, after the war it had to be completely restored, even rebuilt.

The restoration itself began only in the 50s, and it took quite a lot of time because fixing a 100 kilometers long road was surely not an easy task.

In 1962, the newly built MKAD was opened. However, back then it only had 2 lanes in each direction.

In any case, it was a tremendous work. Moscow Ring Road was encircling the entire city, so a lot of new bridges and tunnels had to be built. Back then, the road was poorly lit and didn't have pedestrian passages.

The road also had another important function - it clearly marked the city's boundaries. From now on, everything that was within its radius became Moscow.

Later on, there were more and more exceptions to that rule. Moscow was growing, and it desperately needed new territories. With time, several new out-of-Moscow districts like Butovo and Mitino were added to the city. They are all linked to Moscow metro and are considered 100% Moscow's territory.

But, it seems that the city needs much more than that. So, in 2011 the plans were announced about the coming Moscow expansion. If that happens, the city's territory will grow 2.4 times! Needless to say, the new lands will lie way beyond MKAD.

By 1990's, Moscow Ring Road couldn't handle the growing traffic anymore. There were jams everywhere, and since the road lacked pedestrian crossings there were many accidents. Many drivers were even calling MKAD "the road of death" because of the high amount of casualties.

So, Moscow government decided to renovate the road. Naturally, improving the lighting and adding more pedestrian fencing was on top of the list. Plus, Moscow Ring Road was to be expanded to 5 lanes in each direction.

And again it was a tremendous amount of work. To expand the big city's road, you have to deal with all kinds of communications and utilities. In addition, you'll have to clear the way of all kinds of buildings and rebuild all the tunnels and bridges.

Oh, and since many parts of the road are surrounded with forest you'd also have to worry about not hurting the environment. Sum it all up and you'll get the idea of how complicated the task was!

Speaking of environment, I frankly don't understand how anything actually survives near Moscow Ring Road. 10 lanes jam packed with cars, low quality, polluting fuel...

Each time I pass that forest, I'm horrified by the looks of mutated birch trees with all those distorted, weird-looking branches. In fact they don't look like trees at all, and to think there are residential areas nearby scares me even more.

But let's get back to our story. Surprisingly, all that amount of work took only 4 years to complete. If you consider the fact that everything was done without shutting the traffic completely, you'll understand the immense complexity of the task.

As a result, Moscow Ring Road was expanded, 76 new bridges and 53 pedestrian crossings were built, and 47 interchanges were added together with dozens of other buildings.

Unfortunately, even though the road was seriously expanded, it's still not enough to suit the ever growing Moscow traffic jams. In addition, there are many shopping malls built right near the beltway. Many of them are incorrectly linked to the road, and that creates additional traffic load.

Plus, there are constant repair works here and there, and that of course is additional problem. All of that caused Moscow authorities to start talking about another expansion of Moscow Ring Road in the near future.

Unfortunately, I can't advise you to use the beltway unless you really need to. Chances are you'll either get stuck in a traffic jam or witness an illegal and dangerous drag race. Moscow has a long way to go before its roads become a safe place, and MKAD is no exception.

The old Moscow borders seemed too narrow to the government, and now there are plans to make our city bigger by attaching a piece of Moscow region to the Russian capital.

This isn't going to be something small by the way, because small areas were granted to Moscow in the past as well. For example, after Moscow ring road was built, it kind of fixed the city's borders. However, even after that several new districts like Butovo and Mitino were added to Moscow, and they all lie beyond the belt way.

Now, a huge piece of land will be added, spanning some 50 kilometers south-south-west from the present Moscow limits. To be short - it's a real Moscow expansion this time!

So what's the difference, you would say? Everything is going to remain the same except that now all that territory will be called "Moscow", right?

Well, you see, it was always very prestigious to be a Muscovite in Russia. This probably started in the Soviet Union, where in order to live in Moscow you had to have a license called "propiska".

Propiska was a sort of Moscow visa - you were either had to be invited by the authorities, marry a Muscovite or be born in the city. Without propiska you simply couldn't stay there. Well, nothing really changed except propiska was cancelled and replaced with a more democratic registration procedure.

It doesn't matter if you live in some remote neighborhood and get to see the Kremlin once in a year - if you're a Muscovite then you by default have a higher status then any other Russian.

It's not about money for sure. Although Moscow salaries are higher then the average Russian ones, there are still many people in Russia (especially in the oil-rich regions) who make much more than the average Muscovite.

It's not about comfort either, because Moscow is well known for its high levels of air pollution and overpopulation. There are many cities and towns in Russia with a higher quality of life.

If you're talking about Moscow theaters, concerts and exhibitions then yes - you have an opportunity to enjoy more cultural events if you live in the capital. However, the problem is that most of the Muscovites simply do not have enough time for that - we're either working or moving around the city, and when we get home all we want is lie down and get some rest.

So, despite the fact that being a Muscovite may not be as attractive as it sounds, it has become an obsession in Russia to live in Moscow. And since there's not enough place to accommodate everyone, there even was that joke in the Soviet times that "Moscow isn't made of rubber", meaning it couldn't stretch to allow everyone to live in it.

In order to solve that issue, the new Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin decided to increase the city's territory by 2,4 times. Well, I guess Moscow expansion is going to be one of those Russian mega-projects we love to tell the world about.

This time it's not going to be an even expansion everywhere around Moscow, but a huge "spearhead" that will go south between Varshavskoye and Kievskoye highways and span for dozens of miles.

The authorities decided to fight Moscow traffic jams that way, because the city is too round-shaped and center-oriented these days. After Moscow expansion, it will hopefully become more loose and de-centralized.

It's hard to say how the new district of Moscow will look like. Right now, it's a just a piece of Moscow region, with several small cities and towns, plus a lot of fields, woods and of course Russian dachas. I sure hope all of that won't just be destroyed to make way for office centers and huge living blocks.

In addition, it is planned to move a lot of government offices in that area to ease the traffic in the center of Moscow. Plus, the authorities state they will create thousands of new jobs there, although I can't see how.

What is certain, however, is the fact that the real estate prices skyrocketed already, even though nothing is really happening yet. I don't want to think what will happen when this territory is going to really become part of Moscow... :s

I also don't understand how the Moscow government is planning to solve the transportation issues. After all, 2 million people are supposed to live in the new district, and that means there will have to be access to Moscow metro at some point. Maybe they will use the legendary Metro 2 for that? Who knows...

Right now, there are only plans being drawn for Moscow expansion. However, three things are going to happen for sure - the degradation of environment, the insane increase of real estate prices and of course - a huge opportunity for corrupt officials to get even richer.

As you can see, I am not a big fan of the idea because I think right now Moscow (and Russia) has other things to worry about, and traffic jams - they can be solved in much less dramatic ways. But - we'll see.

...as you know, I'm an optimist.

Apart from the stunning views of beautiful landscapes and ponds, Tsaritsyno Park is also known for its palaces. Get ready to listen, because this story well illustrates something you guys call "the mysterious Russian soul". If that's too boring for you - scroll below to read about how and when you can visit the park.

The place begins its history right from the 16th century. It wasn't built up, basically empty. In 17th century, it changed its name to beautiful "Chernaya Griaz" - "Black Mud". Poetic, isn't it?

The place then changed several owners until in the 18th century, Peter the Great grants this territory to Moldavian Prince Dimitrie Cantemir who was back then a Russian ally. It was he who built the first palace there and set up a beautiful park with orchards and alleys.

It seems that Cantemir was a good designer because in 1775, Catherine the Great liked the place so much she decided to buy it. Naturally, it was an offer Cantemir couldn't refuse.

It's funny that right after Catherine bought the new estate, all of the Russian nobility suddenly fell in love with the place as well. Ahh, I guess some things never change...

Naturally, Catherine couldn't have a palace in an area called "Black Mud", so it was renamed to "Tsaritsyno" which means "Tsarina's". She spent quite a lot of time there, and a small, temporary palace was built there for her.

However, it couldn't last like that forever, and court architect Bazhenov was assigned the task of building a real palace complex in the new estate.

Bazhenov was supposed to design everything in a pseudo-Gothic style that was popular back then. Since no one really knew how it was supposed to look, he let his imagination run wild, combining Gothic style with Moscow architecture of red bricks and white stone, plus a lot of other things. He was supposed to build plenty of buildings and make sure they fit the landscape perfectly.

It's hard to list all of the things Bazhenov built - there were palaces, gates, bridges, arcs et cetera, et cetera. Everything fit great with everything, and the place really looked like a true architectural complex "built into" the natural environment.

Plus, when you were approaching the estate, several different buildings would "blend together" to form a large palace - sort of an Easter egg. Bazhenov made a lot more than that, but I don't want you to get bored with all the details.

Unfortunately, with time there began problems with building materials and finances for Tsaritsyno palace (so similar to Soviet and modern times), but Bazhenov went as far as investing his money into the project. He even had to sell his Moscow mansion for that!

However, after 8 years Catherine decided to finish the job, and so she found the money. The construction effort was redoubled, although there were still some financial problems here and there, and the worst part is that most of the money was "saved" on workers salaries. Bazhenov was very frustrated with that, and he even spoke of the problems in letters to his friends.

By the 1785, the project was finally finished apart from the interior decoration, and that's where the fun began. Catherine the Great didn't like Tsaritsyno palace and she suddenly ordered to demolish it!

Nobody knows for sure why it happened, there are many explanations. Some say that Catherine tried to get rid of Bazhenov whom she suddenly stopped liking (he was accused of being a freemason), others claim that the Tsarina was fascinated with the new mansion near Saint-Petersburg. That seems more reasonable to me - it looks like Catherine simply got bored with her old estate and wanted a new toy.

Speaking of freemasons - some people believe that Bazhenov left a lot of hidden clues in the architecture of the palace, sort of like Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code". Well, if you want to try and find one - be my guest

Whatever happened 200 years ago, one thing for sure - the de-construction of the buildings began. The project of the new estate was assigned to Kazakov, a student of Bazhenov.

Kazakov tried to preserve Bazhenov's style, but the original looks of the buildings were still heavily altered. That project wasn't finished as well because of the lack of funds.

Only after 7 years the construction works renewed, with a new project. Afterwards, the Bazhenov palace (the one that Catherine didn't like) was finally dismantled, probably to provide materials for the new one. Well, at least it was there for 9 years.

In 1796, Catherine died, and that was the end of Tsaritsyno project. It was never finished, and the newly built Bolshoi (Big) Palace didn't even have interior decoration. All the later Tsars didn't want to deal with the place because none of them liked it - and who cares how many rubles were invested?

Decorative (Grape) gate. See any freemasons messages?

Pretty fast the unfinished buildings started falling apart, making them look like ancient ruins (which granted the place some charm). The gardens started drying up, and eventually the park was open for the noble public.

In the 19th century the gardens were brought back to life, several pavilions were added, and the alleys were cleaned up and decorated. Afterwards, several tea houses were built in the park, where everyone could drink some nice, hot tea. Eventually, the park becomes very popular with Muscovites.

Since no Tsar ever knew what to do with it, the place was eventually given to the state and stopped being a property of the royal family. At some point it was offered for sale, even with option for demolition, but no one wanted to buy it.

Then, in the beginning of the 20th century, most of the territory was given away for dachas - Summer out-of-town houses. It became very popular and expensive, and a lot of famous Russians including Chekhov, Dostoevsky and Chaikovsky lived there. As for historic buildings - well, they just continued to slowly rot and fall apart.

After the revolution, nothing really changed. Tsaritsyno was renamed to Lenino (well, what other options there were, really? ), and it became a part of another Moscow district.

The palace and other buildings were partially rebuilt and used for all kinds of state bodies, such as the Council of Deputies. Other buildings were even housed communal apartments, and it continued up to 1970s!

Only in 1927 there was a hope of restoration - a historic museum was set up in there, with all the documents and blueprints by Bazhenov. Then, some restoration works began, but afterwards the museum changed its profile and was shut down after 10 years.

In 1960, the park's territory became part of Moscow and was finally recognized as a protected historic zone. A large-scale restoration plan was developed by the government, but - guess what - it was never set in motion.

Finally, in 1984 the estate became a museum, and by the end of 1990s all the buildings were restored excluding the biggest ones like Bolshoi palace (the one originally built for Catherine).

In 2005, another round began. Moscow mayor Yuri Luzkhov showed interest in Tsaritsyno and decided to restore all of the buildings. However, Russian historians and architects objected that move fiercely. They claimed he couldn't restore something that was never finished, and that the government should only maintain what's left from the original buildings in a decent state.

Luzhkov didn't listen, and later on there were lots of indications that the old buildings were being practically demolished and replaced with modern copies, ruining the historic atmosphere.

The opponents of the project went as far as the prosecutor's office, but of course Yuri Luzhkov's side won and finally Bolshoi Palace was rebuilt as well. In 2007, the restored Tsaritsyno Park and Estate was officially opened for public.

If you've read this far then either I'm a darn good writer or you're a true fan of Moscow history. I sure hope it's both, though

If you get there, take your time to walk around the beautiful park, with ponds and lots of historic buildings that still stand no matter what. You can criticize Luzhkov for restoring Bolshoi Palace the way he did, but it surely can't stop you from looking at all those gorgeous arcs, bridges, gates and arbors!

Two Moscow metro stations are located in the area - Tsaritsyno and Orekhovo, both not further then a 10 minute walk (see the map). The park itself is opened from 6:00 to 0:00, although if you wish to attend the museums (and there are plenty of those), you should keep in mind they will have a different schedule. For example, they will most probably be closed on Monday, so make sure you clarify it before your visit.

The ticket prices are very reasonable, there are plenty of guides who speak English and other languages, plus there are lockers where you can leave the bags if you have any.

Pay attention to several restrictions (they are also written on the official site). The most important one - do not walk on the lawns. It's a very common rule in Russia and it may look very strange to you, but that's life. In addition, you can't bring anything in glass bottles, so be careful!

However, I do hope it won't stop you from enjoying Tsaritsyno Park and Estate. By the way, you don't have to visit it in summer as many other places in Moscow like Sparrow Hills - it's beautiful all year long!

Hope you enjoyed this little history lesson, have fun in the park and hey - bring back some photos!

Novokuznetskaya Moscow metro station is yet another jewel of our city's subway. Located in the very center of Moscow, it sits right next to Teatralnaya on the green metro line.

Novokuznetskaya was opened in 1943, right during the Great Patriotic War (or World War II). Naturally, the main theme of the decor is the battle of Soviet people with the enemy.

The station is decorated with marble, pillars and bas-reliefs picturing different military operations of the Red Army. Heck, even the benches are made from white Siberian marble!

However, the most unusual decoration of the station is huge mosaics on the ceiling. They are the work of the famous artist Frolov who decorated a lot of houses and even churches in Saint-Petersburg. You would probably be surprised to know that he designed all the mosaics of the famous Church of the Savior on Blood.

As weird as the name sounds, that church has the most stunning mosaic panels I have ever seen, and they are covering probably every inch of walls and ceiling. Well, history can be ironic, and the same man can decorate both the Christian church and the metro station built by the Soviet Union.

The mosaics were created using the sketches of another famous artist Deyneka. His works are also present on another Moscow metro station Mayakovskaya. However, Novokuznetskaya panels' history is quite different, and here's why.

As you remember, the station was opened during the war.

Life in Moscow was rough, but that couldn't compare to living in besieged Leningrad. The city was completely cut off from the rest of the country, the winters were freezing (especially in 1941), but the worst thing was hunger. Everything the people of Leningrad got was 125 grams of black bread a day!

I'm telling you that because Frolov wasn't working in Moscow. His workshop was in Leningrad, where that freezing, hungry man was working like mad on his panels. He didn't ask the government for food or better work conditions – all he wanted was a little bit of kerosene to keep the lamps burning during his work.

Plus, he had one of the richest collections of smalt in the world – more than 18 thousand tones. Can you imagine how hard it was to find the right tone when all you've got is the dim light of the kerosene lamp?

In the beginning several other artists helped him, but afterwards 70 years old Frolov was working alone. Looking at his panels, I'm amazed how he pictured the delicate pink apples against the bright blue sky while he himself was starving.

When all the panels were finished, they were shipped from the city by the Soviet Navy. Frolov died soon after the last box with mosaic left his workshop. What a man...

By the way, the sketches were initially drawn for another Moscow metro station – Paveletskaya. That's why the workers with heavy construction equipment look kinda unrelated to the station's design. The sketches were switched because no one in Moscow believed that Frolov will continue working on the panels in horrible conditions of Leningrad blockade, and so the design of Paveletskaya was changed. When the panels did arrive in Moscow, it was decided to use them in another station's decor.

From Novokuznetskaya, you can pass to both Tretyakovskaya metro stations (one is on the orange line, another one on the yellow). If you do, pay attention that apart from the mosaics on the ceiling, there's another big panel in the passage (although that's the work of another artist).

You can also exit the station through a circular, rotunda-shaped exit. That way you'll get to Pyatnitskaya, a wonderful old street. That is the very center of Moscow, and from there you can take an interesting walk around the city.

For example, you could get to Tretyakov Gallery through the old, picturesque streets. Or, you can walk to Moskva River embankments and the bypass channel. Actually, the Red Square itself is only two bridges away, so all you'll need is a good map or a local guide.

...just promise me one thing – wherever you go from Novokuznetskaya, don't forget to look on the ceiling before you leave to see those famous panels for which the great artist Frolov lived, worked and died.

Kitay-gorod district is the very center of modern Moscow. In fact, Moscow basically started from there, as the Kitay-gorod was built right after Kremlin. It also was surrounded with a fortification wall, just like Kremlin before, so as you can guess the place was pretty important.

Its name is also interesting, because "Kitay" means "China" in Russian, so you would think it was some kind of Moscow China town, but in reality it had nothing to do with Chinese immigrants. Plus, back then China had a different name in Russian.

The most accepted version is that "Kitay" comes from "Kita" - a bunch of poles that were used in the construction of fortifications. That makes sense, because as I said - Kitay-gorod was second after Kremlin to get protected with a fortress wall.

The construction of the wall started in 1534, during the rule of Elena Glinskaya - a wife of Prince Vasili III who later came to power through a coup. Moscow principality needed protection from attacks back then, and Elena decided to dig a new trench (the old one just wasn't good enough).

The whole population of Moscow participated in that project except maybe the nobility, so everything was finished pretty fast. Hmm, I wonder if it would help today as well?

Anyways, after the trench was finished, it was decided to compliment it with a wall. Elena hired an Italian architect to oversee the works, and in the end the wall came out even tougher than the one that was guarding Kremlin. When it was finished in 1538, it was more than 2.5 kilometers long, had 12 towers and 4 heavy gates. What can I say - too bad that Italian guy isn't working for Moscow government today.

The territory of Kitay-gorod was between Kremlin, Moskva River, Okhotny Ryad and Teatralnaya Square in the north and Lubianka with Staraya Square in the east. It also included Zaryadye district, where the currently demolished Rossiya hotel used to be. By the way, the nearby Moscow metro station with the same name is in fact located on the adjacent territory of the old Bely Gorod (White City).

As I said, there were several gates in the wall around the district - Nikolsky, Ilyinsky, Varvarsky and Kosmodemyansky. The names came from the streets that were adjacent to the gates. Apart from those, there were two more gates - Spassky by Vasilievsky Spusk and Voskresensky right in front of them on the other side of the Red Square.

In the beginning of the 18th century the gates were blocked with stones in fear of the upcoming Swedes attack. After the war, it turned out that it was easier to breach the walls near the gates then to unblock them. So, new gates appeared near the old ones.

Only in the 19th century Muscovites were able to open the old Ilyinsky Gate, but that was not the case with Nikolsky because the newly built church was blocking them. Ahh, that's Russia!

The last breach in the wall of Kitay-gorod was made in 1871, when Tretyakovsky Proezd (Tretyakov Drive) was opened next to Metropol Hotel.

Nothing good happened to the wall after that, as it was nearly completely demolished in 1934 by the Soviet government. That was a tremendous loss for our city, because the wall had a huge cultural value and was a real beauty. Plus, it did it job pretty well back when it was built.

For example, once it helped defend the city against the forces of Tatar Khan, and another time it helped the occupying Poles to defend themselves against the militia of Minin and Pozharsky. Well, the second case doesn't really serve to prove my point, but again - if we're talking strictly about protecting the city, then it was hard to think of something better than the wall.

Although it couldn't help protect Moscow after the introduction of gunpowder and cannons, the Tsars didn't even think about demolishing it. On the contrary, in the end of the 19th century it was seriously restored. Unfortunately, the wall seriously constrained the growth of the Soviet Moscow.

Right now there's only a small piece of Kitay-gorod wall left on Revolution Square in front of Teatralnaya Square and Bolshoi Theatre. You can also see it if you get behind Metropol Hotel, where you can even see Tretyakovsky Gate, the only one that's left. Plus, there's even one of the remained wall towers near them.

In 1960-1970, part of the wall near Kitaygorodsky Proezd was restored. In addition, Iberian Gate ("Voskresenskie Vorota") was restored after Perestroika (next to the State Historical Museum near the Red Square).

That gate was quite important - it served as a main entrance to the Red Square. You see, Tverskaya Street was linked to it, and since the street itself was part of the road to St. Petersburg, all the Russian Tsars passed through it to get to Moscow for their coronation.

Later on, the Iberian Chapel was built near the gate. It was demolished in 1929. The gate itself was demolished in 1931 despite all the effort to save it. The reason was just too serious - it interfered with the military parades on the Red Square. Later on, during the restoration of Iberian Gate, the chapel was restored as well.

There's also one more "restored" tower and a part of the wall on Revolution Square. However, it's actually a dummy built to host a restaurant. You can't confuse it with the real wall - you'll see it's made of modern bricks right away.

In the beginning, Kitay-gorod was a part of Veliky Posad - a central quarter of Moscow where merchants and artisans used to live. Later on, when Dmitry Donskoy decided to expand the Kremlin, part of the quarter was moved to the east, creating a new district.

In 16th century, the nobility started to settle there, which made it a very prestigious place to live. However, at the same time it was also a center of commerce - the famous Gostiny Dvor and trading rows that were later replaced with Moscow GUM all sit in that area.

By the 18th century it became the main commercial district of Moscow, and merchants began slowly regaining their numbers there. In the 19th century, all kinds of commercial buildings appeared in the district, including an exchange, banks and commercial firms. You can still see some of those beautiful buildings if you walk across Ilyinka and its alleys.

In addition, a first Russian printing house was built on Nikolskaya Street - Moscow Print Yard. You could also find a lot of churches, chapels and academies there. Many of them were demolished during the Soviet times, but still - Kitay-gorod surely has a lot to show.

If you get there, just walk around and see for yourself - that place is not historical, it's history itself. There aren't many of those left in modern Moscow, so don't miss your chance to learn about our city's past!

Well, to be honest there were settlements in place of Moscow even before Yuri Dolgoruky was born. However, those were small and insignificant villages scattered across Moskva River, belonging to some boyar from Suzdal.

Yuri, on the other hand, was his boss - the Prince of Suzdal. During one of his "work trips", he ordered to execute the boyar over some mistake and took his lands. Later on, he founded a city of Moscow in that area.

During the times of Yuri Dolgoruky Moscow is first mentioned in historic documents in 1147 as the place of meeting between Yuri and his ally, some other prince. As you see, since the very beginning the history of Moscow was intertwined with the name of Dolgoruky.

By the way, Yuri founded many other large Russian cities, but Moscow became the most powerful one and eventually the capital of the country. However, back then it wasn't even beginning to gather political weight - Moscow was just too small and insignificant. During his life, Dolgoruky was mostly interested in Kiev that was the center of political and economic activity.

In fact, the only thing that Yuri did for Moscow was ordering to build a fortification in 1156. However, he wasn't even overseeing that, as he probably appointed his son Andrey Bogolubsky to do the job.

However, the history is not always reasonable, and Dolgoruky is still considered the founder of our city. Of course, he's got his own monument that sits on Tverskaya Square. Right in front of the statue there's Moscow townhall which is historic building by itself. Built in 1782, it's decorated with beautiful pillars. It was a residency of Moscow rulers even during the times of Tsars, so if you're going to see the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky, be sure to look out for that building as well.

The history of monument is also interesting. It was erected during the Soviet times - in 1954 and caused an ambiguous reaction. Plus, it's surrounded by loads of urban legends.

Initially, it was decided to set up a statue in 1947, during Moscow's 800th anniversary. Stalin himself supervised the project, and in 1946, a competition among sculptors was announced. The legendary Vera Mukhina, author of Worker and Kolkhoz Woman monument also participated, but her sketch wasn't accepted.

However, in 1947, only the foundation was laid out. Afterwards, years passed but nothing was done, probably because the resources were spent on other construction projects including the famous Seven Sisters.

One of the legends says that Stalin was outraged with the fact that Yuri was sitting on a mare. He thought that Dolgoruky would look much more masculine riding a stallion. Naturally, the sketch was redrawn instantly. However, that was not the end of it. The same legend says that during the times of Khrushchev, he passed by the monument one day and didn't like the distinguished genitals of the horse. The next day, everything was reworked.

In general, Yuri Dolgoruky looks like Russian bogatyr (epic hero). He sits on a horse in helmet and armor, pointing to a place where the future Kremlin must be built. The shield in his other hand depicts St. George the Victorious - the ancient heraldic symbol of Moscow. What's interesting is the fact that nobody really knows how Yuri looked like, so when the monument was opened many people were disappointed with the detailed image of the legendary man.

By the way, the place where the monument sits also has history. Before the revolution, there was a monument to General Skobelev, the hero of Russian-Turkish War. After the revolution, it was demolished and replaced with Statue of Liberty obelisk. Before the war, it was demolished as well. Dolgoruky's monument also caused a lot of controversy, many people couldn't accept the statue of some prince standing on Sovetskaya Square (later renamed to Tverskaya). And naturally, Yuri Dolgoruky was neither a communist nor a Soviet hero.

In 1962, Nikita Khrushchev nearly moved the monument to some other place, but soon was "moved out" of the power himself, and the statue remained in its place.

The famous Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was clearly sympathetic to his namesake, and the statue became an important part of all city's holidays. That was especially true for Moscow City Day that became popular after Perestroika. In addition, Tverskaya Square is often used for all kinds of political meetings.

If the legends are true then there is no guarantee the monument won't be removed someday soon, so come take a look while you still have the opportunity!

Just wanted to share with you these colorful views of Moscow Region. For example this "golden" birch forest just outside our fence.

Or these beautiful berries of kalina (guelder rose) which you may know from Russian song Kalinka-Malinka.

Small and red apples - Ranetki, not only look great. They are also very tasty.

Everything is nice, even the hop on the old fence

Hope you liked it too

When we talk about Russian souvenirs, we mostly mean Russian nesting dolls - Matrioshkas. However, they are only one of many kinds of souvenirs you can buy in Moscow.

Basically, you can separate them into three categories:

• Souvenirs that you buy and then put on a shelf.
• Things that you can somehow use in your daily life.
• Something you can eat or drink

While everything is strictly individual, a souvenir can easily move between the groups.

For example, while I don't suggest you eat matrioshkas, you can use them both as a decoration for your home and a great toy for your child. I remember several Russian nesting dolls I used to play with when I was a child, and they are just as good as all those plastic cups and cubes that help kids develop motor skills. Plus, they are so beautiful!

In Moscow, you can also buy Gzhel, Palekh miniatures, Khokhloma, Zhostovo trays, wicker items, etc, etc, ETC! Let's talk about those Russian souvenirs in more detail.

Take Gzhel - you'll notice it easily if you've ever been to Russia. I'm talking about those white blue ceramic figurines and dishes that'll look great at your home. Again, you can buy both knick-knacks and real tableware, the choice is yours.

If you choose to go for tableware, you can buy plates, cups, teapots, sauceboats, salt shakers, vases, and even cutting boards! It's nearly impossible to list all the things they paint in Gzhel these days!

If your Russian friends invited you over, then you'll most probably see some of Gzhel in their homes. This is a very popular form of folk craft in modern Russia, so don't be surprised to see it around.

Another popular kind of Russian souvenirs are Palekh miniatures. Palekh is a form of lacquer painting with bright colors and detailed, subtle drawings. The creation process is very long and thorough, so every picture takes tremendous work.

Historically, the craftsmen of Palekh village were drawing icons. Their work came to halt after the Revolution, because naturally the Bolsheviks didn't share their passion with God. The craftsmen had to switch to making other things, and so the famous Palekh boxes, caskets and brooches were born. The masters also had to find other stories to illustrate, and they took a lot from Russian fairy tales.

Except from Palekh, there are other famous Russian lacquer miniatures such as Kholui and Fedoskino.

Usually, the women like to buy the boxes to store their jewelry. I think that if you want to please your woman then you should definitely choose Palekh. But then again - don't forget to buy her something to put in that box, eh?

Khokhloma is another option. Usually it's wooden dishes painted with bright colors, mostly red or black on a golden background. The pictures are usually simple - red berries and golden leaves intertwined with unique patterns. Sometimes you'll also see animals and birds.

Again, you don't have to buy those Russian souvenirs just to put on the shelf, as you can use them in your day-to-day life. For example, you can often find Khokhloma-painted bowls, spoons and salt shakers. By the way, these days even furniture is painted with Khokhloma, but that's rare because IKEA is totally dominating the market.

You can also choose Zhostovo trays as your Russian souvenir. Zhostovo style is lacquer painting on metal, most often black (sometimes blue or green). The paintings themselves picture flowers - several big ones surrounded with lots of smaller flowers together with leaves, twigs and grass - just like in a real flower bouquet. The trays are mostly oval or round, although they can be of any form.

Not only that, but we also make things from birch bark, or "beresta". There are many birch trees in Russia, so apart from firewood, Russian banya brooms and birch vodka, they also serve for all kinds of neat boxes and other things. By the way, a long time ago, birch bark was used for writing, like Egyptian papyrus. By now we found a lot of birch bark letters written ages ago, and there were even whole books made from that material.

By the way, Russian bast shoes ("lapti") were also made from birch bark. Those were traditional Russian footwear, but nowadays they serve mostly as souvenirs. However, aside from shoes you can buy many other birch bark souvenirs and useful things like baskets of wicker and different bowls of straw.

In addition, Russians also used to wear felt boots ("valenki"), which were the only choice for the cold Russian winter. These days, the winters became much warmer, so you don't really need valenki. However, they are still made in several places using the same old technology. If you don't like the traditional grey color, you can find designed valenki as well. By the way, kids still love them although they don't get to wear them a lot.

However, I doubt you'll find a use to Russian felt boots even if it's cold in your country. So, I advise you to look at other things made from felt. Here, you can learn about all the neat felt-made stuff that can come in handy.

A couple of words about Russian souvenirs you can eat or drink. First of all it's Russian vodka that remains to be the number one souvenir for men. There are a lot of vodka brands today, but not all of them are Russian.

Many brands like the famous Smirnoff are made in Finland, US, UK and Poland. Therefore, if you want a truly Russian vodka, buy Stolichnaya, Russkaya, Gzhelka, Kristall etc. They don't necessarily cost a lot, but be careful not to buy in dubious street stalls - they can sell you a dangerous fake that'll harm your health.

As a snack to vodka, you can use another popular Russian souvenir - red or black caviar. If you aren't very keen on caviar (like me), then you'll most definitely love Russian chocolate sweets. Now those won't gather dust on your shelves for sure! Plus, it's an ideal gift - it's really hard to imagine someone who'll resist a true Russian chocolate!

I don't know where to stop - there are so many things left to mention! Have you seen the beautiful, decorated Russian samovars that some people still drink the tea from? Or the funny, big-eared Cheburashka? Or the Russian hats with earflaps, especially the military ones (completely useless in my opinion, but very popular with foreigners)? Or the famous Orenburg shawls that can make you warm even in the coldest winter?

Oh well, it's time to finish. Have fun with Russian souvenirs - and post some photos on my Facebook wall.

Cheers!

It's safe enough to assume there was a settlement even before, as some archeological artifacts are more than 1000 years old. However, since we don't have enough evidence to prove that, we assume that Moscow was founded in 1147.

Moscow sits on the shores of Moskva River, and that's basically how the city got its name - "Moskva". It's hard to say what it means, but it probably comes from the old Russian word "mosk" - something wet and swampy.

It seems very reasonable to me because the place was covered with swamps back then. In fact, draining the swamps and putting rivers into tubes has always been a large part of city's expansion.

Moskva River played an important part in history of Moscow. Back then, it was used to transfer goods and raw materials. Basically, you could get as far as Black and Caspian seas from Moskva River, so the trade was flourishing.

That same manuscript that mentions the foundation of Moscow also mentions prince Yuri Dolgoruky. It appears that he had a mansion in Moscow settlement back then, and that is where he met his friends and some other prince in 1147.

It's believed that Moscow was started on Krasnaya or Shvivaya hill. By the way, today one of Moscow's Seven Sisters sits there - on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment.

Yuri Dolgoruky was the prince of Rostov and Suzdal. Back then, Moscow was a small insignificant town, while Rostov and Suzdal already were major Russian cities. They were so important that in 1156 a small fortress was built on Borovitsky Hill in Moscow to protect Suzdal from enemies. The fortress also became Moscow's first Kremlin.

Right now the hill isn't very tall as it was leveled several times in the past. Right now, one of Moscow Kremlin's towers stand upon it. It's called "Borovitskaya", just like the former hill. By the way, before that hill was called "The Witch Mountain" because there was a pagan temple there. Oooow, creepy!

In 1177, the fortress on Borovitsky Hill burned down. However, since it was a strategic spot it was rebuilt quickly. That was the time when Moscow was beginning to gather influence by becoming one of Russia's important trade centers.

In the 13th century, Moscow grew large and important, and it became a center of independent principality. It was ruled by many princes, and the rule itself was passed as a heritage. However, during the Mongol invasion of 1238, Moscow was burned and looted.

Then again there were several princes who ruled the city, but they didn't leave a significant trail in history of Moscow. Later on, Alexander Nevsky's junior son Daniel became Moscow's ruler. He was only 2 years old, and so his uncle had to step in.

Daniel ruled for more than 30 years - from 1271 to 1303. That is a huge amount of time considered all the power struggle that was going on. That is why Daniel was called the first true prince of Moscow and the founder of the new dynasty.

Later on, when Moscow became one of Russia's pillars, its princes became the rulers of the entire country. The dynasty lasted until the end of the 16th century, but already during Daniel's rule Kolomenskoye and Mozhaiskoye principalities were added to Moscow.

By the way, the people of Kolomenskoye principality who were escaping from invading Tatar Khan's forces founded a village on their way to Moscow. Later on, it became the estate of Moscow princes and Russian Tsars. Right now, Kolomenskoye Estate is a functioning open air museum. In addition, Daniel founded Bogoyavlensky and Danilovsky monasteries, probably the oldest ones in the history of Moscow.

It may sound strange, but the Mongol invasion contributed to the growth of Moscow. In the 14th century, Daniel's sons Yuri and Ivan Kalita collected tribute from Russian principalities in favor of the Golden Horde. For that, the Horde allowed them to rule parts of Russia.

Yuri was the first to receive the right to rule Vladimirskoye principality, which was sort of Russia's capital back then. After that, Moscow became even more influential. In addition, the city was surrounded with dense forests that attracted many refugees who sought to hide from the Mongols.

In 1325, the residence of Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia was moved from Vladimir to Moscow, making it the main religious center of the country. Thus, Vladimir lost its privileged status.

Ivan Kalita ruled Moscow for a long period after Daniel. He was so successful mainly because he was a good negotiator. He managed to establish good relations even with Tatar Khans, and while other cities suffered from Horde's attacks, Moscow principality was steadily growing. New lands were acquired, and first stone buildings were erected including churches and cathedrals. In 1339, Moscow Kremlin was surrounded with new wall, but the Kremlin itself remained wooden.

Ivan's heirs also contributed a lot to Moscow, which was constantly growing and remained the ruling Russian city. Unfortunately, not everything went smoothly. In 1353, there was an outbreak of plague that claimed thousands of lives. In addition, since the city was wooden it burned many times.

After yet another fire of 1365, Prince Dmitry Donskoy decided to set up a stone kremlin and make it several times bigger. In addition, several new monasteries were built around Moscow for defense purposes. By the way, that was when people started calling Moscow "Belokamennaya", meaning "made of white stone".

During the expansion of the Kremlin, part of the old Great Posad district was expelled, and so it grew east, creating Kitay-Gorod neighborhood. It was also surrounded with a fortress wall, and later on became very popular with nobility that replaced the traders and craftsmen. Today, Kitay Gorod is part of historic center of Moscow.

Dmitry Donskoy is one of the few Moscow princes who are still known among the people. He was the first in the history of Moscow to start fighting the Golden Horde and uniting the Russian lands. The most famous battle took place in 1380 on Kulikovo Field. However, the attempt failed, and Moscow was re-captured and looted in 1382.

Somehow, Dmitry still managed to get approval from the Horde and continued ruling Moscow. During the later years he even managed to expand his influence by acquiring Nizhegorodskoye and Muromskoye principalities.

Later feudal wars of the 15th century helped Moscow to increase its power even more. Prince Vasily the Blind put an end to many fiefdoms inside Moscow principality, and after the fall of Constantinople Moscow became an international religious center. Thus, history of Moscow took a new turn...

In 1547, Ivan the Terrible became Tsar of all Russia. Instead of Moscow principality, Russian kingdom was created. Since the capital was placed in Moscow, the city started growing again.

At the end of the 16th century, after another attack of Tatars and the fire of 1571, a third wall was built surrounding the White City - a historic district around Kremlin and Kitay Gorod. Since then, it was only allowed to erect stone buildings in that area.

During the later centuries, there were lots of uprisings and revolts, Moscow was captured and freed again. Such was the story of the famous people militia led by Minin and Pozharsky who liberated Moscow from Polish-Lithuanian invasion in 1612. Thanks to them, the history of Moscow didn't end...

Up until the 17th century, there were territories around the White City that weren't part of Moscow called "Zemlyanoy Gorod". There were villages, monasteries and artisan suburbs. In 1593, during the war with the Swedes, an earth mound with wooden towers was built around those territories. Before the mound, a ditch was dug, and you could get inside the territory of Zemlyanoy Gorod only trough special gates. The White City was also separated from Zemlyanoy Gorod by another earth mound and a ditch.

In the 18th century, the ditch of the White City was filled up, the mound was razed and the gates were demolished. Where the White City towers used to stand, now there's famous Moscow Boulevard Ring, with multiple squares occupying the place of the former gates. After the mound and the ditch of Zemlyanoy Gorod were removed in the beginning of the 19th century, Garden Ring (Sadovoye Koltso) was set up there.

Peter the Great was the only ruler who made Moscow lose its central status for some time. In 1712, the capital was moved to Saint-Petersburg. From 1728 to 1730, it was officially moved back to Moscow, but Saint-Petersburg still remained the unofficial center of Russia.

Moscow became capital only in 1918 after the Bolshevik revolution. It became the center of the new Soviet republic - RSFSR, and later USSR. During the Soviet era, Moscow metro appeared, VDNH was built, and a lot of new buildings were erected including famous Stalin's skyscrapers and universities.

Moscow Ring Road also appeared back in those times, and the city finally acquired constant boundaries. Unfortunately, history of Moscow suffered because a lot of historic buildings were demolished to give way for the new era. It hasn't stopped even today, as there is a sad joke among the Muscovites "restoration of historic building ended up with its demolition".

I guess you remember the rest of the history. Gorbachev, Perestroika, the 1991 coup d’état attempt, tanks shooting at the White House in 1993...

By the end of the last century, the political situation stabilized, and we started building churches and cathedrals according to the new official ideology. Can't say I agree with it, but I'm sure glad that Cathedral of Christ the Savior was restored.

In general, Moscow started building again - Victory Hill memorial, new metro stations and even our own International Business Center. I sure hope our city will continue to expand and renovate itself...

...if only it would treat its history more carefully!

Komsomolskaya Square is one of the most famous places in Moscow. It's located in center, and serves 3 major Moscow rail terminals - Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky.

In addition, you can get to Komsomolskaya Square right from Komsomolskaya Moscow metro station, which of course makes the place pretty crowded. People call it "Three Stations Square", and unfortunately these days it has a very bad reputation.

Today, it's almost impossible to imagine that in 17th century there was a river and a very big pond nearby, while the square itself was a swampy meadow. Russian Tsar Alexey Mihailovich even built himself a palace there so that he could rest during his trips. The area surrounding the palace was named Kalanchevskoe field, and later on the square was also called "Kalanchevskaya".

By the end of the 18th century, the so-called "artillery court" was built there, with cannons and ammunition factory and a warehouse. In addition, there was a firing range there, so you probably can guess why the surrounding territory remained pretty empty for a long time. By the way, Peter the Great later used the pond for all kinds of events, with fireworks and even cannonade.

The infamous fire of 1812 made the artillery yard burn and explode. The explosion was so strong that it shook the entire Moscow. Naturally, everything was wiped out, and so Nikolaevsky rail terminal was built there in 1849.

It connected Moscow with Saint-Petersburg, and since St. Pete's was renamed to Leningrad during Soviet times, Nikolaevsky was also renamed to "Leningradsky". This is the name it's been carrying since then.

In 1862, Yaroslavsky terminal was built between Nikolaevsky and the pond. However, we didn't get to see it because in 1907 it was rebuilt. The building itself is quite interesting, featuring elements of old Russian art and kinda reminds of a fairy-tale house.

During the same years (1862-64), a new railroad from Ryazan was built, and a new Ryazansky terminal was set up as well. The swamps that covered the place were drained.

Later on, Ryazansky rail terminal was renamed into Kazansky, and it was also rebuilt in a modern fashion in the beginning of the 20th century. Plus, they put the nearby river into a tube and drained the pond.

During the October revolution, the terminals played a strategic part. All three of them were captured by the reds, and that allowed them to receive reinforcements from St. Petersburg. Who knows how it would turn out for the communists if they didn't have control of Komsomolskaya Square and its surroundings....

In 1930s, the metro was laid under the square. The station was called Komsomolskaya in honor of Komsomol volunteers who built it. The exit to the square was built as well, and the square was also renamed to Komsomolskaya.

During the 50s, one of Stalin's Seven Sisters was built nearby - Leningradskaya Hotel. At that moment the square has got its present looks.

The place is very controversial. On the one hand, it's the very center of Moscow and a transport hub that processes millions of people daily. In addition, it's a very important architectural spot, because each of the three terminals has got its own unique style. Plus as I said, you can watch one of Stalin's skyscrapers there.

In 2003, a very cozy resting place appeared on Komsomolskaya Square. It has a fountain and benches, but it's also got a monument to Melnikov - one of the authors of Moscow-St.Petersburg railroad project and Russia's first Minister of Railroads.

However, there's a one big problem with Komsomolskaya that Moscow hasn't yet managed to solve. The square is one of the most troubled places in town - there are lots of bums, pickpockets and other crooks. Terrible smell, homeless people everywhere - quite hard to enjoy the view to say the least.

The people who have to pass the square always do it as fast as they can, and they always watch their belongings because there are a lot of thieves. Plus, they try not to buy anything from the street stalls because the food sold there is not healthy to say the least. In short, Komsomolskaya Square needs a new sheriff.

But then there is some good news. Moscow's new mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, promised to deal with all those problems. Part of the square near Yaroslavsky terminal was cleaned before the last City Day, and they even erected a monument there. In addition, all the "unofficial" taxis were removed, and now only registered ones are allowed there.

I do hope that Moscow government will manage to clean up the entire Komsomolskaya Square because it's one of the most beautiful places in Moscow. Meanwhile, you'll have to be very cautious. However, if you watch yourself then you can visit Komsomolskaya even today.

....oh, where is Robocop when you need him?