The flight out to Siberia may have been hell, but the flight back was great! The plane nearly empty, you could fold the seat in front of you completely flat and stretch out your legs!
Air Siberia
The gigantic Hotel Russia, in the background, will be torn down later this year to make way for new construction.
The GUM (abbreviation for a really long Russian name which essentially means State Department Store) is a mall that covers the length of the north side of the Red Square. In the Soviet era, it featured long queues and mostly empty shelves with a few meager goods, but has since blossomed into a bustling 1,000 shop mall brimming with the latest goods and fashions.
The Red Square. The Kremlin is on the right (with Lenin's tomb in front), St. Basil's Cathedral is in the center, the GUM shopping center on the left. Between the GUM and the cathedral you can see Hotel Russia farther in the distance (see closeup below).
Leila holds me in position as I take pictures of the Red Square over the crowd
The former State History Museum, on the east side of the Red Square
Pablo takes a shot, with Lenin's tomb directly behind him
Pablo and Leila, cameras ready
St. Basil's cathedral was built from 1555-1561 for Ivan the Terrible to celebrate his victory over the Tatars. Legend has it that this swell fellow subsequently blinded the architect so that he would never build anything comparable.
Licking the Soviet star off the Kremlin's Saviour Gate Tower
St. Basil's from the other side
Behind St. Basil and the Red Square, Moscow traffic and the gigantic Hotel Russia on the left. In the background behind the Moscow River is the government building where Putin spends most of his time.
When they restore buildings in this area, they drape painted cloth in front of the scaffolding to present a seamless facade to those passing by. I almost didn't notice!
The Kremlin's outside wall
This building in front of the former State History Museum burned down under mysterious circumstances, and is now being torn down to make way for new construction
Moscow State University, where Leila once went to school
Ah, the memories!
Entrance to the military museum
Behind me are the remnants of the American U2 spy plane shot down over Russia in the 60s. The pilot was captured and freed by the Soviets in exchange for a captured Russian spy in the United States
Pablo and I finishing lunch in the KGB restaurant, just down the street from the headquarters of the infamous Russian spy agency (now renamed FSB)
Speaking of the KGB, the gray building here are the spy agency's headquarters. Taking this picture 15 years ago would likely have earned me a one-way trip to the not-so-pleasant parts of Siberia!
Novodevichy Convent
Must've had some good-looking (or rich!) nuns, because the convent walls are quite impressive!
Pablo, Leila and her mom
Yup, that's our good ol' buddy Lenin again. This guy had an ego the size of Jupiter.
Snack salesmen by the Red Square. If Lenin could see it now!
Apparently, it's a Russian tradition to visit famous sights on your wedding day. They were everywhere.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
A pro-Communist parade. Not exactly a great turnout for a city with 10+ million, is it?
Inside the Kremlin...
I was quite surprised to find a number of beautiful churches inside the Kremlin grounds. First, because I thought the Kremlin was primarily government buildings, but mostly because the Soviet empire was decidedly atheist. Unlike some other totalitarian regimes, however (the Taliban comes to mind), the Russians had a great appreciation for history and although religion was outlawed during Communist times they nevertheless took great care in preserving their religious heritage, architecture and artwork.
Leila's apartment building has the red strip running down the side. It's one of 5 buildings on this main street and used to dominate this section of Moscow's skyline when I was here 10 years ago. Now, they're dwarfed by newer construction behind them and their days are numbered
Facing directly away from the apartment buildings above is a McDonald's restaurant, where I had my last meal in Moscow. There used to be only one McDonald's in the city--now they're everywhere. I'm not a big fan of fast food in general and McD's in particular, but it was a fitting end to my third trip to Russia, a tribute to the vast social and economic changes that have completely transformed this country in the last decade.
Domodedovo Airport, early morning. Time to go home after a sleepless night living it up in the Moscow clubs.
