Moscow | Kazan | Saint Petersburg | Minsk | Kaliningrad |
My First Two Visits to Moscow in 1990
During the Cold War era, going to Moscow was like going to the moon. In 1990, I was able to go to Moscow twice, in July and in October. While I was there in October, Mikhail Gorbachev got his Nobel peace prize. Not all Russians were happy about his prize, because they thought Gorbachev sold their country to the West. This was Russia's internal problem. I was curious about everything about the Soviet life.
- Kremlin. I took this photo me in 1990, but I
do not know where I was. Moscow was a strange place at that time.
Since then I took many of the same scene from the places I could recognize.
- Red Square (1990). Moscow's
Address No.1. Since then I have been there many times.
Click here for the photos.
- Red Square guards after their
duty at the Lenin Mausoleum (1990). Here is
another photo of 1990.
I was inside the Mausoleum to
see Lenin's body. These guards moved to the memorial pond for soldiers
on the west wall of Kremlin.
- St. Basil's Cathedral at the
Red Square. This Cathedral was built on the order of Ivan IV (Ivan the
Terrible) during the period 1555-1560. He was very happy to be able to
expand the Russian territory to the Volga River by conquering the city
of Kazan.
- Soviet Army Uniforms (1990).
Alas, I spotted Soviet soldiers. The Soviet soldiers who came to Korea
in 1945 were wearing the uniforms looking exactly like these. During
this 45-year period, Americans changed their uniforms several times,
but Soviets did not. I was indeed happy to see those uniforms again.
Click here for an interesting story.
- Bolshoi Theater
north of the Red Square.
Czar's Seat in the Theater. - Moscow Subway (1990).
Russians are very proud of Moscow's subway system. It was indeed
great and it still is.
- Pepsi-Cola. In 1990, the Cold
War was beginning to melt down. Russians started wearing blue jeans
and drinking Coka-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. This photo was taken at Moscow's
Arbat Street as the street sign shows.
- Kitaisky Restaurant. Chinese
Restaurant in Moscow. I went there with my Russian friend. It was
his first time to go to a Chinese restaurant. The Soviet communist
system had a strict control of restaurants. In 1990, there was only
one Chinese restaurant in Moscow with eight million people.
- Statue of Friedrich Engels. It was nice to
see him again 20 years later in 2010, especially
because Russians were talking about removing this statue.
- Soviet Rubles with a portrait of
Vladimir Lenin. The other side
of those rubles. How do they look
these days?
- Leptop Computers used at Russian stores.
- I stayed at the Hotel Uzkoye during my first visit in July 1990 , and at the Hotel Akademicheskaya in October 1990. During this October visit, Russians heard a news that Mikhail Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize. Russians had mixed reactions to this news.
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Computers used at Moscow stores. |
Red Square and Kremlin
The Red Square is Moscow's address No.1. Let us look at some photos from there.- The Red Square is surrounded by four major structures. The Kremlin wall and the
GUM Store are on the south and north sides respectively. The State History
Museum and the Cathedral of St. Basil are at the western and eastern ends of
the Square. Thus, you can enter the Square from either side of the Museum
building.
- This is a photo of the west side of the
Museum building. You can thus enter the Square from either side of
this building. There are thus two entrances.
- The southern entrance is wide open between the Museum and the Nikolaskays Tower of the Kremlin. Here is another photo.
- The northern entrance is blocked by the Iverskaya Chapel. Here is another photo. This chapel has two openings for those who like to enter the Square. ccasionally, these openings are guarded by the troops of Ivan IV (the Terrible).
- Near these gates, I met three Russian soldiers and had a
photo with them. The statue of
Marshal Zhukov is seen.
- Thus, I decided to have a photo with Marshal Zhukov.
- Here is a photo of the same area
without me taken in 2014, and this is a photo taken
in 1990. I was in the same area in 1999,
I did not see the statue. It appears thus that this statue was erected in
a recent year.
- From Zhukov on his horse, we are now able to understand how he was so
successful his 1939 battle against Japanese troops in Mongolia and also in
decisive battles against Germans during World War II.
The statue tells Zhukov grew up as a cavalry officer, and he learned how to use horses to storm the enemy bases. To him, each Russian tank was one Russian horse.
- This is the Iverskaya Chapel
seen from the Red Square. This small building is between the History
Museum and GUM Department Store (white building) in this photo.
- Kazan Cathedral is just inside the the northern entrance at the northern end of the GUM Store.
- Both northern and southern entrances seen from the Red Square. Kremlin's Nikolaskaya Tower is also seen in this photo.
- Let us look at
video. During the 5.9 Victory celebration, Russian tanks come
to the Square through the southern entrance because the northern
entrance is blocked by the Iverskaya Chapel.
This chapel has a stormy history. It was destroyed by the communists in 1931. The purpose was to make a way for the military units to enter the Red Square through both south and north entrances. This video shows the Russian tanks entering the Square from both entrances. In 1995, this Chapel was reconstructed. Too bad, only the southern entrance is available for the troops.
- GUM Department Store on the northern edge of the Red Square.
- Kremlin Wall on the southern edge of the Square.
- Lenin's Mausoleum is the prime spot
on the Red Square. It faces the square, and its back is the Kremlin's red wall.
I was inside the Mausoleum to see Lenin's body during my first visit to
Moscow in 1990.
- This is a close-up side view of the Mausoleum. Also in this photo are the Spasskaya Tower with its clock and the Cathedral of St. Basil.
- On May 9 of every year, on this Mausoleum, Russian dignitaries
review their troops marching though the Red Square.
Let us click
here to see how those troops march. The background
music is "Proschanie Slavianki." You will be interested to hear that
my high school band in South Korea used to play this march before 1950,
and this is still my favorite military march.
Vladimir Putin
also likes this march, so does every Russian.
Click here for more about
the Proschanie Slavianki and military parades at the Red Square.
- This Square can accommodate many other interesting people. This
Russian girl is showing her talent.
Here is another photo.
- Here is a photo of the square surrounded by the Kremlin wall, the Cathedral of St. Basil, and the GUM Store. Here is another photo. These three structures seen from the opposite side of the Square (from the Kremlin Bridge).
- I am standing in front of the GUM Store.
GUM means State Department Store, and its
interesting history.
- I took this photo in 1990
while Russia was still a communist country. It was a capitalistic
place. It is said that this luxury store flourished during the
communist era thanks to the wives of high-ranking communist officials
who wanted to be in pace with European fashions. Presumably, the
entire store was under one organization. This is a photo of the same
place taken in 2014.
Let us go to the third floor.
- These days, this building consists of many different upscale shops, such as Louis Vuiton, Brooks Brothers, and Mont Blanc. There are also electronic shops such as Samsung, as well as a shop with old gadgets.
- There is a fountain at the western entrance.
- There is a cafeteria on the first floor,
as well as several fast-food places on the second floor.
- There are benches for senior citizens like myself. Young people also need rest. It is always a pleasure to talk with young people wherever I go.
- I met these two Russian sisters from Samara on the second floor. It is said that women from Samara are supposed to be beautiful, and they became impressed when I told them why. This is a story well known to all Russians.
- I took this photo in 1990
while Russia was still a communist country. It was a capitalistic
place. It is said that this luxury store flourished during the
communist era thanks to the wives of high-ranking communist officials
who wanted to be in pace with European fashions. Presumably, the
entire store was under one organization. This is a photo of the same
place taken in 2014.
Let us go to the third floor.
- The Cathedral of St. Basil is the landmark of Moscow and
has a very interesting history. Everybody who visited Moscow has
a photo of himself/herself with this Cathedral in the background.
I have one for myself taken in 1992.
- This photo was taken from the
center of the Red Square, and is familiar to everybody in the world.
The only problem is that I was not able to find T-shirts carrying this
photo in any of the gift shops in Moscow. Sooner or later Russian
business people will see this money-making opportunity.
- The Cathedral looks better if shown
together with the the Spasskaya Tower.
- The Cathedral and the Tower seen from the
Kremlin Bridge (2014). The same photo taken in
1992.
- The Cathedral and the Gum Store seen
from the Moskva River (1999), plus the
Spasskaya (Clock) Tower taken in 2014.
- Since the architecture of this Cathedral is so unique that there are
theories about its origin. The
Wikipedia
story mentions also a possible influence from the Kul-Sharif Mosque in
Kazan. Let us construct of a theory of how this happened.
Ivan the Terrible in Kazan. Ivan IV ordered his troops dismantle the Mosque to move it to Moscow. He then reconstructed the structure to build the Cathedral. Let us compare the Cathedral with the present form of the Kul-Sharif Mosque.
These day, one half of the Kazan population are Moslems. They reconstructed their modern version of the Kul-Sharif Mosque according to the original version. While the exact picture of the original mosque is not available (because stolen by Ivan the Terrible), they constructed the model based on what they heard from their ancestors. Click here for the image of the original mosque.
Kazan is an interesting Russian city. Catherine the Great was there. Hilary Clinton was there. I have been there three times. Click here for my Kazan page.
- This photo was taken from the
center of the Red Square, and is familiar to everybody in the world.
The only problem is that I was not able to find T-shirts carrying this
photo in any of the gift shops in Moscow. Sooner or later Russian
business people will see this money-making opportunity.
- Bolshoi Theater in Moscow (1990), north
of the Red Square.
- Bolshoi Theater (2010) still being refurbished.
- Inside the Theater during the performance of a North Korean musical entitled "A girl who sells flowers" (1990).
- Czar's Box. Those seats these days for Russian president, prime minister, and dignitaries from foreign countries.
- Theater's Control Room of 1990.
- Karl Marx overlooking the Theater (2010). Marx is still an important person in Moscow. He is also an important person to me, and I visited his grave in London. I like what he says about philosophers.
- The Kremlin is a triangular area between the Red Square and the Moskva River.
- This is the wall along the River,
and its northern wall with Lenin's
Mausoleum faces the Red Square.
- Along the western wall, there is the
memorial for soldiers
who sacrificed their lives during their Great Patriotic War (World War II).
- This memorial is guarded by two Russian soldiers.
- Every hour on the hour, there is a change of the guards. These soldiers come in for their new duty. They raise their legs like this. I cannot do this.
- After their duty, the guards
march away from their posts.
The third person is the commander of the guards. This is the
side view of this three-man team,
and the front view.
- In 1990, when the country was still the Soviet Union, people
were allowed to come to the edge of
this memorial pond. I met there
this Stalingrad veteran. He was thinking of hard times
he spent with his comrades in the battle fields. A very nice-looking
gentleman! He was with his wife.
- About 50 meters of south of this pond, there is a Kremlin gate containing the stones used for the original Kremlin walls built in the 11th Century.
- Inside the Kremlin Walls, there are many interesting items. I was
inside the Walls in 1992, but I have not been there since then. Thus,
I do not have too many good photos, but let us look at some old photos.
- Tsar's Bell and Tsar's Canon are among the most impressive items within the Kremlin walls. It appears that they were used during the Tsar's coronation before Peter the Great moved to St. Petersburg.
- I had a photo of myself with this Canon with a Russian soldier.
- Another photo of the Canon in front of the Cathedral of Archangel.
- Lenin's statue is also there, and I had a photo of myself with Lenin.
- This photo taken from the Moskva River shows the Kremlin Palace, Domrmiton Cathedral, Cathedral of Archangels. The tallest structure is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.
- Kremlin Theater is just inside
the Kremlin's western wall at the Troitskaya Tower/Gate.
- It is the white building in this photo of the Troitskaya Tower seen from the outside of the Wall. This is a photo taken inside the Wall.
- This modern structure was built in 1961.
It was Nikita Kruschev's idea. Who was Kruschev?
Click here.
- In 1992, I was fortunate enough to be inside to sew the performance of Mikhail Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmila. Who was Glinka? Click here. Here is a photo of myself at Glinka's monument in St. Petersburg.
- Music lovers are coming to the Theater. They are well-dressed. Russians have a great respect for Glinka as the father of Russian music.
- I was there in 1992 with Paolo Tombesi, Margarita Man'ko, Roy Glauber, and Daesoo Han, while attending the second meeting of ICSSUR (International Conference on Squeezed States and Uncertainty Relations).
- This is the wall along the River,
and its northern wall with Lenin's
Mausoleum faces the Red Square.
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West of the Red Square
-
Arbat Street is a pedestrian street about one km long. It stretches
from the Arbat Metro Station (1 km west of
the Kremlin west wall) to the Stalin Tower of
Foreign Ministry. about 1 km southwest of the Arbat Metro. There are
no cars on this street. There are many shops, and there are also many
interesting people.
- Taste of America in 1990, Russians
became intensely interested in American things. A cup of Coca-Cola or
Pepsi-Cola was the first step to taste. This photo was taken at the western
end of the street.
- Statue of Pushkin and his wife.
Pushkin lived in their house on this street (not at this spot).
Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) was a poet and novelist,
and regarded as the father of Russian literature. His most
famous book is about
Boris Godunov. He was the first Russian ruler to
recognize that Russia consists not only of the Tsar and his
family, but also the people of Russia.
Modest Mussorsky was a Russian composer. He wrote an opera "Boris Godnov" based on Pushkin's story. I watched this opera in 1997 at the Grand Festival Hall in Salzburg (Austria). My ticket costed me US$360 (big money at that time. This is a photo of the stage at the end of the performance. It was a grand opera.
Russians will be happy to see this photo of Pushkin on the campus of George Washington University near the White House in U.S.A. This statue of set up in 1999.
- Vakhtangov State Academic Theater
and a golden statue of a ballerina. I am not able to tell who this
ballerina was. Who was Vakhtangov?
Click here.
- There are many interesting stores.
- Matryoshka dolls are the most popular Russian item for tourists. Here is a Matryoshka. It is likely that you have one of those on your bookshelf to prove you have been in Russia.
- Another souvenir shop with a Matryoshka sign. Inside the shop, Enough Matryoshka dolls.
- There are many road-side book stores telling that Russians are book-reading people.
- Russian Souvenirs in Russian and One Sale in English.
- Amber products at one of the shops. Ambers are collected from the Baltic costs and they are expensive jewels.
- Amber products at one of the shops.
- Starbucks Coffee, and
McDonald's. McCafe
inside.
- Russian dishes are different on dining table, but they are made from
the same set of materials. This is a photo of
a photo of a Russian lady at one of the grocery stores. I asked her
to pose with me for this photo. She felt
somewhat embarrassed but happily agreed.
The store had fresh vegetables, sea catches. The store also had Coca-Cola as well as enough bottles of Vodka.
- There are also many interesting people. When I was there in 1990, there
were young Russians reciting Russian poems at the western entrance to
the street. I was not able to see them when I was there in 2014.
- Soviet Army Uniforms (1990).
Alas, I spotted Soviet soldiers. The Soviet soldiers who came to Korea
in 1945 were wearing the uniforms looking exactly like these. At the
end of the Pacific war, Korea was divided into North and South along
the 38th parallel. This line went through the front yard of my house,
I had to greet Soviet soldiers. However, since my family had an
American connection, we moved by boat to the South by bribing the
communist officials in the North. We were like the refugees from the
Moslem world you see from your TV screens these days.
- In 2014, I noticed two Russian men dressed like
Lenin and Stalin. Their job is to collect tips after posing with
tourists for photos. If they do not have customers,
they show their boredom.
The Soviet communists are gone, but they should not act like beggars.
I did not like their appearance. Russians seem to have the same
opinion.
- Dressed like a bear, this person talks to a group of young ladies.
- Solo violinist and Solo magician.
- Young lady who likes to have her portrait like to one of those she respects, including Marilyn Monroe.
- Four Russian ladies completely
innocent: one grandmother and three granddaughters.
- One Russian student wearing an Oxford shirt. She spent one summer at Oxford University in England. She plans to go back. I met her at one of the gift shops. She became happy when I told her I am a professor in U.S.A.
- While I was resting at the fountain in front of the Vakhtangov State Academic Theater, this Chinese tourist came to the fountain side. She said she came from Hong Kong. I told her I have been to her city. We had this photo together.
- Soviet Army Uniforms (1990).
Alas, I spotted Soviet soldiers. The Soviet soldiers who came to Korea
in 1945 were wearing the uniforms looking exactly like these. At the
end of the Pacific war, Korea was divided into North and South along
the 38th parallel. This line went through the front yard of my house,
I had to greet Soviet soldiers. However, since my family had an
American connection, we moved by boat to the South by bribing the
communist officials in the North. We were like the refugees from the
Moslem world you see from your TV screens these days.
- There is
New Arbat Street one block north of Arbat street. This is a
business-oriented street with heavy traffic jam. The Church of Simeon Stolpnik
is at the eastern entrance of this wide street. This church was built in 1679,
and defied many Moscow city plannings. Recently, there was a talk about removing
this old building in the process of widening New Arbat Street, but the Church
survived. This humble-looking church is a landmark in Moscow, since its appearance
is so different from other buildings in this area.
- The church seen from New Arbat Street.
- Inside the Church..
- I am standing in front of the Church. I asked a passing-by Russian lady to pose with me, and she kindly agreed.
- Taste of America in 1990, Russians
became intensely interested in American things. A cup of Coca-Cola or
Pepsi-Cola was the first step to taste. This photo was taken at the western
end of the street.
- When I was in Moscow in June of 2014, I had a lunch at a cafeteria
near the Moscow Conservatory of Music. That area was totally strange
to me, but I became happy to see the headquarters of
the Russian news agency known as TASS.
The word TASS used to sound to me as a Soviet propaganda agency during the
Cold-War period, and is thus quite familiar to me.
- In that area, there was an eye-catching cafeteria. It appeared like a place for young students, and I was right.
- The lunch menu was OK, the environment was also good. As usual, I enjoyed talking with students. Since they were music students, we talked about music. They seem to like Russian composers. They are Russians.
- I then noticed a very old piano.
It has two candle stands. Thus the piano was produced
before the age of electric lights. I then
asked the cafeteria manager whether it is still operational. He said Yes,
and told me to wait about 15 minutes until the
tune-up man came.
- Great! I was able to see the piano strings as well as
the trade mark while the
technician was working. It was written in Russian, but I was
able to figure out.
- This piano was made by a French company in St. Petersburg in 1810, two years before Napoleon's invasion of 1812. I like music and I like instruments. I took many photos. Click here to see them.
- Tchaikovsky's statue in front
of the main hall of the Moscow Conservatory of Music.
- This student is studying piano at the Conservatory. I asked her whether she likes Chopin. She said she likes Rachmaninoff better.
- This student is from Kazakhstan is studying harp. She said she has many Korean friends in her hometown.
- Irina Bochkova is a professor of violin at this Conservatory. She played Beethoven's violin Sonata No. 5, during a physics conference held in a Volga city of Kazan in 2000. She is a sister-in-law of the principal organizer of the conference. After her performance, I told her the Spring Sonata was one of my favorites since my high school years, and I gave her a postcard carrying the photo of the four string instruments Beethoven used to own. I usually carry a copy of this postcard in my portable photo album.
- Tchaikovsky Concert Hall about
1.2 km northwest from the Bolshoi Theater.
- Close-up view of the Hall.
- Tchaikovsky's Bust in the main lobby. I am with another music lover, more precisely Tchaikovsky lover.
- Exhibition Boxes in the Lobby.
- International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians.
- Young American musician who came from New York with her mother.
- Young participant from Korea who came from Seoul with her
aunt living in Los Angeles (USA).
- Three music Students. I met them not far from the Moscow Conservatory of Music, also known as the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (2014). They said they are singers attending a better music school. We talked about some of the opera songs. They said they like Michael Jackson, and are fond of singing Proschanie Slavianki.
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Pushkin at Arbat Street (top), and Pushkin in Washington, USA |
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Along the Moskva River
- On a hot summer day of June 1999, I met Professor
Iraida Kim of Moscow State University at the Academicheakaya Metro station.
e then walked to her office at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of the
University. I had a photo with her and her assistant
at the entrance of this prestigious institute.
She was born in Kazakhstan and I was born in Korea. Since we had the same last name, we felt like brother and sister. After spending some time in her office and laboratory, we walked down the hill to a boat stop for the Moskva River. This photo shows how high of the Sparrow Hill is and how tall the University main building is. There we had this photo together while waiting for the cruise boat. I took some photos while on the boat.
- While waiting for the boat, we saw
the Luzhniki Stadium was just on the other side of the River.
With its capacity of 100,000 seats, this stadium played the central role
during the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow.
Click here for
more photos and stories of this stadium.
- Statue of Peter the Great at the father
of the Russian navy. His statue is at the point where the Moskva River channel
branches out. This narrow channel was constructed for the flood control of the
City. As far as I know, this is the only notable statue of this great Russian
in Moscow, and was set up as late as in 1998. Why? I asked my Russian friends.
The answer was that he abandoned Moscow to go to his new city. Go to St.
Petersburg to see his statues. I will see enough of them there.
- The Cathedral of Christ the Savior
in 1999, one year before the complete reconstruction in 2000. This church
had a
stormy history during the 70 years of anti-Christian communism.
I remember being at the church site in 1992 when the preparation for
reconstruction was taking place. The place was full of concrete blocks.
I was told by Russian friends how important this place was and still is.
Click here for more recent photo of this Cathedral.
- Borovitskaya Bridge and Borovitskaya
(left) and Vodovzvodnaya Towers of the Kremlin.
- Vodovzvodnaya Tower and Kremlin Palace.
The tallest structure in the background is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower.
- We can rely only on Russians.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russians thought the life would
be easy and Americans were their best friends. However, by 1999, Russians
are beginning to see nothing is free in capitalism. Thus, Russians realized
they can trust only themselves.
- Cathedral of St. Basil and the Gum Store
on the Red Square viewed from the Moskva River (1999).
- Novospassky Monastery is about 2 km east of
the Kremlin. Its chapel has colorful towers. In 2014, I was at a visible
distance from this Monastery, and took this photo.
- While waiting for the boat, we saw
the Luzhniki Stadium was just on the other side of the River.
With its capacity of 100,000 seats, this stadium played the central role
during the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow.
Click here for
more photos and stories of this stadium.
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- Since the Moskva River meanders through the city with a large amplitude,
almost every spot is within a walking distance from the River. For instance,
the Kremlin is built along the River. The Moscow State University is on the
top of a hill along the River. Let us see some more photos.
- The Novodevichy Convent viewed
from the River.
- This convent has
a very interesting
history.
- There is a lake outside the wall of the Convent. There is a land between this lake and the Moskva River.
- During the night, the Convent look like this.
- This is closer view of the convent walls.
- There is a lake outside the wall of the Convent. There is a land between this lake and the Moskva River.
- This convent has
a very interesting
history.
- This photo contains both the White House
for Russian government and the Stalin Tower for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This photo was taken under the Boktana-Khmelnitskogo Bridge across the Moskva River.
- White House in Moscow. This white structure
was built in 1981 for the government of the Russian Republic of the
Soviet Union. This building is now called the House of the Government of
the Russian Federation. The prime minister's office is in this building.
This white building weathered the constitutional crisis of 1993.
Click here for a story.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in one of Moscow's Stalin Towers.
Russians produced many famous foreign ministers, including
- Vyacheslav Molotov (1939-49, 53-56),
- Andrei Gromyko (1957-85), and
- Sergey Lavrov (2004 - present),
- Stalin Tower seen from the Borodinskiy Bridge across the Moskva River.
- Get closer. This building appears to be very old, without central air conditioning.
- Entrance to the building, and government officials going home for the evening.
- New additions to the building.
New buildings have been added around the tall tower.
- This Stalin Tower is about 100 meters south of the entrance to Arbat Street. See this street sign.
- Hotel Ukraina is another Stalin Tower that can be
seen from the Moskva River.
- This is a front view of the Hotel.
- The entrance door says Radisson Royal, but it still preserves the engraving saying Hotel Ukraina in Russian.
- Near this area is the railroad station
Kiyev.
- In the same area, there is metro subway station called
Kiyevskaya. Inside this station is an art museum. Let us look at photos.
- This is the hall way.
- This wall says Kiyevskaya.
- Images of happy farmers, and factory workers.
All three of these structures after the second world war. From this, we can say that Stalin sensed the desire of Ukrainians for separation from the Soviet Union. He wanted to do prevent it by showing a strong unity. He asked an Ukrainian architect to design the Stalin Tower for the Hotel.
- Luzhniki Stadium in on the northern
shore of the River. On the southern shore is a hill where the Stalin Tower of
Moscow State University stands. With its capacity of 100,000 seats, this stadium
played the central role during the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow.
This stadium looks like this from the
opposite direction.
Click here for
more photos and stories of this stadium.
- Click here for Moscow State University on the Sparrow
Hills.
-
Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
When I went to Moscow in 1990, I was told by Russian friends that there was
an important church at a empty spot not far from the Red Square. The place was
full of concrete stones. In 1999, when I was on a cruise boat along the Moskva
River, there was a shiny church building. Let us look at photos.
- Front view of the Cathedral.
- Worshippers in the Cathedral.
- The Cathedral viewed from the
the Russian State Library south of the entrance to the
Red Square.
- Viewed from the opposite side
of the Moskva River.
- The Patriarshiy Bridge added
across the Moskva River.
- The River without this bridge (1999).
- The River with the bridge (2010).
- The Patriarshiy Bridge serves
as a wide open space above the River, proving a place to meet interesting
people and take photos of important places in Moscow.
- I had a photo with this Russian student. The Kremlin towers are seen in the background.
- Borovitskaya Bridge and Borovitskaya (left) and Vodovzvodnaya Towers of the Kremlin. The tallest structure is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower inside the Kremlin Wall. I have a photo of the same set of objects taken from a river boat taken in June of 1999. Click here to see the old photo.
- Jungle of towers along the western wall of the Kremlin.
- This apartment building was constructed during the Stalin era for government officials. Each room was bugged by KGB, and it is said that many of the residents were executed by Stalin's police.
- Monument of Peter the Great is
also seen from this bridge. This photo clearly shows how Peter the Great is
stretching his right arm.
- Front view of the Cathedral.
- The Kremlin's southern wall is along the River.
Click here for the Kremlin photos.
-
Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building is an apartment building designed
originally for scholars and artists. This residential building dominates
the eastern shore of the Moskva River east of the Kremlin.
This huge structure is one of the four Stalin
Towers visible from the Moskva River.
- Photo from the River.
- From the other side of the River.
- From the KGB ground, north-east
of the Red Square, and east of the Bolshoi Theater.
- The real name of this KGB building is the Lubianka building, but it had many different names in the past. During the Soviet era, it served as the headquarters of the KGB, which was known as the most powerful branch of the government. It is still known as the KGB building. Vladimir Putin started his political career as a young KGB officer.
- Moscow's International House of Music.
Panoramic view from the opposite side of the Moscow River (2010).
- Trees grew up (2016) on the river bank. They were hiding the Music Hall.
- Close-up View. This new music hall has the state-of-the-art electronic environment, but people say its acoustic environment is not as good as those of Moscow's traditional music halls.
Moscow State University
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- The Stalin Tower of the University seen from the Moskva River.
- The main building has its own architectural
style. It is one of the
Seven Stalin Towers in Moscow, which used to dominate Moscow's
skyline during the Stalin era. These buildings were designed to entertain
Stalin's own architectural instinct. Stalin of course was totally dedicated
to his creation of the socialist heaven. In either case, those towers are
great museum pieces today, but they still serve very useful purposes.
- There is a large front yard, and
the edge of the yard is the cliff
above the Moskva River, with a panoramic view of Moscow. The Stalin
Tower of the Hotel Ukraina is seen in this photo.
- This area is regarded as one of the sacred places, where newly-wed couples visit after their wedding ceremonies
- The Luzhniki Stadium is the most prominent structure that can be seen from the cliff.
- In The Russian Academy of Science (tall building) is also seen. The same building seen from the Moskva River. I was there in 1992 to attend the International Shakharov Conference. John A. Wheeler came to this conference with his grandson.
- This photo of 1990 shows a power generating station diligently putting out steams and smokes to the city, but no longer in in 2010. The chimneys are still there.
- Let us go back to the campus of the University. This is the
entrance to the tall building. There
is a statue of a student holding her book.
- Russia was not a capitalist country when this building was completed in
1955. Then Lomonosov must have been a prominent communist who made
an important contribution to the revolution, since the postal address for
this campus used to be "Leninsky Gory" (Lenin Hill).
The answer is No. He was born more than 100 years before Karl Marx.
- Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765) was the most brilliant man in Russian history. He was a physicist, chemist, historian, poet, and everything. Although largely unknown outside Russia, he is respected by everybody in his country. Ask a taxi driver in Moscow. He/she will tell you proudly about Lomonosov. There are many Lomonosov statues in Russia. This is his statue in the academic area west of the Kremlin Wall on Mokhovaya Street.
- Russia was not a capitalist country when this building was completed in
1955. Then Lomonosov must have been a prominent communist who made
an important contribution to the revolution, since the postal address for
this campus used to be "Leninsky Gory" (Lenin Hill).
The answer is No. He was born more than 100 years before Karl Marx.
- The backyard of this Stalin Tower is
much richer. The statue of Lomonosov is there. This is a
close-up view of the statue.
- This is a side view of the Tower.
- The statue of male and female students is next to the back entrance to the building. This is a communist-style statue.
- There are the physics building and
the chemistry building. Unlike the Stalin
Tower of the main building, these science buildings are box-like
utility-oriented buildings.
- The main library appears to have been built in recent years. This photo was taken in 2010. The construction work was still going on in this area.
- Click here for a brief tour of the campus.
- I have been inside the physics building. I also have been in the
Sternberg Astronomy Institute.
- How about the main building? Yes, I have been in the main lobby in 1991.
There I noticed plaques of the sages including Socrates, Aristotle, Marx,
and others. I assume these people were selected during the communist era.
Jesus was not there, and I did not check whether Apostle Paul was there.
- However, I noticed the plaque of
Zhu Xi.
Do you know who Zhu Xi was?
You all heard about Confusions. About 2,500 years ago, he wrote the books
telling you what to do and what not to do. China's Han Dynasty
(200 BC - 200 AD) and Tang Dynasty (600 - 900 AD) used the Confucian
doctrines as their constitutions. Indeed, this is how Chinese civilization
was constructed and remains so strong.
- There are however problems in Confucianism. Confucius tells you to respect
elderly people, but he does not explain why. During the Tang period, some
people started asking why?
- About 600 years ago,
Koreans constructed their dynasty based on this Neo-Confucianism. This
dynasty lasted for more than 500 years until 1910.
You will be interested to hear that Koreans impeached their king twice
during this period. The reason was that those impeached kings violated the
rules of this Neo-Confucianism.
- In unified Japan, 400 years ago, Tokugawa Iyeyasu established his dynasty,
which lasted for 250 years until 1850 when Japanese started adopting Western
systems. This dynasty used Neo-Confucianism as its constitution, and
maintained a research institute for this ideology. This institute may still
be active in their imperial palace. One of my Japanese colleagues claims her
grandfather was a member of this prestigious institute.
- How about China? Since the influence of the original Confucianism was
so strong that they did not need anything new.
Click here if you are thinking of visiting
China.
- Click here about Christianity and Neo-Confucianism.
My photo with Logunov, and
with his staff members (1999). - However, I noticed the plaque of
Zhu Xi.
Do you know who Zhu Xi was?
You all heard about Confusions. About 2,500 years ago, he wrote the books
telling you what to do and what not to do. China's Han Dynasty
(200 BC - 200 AD) and Tang Dynasty (600 - 900 AD) used the Confucian
doctrines as their constitutions. Indeed, this is how Chinese civilization
was constructed and remains so strong.
- In 1991, when I was in the main building of the University, I noticed
that the president of this University was
Anatoly Logunov.
He was in this position for 15 years from 1977 to 1992. I
had a temptation to knock his door, but refrained from doing so.
I met him earlier in 1990 when he visited the University of Maryland.
In this photo, I am standing next to him.
- When I was a graduate student (1958-61), I was interested in what Russian
physicists were doing. Logunov and his co-workers were actively publishing
in physics journals. I read their papers carefully, and I published
my first paper
the March issue of PRL in 1961. There, I proved Logunov was wrong.
Logunov was aware of my paper of 1961 when I met him 1990.
- In 1999, Logunov was the director of the Institute of High Energy Physics
in Protvino (about 120 km south of Moscow). He invited me to a conference
held there. At that time, he was interested in the Poincaré group, and I
was publishing papers on the same subject. I had
a photo with him while there.
- In 1990, South Korea established diplomatic relations with a number of communist countries including the Soviet Union, and Korea started issuing visas to Russians. Scholar-respecting Koreans gave their first visa (Visa # 1) to the president of Moscow State University, and Logunov went to Korea in 1990. When I met Logunov in 1999, he was telling me how courteous Koreans were to him.
- When I was a graduate student (1958-61), I was interested in what Russian
physicists were doing. Logunov and his co-workers were actively publishing
in physics journals. I read their papers carefully, and I published
my first paper
the March issue of PRL in 1961. There, I proved Logunov was wrong.
Logunov was aware of my paper of 1961 when I met him 1990.
- As far as universities are concerned, I enjoy talking with
students much more than with rectors or presidents. When I was in the main
building in 1999, I noticed many shops and
cafeterias. I talked with many students, but I did not take photos with
them. I did not have a digital camera at that time, and I could carry
only limited number of film roles.
In 2010, when I was in Moscow again, I met these young students. I asked them why they were so neatly dressed. They said they were going to their graduation ball. I was very happy to have a photo with them. I was sad. I was too old to go to the party with them.
More Photos
- I have many more Moscow photos to post. I will do so when I have time.
In the meantime, I would like to thank my Russian friends for telling
me and teaching me about this great city.
- You may also be interested in the following pages.
- Saint Petersburg. You all know how
important this is to Russians.
- Kazan. Catherine the Great went there,
So did Hilary Clinton.
- Kaliningrad. This area
used`to be a german province called "East Prussia," but became
a Soviet naval base after 1945. These`days, this area plays an
interesting role in the world economy.
- Minsk. David Sarnoff came from
Minsk. Do you know who Sarnoff was?
Click here. Did you know Feynman's father came from Minsk?
- Popov. Russia's
wireless communication. You may be interested to know why
Russians had to develop their own wireless communication.
- Landau was a
great Soviet physicist. You may visit this page to see
how you were influenced by him.
- Russian Cameras.
Germans used to and still make best lenses in the world.
Their Leica cameras were envied by everybody in the world.
Japanese attempted to copy the Leica and ended up with their
own version called "Canon." Russians also attempted to
produce their own Leica cameras. This webpage explains how
they did.
- Soviet Tanks
played the major role during the initial stage of the Korean
War (1950-53).
- Tolstoy and Korean literature.
Why is Tolstoy so popular among Koreans?
- Click here for interesting Russians I met while travelling around the world.
- Saint Petersburg. You all know how
important this is to Russians.
- copyright@2017 by Y. S. Kim, unless otherwise specified.
- Click here for his home page.
- Photo-bio.
- Awards and Recognitions.
- Einstein Magazine.
- Princeton page.
- Travel page.
- Style page.
- Click here for his home page.
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