Kazan Cathedral (2, Nevsky Prospekt, Kazanskaya Square St. Petersburg) – built during the early 1800s, this cathedral was modeled after Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome and was intended to be the country’s main Orthodox Church. After the Russians successfully defeated Napoleon, it became a monument to that victory. Like other churches, the Soviet authorities stopped […]
Hermitage Museum (Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya, 34, St. Petersburg) – the collection of this museum includes more than three million works of art and artifacts of the world culture. Among them are paintings, graphic works, sculptures and works of applied art, archaeological finds and numismatic material. The main architectural ensemble of the Hermitage (located in the center of […]
Gorky Park (9, Krymskiy Val, Moscow) – this was a one-time amusement park that was transformed in 2011 (removing the outdated rides that were once there). Nowadays, sports & recreational activities such as aerobics, yoga and salsa dancing, can be found there, along with an open-air cinema. During the cold months, there’s an 18,000 sq. meter […]
Iglesia de Nuestro Salvador sobre la sangre derramada (2b Naberezhnaya Kanala Gribboyedova San Petersburgo): construida entre 1883 y 1907, esta es otra estructura bien decorada en Rusia, que consta de mosaicos increíblemente detallados, diseñados y creados por los artistas rusos más prominentes de los últimos tiempos. Siglo XIX (VM Vasnetsov, MV Nesterov y MA Vrubel). […]
Catherine Palace (Czarskoe Selo, St. Petersburg): this palace was named after Catherine I (wife of Peter the Great). Finished in 1756, the extravagance invested into this palace ranged from its size (1 km in circumference), to its exterior (with elaborately decorated blue-and-white facades, and trimmings laced with 100 kg. of gold). The palace’s interior is […]
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (ulitsa Volkhonka, 15, Moscow) – this huge cathedral is among the structures that dominate Moscow’s skyline along the city’s river. Russian ruler Joseph Stalin took down the cathedral, with plans to build a “Palace of the Soviets” (including a 100-meter statue of Lenin). With such plans never being realized, the […]
Bolshoi Theatre (Theatre Square, 1, Moscow) – this is considered one of the greatest theaters in the world. The Bolshoi is the second largest opera house in Europe (after La Scala in Milan). Renovations were completed by 2011, which included restoring the Bolshoi’s acoustics to its original quality, along with restoring its original imperial décor. […]
Atlantic City (ulitsa Savushkina, 126, St. Petersburg) – this 70,000 sq. meter mall has retailers that represent over 150 brands, along with a multiplex cinema, restaurants, recreational areas, a fitness club, and other amenities.
Chainaya (1-ya Tverskaya-Yamskaya ulitsa, 29, Moscow) — hidden away in the backstreets of Moscow’s Chinatown, this was once a teahouse that has been transformed into a trendy bar (for those familiar with Moscow’s nightlife scene). Chainaya is the brainchild of bar supremo Roman Milostivy and it opened its very secretive doors in September 2011 – […]
Bon (Yakimanskaya Nab. 4, bldg. 1, Moscow) – this is an unusual place. Bon is an Italian restaurant that’s surrounded by Catholic church-style décor (by French interior designer Phillipe Starck). With the decent-tasting Italian dishes served here, the massed wrought-iron stands of dripping candles, the massive, extravagantly- carved chairs placed in corners, and the frescoes […]