Europe Summer 2017: Russia 3 – the Kremlin

September 10

     Although you can wander around Red Square and visit such structures as St. Basil's Cathedral and Lenin's Mausoleum free of charge, as well, of course, as the Gum Department Store, you have to buy tickets to go inside the Kremlin.

entrance gate 

Troitskaya (Trinity) Tower

       The Kremlin is the seat of Government of the Russian Federation and is a very popular tourist destination with people from all over the world. After some searching to find the ticket office and confusion about the appropriate ticket sales line to stand in we managed to buy individual tickets and made our way to the entrance gate through the Troitskaya (Trinity) Tower, the tallest of the Kremlin's many towers.

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INSIDE THE KREMLIN

Chinese tourist group just inside the entrance gate

       Almost immediately upon entering the gate we were surrounded by a large tour group of Chinese people. From then on Chinese tour groups became particularly noticeable in popular tourist areas in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. I had long been reading of the growing bilateral political and economic ties between Russia and China and their formal associations in organizations such as BRICS and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization). Experiencing the reality of these Chinese tour groups added a new personal and direct understanding of the growing importance of these great powers' influence on global trade and international political, economic and military relations. 

Savior's Tower (left) and St. Basil's Cathedral

no-go zone and the Senate in the background

gentle crowd controller?  (no gun)

       Tourists are only permitted in a limited area inside the Kremlin. The large open area between the cathedrals and the Senate and the Arsenal is off limits and patrolled by police. If you stray off the sidewalk you are immediately admonished to stay in the designated tourist zone. The reason, of course, is that the Senate is the seat of the Russian Government where the President has his offices and must be protected.

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CATHEDRAL SQUARE

Ivan the Great Bell Tower

Cathedral of the Annunciation

        Cathedral Square is the epicenter of the tourist zone. Most of the famous cathedrals are located around it—Ivan the Great Bell Tower, Cathedral of the Dormition, Cathedral of the Annunciation, Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, Church of the Twelve Apostles, Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Robe, as well as such curiosities as the huge Tsar Bell and Tsar Cannon . . . and more Chinese tourists.

Cathedral of the Archangel Michael

Church of the Deposition
of the Virgin's Robe

Dormition interior

Cathedral of the Dormition
Coronation venue of all the Tsars

the Tsar Canon

the Tsar Bell

Madama Butterfly

colorful Chinese tourists

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THE ALEXANDER GARDEN

red green and yellow 

Moscow Manege

        Along the western wall of the Kremlin lies the beautifully landscaped Alexander Garden. The contrast between the red and yellow brick of the Kremlin wall and the green of the grass and the leaves of the white birch trees is particularly striking. The Moscow Manege, a former indoor riding academy and military training facility is located on the western edge of the garden with a spectacular fountain of water geysers and horse sculptures reminiscent of the history of the building. 

horse fountain